"A simple story of an illiterate woman totally faithful to a man whom she intensely loves." This is how the prolific Indian director Sethumadhavan describes his latest film.

However, such a description belies the emotional complexity of the piece.

On the face of it, Rangi and Paddalu are a devoted, happily married couple who live for each other.

But when Paddalu scarpers with a boatman's cargo, Rangi is left behind and confesses that she's not his wife at all.

She was merely acting as a decoy so he could get away with the booty which is intended for Paddalu's other woman, a younger, more beautiful girl.

Why is she prepared to put her own life and liberty at risk for a man who treats her so callously? That is the mystery Sethumadhavan seeks to explore.

Over the years, Sathumadhavan has directed 60 or so features, in many different languages, Tamil, Kannad and Sinhalese among them.

Not an especially flamboyant director, he has an unerring knack for capturing the hopes, dreams and disappointments which shape his protagonists' lives.

As he puts it, "human behaviour cannot be contained in codified rules."

Geoffrey Macnab

Prod co: NFDC Doordashan

Dir: K.S. Sethumadhavan

Scr: K.S. Sethumadhavan

Ph: S. Saravanan

Ed: D. Rajagopal

Mus: L. Vaidyanathan

Cast: Rohini, Vijay, P.L. Narayana, S. Bheemeswara Rao, K.K. Sarma, Bachoori, Gopalaraju

Running time: 120 mins

Screenings: 27 June, 22.00, Praha; 28 June, 12.00, KCP-Koncertní

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