The film starts in the early 1950s showing Sreedharan, the protagonist, as a very popular communist leader and trade union activist. He is forced to go underground after his name was associated with the murder of the owner of a tile factory. He is considered to be dead by his party and they even erect a memorial for him. But he makes an unexpected comeback almost 10 years later, after the first communist ministry gained and lost power in Kerala and after the Communist Party of India has split. On his return, he spends his time sleeping and drinking. His come back is first a puzzle and then an embarrassment to his comrades and family. As the disappointment on his new face grows, he is found murdered. The film ends when both the communist parties jointly celebrate his martyrdom.

Thommy is the loyal servant of Bhaskara Pattelar, a ruthless tyrant. He struggles between obedience and morality.

A young man narrates two conflicting accounts of his life, changing the details and incidents in both, as he slowly approaches madness.

Adoor Gopalakrishnan生于1941年，是新印度电影的领军人物之一。在他的学生时代，他撰写并执导了超过20部舞台剧。他毕业于印度电影学院，撰写并执导了9部电影长片，25部短片和纪录片。
他的第一部电影Swayamvaram获印度最佳影片，最佳导演，最佳摄影以及最佳女主角奖。他的所有作品都获得过国内外各类奖项。他曾2度获得印度最佳影片，4次获得印度最佳导演，3次获得最佳剧本。他的电影曾5次获得最佳演员。
Adoor的第三部长片电影Elippathayam获得了1982年英国电影学院奖最佳原创和最具想象力奖。他的影片分别在新德里, 卡罗维发利、 威尼斯、新加坡等电影节上连续6次获得国际电影评论家奖（FIPRESCI）。其他国际奖项包括：UNICEF电影奖 (威尼斯), OCIC电影奖 (阿美恩斯), INTERFILM 奖等。
为了表彰他为印度电影所作的杰出贡献，印度政府在1984年授予他荣誉称号。
他的新电影《影子杀手》因为反映了人权问题在鹿特丹电影节被授予阿姆斯特-丹东奖。他的文集《电影世界》于1984年被评为印度最佳电影书籍。
为了表彰他对世界电影的贡献，法国政府最近授予他法国文化界最高荣誉“艺术文学巨匠”。