The story of Nayakan Prithvi is based on the real-life horror of the unpredictable landslides in Kerala, which become the cause of thousands of deaths during every season of torrential downpours. In 2024, the Wayanad district witnessed the deadliest landslide that India has ever recorded. Previously, in 2018, about fifteen hundred landslides displaced one million people. With a total landmass that covers a little under 39,000 square kilometers and an annual average of 2924.33 millimeters of rainfall, Kerala is always at the disadvantage of being severely affected by the deluges. However, every such disaster is a powerful reminder of humanity’s inherent need to care for each other. Directed by Prasad G Edward, Nayakan Prithvi is a crowdfunded film, and every bit of its economical aesthetic and narrative testifies to that.
Spoilers Ahead
What is the setting of the film?
A special Tehsildar, Ratheesh S., has been transferred to rural Kuyilimala in the Idukki district to helm the highway development project of the Government of Kerala. Word spreads about his adept bureaucratic efficiency at subduing protesting crowds. The people, whose houses are at risk of being demolished to give way for the highway, are ready to protest. One of them, Maniyan, is a legitimate threat to the project due to his appeal as a leader amongst his own people. Tehsildar Ratheesh and his officials think of ways to communicate their people-centered agenda and make the project appear more urgent and credible in terms of improving the lives of the rural population. Maniyan, on the other hand, challenges the Tehsildar that he would oust him from the village before he gets a chance to initiate his development project. Maniyan’s threatening curiosity about Ratheesh’s family causes him to grow anxious. He is paranoid when he finds his wife missing from their house. Later, however, he cools down when she returns home from her visit to the doctor.
Although not evil scammers, the government officials under the Tehsildar are shown to be ludicrously incompetent. They constantly encourage the Tehsildar to act against the goodwill of the rural community and exploit the natural resources. Ratheesh understands the need for diplomacy in his profession. He does not fan the flames of hostility between the parties, nor does he encourage backhanded tactics to manufacture public loyalty. While on his way to a survey site, Ratheesh effectively manages an angry mob staging a protest. The villagers’ concerns regarding their loss of livelihood are nothing more than nuisances for the bureaucrats. The tussle grows as the people complain that they do not get what the government owes them, and the officials push them to hold the collector responsible.
What happens when Ratheesh visits Maniyan’s house?
Ratheesh visits Maniyan’s house to have a word with him. He asks one of his officials to show him the directions to his house. The following day he goes to his house without informing anyone. When Ratheesh arrives at Maniyan’s place, his wife receives him coldly. The woman recognizes him right off the bat without ever having met him. Ratheesh waits for Maniyan to arrive. While he waits inside, the torrential downpour outside grows violent and makes it difficult for him to leave. The heavy rain triggers landslides, which again have a domino effect in activating other slopes already on the verge of collapse. The deluge engulfs the low-lying regions and buries Maniyan’s house underneath.
Ratheesh gets trapped under the wreckage and rubble left behind by the deluge with Maniyan’s wife and son. Outside, the state-led rescue and relief operations begin in full force. The police detail the complexity that has arisen due to people not evacuating their houses in time, despite being served a notice prior to the disaster. With no news regarding the whereabouts of Ratheesh, his wife grows anxious. Maniyan too is shattered to learn that his family is now under his flattened house. More tragically, Ratheesh has to tearfully bid farewell to Maniyan’s little boy, who dies due to not receiving timely medical attention. Soon, Maniyan’s wife is rescued. No one understands where Ratheesh has disappeared to until the officials join the dots and assume that Ratheesh might be under the rubble of Maniyan’s house.
What does the film’s title mean?
The name, ‘Nayakan Prithvi,’ alludes to the heroic act of Tehsildar Ratheesh in enduring the landslide disaster with grit and saving Maniyan’s family. He rises from the ruins of the landslide like a hero; therefore, he is rightfully the hero of the earth. The death of Maniyan’s son is unfortunate, but Ratheesh’s desperate attempts to save him ensured that the little boy received care before his untimely death. While adversity such as this exposes the vulnerabilities of the affected community, there are also times when people are shown to be the most united with each other. Every year, thousands of lives, whether human or non-human, are felled by natural disasters alone. The film seems to be championing the heroic services that the local people—from the fisherfolk to the civil servants—and the trained state rescue and relief team display in saving multiple lives.
Would Ratheesh And Maniyan End Their Rivalry?
The film does not offer us a moment of reconciliation between the two men, Ratheesh and Maniyan. However, one can only anticipate that the men must have buried the hatchet following their intense tragedy. Since Ratheesh went to Maniyan’s house, perhaps to extend an olive branch before the tragedy struck, it is now up to Maniyan to return this act of integrity. In the end, Maniyan is seen leaving for the hospital with his dead son. Ratheesh, on the other hand, sustains injuries and gets admitted to a hospital. Ratheesh’s heroic act might help to build his image as a trustworthy bureaucrat in Kuyilimala. This would in turn be beneficial in winning the community’s faith in the development project. The locals would realize that the man who is ready to die for them is unlikely to be partaking in any act that might be harmful for them in the long run.
What makes The Film stand out?
As stated earlier, Nayakan Prithvi is a crowd-funded film. It is a really straightforward film. The film is bookended by newspaper reports in Malayalam that presumably hint towards the effects of the disaster on the state and its people. The agenda of the film seems to be very simple, yet pertinent. Last year, while Kerala was reeling under the weight of the deluge, a significant proportion of the population from the other parts of the country advocated for a disbanding of all help extended to the state. Despite and in spite of all, Kerala has thrived and come out of the rubble as a hero, like our protagonist. Nayakan Prithvi is a quiet but stern message to the other parts of India about the state’s resilience and selflessness. It is an account of the way the people rise up to confront any crisis, as if instinctively.
