Bhoothakaalam (Eng: Past) is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language horror film written and directed by Rahul Sadasivan, starring Shane Nigam and Revathy. Bhoothakaalam is produced by Anwar Rasheed under the banner Plan T Films in association with Shane Nigam Films. Gopi Sunder handles the background score while Shane Nigam makes his debut as a music director as well as producer. Principal photography took place from January 2021 to February 2021 in Kochi. Bhoothakaalam had its worldwide premiere through SonyLIV on 21 January 2022 to widely critical acclaim. Revathi won her first Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film during a career spanning 39 years.
Asha lives with her son Vinu taking care of her ill mother, who later dies. Asha is a school teacher and manages her home’s finances single-handedly. Vinu has completed his B. Pharm and has been searching for a job for almost two years, but in vain. Unable to resist the struggle of unemployment, Vinu resumes his smoking and drinking habits. Asha is mentally and physically drained in trying to make Vinu find a job.
Vinu begins to get a feeling that there is someone else staying in his house. Initially, he assumes that it was his mother who was trying to show her anger at him, but is later convinced that there is actually somebody else. Just like his friends and relatives, Vinu’s mother also thinks that something is wrong with him and takes him to a counselor. Vinu, however, does not cooperate with the counselor. While Asha begins to realise that Vinu’s feelings about someone else being present in the house is true, the counselor learns about the past history of the house in which the mother and son are living. In the same house, several years ago, two people hung themselves unable to tolerate the feelings of the presence of another person. He also finds that both of them were suffering emotional setbacks due to different reasons back in their time.
Later, both Asha and Vinu get trapped in the house amidst horrific happenings. They are ultimately unsure as to the exact nature of what happened in the house, but decide to reconcile and vacate the house.
Directed by Rahul Sadasivan
Written by Rahul Sadasivan & Sreekumar Shreyas
Story by Rahul Sadasivan
Produced by Teresa Rani & Sunila Habeeb
Starring Shane Nigam, Revathi, Saiju Kurup, James Eliya, Athira Patel
Cinematography Shehnad Jalal
Edited by Shafique Mohammed Ali
Music by Gopi Sundar
Production Plan T Films & Shane Nigam Films
Distributed by SonyLIV
Release date 21 January 2022
Running time 105 minutes
Country India
Language Tamil
