Mukhamukham

Director : Adoor Gopalakrishnan /  India / 107 / Malayalam / 1985

A prospering tile factory is changing life and attitudes in a small town in Kerala. Mechanised production has brought industrial labour into headlong collision with the management. A prolonged strike results, with neither side yielding, Sreedharan, a dedi­cated revolutionary and worker of the Communist Party, is the trade union leader at the factory. He has a charismatic hold on the town’s labourers. Sreedharan is found badly beaten up one night by an old farmer. He begins to live in his house; the farmer’s widowed daughter becomes his mistress. The proprietor of the  factory is killed—and Sree­dharan is prime suspect.  The police embark on a fierce round-up.  Sree­dharan and his comrades go underground.
Years pass. Sreedharan is believed to be dead. His comrades have returned in the light of a more liberal political environ­ment.

The party which Sree­dharan so selflessly sup­ported and served is no longer united in its ideo­logy or its leadership—Its rank and file is split. The binding factor between them is the memory of Sreedharan.
As if in answer to their prayers and wishes, Sree­dharan suddenly returns. His family, his followers at once turn to him for ‘ succour and strength, But Sreedharan proves to be a bitter disappoint­ment. His presence now is an unsavoury one.  All the same, the memory of his hallowed past has a hold on people. Rival factions vie with each other to use his name.