Nidra

Nidra is a 1981 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by Bharathan and produced by K. J. Joseph. The film stars Vijay Menon, Shanthi Krishna, K. P. A. C. Lalitha and Kaval Surendran in the lead roles. The film has musical score by G. Devarajan and 13AD. Plot Raju and Aswathy are neighbors/childhood friends and get closer as they grow up even when Raju is from a rich background and Aswathy from a poor family. Raju’s father calls up Aswathy’s mother and proposes their marriage while also slightly mentioning of his mentally disturbed past due to his mother’s demise, while re-assuring that he is completely normal now after medication. Aswathy’s mother does not agree to the alliance fearing for her daughter’s safety but had to agree when Aswathy confesses to her that they have been in a relationship since their adolescence and wants to marry each other despite him having a history of mental discomfort in the past. The marriage happens even though Raju being highly unpredictable and introverted, spending most of his time inside his room and estate outhouse which he uses for his current hobby of space research. Aswathy gets to know of Raju’s nature when he suddenly attacks him with a ball while playing and injuring her head. She covers up the incident in front of others as an accident to prevent further issues and backlash from Raju’s hot headed brother Vishwam who is handling the businesses and running the household at the absence of their partially paralyzed father. Vishwam is trying to sell off their estate which is opposed by Raju who tells about this to their father and subsequently leads to an argument between father and Vishwam. One day while playing with their youngest brother Manoharan, Raju gets another schizophrenic episode and hallucinates that Manoharan is trying to attack him with the cricket bat. He starts attacking Manoharan and is beat up and tied to a pillar by Vishwam to stop him. Raju is Hospitalized and the doctor advises Aswathy to divert his mind by spicing up their marital life. Another time when Vishwam’s in laws visit the house to invite them for their younger daughter’s marriage, Raju is humiliated at the dining table by Vishwam when Raju was trying to have his lunch before the guests turn. Raju turns violent at this, creates a ruckus, and tries to commit suicide by overdosing on his medication. He is seen by Aswathy and saved narrowly with the doctor advising the family to keep the medication out of his reach.