Beautifully sensitive award winning Malayalam movie “T.P. Balagopalan M.A.” (1986) directed by Sathyan Anthikad and starring Mohanlal, Shobana, Sreenivasan among others.

The story starts with T.P. Balagopalan M.A. (Mohanlal) playing the role of a poorly employed office staff in a factory selling wallpapers. He is underpaid, and unappreciated and has stiff targets to meet.

His family owns a piece of land of which he is the heir and which is eyed upon by his sister’s family. He has another sister who is unmarried. He falls in love with Anitha (Shobana) whom he visits to sell the wallpaper that his company produces. Their family is also in dire straits with her father fighting a long drawn legal case, which is straining their finances.

Balagopal does everything for Anitha’s family including selling the land to pay to the lawyers fighting the case, but when they win the case and become rich, he is forgotten by Anitha’s father. He himself loses his job because of union troubles.

Down in the dumps, unemployed, anguished, sadness, heartbreak all fall upon the frail shoulders of Balagopal who crumbles under pressure and leaves the village with his grand mother.

Very sensitive script showing the typical problems of a Kerala household of the 80s — unemployment, poverty, lack of jobs, no hope for educated unemployed — its a kind of a subtle indictment of the policies that result in such state of affairs for the youth of the state.

Marvellous acting by Mohanlal and Shobana also comes to the fore with her splendid portrayal of the character Anitha. Deftly managed direction by Sathyan Anthikad of a delicate subject. IMDB 6/10