Naradhama: A tale of two friends and the ‘find’ that arouses their basal instincts

The lowest of mankind – that’s what Naradhama means. A base man or villain. Lohith Jayanna’s short film Naradhama, which has premiered on the PRK Audio’s official Youtube page, explores this primal, basal instinct of human beings.

His protagonists are two menial labourers, Yanka and Bora, both of who have immense family burdens and are trying to figure out ways that can change their fortunes. Bora, who has been repeatedly insulted by some wealthy people, is hell-bent on making enough money and getting even with them. But that, says Yanka, can happen only if it rains money or if Bora kills a very rich person> Out in the jungle, Bora stumbles upon something that he decides to hide from Yanka on their way back. Yanka, though, finds Bora’s behaviour suspicious and confronts him about it. While Bora initially feigns ignorance, Yanka insists on seeing what he found and when he does, all hell breaks loose.

What ensues is a struggle for ownership, as both men fight tooth and nail to possess this mysterious precious item. Neither is willing to share the spoils, so how do they solve this impasse? Lohith’s film has only two actors and one setting and beautifully captures how quickly greed can ruin relationships. Until the very last shot, audiences are not even shown what the men have been fighting about. It is only at the very end that we finally see what Bora had found. Who will enjoy the spoils eventually?

The story, according to a post-credit scene, was inspired by a 2018 real-life incident in which a faulty hatch of a Russian aeroplane resulted in tonnes of gold bars being strewn across Siberia. While most of the gold had fallen at the airport, as the fault occurred during takeoff, much of the spilled cargo was recovered immediately.

Produced by Srikanth Studios & Dream Bird Productions, Naradhama stars Ajay Ninasam and Mohan Sheni. Music and background score is by Ritvik Muralidhar, while Nitin Anjanjappa handled cinematography.