Manthan

The strife between good and evil which began since time immemorial continues to this day. Samudra Manthan literally means: The Churning of the Ocean. Our Consciousness represents the Ocean or the Samudra. And the process of churning is the emotional course that one goes through while one experiences the difficulties & pleasures that life brings.

‘Manthan’ represents the emotional endeavor of a person to achieve self-realisation, while handling a variety of relationships.

‘Manthan’ symbolises the emotional turbulences that have to be coped up with, while going through a journey named ‘life’.

‘Manthan’ stands for the emotional upheavels which have to be tackled, when traversing a path called ‘life’.

‘Manthan’, the outcome of which is the emotional development of any individual as he progresses towards his destination, taking in stride what life has to offer.

‘Manthan’ is the story of four women, who belong to different generations, grandmother Yashoda, daughters Sumati & Nandini and grand-daughter Shruti.

Yashoda, Sumati and Shruti strive hard, with smiles on their faces, to keep the hearth burning. The man of the house, Sumati’s husband, Krishna, is unemployed, extremely selfish, and constantly bankrupt due to gambling, alcohol & such other addictions. He continuously and shamelessly demands money from his wife and daughter. Sumati is employed in the Income Tax Office, while Shruti teaches in a college. In spite of knowing his negative attributes very well, the two unwillingly try to satiate his greed to the best of their abilities. If they don’t, he procures money from them anyway.

Yahoda sometimes works at the residence of Ramchandrarao as domestic help. She has given her earnings for safeguarding with him. She is saving for Shruti’s marriage.

Son Yogesh’s marriage is the cause of worry of Ramchandrarao’s wife Sunanda. She proposes a match for Shruti to Yashoda, who refuses bluntly.

Yashoda’s younger daughter Nandini, who holds a high position in the Civil Services, gets herself transferred to this area. On arrival, she initially visits her village and goes to the school teacher to meet her childhood friend Aditi. She is grieved to know about her death from her daughter Kshama, who is suppressed by her own grandfather. Kshama begs of Nandini to take her along with her.

Sumati’s son Suresh stays with his wife Swati separately. Swati, a spendthrift, hails from a well to do family and is now pregnant. She desires to buy a new house. Suresh-Swati expect Sumati to help them financially. The couple asks Sumati to mortgage her house and take a loan against it.

Krishna has taken a huge amount as loan from Ramchandrarao’s Finance Corporation. Yogesh insists on recovery. Krishna stoops to the level of selling his wife’s scooter by forging signatures. As a result, Sumati develops a sense of insecurity, as far as keeping the legal documents of the house at home is concerned.

Suresh convinced by his wife, uses various means & tries desperately to mortgage Sumati’s residence for money. Finally, Sumati gives in to their coaxing. They take a loan from the Finance Corporation against the house.

Yogesh cheats his own father in matters of money. They disagree, sometimes even fight, regarding his method of recovering loans. Yogesh’s health is a matter of concern.

Nandini is despondent. She has started losing faith in her relationship with her husband. She is away from him to give themselves space for betterment of their relationship. She is yet not ready to forgive her mother at any cost. Sumati maintains a distance from Nandini due to her husband’s reputation. Nandini humiliates a contractor by refusing to accept his gift. She is considered to be a tough officer. But lonely!

Will Nandini get together with her husband and find happiness…?

Will Krishna ever improve his ways and stop being a burden…?

Will Yashoda be able to lead the rest of her life peacefully…?

Will Suresh be able to take on responsibilities on his own…?

Will Shruti dream for herself and fulfill her goals finally…?

Will Sumati be able to ever live life on her own terms…?

The struggle of Yashoda, Sumati, Nandini and Shruti continues…they march ahead and life goes on…