Spirit (2012 film)

Spirit
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ranjith
Produced by	Antony Perumbavoor
Written by	Ranjith
Starring	Mohanlal Kaniha Shankar Ramakrishnan Madhu Lena Nandhu Kalpana Thilakan
Narrated by	Siddique Ranjith
Music by	Shahabaz Aman
Cinematography	Venu
Edited by	Sandeep Nandakumar
Production company	Aashirvad Cinemas
Distributed by	Maxlab Entertainments
Release date	14 June 2012 (2012-06-14)
Running time	145 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Spirit is a 2012 Malayalam satirical film written and directed by Ranjith. The film primarily focuses on the increasing habits of alcoholism in Kerala. It stars Mohanlal in the lead roles while Kaniha, Shankar Ramakrishnan, Madhu, Lena Abhilash, Nandu, Kalpana and Thilakan play notable supporting roles. The film released on 14 June to overwhelming positive critical reviews. It completed 100 days of theatrical run in Kerala which was a major success at the box office.

According to the director, "The movie does not, in any way, advocate or proscribe alcohol. Spirit discusses the subject and examines what happens when a person, however intelligent, falls prey to an addiction, any addiction for that matter."

Raghunandan is an ex-Bank of England employee who resigned his lucrative job because he was bored with the rather sedentary and mundane nature of his work. Having lived in different parts of the world as a bank employee, he chose journalism as his next career and worked in different cities in India. He now works for a TV news channel as an interviewer in a popular show named "Show the Spirit". In the meantime, he is in the process of writing an English novel too. He is essentially a loner but is a compulsive alcoholic and has an expensive collection of vintage drinks at home.

It was his excessive drinking that resulted in his divorce some years back, but he shares a healthy friendship with his ex-wife Meera and her current husband Alexy. The couple has custody of Raghunandan's and Meera’s son Aditya a.k.a. Sunny, who is deaf and mute. Captain Nambiar is jovial his next door neighbour. Raghunandan, however, is not really bothered about relationships, friendships or the norms of society and prefers to live life on his own terms. He rubs off some powerful politicians, who come to his TV show threatening dire consequences and offering bribes, the wrong way and doesn't regret it.

Raghunandan's fatal addiction towards alcohol takes a heavy toll on his personal and professional life. However, good sense dawns, albeit late, when he comes across a man who is worse than him because of his drinking problem. That is plumber Mani who is so drunk that he cannot distinguish between what is real and unreal. His character manifests all the worst characteristics of an alcoholic, including abusing his wife. Mani changes everything, bringing some meaning to Raghunandan's life.