In Vedham Puthithu (new Vedas), the focus is on the next generation's fight against
problems of caste, color, creed and superstition, which contribute to a stormy
situation in a Tamil village. Balu Devar, the headman, lives in one part of the
village. He is an atheist with a "golden heart". His son Shankarapadi is a graduate.
In another part of village lives Neelakanta Shastri (who teaches at the Vedic
school), with his daughter Vaidehi and son Sankaran. The flutter in the devotee
begins when Shankarapadi, a non-brahmin, and Vaidehi fall in love with each another.
On a day that the lovers meet at the local temple, the idol of goddess gets stolen, and to save Vaidehi's name from getting tarnished, Shankarapadi takes the blame. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Balu Devar promises to replace the stolen idol with a new one. Vaidehi confesses the truth to her father, who decides to get her married off quickly as a second wife to a fellow Brahmin. But Vaidehi has her own ideas - she fakes her death and disappears.
Soon Shankarapadi and Neelakanta Shastri confront one another at a nearby cliff, and accidentally fall off the cliff and die. Shankar, Vaidehi's young brother, is left alone with none to look after him. Balu Devar adopts him as his protégé. Vaidehi returns from her hiding, only to cause further consternation.
The man who was to marry her, Krishna Iyer, disappointed and humiliated, lets loose superstitious rumors that Vaidehi is an evil spirit who is responsible for the bad times in the village. Tempers mount and the villagers in a frenzy attack Balu Devar who is protecting Vaidehi and Shankar - and Devar is killed. It is a traumatic moment for all villagers, and they realize their folly. It is a moment of truth, too, and they feel the need for New Vedas.
Please contact Prakash Reddy of the Hyderabad Film Club at 373-0841/373-0265 for further details.
Tamil/1987/130min
Director/Screenplay: B Bharathi Rajaa
Cast: Sathyaraj, Saritha, Raja, Nizhaigal Ravi, Charuhasan, Amala, Master Dasarathi