The movie is set in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. The protagonist is a Coorg soldier who fights in World War II and in India's wars against China.
Plot
Achappa is a soldier from Madikeri who is injured while the Second World War is raging. In the hospital he meets an Army nurse who is also from Coorg. After the War both get married in Madikeri. Achappa goes back to the Army and his wife lives with her in-laws. She has Achappa's son but she becomes barren after giving birth. The son is named Viraj but Achappa hasn't seen him as he hasn't had a break from the Army. India becomes independent and partitioned. Achappa is stationed on India's border in Rajasthan. Meanwhile, Viraj is a couple of years old and Achappa longs to see him. So his wife and son travel to meet him. But then tension breaks between India and Pakistan along the border. Viraj becomes a casualty even before his father gets to see him. Achappa and Suhasini are aggrieved; she becomes an Army nurse again. Despite Suhasini's insistence, Achappa refuses to remarry for the sake of having another child. They remain faithful to each other and live like this as years pass by. Achappa becomes an Army Major, and he trains young army men in the Army institute of Dehradun. One day Achappa's aged parents from Mercara come to live with him. They have been kept in the dark about Viraj's death and so they long to see their grandchild. When they come to know the truth, Achappa's unwell mother can't bear the shock and she dies. Meanwhile, the Indo-China War breaks out and Achappa is sent to the border with his troop. Achappa and his troop are captured by the Chinese and tortured. But Achappa remains loyal and doesn't reveal what his Chinese interrogators want. In his troop is a young, promising soldier whom Achappa treats as his son. They manage to escape into the Indian border but are mortally wounded. Achappa dies there while his protégé dies in the army hospital. Achappa's corpse has a war hero's funeral honoured by the country, but Suhasini loses her sanity.
Theme
The title, meaning a string of pearls, stands for what Achappa promises his wife; every year he buys a pearl and gives it to her with the hope that one day she can make a necklace of it. She does get her pearl necklace complete only to have it broken at Achappa's funeral. The movie depicts how war affects a soldier's life and his family. The film opens with a scene where Hitler is shown giving a speech. The backdrop is the Second World War in which Achappa the soldier is abroad fighting. When his young son becomes a casualty in another war the mother buries him in the sand dunes while vultures hover overhead. While the soldier and his wife pass by the same spot the mother runs to uncover the corpse but Achappa stops her, hence the father never gets to see his son. The film ends with the funeral of the soldier at the time of the India-China War and his wife becoming insane. Skeletons riding horseback through darkness are shown at the start and the end of the movie. This is a metaphor for the ravages of war. The movie is not just a family saga but it depicts a larger dimension, it shows the devastating effects of war. Imperialists start war for their own greed but ultimately it is the people who suffer. Director Rajendra Singh Babu has conveyed a strong message - stop war.
Cast
Vishnuvardhan as Major Achappa
Suhasini Maniratnam as Annapurna
K. S. Ashwath as Achappa's father Retired Havaldar Belliyappa
Ramkumar as Mohan who is adopted by Achappa
Master Anand as Vira Raju-Son of Achappa & Anu
Prakash Raj as soldier
Sihi Kahi Chandru as barber in the army hospital
Soundtrack
composed the music for the film and the soundtracks, also writing the lyrics for all the soundtracks. The album has five soundtracks.
