Aakali Rajyam

What an excellent depiction of struggling with india's anti-liberal economy with the overly rigid socialistic structure paving way only for bureaucracy and making it extremely difficult to just survive even for the most highly educated. The constant theme is the protagonist not losing his self respect which stands above even any chance at making a living. This film resonated with me big time, being someone with an enhanced sense of self and a big time telugu literature fan. I really appreciate them highlighting the dignity of labour, which I so highly believe in. Even when the whole world is against you, you can still live with dignity, do honest work, eat and sleep. P.S. kamal hassan, being a tamilian playing a well read telugu man, in the 80s, no less, blows my mind. What an actor, what a man. The entire cast and crew, especially the ones who played his friends, and the different routes they took on this ruthless path to survival were excellent. And sridevi's empathisizing act was so very natural and had a poetic quality.