“Ivan Megharoopan” is the portrayal of a wayward genius who lived life the way he wanted to, causing pain and agony to those around him. The story is based on the lifeand death of the great poet P.Kunhiraman Nair, but it is not a biography. It is a fictionalized version of the poet’s life. The character in the film, played by Prakash Bare, is KP Madhavan Nairwho was born in a noble family and was a child prodigy. He started writing poems from a veryyoung age but his philandering ways and lack of commitment in any relationship made him jump from one woman to another without any fulfillment. His first love Janaki gives way to poetess Saraswathi whose talents made Madhavan Nair uneasy. Soon he was away looking for other conquests but nowhere was he able to build a relationship. P Balachandran shows where his sympathies lay while portraying the tragic hero whose fall from grace is documented in a poignant manner. The director has taken care to project the extraordinarily gifted poet and through all the dirt and filth that are associated with the poet, he emerges in the end as an outstanding person whose failings could be forgiven. PrakashBare as the poet gives a magnificent performance, mixing the emotions of banter, sadness and romance and living the character in the film. Truly memorable indeed. Padmapriya, Shwetha Menon, Ramya Nambeesan and Anumol who enter the poet’s life at different times, have come off very well. Cinematography by Rajeev Ravi is absolutely fantastic and gives a surreal feeling of the world the poet lives in. Sharath has composed music of the highest standard which is not surprising, but here he has exceeded himself with some fantastic numbers, lifting the movie to a different zone. “Ivan Megharoopan” is the story of a giant of a man whose shadow lurks in the background even when not shown on the screen. It is the story of a man without a care in the world, a man who lived his life to the full and whose fame has not lost even a bit of glitter in the course of time. The film is engrossing, thought provoking and makes you heave a sigh of regret for the man whom we all start actually liking in the end. Verdict: Good