Joker (2000)

A small travelling circus moves from town to town in Kerala, struggling to survive as audiences drift away. Dileep plays its clown, the man whose antics make children and adults laugh every night, but behind the painted face he carries loneliness, unspoken love and the worries of a world that is slowly ending. When a young woman joins the troupe and a new arrival brings conflict, the circus family is tested. A. K. Lohithadas, one of Malayalam cinema's finest writers, made this a gentle, bittersweet portrait of circus life and of the people who give others joy. Dileep showed his range in one of his more serious early roles, and the veteran comedian Bahadoor appeared in one of his last films. Mohan Sithara's songs were well liked.