Sawar Ramachandran, a jawan with a clean record, has opened fire on two officers, killing one and wounding the other. The case looks open and shut, and the army wants a quick verdict. Captain Vikas Roy, the lawyer assigned to defend him, refuses to accept that the facts end there, and as witness after witness takes the stand, a story of humiliation, caste prejudice and abuse of rank inside the unit slowly comes out. Melvilasom ("address" in Malayalam) is adapted from Swadesh Deepak's celebrated Hindi play Court Martial and was the debut of director Madhav Ramadasan. Almost the entire film unfolds inside a single courtroom, so it rests on dialogue and performances: Suresh Gopi in a restrained role as the defence counsel, and Tamil actor-director Parthiban as the silent, wounded accused. It drew strong praise from critics for its performances and its unflinching look at prejudice in the ranks.
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