Author | M. T. Vasudevan Nair |
---|---|
Original title | രണ്ടാമൂഴം |
Illustrator | Namboothiri (First edition) |
Cover artist | Vinaylal (First edition) |
Language | Malayalam |
Genre | Mythology, drama, historical fiction |
Set in | Ancient India |
Publisher | Current Books |
Publication date | December 1984 |
Publication place | India |
Media type | Print (Paperback) |
Pages | 300[1] |
Awards | Vayalar Award, Muttathu Varkey Award |
ISBN | 81-226-0731-4 |
Randamoozham (English: The Second Turn) is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language mythological drama novel written by the Indian author M. T. Vasudevan Nair, widely credited as his masterpiece.[2] The work won the Vayalar Award, given for the best literary work in Malayalam, in 1985.[3] It also won the Muttathu Varkey Award in 1994. The novel has been translated into multiple languages. It was translated into English as Second Turn by P. K. Ravindranath in 1997. Another English translation by Gita Krishnankutty published in 2013 is titled Bhima: Lone Warrior.[4][5]
The novel is a retelling of the Indian epic Mahabharata from the perspective of Bhima, the second Pandava. The story deviates from the traditional Mahabharata story as it avoids the divine elements of the ancient epic and re-represent the characters and events realistically. One of the reasons critics cite for the novel's cult following is its revisionism, that was a first in Malayalam literature. The book was translated into Tamil by Kurunjivelan as "Irandaam Idam" with the cover illustration by Trotsky Marudu.
A film adaptation starring Mohanlal was to be made and set to become India's most expensive film production of ₹1,000 crore (US$120 million) and the most expensive non-English-language film.[6] But the project has since been shelved.[citation needed]