Just like in ‘Hridayapoorvam’, Ashok’s life too underwent many changes after he began living with Vishnu’s heart

Loved ones are on a train journey together. It is a beautiful trip, filled with laughter and joy. In the midst of it, the TTE enters the compartment. Pointing to one among them, he says: “Your ticket ends here. You must get down at the next station.”

This is how Mohanlal’s character, Sandeep Balakrishnan, speaks in Sathyan Anthikad’s latest film Hridayapoorvam. The film symbolically conveys the unexpected full stops and semicolons that interrupt life’s joyous rides.

In Sandeep Balakrishnan, one can see shades of the many characters Mohanlal has brought alive on screen that continue to linger in the nostalgic memories of Malayalis. The humour, the reflections, the ability to embrace challenges with ease, the way he turns mistakes into celebrations, the charm that entertains those around him, the smile that never fades even in adversity and the strength he shows when needed — all these hallmarks of Mohanlal resurface in Sandeep. As Sandeep Balakrishnan, Mohanlal lights up the theatres with the vigour of eternal youth.

The theme of the film is deeply emotional. Sandeep, whose heart has failed, carries within him the transplanted heart of another. Initially, for him, it is a purely scientific exchange. But soon, his perception begins to change. The moment the daughter of the man whose heart beats inside him comes searching, that heart begins to converse with Sandeep. Gradually, it regains its rhythm in the new body.

Like moonlight flowing across both banks of a river, love begins to build a bridge between Sandeep and the past life of the heart within him. In Pune, Sandeep steps into the same coffee shop where Colonel Ravindranath used to relish vada pav without fail. There he meets one of the Colonel’s closest friends. Later, when Sandeep has to stay for a while with the Colonel’s family, he realises that his own tastes are changing.

Owner of a cloud kitchen, Sandeep has always loved cooking and flavours. Yet, in his earlier life he never tasted mutton. He would avoid it at the dining table, dismissing it as “goat meat”. But at the Colonel’s home, he finds himself savouring mutton again and again. From the family, he learns that it was the Colonel’s favourite dish.

Whether in cinema or in life, a heart transplant is purely a medical procedure. But life often weaves its own beliefs and mysteries into such exchanges.

Outside the world of cinema, too, real life bears witness to such stories. Ashok V Nair, a native of Pathanamthitta, carries within him such a tale.
 

The heart of Vishnu, son of Sajana and Shaji of Poovelil House, Sreekandapuram in Kannur, now beats inside Ashok, keeping him alive. Ashok’s heart had failed, and in a tragic accident, Vishnu suffered brain death. His heart gave Ashok new life. From that moment, Vishnu’s family became Ashok’s own.

On his way to Kozhikode for routine check-ups, Ashok never fails to visit them. Today, only Vishnu’s father and sister remain in that home. His mother Sajana, who had cancer, passed away on April 30, 2024. It was Ashok who lit her funeral pyre, standing as her son, sending her off from this world. Through the heart that gave him life, Ashok gained a father, a mother and a sister.

“They are my family. There isn’t a single moment in life when I don’t think of them. It is impossible to remember Vishnu without sorrow. A young man who left this earth before he could truly live. His heart beats inside me. From the day I received Vishnu’s heart, his parents and sister in Kannur became mine. Today, his mother is no more. His father and sister remain there. Each morning I wake thinking of them. I long to see them, to at least hear their voices over the phone. Whenever I travel to Kozhikode for my check-ups, I go to them. Each time they receive me like a son returning from a long journey. His father embraces me, as though listening to the heartbeat of his own child.”

“I believe my life has changed in many ways since I began living with Vishnu’s heart. A newfound liking for tea, a craving for ice cream and cakes, the sudden flare of temper — I think all of these came along with it,” Ashok reflects.

Having overcome the struggles of the surgery’s early days, Ashok has returned to a normal life. Beyond the financial hardships of surgery and ongoing treatment, what truly sustains him is the quiet joy of knowing that somewhere out there he has a father and a sister.

Sometimes, life is just like this. It surprises us like a story.