The second phase depicts his taking over as the Congress Chief Minister of the state, the reforms he tries to bring in, especially in education, his largesse and his bending the rules for a good cause-like for the urgent eye-operation of a kid.

It also displayed his sense of humour (like his response when his mother in the village sends word that she needed a fan and a blanket), his refusal to take advantage of his position (asking for the newly installed tap to be removed from his village-house).

The closing scene (taken from the record files of the actual funeral), show swarms of humanity mourning the death of their beloved leader.

Richard Madhuram, a retired duty manager (Indian Airlines), was selected for the film after Charuhasan had spotted him and recommended him to the director as a lookalike of the political leader in 1995.

[2] The film gained positive reviews prior to release, with a critic from Sify.com noting that it was a "class act" and that "Balakrishnan has been faithful to the subject and has come out with a mature form of cinema.