The film interprets a story from the Uttara Kanda of the epic poem Ramayana, where Rama sends his wife, Sita, to the jungle to satisfy his subjects.

The film features an original score by classical musician Rajeev Taranath, cinematography by cinematographer-turned-director Shaji N. Karun, editing by Ramesan, and art direction by Artist Namboothiri.

Their argument almost culminates in a physical fight, but nature intervenes; the skies open and a cooling rain pours down upon them.

Just then Rama receives the news that Shambuka has resumed his penance, and Lakshmana is despatched to slay the erring shudra.

The film ends with an epilogue depicting Rama's last journey, the Mahaprasthana, as he walks into the river with fire in his hand and becomes one with Sita, the all-pervading nature.

Towards the end of the film, this mood prevails – Rama walks into the Sarayu river with the sacrificial fire, bearing everything, including his loneliness, calling out for Sita ... and disappears into the depths of the waters, carrying the sacrificial fire with him into the river is not in Ramayana – it is an interpretation.

[8] A written commentary that throws light on Aravindan's interpretation of the play precedes his film proper.

"[8] The scroll explains that the film will try to reflect what it calls the epic's adi-sankalpam (original conception) of the theme and the protagonists.

Ezhuthachan's Adhyathma Ramayana, one of the first Malayalam poems, also views Rama as Purusha and Sita as Prakriti.

[9] The title alludes to the golden image of Sita that Rama sets by his side while he performs the Ashvamedha yaga.

[10] Malayalam playwright C. N. Sreekantan Nair wrote his magnum opus play Kanchana Sita in 1961.

A reworking of Ramayana, the play is about the tragedy of power and the sacrifices demanded by adherence to dharma, including abandoning a chaste wife.

[13] Nair rewrote the final section of Valmiki's Ramayana as a critique of brahminical privilege and political repression.

[5] Using Nair's play only a starting point, Aravindan transformed the script according to his interpretation of Indian philosophy and his minimalist aesthetic.

When the emotions of Sita like pain, sadness, joy, and equanimity are manifested through the moods of Prakriti, dialogue becomes redundant.

[15] The film significantly differs from all other adaptations of Ramayana in the characterisation of the central characters, including Rama and Lakshmana.

In an interview, Aravindan stated, "Our sculptures are large in size and exude strength and vitality, which is absent in murals.

[19] Aravindan's idea was not to use conventional actors, but to find people who had reached the state of awareness that the role required.

The credited cast of the film includes Ramdas, Venkateswarlu, Chinna Pulliah, Kesava Panicker, Krishnan, Pottiah, Rangiah, Siva, Sobha Kiran, and Annapurna.

[23] Communication with the actors was carried out with the help of Manmohan Dutt, painter and lecturer at the College of Fine Arts, Hyderabad.

Dutt also accompanied Aravindan and his associate, journalist and filmmaker Chintha Ravi, on a preliminary trip to Andhra Pradesh to finalise the locations.

[25] Aravindan abandoned the typical alternation in setting of mythological films and dance dramas, including Sreekantan Nair's play, by moving Rama's story into the landscape Adivasis, imagining Ayodhya in the forest.

[26] Aravindan identified locations 160 kilometres (99 mi) away from Rajahmundry, along the expanse of Godavari river and its ribbed red earth banks.

For instance, a rare and unexpected early morning mist on the banks of Godavari made the whole scene ethereal.

[17] Scholar V. Rajakrishnan noted that Aravindan had not fully considered the implications of locating Rama's story in an Adivasi community.

Rajakrishnan pointed out that the rigid economy of expression and the subdued acting styles, which appear to render all dialogue artificial, reduce the element of human drama that is so prominent in Sreekantan Nair's play.

[33] The Hindu critic Sashi Kumar stated, "In the film, Aravindan synthesises into a consummate whole his marginality principle and his anthropomorphic contemplation of nature.

"[19] Vidyarthy Chatterjee of The Economic Times said, "Visually stunning in many passages and using sound in such a manner as to make for heightened aesthetic pleasure, Kanchana Sita is a milestone that has unfortunately been bypassed by many who would have done better to focus on its innovative elements".

[29] Yves Thoraval said, "Kanchana Sita is a visually dazzling film illustrating this long mythological episode potentially rich in dialogue but of which G. Aravindan has chosen to make a non-realist, virtually silent and contemplative film by calling up a tribal population to portray the mythological characters".

[34] The National Film Award for Best Direction was given to Aravindan for "the film's courageous and uncompromising exploration of an ancient epic theme through a pronouncedly new cinematic language, for making the camera speak more eloquently than the introspective characters of the Ramayana, for projecting against the vast backdrop of nature, for matching profound philosophical ideas with astonishing evocations of the beauties of the physical world".