The film is an esoteric fantasy about a girl and her passion for a Gandharva, who keeps appearing from a wooden statue that she found on a beach but is invisible to others.

[2] During the time of its release, it was a box office failure, with purists taking offense to the aesthetically shot intimate scenes.

[3] The challenges faced during the production of the movie and director Padmarajan's untimely death just after the release contributed heavily to the 'Gandharva curse', a superstition that films made about Gandharvas brings bad luck to the ones involved.

Gandharvas, according to Hindu mythology, are celestial musicians and Soma providers in Devaloka, and are destined to entertain devas and lords.

When gandharvas commit crimes, they are cursed to roam the earth for several kalpas, inhabiting Paala trees, seducing mortal women and stealing their virginity before abandoning them.

Bhama asks Devan if he would ever desert her, to which he replies that he is just a slave of Lord Indra and has no power to remember the past once he leaves the earth.

A voice speaks to Devan from the fallen branch of the Paala tree, whose sap starts to bring forth blood, warning him that he has broken the laws of Devaloka and that he is to be punished for his crimes by Chitraradhan, who is the king of the celestial city of the gandharvas.

While gandharva is not supposed to come in daylight and is not permitted to meet human beings other than his lover, Devan had broken the law by appearing in public and singing songs for others.

Lord Brahma also warns him that the harsh punishments of Indra, lord of the devas, await him in Naraka (hell), including having to embrace and sleep with molten hot female figurines, each one representing a moment he spends with Bhama that night, among other tortures in hells filled with snakes, poisoned spears and floors slipping with blood.

She also wants to give up her virginity to him, for although Devan's memories are her most valued possession, she wants to sacrifice them in order to save him and to not have to bear the continued perception of his cruel tortures which would otherwise haunt her throughout her life.

[5] K. S. Chithra won the Kerala State Award in 1990 for Best Female Playback Singer for the song "Palapoove" [6] Later on, the movie achieved cult status and is now widely appreciated for its theme,direction, portrayal of romance, aesthetic value and use of music.Film critic Kozhikodan included the film on his list of the 10 best Malayalam movies of all time.