It stars I M Vijayan, a leading Indian football player of modern times, M G Shashi, Seema Biswas and K P A C Lalitha.
According to the citation of the Award Jury: 'Shantham addresses the very contemporary issue of political rivalry and violence in our society in an unusually imaginative way.
He was overcome by guilt and remorse for his actions as Narayani (K P A C Lalitha), his friend's mother, tries to hold herself together while she arranges for her son's funeral.
A horrorstruck Narayani rushes to Velayudhan's exile and pleads him to run for his life, but he takes a knife to protect himself from any danger that may befall him.
The final scene shows a group of grief-stricken mothers running towards the armed men, shouting at them to retract from the sin they are about to do.
The final shot shows a gentle dragonfly resting on the very sword that is about to draw blood, emphasizing the very theme of the plot.