Snehaseema (1954)

Johnny (Sathyan), raised by a priest, marries Omana (Padmini) against her father’s wishes. To escape unpleasantness, he quits his teaching job and joins the army and is reported killed at the front. Omana is forced by her father to marry Baby (Nair), a doctor. When Johnny returns and finds her remarried he commits suicide, and she follows suit. Writer Varkey, noted in his writings for his attacks on the Church and the orthodoxy it represents in Kerala, loosely adapted Tennyson’s Enoch Arden for this love tragedy set amid the Christian community in Kerala. Made at the Vauhini Studios and at Star Combines, the film developed a reputation and enduring appeal mainly for its claim to secular credentials.