Set in the 1950s in [[Travancore]], the plot follows a lower-caste [[Kathakali]] artiste Kunjikuttan (Mohanlal). Subhadra (Suhasini), from an aristocratic family, sees him perform [[Arjuna]]. Lost between reality and fiction she falls in love with the character. Their relationship leads to the birth of a child, who is hidden away by Subhadra from Kunjikuttan for almost a lifetime.
The film premiered at the [[1999 Cannes Film Festival]] on 21 May 1999, where it was selected atin the ''[[Un Certain Regard]]'' section, and was theatrically released in France on 13 October 1999 and in India in January 2000. The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the [[American Film Institute]]'s 1999 [[AFI Fest]] (Los Angeles International Film Festival). It won the Special Prize of the Jury at the [[Istanbul International Film Festival]] and the [[FIPRESCI]] prize at the [[Mumbai International Film Festival]]. The film won three awards at the [[47th National Film Awards]] —[[National Film Award for Best Feature Film|Best Feature Film]], [[National Film Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] (Mohanlal), and [[National Film Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]] ([[A. Sreekar Prasad]]), and six awards at the 1999 [[Kerala State Film Awards]], including [[Kerala State Film Award for Best Director|Best Director]] and [[Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] (Mohanlal). In 2014, ''Vanaprastham'' was screened retrospective at the [[45th International Film Festival of India]] in the ''Celebrating Dance in Indian cinema'' section.
