Banaras, as the name suggests, is set mainly against the holy city of Banaras and tells the story of a young man named Hari, who travels there from Kerala with a purpose. Hari (Vineeth) is in love with Devu (Navya Nair), who also happens to be his cousin.They have the blessings of their elders to do research on folk arts at the Banaras Hindu University. But he has another purpose too -Banaras is his mother’s native-place. His father Balakrishnan Nair (Devan) had been teaching at the BHU years back and it was in Banaras that Balakrishnan Nair had met Rukmini, with whom he had fallen in love and later married. But Rukmini died and then Balakrishnan Nair left Banaras with Hari, who was just a child.
While tracing links to the past, Hari comes face-to-face with some startling revelations, especially regarding his mother’s death. And at the University, Hari happens to meet Amritha (Kavya Madhavan), who is doing her post-graduation in classical dance. This also brings new twists to Hari’s life.

Technical Expertise
Banaras is a mix of love, songs, dance, drama and a bit of action, blended in a judicious manner. Vineeth, Kavya Madhavan and Navya Nair fit perfectly into their respective roles. Devan, Nedumudi Venu, Harisri Ashokan etc. are all good. Suraj Venjaramoodu, put in obviously for the sake of comedy, doesn’t make you laugh as he delivers stale stuff. Suresh Krishna, as the villain, is just about okay.
Of the songs, Koovaram kili paithale and Sivagange stand out. Cinematography by P. Sukumar is good. Art-direction by the director himself is one of the highlights of the movie. The background score by Ousepachan is decent. Despite all these, there are things that go against the film - it doesn’t offer anything spectacular and hence may not attract you to the theatres. And since it is released along with the bigger movies, it may not fare too well at the box-office.
Verdict
Two stars for the steady flow and rather competent direction.