Persons on both sides of a bloody political struggle search for grace and forgiveness in this emotional drama from India. Velayudhan (I.M. Vijayam) is a young man living in a nation torn apart by civil strife; in the midst of a raging street battle, he attacked his best friend, who was killed in the melee. Velayudhan is overcome by guilt and remorse for his actions as Narayani Chechi (K.P.A.C. Lalitha), his friend's mother, tries to hold herself together while she arranges her son's funeral. Velayudhan's mother Karthiyayani (Seema Biswas) goes to a temple and prays for her son's forgiveness in hopes that he will be spared in the oncoming violence, despite his violence and wrongdoing; there, she encounters Narayani, who is stricken with her own feelings of grief over the death of her child. Shantham was directed by noted Indian filmmaker Jayaraaj.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide