Iruttinte Athmavu

Iruttinte Athmavu
Directed by P. Bhaskaran
Produced by P. I. Muhammed Kasim
Written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair
Starring Prem Nazir,
Sharada,
Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair,
P. J. Antony,
Ushakumari/Vennira Aadai Nirmala,
Kozhikode Shantha Devi,
Baby Rajani
Music by M. S. Baburaj
Cinematography E. N. Balakrishnan
Edited by G. Venkitaraman ,
Das
Production
company
Sony Pictures
Distributed by Bharath Pictures
Release dates
  • 2 March 1967 (1967-03-02)
Country India
Language Malayalam

Iruttinte Athmavu (Malayalam: ഇരുട്ടിന്റെ ആത്മാവ്, English: The Soul of Darkness) is a 1967 Malayalam film directed by P. Bhaskaran and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair based on his own story with the same name.[1] It stars Prem Nazir, Sharada, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, P. J. Antony, Ushakumari, Kozhikode Shantha Devi and Baby Rajani in important roles, and features music by M. S. Baburaj, cinematography by E. N. Balakrishnan and editing by G. Venkitaraman and Das.

The film is about a mentally retarded youth born into a matriarchal family who is forced to live as a mad man in chains and who is misunderstood and ill-treated by everyone except his uncle's daughter.[2] Prem Nazir played the mentally challenged Bhranthan Velayudhan, widely accepted to be an extra ordinary performance and one of the best in his career.[3][4][5] Nazir himself rated his role of Velayudhan in Iruttinte Athmavu and as the swashbuckling folk hero Thampan in Padayottam as his best.[6] Also, its script is regarded as one of the finest by M. T. Vasudevan Nair. A major landmark in Malayalam cinema, the film provided Malayalam cinema with a new direction; that of the low-budget film. The film has earned a dedicated cult following. It won the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues.[7][8] It missed the Best Film and Best Actor (Prem Nazir) award only narrowly.[9] Despite all the acclaim, the film was a box office failure.[10]

Plot

Velayudan's existence poses a problem to all the members of the joint family. Velayudhan is a twenty - year old man, but he has the intelligence of a child. The head of the joint family thinks Velayudan symbolizes the curse which hangs heavy over the house. To his mother he is source of constant sorrow. His uncle's daughter is his would be bride. He is attached to her. She is very kind to him and refuses to treat him as a mad man. Velayudan triggers problems one after the other and every new lapse help only to put fresh chains. He refuses to feel he is mad. In the end Ammukutty is given away in marriage to an old widower. Velayudhan surrenders himself and yells "Chain me I am mad!"

Cast

Soundtrack

The music was composed by MS Baburaj and lyrics was written by P. Bhaskaran.[14][15]

No. Song Singers Lyrics Length (m:ss)
1 Ambaadikannanu Mampazham S Janaki P. Bhaskaran
2 Eeranuduthukondambaram S Janaki P. Bhaskaran
3 Irukanneerthullikal S Janaki P. Bhaskaran
4 Vaakachaarthu Kazhinjoru S Janaki P. Bhaskaran

Writing

The film is scripted by M. T. Vasudevan Nair based on his own a short story with the same name. The screenplay is regarded as one of the finest by the noted writer.[16] One could see a lot of the pre-occupations of the scenarist, who carried the touches of human relationships through all of his subsequent films whether as screenplay writer or director.[16] A part of the screenplay of Iruttinte Athmavu is being taught in school classes while the complete screenplay is being taught at degree level.[17][18]

Legacy

The film provided Malayalam cinema with a new direction; that of the low-budget film.[19] In spite of its large number of studio shots and overall theatricality, the film was so culturally rich that many of the episodes would become archetypes for future Malayalam film makers dealing with family drama.[16]

References

  1. ↑ The Illustrated weekly of India. Volume 91. 1970. p. 19.
  2. ↑ Indian review of books. Acme Books. 1995. p. 30.
  3. ↑ P.K. Ajith Kumar (16 January 2009). "The evergreen hero". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  4. ↑ Indian newsmagazine. Volume 14. Link. 1972. p. 36.
  5. ↑ "A stalwart on the Malayalam screen" (PDF). The Hindu. 5 February 1989. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  6. ↑ India Today. Volume 14. Living Media India Pvt. Ltd. 1989. p. 46.
  7. ↑ T. M. Ramachandran (1971). Film world 7. p. 106.
  8. 1 2 Hameeduddin Mahmood (1974). The kaleidoscope of Indian cinema. Affiliated East-West Press. pp. 106, 146.
  9. ↑ Malayalam literary survey. Kerala Sahitya Akademi. 1982. p. 121.
  10. ↑ Amaresh Datta (2006). The Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature. p. 752.
  11. 1 2 Indian newsmagazine. Volume 9. Link. 1967. p. 38.
  12. ↑ India today. Volume 14. Living Media India Pvt. Ltd. 1989. p. 82.
  13. ↑ "Natural actor". The Hindu. 6 August 2007. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  14. ↑ "Iruttinte Aathmaavu". www.malayalachalachithram.com. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
  15. ↑ "Iruttinte Aathmaavu". malayalasangeetham.info. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
  16. 1 2 3 K.V.Ramankutty. "Collaborative Cinema of the Sixties". Keralahistory.ac.in. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  17. ↑ "Secondary Curriculam Initial Pages final". Central Board of Secondary Education. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  18. ↑ "The Department of Oriental Languages". Aquinas College, Edacochin. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  19. ↑ "Sixties: Collective Cinema". Public Relation Department, Government of Kerala. Retrieved 27 April 2011.

External links

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