''Akashadoothu'' is a 1993 Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Sibi Malayil Sibi ( Sindhi: سيوي ur, ) is a city situated in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The city is the headquarters of the district and tehsil of the same name. Etymology The origin of the town's name is attributed to Rani Sewi, a Hindu la ...

and written by

Dennis Joseph Dennis Joseph (20 October 1957 – 10 May 2021) was an Indian scriptwriter and director known for his work in Malayalam films. He was active during the 1980s and early 1990s. He frequently collaborated with directors Joshi and Thambi Kannanthan ...

, with Madhavi and Murali in the lead roles. The film tells the tale of a woman suffering from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

. The plot of the film was inspired from the 1983 American film ''

Who Will Love My Children? ''Who Will Love My Children?'' is a 1983 American made-for-television biographical film based on the life of Lucile Fray. Lucile Fray was diagnosed with cancer in 1952 and wanted to find suitable homes for her ten children, since she felt her hu ...

''. The film was critically acclaimed and became a blockbuster and was the highest grossing Malayalam film at the time of release. The film ran for over 365 days in theatres. One of the most influential melodramas of the 1990s in Malayalam, the film won the

National Film Award for Best Film on Family Welfare The National Film Award for Best Film on Family Welfare is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several ...

. Madhavi won

Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress The Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress was an award presented annually from 1969 to 2014 at the Kerala State Film Awards of India. The Kerala State Film Awards is managed by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, an autonomous non-p ...

and

Filmfare Award for Best Actress The Filmfare Award for Best Actress is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Bollywood, Hindi films, to recognise the female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role. The award was first gi ...

. The film was remade in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

as ''

Matrudevobhava ''Matru Devo Bhava'' is a 1993 Telugu drama film written and directed by K. Ajay Kumar. The film won the National Film Award for Best Lyrics by Veturi for the song "Raalipoye Puvva" and Filmfare Best Film Award (Telugu). The film was dubbed in ...

'', in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

as ''

Karulina Koogu ''Karulina Koogu'' is a 1994 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed by D. Rajendra Babu and produced by vizag Raju. The film stars Prabhakar, Vinaya Prasad and Srinath. The film was widely popular for the songs composed and written by Ham ...

'', in

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

as ''Chimani Pakhare'' and in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

as ''

Tulsi ''Ocimum tenuiflorum'', commonly known as holy basil, ''tulsi'' or ''tulasi'', is an aromatic perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and widespread as a cultivated plant throughout the Southeast Asian ...

''. A serial on Surya TV with the same name ''Akashadoothu'' was made as a sequel to the film. The film achieved

cult status A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

in the years following its release and regarded as one of the best emotional drama films in Malayalam cinema.

Plot

The story revolves around Johnny and Annie, a married couple who had both grown up together in an orphanage. They fell in love and got married. The couple have four children; the eldest being a teenage girl named Meenu, twin boys Rony and Tony, and the youngest Monu, a toddler. Rony and Tony are about 8 years old and are very close to each other. Rony is physically handicapped. Johnny is a jeep driver by profession and Annie a violin teacher. Though the family struggles to live and make ends meet, they lead a happy life together, except for the moments when Johnny, a recurrent alcoholic spends most of his daily earnings at the local toddy shop. During an altercation between Johnny and the local milk delivery man Keshavan, the latter is humiliated in front of his family. Keshavan therefore decides to take revenge on Johnny. One day, he sees Johnny's son Tony riding a bicycle on his way home. Keshavan increases the speed of the van he is driving and knocks Tony off the road. Some bystanders bring the injured Tony to the hospital. Despite being in a not so critical condition, Tony has lost a lot of blood and requires blood transfusion. While looking for suitable donors, it is discovered that Annie's blood sample has some abnormal characteristics and she cannot donate her blood. After further analysis, it is revealed that Annie is suffering from a late stage of

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

and that she only has a couple of months to a year to live. The news shocks both Johnny and Annie. Johnny reforms from his alcoholic demeanor and becomes more responsible. However, as fate takes a turn, one day when Johnny is on his way home with medicine for Annie, he gets into a fight with Keshavan and is killed. Annie is devastated but remains strong willed to take care of the family. She deeply worries about the future of her children. She does not want her children to grow up in an orphanage like she and Johnny did, growing up with the label as orphans. She decides to give her children up for adoption. She lies to her kids that the money she gets out of her classes is not sufficient for them to live and therefore she is going to Germany very soon, so they have to go to new houses and there will be new parents to love and take care of them. By now Meenu has come to know about her mother's condition and asks her about it. Annie is totally broken down. Both of them keeps this a secret between them. Annie, with the help of the priest of their church – Father Vattappara – makes arrangements for the adoption of the kids. Monu is adopted by a leading Doctor. Annie wishes that both her boys Rony and Tony live together forever and hence expects a couple to adopt both of them. But they find it difficult to get people ready to accept the disabled boy. Finally, Annie decides to give Tony to a wealthy businessman and his wife. Meenu decides not to go to a new house and be with her Mum, but Annie and Father Vattappara convince her for the same. She is taken by a rich old man and his wife to their home. The only one left is Rony, the handicapped child. Annie and father Vattappara try hard to find someone to take care of him. Mean time Annie's doctor give her a hint that days are counted for her. She wishes to celebrate Christmas at her home with her kids and makes arrangements for it. She writes a letter to Meenu asking her to always keep in touch with her brothers so that the bond between the siblings remains forever. On the day before Christmas, Annie dreams that all her children have come to see her. She wakes up and happily runs to the door, only to realize that was a dream. She starts bleeding from her nose and understands that there isn't much time left for her, she prays in front of the

Crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

begging for a day more to live so that she can see her kids for the last time. She finds real blood flowing from the wounds of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

in the Cross and realizes that death has come for her. Later that night Rony finds her dead. At her funeral, all her children and their newly adopted parents are there and after she is buried, the children and their families tearfully part ways, except for Rony who is about to be taken by Father Vattappara to the orphanage. The movie ends with Tony's adopted parents coming back, and Tony jumps out of the car and runs to Rony and the two embracing each other, as Tony's adopted father was moved during the farewell and agreed to take in Rony as well.

Cast

* Madhavi as Annie * Murali as Johnny * Seena Antony as Meenu * Ben K Alexander as Monu * Martin Korah as Rony * Joseph Antony as Tony *

Kuthiravattam Pappu Padmadalakshan, better known by his stage name Kuthiravattam Pappu (24 December 1936 – 25 February 2000), was a popular Indian stage and film actor. His repertoire of acting was based on his unique style and use of the '' Kozhikodan'' dialect, ...

as Chaandy * Prem Prakash as Doctor * Subair as Dr.David *

Nedumudi Venu Kesavan Venugopal (22 May 1948 – 11 October 2021), better known by his stage name Nedumudi Venu, was an Indian actor and screenwriter from Kerala, who predominantly worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 500 films, primarily in Ma ...

as Fr.Vattappara *

Jagathy Sreekumar Sreekumar P. K. (born 5 January 1951), better known by his stage name Jagathy Sreekumar or simply Jagathy, is an Indian actor, director and playback singer, who has appeared in over 1500 Malayalam films in a career spanning almost four decades ...

as Chemmachen *

Jose Prakash Jose Prakash (14 April 1925 – 24 March 2012) was an Indian actor and singer who worked in Malayalam cinema. He was a singer turned actor who had appeared in more than 300 films mostly in antagonist roles. He was awarded with the J. C. Daniel ...

as Father * Aaranmulla Ponnamma as Annaamma * Thikkurissy *

Suvarna Mathew Suvarna Mathew is an Indian actress in South Indian movies. She was a prominent lead actress during the 1990s in Malayalam and Kannada films. She had acted in few Tamil, Telugu and Hindi movies as well. She has acted with Vishnuvardhan in '' K ...

as Mini *

KPAC Lalitha Maheshwari Amma, better known by her stage name K. P. A. C. Lalitha, was an Indian film and stage actress who worked primarily in Malyalam. She started her acting career with K. P. A. C., a theatre collective in Kayamkulam, Kerala. In a care ...

as Annaamma's sister *

N. F. Varghese Nadakkaparambil Francis Varghese (6 January 1950 – 19 June 2002) was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam film industry. He began his career as a mimicry artist in Kalabhavan, acting in minor roles, but later he turned to strong villain r ...

as Paalkkaran (Milkman) Keshavan *

Jose Pellissery Jose Pellissery (1950 – 5 December 2004) was an Indian film and theatre actor. Biography As an actor in Malayalam cinema, he played supporting roles in about 100 films. His 15-year film career included roles in such movies as ''Aadhaaram'', ...

as Vargese *

Bindu Panicker Bindu Panicker is an Indian actress who has more than 200 films to her credit. She has played both comedy and character roles in Malayalam cinema. She won the Kerala State Film Award for the best supporting actress in 2001 for Soothradharan. Sh ...

as Marikungu *

Indrans Indrans is an Indian actor and former costume designer, who appears in Malayalam films.His mentor was Shiyas M S, a law college student. He started his film career as a costume designer and actor in 1981 and got a breakthrough in 1994 with the ...

as Driver

Awards

;

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

* Best Film on Family Welfare ; Kerala State Film Awards * Second Best Actress: Madhavi * Best Singer: K. J. Yesudas * Best Child Artist: Seena Antony ;

Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...

* Best Malayalam Actress: Madhavi

Casting

Geetha was initially approached to play the lead female role. She rejected the role citing date conflicts and eventually Madhavi was finalized for the role.

Sequel serial

As a sequel to the movie, a serial with the same name started on 24 October 2011 on Surya TV. Chippi played the character of Madhavi's daughter named 'Meenu'. Apart from her, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Sukumari,

Prem Prakash Cheriyan Joseph, popularly known as Prem Prakash is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam television serials and a renowned producer in Malayalam movies. He is mainly known for supporting roles and character roles. He has produce ...

Seema G. Nair Seema G. Nair (born 21 May 1968) is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films and Malayalam Television, TV series. She has won the Kerala state television award for best actress in 2014 for the telefilm ''Moksham''. Biography Both Nair a ...

played the lead roles. The song in the film 'Raapaadee Kezhunnuvo...' was used as the title song of the serial with the film clips as visuals. The story of the serial revolves around the reunion of the 4 siblings (Meenu, Ronnie, Tony & Monu). Also, they showed

in a special appearance on 25 Jan 2012, 26 Jan 2012 and, 17 Feb 2012. The serial ended on 4 October 2013 with a total of 501 episodes. The serial was produced by Chippi. ; Cast *

Chippy Renjith Chippy Renjith (credited as Shilpa in Kannada films) is an Indian actress and producer who works in the South Indian film industry, primarily in Malayalam and Kannada films. She has won several allocades including the Filmfare Award for Best A ...

* K. P. A. C. Lalitha * Sukumari *

Shiju Shiju Abdul Rasheed is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam and Telugu films. He is known by stage name Devi Shiju in Telugu films as he played a role in Kodi Ramakrishna's Devi. He has appeared in more than 50 films and several popular TV ...

*Vineeth *

Meera Krishna Meera Krishna is an Indian television actress known for her work in Malayalam and Tamil television soap operas in mother roles to supporting roles. Filmography *2003:Margam Margam is a suburb and community of Port Talbot in the Welsh coun ...

*Sharika Menon *Vishnu Prakash * Raghavan *

Rajesh Hebbar K. Rajesh Hebbar (born 18 November 1967) is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam film and television industry. He was also the lead vocalist of a rock band named Primitive Knights. Biography Hebbar was born in an Udupi Brahmi ...

*Aadithyan Jayan *

Anil Murali Anil Murali (12 April 1964 – 30 July 2020) was an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 200 films. He started out in the film industry as a villain before later taking on character roles. He died on 30 July 2020, as a re ...

* Ambika Mohan *

Priyanka Nair Priyanka Nair is an Indian model-turned-actress who predominantly works in Malayalam film industry. She made her debut in the Tamil film ''Veyyil'' in 2006. She gained critical acclaim for her roles in '' Bhoomi Malayalam'', ''Vilapangalkappura ...

* Seema *Geetha Nair *Manju Satheesh *Vishnu Prakash *Suresh Kumar * J. Pallassery *Sonia *

Vanitha Krishnachandran Vanitha Krishnachandran is an Indian film and television actress. She acted during the 1980s in nearly 170 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films along with several Malayalam and Tamil Television serials. Personal life Vanitha was ...

*Archana Menon

Box office

The film was both commercial and critical success.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film features 4 songs, written by

O. N. V. Kurup Ottaplakkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup (known as O. N. V. Kurup; 27 May 1931 – 13 February 2016) was a Malayalam poet and lyricist from Kerala, India, who won the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary award in India for the year 2007. He receive ...

and composed by

Ouseppachan Mechery Louis Ouseppachan (born 13 September 1955), known mononymously as Ouseppachan, is an Indian film composer and singer who primarily works in Malayalam films. He is a recipient of National Film Award, Filmfare Award and Kerala State ...

References

External links

* {{Dennis Joseph 1990s Malayalam-language films Films scored by Ouseppachan Indian films about cancer Malayalam films remade in other languages Films directed by Sibi Malayil Indian drama films Indian family films Films with screenplays by Dennis Joseph Best Film on Family Welfare National Film Award winners 1993 drama films 1993 films