''Adhwaytham'' () is a 1992 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 ...
-language
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...
thriller film
Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...
directed by
Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan (born 30 January 1957) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works predominantly in Malayalam and Hindi films, while also having done six films in Tamil and two films in Telugu. He has done about 31 films in Hi ...
and written by
T. Damodaran
T. Damodaran ( ml, ടി. ദാമോദരൻ; c. 1935 – 28 March 2012) was a screenwriter who predominantly worked in Malayalam cinema.
Life
Damodaran wrote the screenplays of films such as '' Angaadi'' (1980)'', Ahimsa'' (1981)'', John ...
. It stars
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeare ...
,
Jayaram
Jayaram Subramaniam, (born 10 December 1965) known mononymously as Jayaram, is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam,Tamil films, along with a few Telugu films. He is also a chenda percussionist, mimicry artist, and occasiona ...
,
Chithra
Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963), always credited as K. S. Chithra or Chithra, is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning over four decades, she has recorded over 25,000 songs in various I ...
,
Revathi
Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil & Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu, Hindi & Kannada films.
She has won several ...
,
Innocent
Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience.
In relation ...
, and
M. G. Soman
M. G. Soman (28 September 1941 – 12 December 1997) was an Indian actor and former Indian Air Force officer who appeared in Malayalam films. He was one among the leading star actors doing hero roles in Malayalam Cinema during the late 1970s an ...
. The
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
for the film was composed by
M. G. Radhakrishnan and the
film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
was provided by
Johnson
Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...
.
Plot
Swami Amritananda (
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeare ...
) arrives in
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
on a mission to bring peace at the state, which is burning with communal riots. Swamiji, who is worshiped and respected all over the world, receives death threats from different corners. Lakshmi IAS (
Revathi
Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil & Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu, Hindi & Kannada films.
She has won several ...
), the District Collector, is assigned to look after Swamiji's security. She warns Swamiji about the tensed situation and the dangers waiting him outside. The presence of Lakshmi, who had been the lover of Swamiji in his past, brings back old memories to him.
Years ago, Swami Amritananda was Shivaprasad, the only son of his mother Saraswathy (
Srividya
Srividya (24 July 1953 – 19 October 2006), also known as Sreevidya, was an Indian actress best known for her work predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films, along with few Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. In a career spanning for 40 years, ...
), who had to undergo unpleasant experiences in her home from her own elder brother Sreedharan (
Jagannatha Varma
K. N. Jagannatha Varma (1 May 1939 – 20 December 2016) was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam film and television industry. He was also a Kathakali artist. His son Manu Varma is also an artist and his son-in-law Viji Thampi is a film dire ...
) and brother-in law Krishnan Kutty Menon (
Janardhanan), a police officer, who was loyal to the government. The Communist party in those days was facing strong restrictions from the government for its anti-state activities. Shivan had always been a headache for his mother, for his rebellious nature. But Lakshmi, Sreedharan's daughter, was in love with him, which was opposed bitterly by Sreedharan and family. Shivan, slowly got involved with the Communist movement and in short time became their political goonda. Shivan gets involved in several petty crimes and thus invites more anger from his uncle Krishnan Kutty Menon. Karthy (
Chithra
Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963), always credited as K. S. Chithra or Chithra, is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning over four decades, she has recorded over 25,000 songs in various I ...
), a lady party worker with strong naxalite leanings develops a strong passion towards Shivan, but he is unaware of it. Vasu (
Jayaram
Jayaram Subramaniam, (born 10 December 1965) known mononymously as Jayaram, is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam,Tamil films, along with a few Telugu films. He is also a chenda percussionist, mimicry artist, and occasiona ...
), his close friend since childhood, is a fun loving character, who always saves Shivan from several issues.
Shekharan (
M. G. Soman
M. G. Soman (28 September 1941 – 12 December 1997) was an Indian actor and former Indian Air Force officer who appeared in Malayalam films. He was one among the leading star actors doing hero roles in Malayalam Cinema during the late 1970s an ...
), the party leader identifies the potential of Shivan and cunningly decides to use it maximum for his own personal benefit. Unaware of the shrewd tactics by Shekharan, Shivan gets involved in several crimes, one after another. One day, Karthy, in order to separate Lakshmi from Shivan, fabricates a story about her relation with him. She succeeds in making Lakshmi believe about her illicit affair with Shivan. Thinking that Shivan was just double dating her, Lakshmi informs police about Shivan's hideout and he is arrested and sentenced for a couple of years. This incident changes Shivan completely. He turns into a hardcore criminal, and develops a hatred towards Lakshmi.
In a couple of years, the political scene in the state changes. The Communist Party wins power, and Shivan is released from jail. He is appointed as the secretary of the Temple Devaswom, and Lakshmi is now an IAS officer, who is now holding the post of Devaswom Administrator under Shivan. He tries maximum to belittle her. Shivan, a complete corrupt person, now tries the maximum to loot the temple. The temple staff under Sreekanta Poduval (
Narendra Prasad
Raghava Kurup Narendra Prasad (26 December 1946 3 November 2003) was an Indian actor, playwright, director, teacher and literary critic. He was born at Mavelikkara in the erstwhile Kingdom of Travancore. Appreciated for his body language and ...
) tries to protest, but ends in vain. Vasu is brought into the temple by Shivan, to create a division among the temple staff. Lakshmi tries to convince Vasu, but he expresses loyalty to Shivan, his close friend, without knowing his corrupt ways or political ambitions. Vasu, with in this time falls for the daughter of Thantri Parameshwaran Namboothiri (
Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair
Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair (16 October 191611 March 1997) was an Indian poet, playwright, script writer, lyricist, orator, film director and actor, though he is best known as an actor in Malayalam cinema. He is the recipient of Padma Shri from t ...
), the head priest of the temple. But she avoids him completely. Vasu, a lower caste by birth, has no chance to win her, who is already engaged to Chitran Namboothiri (
Manianpilla Raju
Sudheer Kumar (born 20 April 1955), better known by his stage name Maniyanpilla Raju (Malayalam:മണിയൻപിള്ള രാജു), is an Indian actor and producer who works in Malayalam film industry.[Captain Raju
Raju Daniel (27 June 1950 – 17 September 2018), better known by his stage name Captain Raju, was an Indian army officer and Indian actor. He acted in more than 600 films in various languages, including Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannad ...]
), an accomplice of Shekharan, follow him to finish him off. Upon coming to know about the plans, Shivan hurries to save Vasu. After a showdown with some goons, Shivan learns that Vasu had been killed by Pathrose before his arrival. After Vasu's death, Shivan attempts to take Shekharan's life; instead, the police are called and Shivan is arrested. Meanwhile, Shivan's mother Saraswathy passes away thinking that he killed Vasu. After his mother's death, Shivan leaves his home to live a spiritual life in various temples around the country, thus eventually making him a renowned spiritual leader.
Back to the present, Shekharan and his accomplices plan to kill Swami Amritananda in an attempt to save their face. The plan is to kill Swami Amritananda during the "Ratha-Yatra" using a bomb. As soon as Lakshmi learns about the plan through Kaiyathan (
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, i ...
), a former aide of Shekharan, she does everything in her right to save Swami's life; in the process, she gives her own life to save the Swami.
After Lakshmi's death, Swamiji goes back to Shivan's avatar to seek revenge for everything he lost. Finally, he kills Shekharan, Pathrose, Krishnan Kutty Menon, and all their other accomplices. In the end, Shivan accepts his actions in front of the town and urges them to stay united, instead of being divided.
Cast
*
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeare ...
as Swami Amritananda / Shivamanikandan
*
Jayaram
Jayaram Subramaniam, (born 10 December 1965) known mononymously as Jayaram, is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam,Tamil films, along with a few Telugu films. He is also a chenda percussionist, mimicry artist, and occasiona ...
as Vasu
*
Revathi
Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil & Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu, Hindi & Kannada films.
She has won several ...
as Lakshmi, an IAS officer
*Soumya as Thampuratti, Parameshwaran Namboothiri's daughter
*
Chithra
Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963), always credited as K. S. Chithra or Chithra, is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning over four decades, she has recorded over 25,000 songs in various I ...
as Karthyani
*
M. G. Soman
M. G. Soman (28 September 1941 – 12 December 1997) was an Indian actor and former Indian Air Force officer who appeared in Malayalam films. He was one among the leading star actors doing hero roles in Malayalam Cinema during the late 1970s an ...
as Shekharan
*
Innocent
Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience.
In relation ...
as DIG Sheshadri Iyer, a corrupt police officer and Shekharan's accomplice
*
Janardhanan as Krishnankutty Menon, a corrupt police officer, Shivan's uncle, and Shekharan's accomplice
*
Srividya
Srividya (24 July 1953 – 19 October 2006), also known as Sreevidya, was an Indian actress best known for her work predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films, along with few Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. In a career spanning for 40 years, ...
as Saraswathy, Shivamanikandan's Mother
*
Narendra Prasad
Raghava Kurup Narendra Prasad (26 December 1946 3 November 2003) was an Indian actor, playwright, director, teacher and literary critic. He was born at Mavelikkara in the erstwhile Kingdom of Travancore. Appreciated for his body language and ...
as Sreekantan Pothuval
*
Jagannatha Varma
K. N. Jagannatha Varma (1 May 1939 – 20 December 2016) was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam film and television industry. He was also a Kathakali artist. His son Manu Varma is also an artist and his son-in-law Viji Thampi is a film dire ...
as Sreedharan, Saraswathy's elder brother and Lakshmi's father
*
Sukumari
Sukumari Amma (6 October 1940 – 26 March 2013) was an Indian actress best known for her works in Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning more than five decades, She has appeared in more than 2500 films predominantly in Malayalam, Tam ...
as Naniyamma, Vasu's mother
*
Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair
Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair (16 October 191611 March 1997) was an Indian poet, playwright, script writer, lyricist, orator, film director and actor, though he is best known as an actor in Malayalam cinema. He is the recipient of Padma Shri from t ...
as Thantri Parameshwaran Namboothiri
*
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, i ...
as Kaiyathan, Shekharan's aide
*
Maniyanpilla Raju
Sudheer Kumar (born 20 April 1955), better known by his stage name Maniyanpilla Raju (Malayalam:മണിയൻപിള്ള രാജു), is an Indian actor and producer who works in Malayalam film industry.[Captain Raju
Raju Daniel (27 June 1950 – 17 September 2018), better known by his stage name Captain Raju, was an Indian army officer and Indian actor. He acted in more than 600 films in various languages, including Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannad ...]
as Pathrose, Shekharan's accomplice
*
Raghavan as Brahmadathan Namboothirippadu, Shivan's Father
*
Sankaradi
Chandrashekaran Menon, better known by his screen name Sankaradi (14 July 1924 – 8 October 2001), was an Indian actor. He was a veteran Malayalam comedian and character artist, who had over 700 Malayalam films to his credit. He dominated the ...
as Gopalan Pillai, former state minister
*
Bheeman Raghu
Bheeman Raghu (born 6 October 1953) is an Indian actor, singer, dancer, former politician and police officer (retired) who appears mainly in Malayalam films and is best known for his villainous and comedy roles. In a career spanning over three ...
as Goonda
*
Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman pr ...
as Goonda
*
Alummoodan
Alummoodan (15 March 1933 3 May 1992) was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam films. He had acted in more than 100 films and mainly did comedy roles.
Background
Alummoodan was born to Alummoottil Joseph and Rosamma in Changanacherry. He wa ...
as State Minister
*Pavithran as Goonda
*
Aranmula Ponnamma
Aranmula Ponnamma (8 April 1914 – 21 February 2011) was a National Award winning Indian actress known for her roles as mother of the protagonist in numerous films in a career spanning over five decades. She is widely described as a mother ...
as Shivan and Lakshmi's grandmother (Sreedharan and Saraswathy's mother)
*
Renuka
Renuka, also known as Yellamma, is a Hindu goddess worshipped predominantly in the South Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and western state of Maharashtra. She is also known as the mother of Parashurama ...
as Krishnankutty Menon's wife (Sreedharan and Saraswathy's younger sister)
*
Kozhikode Narayanan Nair
Kozhikode Narayanan Nair is an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema, who has acted in more than 300 films. He entered the "Malayalam" movie industry (Mollywood) through a drama troupe.
His first film was ''Aabhijathyam'' (1970), and he is also reme ...
as Pookoya Thangal, an influential muslim political leader
*
Kunjandi
Kunjandi ( ml, കുഞ്ഞാണ്ടി; 1919–2002) was an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He has acted in more than 50 films. He handled character roles as well as supporting roles.
Background
Kunjandi was born at Calicut. His first ...
as Driver
Production
The filming took place in
Kozhikode
Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...
,
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
. The
art director
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
was
Sabu Cyril
Sabu Cyril is an Indian film production designer. Having worked in 116 feature films and 2500 add films. He has won four National Film Award for Best Production Design, four state awards, six Filmfare Award for Best Art Direction (including sout ...
. The film features sequences in temple
set
Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to:
Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics
*Set (mathematics), a collection of elements
*Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively
Electro ...
, for that they created a temple similar to the
Guruvayur Lord Krishnna Temple in Kozhikode.
Soundtrack
The song "Ambalappuzhe" is a popular number from the film. It was composed after the lyrics were written. Composition took place at the Woodlands Hotel in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
in 1992. Priyadarshan, M. G. Sreekumar, and lyricist
Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri
Padma Shri Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, popularly known as Kaithapram, is a Malayalam lyricist, poet, music director, actor, singer, screenwriter, music therapist and performer of Carnatic music. He debuted with the movie Ennennum Kannet ...
was also present along with composer Radhakrishnan. They wanted a song relating to temple. Both Priyadarshan and Sreekumar wanted the song to start with the line
Ambalappuzha
Ambalappuzha is a small town in the Alappuzha district of Kerala state, India. It is located south of Alappuzha which is the district headquarters.
Ambalappuzha is divided into the two panchayats of Ambalapuzha North and Ambalapuzha South.
...
, where
Ambalappuzha Sri Krishna Temple
Ambalappuzha Sree Krishna Swamy Temple is an Indian Hindu temple dedicated to Krishna at Ambalappuzha in Alappuzha district of Kerala. The temple is believed to have been built during 15th century AD by the local ruler Chembakasserry Pooradam ...
is situated. Right after, Kaithapram wrote the first line "Ambalappuzhe Unni Kannanodu Nee" for which Radhakrishnan prepared a tune, this continued for each line after line. Recording took place at the Kothandapani Studio in Chennai, where Sreekumar and K. S. Chithra sang it together.
Musical notation
Music notation or musical notation is any system used to visually represent aurally perceived music played with instruments or sung by the human voice through the use of written, printed, or otherwise-produced symbols, including notation fo ...
s were given at 07:00 AM
IST
Ist or IST may refer to:
Information Science and Technology
* Bachelor's or Master's degree in Information Science and Technology
* Graduate School / Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Japan
* Graduate School ...
in the morning, recording was finished by 01:00 PM. Instruments such as
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
and
flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
were used. The song features Jayaram in the film.
Release
Adhwaytham released on 3 September 1992 and became a huge success in boxoffice ran 125 days in kozhikode.
Awards
* Kerala Film Chamber Award for Best Social Criticism Film
References
External links
*
{{Priyadarshan
1990s Malayalam-language films
1992 crime thriller films
Indian political thriller films
Indian crime thriller films
Films shot in Kozhikode
Films about organised crime in India
Films about the caste system in India
Films scored by M. G. Radhakrishnan
Films directed by Priyadarshan