''Amaram'' () is a 1991 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 ...

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 Bharathan and written by

A. K. Lohithadas Ambazhathil Karunakaran Lohithadas (10 May 1955 – 28 June 2009) was an Indian screenwriter, playwright, film maker, and producer who worked in the Malayalam film industry. In a career spanning over two decades, his films have won a National ...

. It stars

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil l ...

Maathu Madhavi (born 1973), better known by her stage name Maathu, is an Indian actress who was active during the 1980s and 1990s in Malayalam cinema. She is born to Telugu-speaking parents Venkit and Shantha. She is best known for her role as ''Rad ...

, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Ashokan, Murali, Chitra, and

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, ...

in the main roles. The film's score is composed 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 ...

while the songs are by

Raveendran Madhavan Raveendran ( ml, മാധവൻ രവീന്ദ്രൻ ), (born Kulathupuzha, Kollam, 9 November 1943 – died Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 3 March 2005), fondly known as ''Raveendran Master'', was a popular South Indian music composer an ...

. K. P. A. C. Lalitha won the

National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress The National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcast ...

for her role as Bhargavi. And Mammotty won the

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 Actor Award for his role. The film was a critical and commercial success and is considered as a classic in Malayalam Cinema. It ran for more than 200 days in Ragam theater, Thrissur and ran over 50 days in Safire (Madras) theater.

Plot

Achootty, a fisherman lives with his daughter, Radha. The uneducated Achootty wants his daughter to be educated and also wants her to become a doctor. His dreams get shattered when she falls in love with her childhood friend Raghavan. One fine day Radha and Raghavan elope and get married. Achootty does not like his son-in-law initially and in disappointment does not talk to his daughter either. But slowly the young chap shows that he is an able and hard-working fisherman and gains Achootty's silent admiration. Achooty does not acknowledge this publicly, but keeps heckling his son-in-law in public, taunting him to catch a shark and prove himself before he dares talk to Achooty. One day, Raghavan decides he's had enough of the taunting and goes to the deep sea to capture a shark. But he is inexperienced, and in a fit of daring goes out alone in his catamaran. When he does not return, people think that Achootty killed him at sea since Achootty had also been to the sea that day. It is a stormy night and everyone is afraid of going to the sea to search for him. At this point, Achootty's daughter also feels that her father has killed her husband. Having nothing to lose, Achootty goes to the sea and he sees Raghavan lying unconscious on the remains of his boat which is wrecked. Achootty rescues him and brings him back to the shore. Everyone understands Achootty's innocence but he feels let down by them. In the end, Achootty takes his boat and ventures into the sea, saying that is the only entity that has loved him unconditionally.

Cast

as Achootty, an uneducated fisherman. *

as Radha/Muthhu, the only daughter of Achootty, whom he wishes to be a doctor. * Murali as Kochu Raman ,Raghavan's father * Ashokan as Raghavan, Radha's love interest, Jeevan John as young Raghavan *

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 Bhargavi , Raghavan's mother *

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 Chandrika,Kochuraman's sister *

Balan K. Nair Balakrishnan Nair, more popularly known as Balan K. Nair (4 April 1933 26 August 2000) was an Indian actor known for his roles in Malayalam cinema. Although he appeared as a villain in most films, he was also noted for his performances in stron ...

as Pillaichan *

as Raman Kutty * Zainuddin as Damodaran

Crew

voice-artists

Music

The film score was composed by

. The film's soundtrack contains 4 songs composed by

. The lyrics were written by

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 ...

Awards

; 38th National Film Awards * Best Supporting Actress -

; Kerala State Film Awards * Second Best Actor - Murali * Second Best Actress -

* Best Cinematography -

Madhu Ambat Madhu Ambat is an Indian cinematographer. With a career spanning over 40 years, he is one of the most prolific cinematographers in Indian cinema. He is best known for his work in films such as ''Amaram'', '' Anjali'', and '' Makaramanju''. He c ...

;

* Best Actor (Malayalam) -

References

External links

* {{A. K. Lohithadas 1991 films 1990s Malayalam-language films Films directed by Bharathan 1991 drama films Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress National Film Award-winning performance Films with screenplays by A. K. Lohithadas Films scored by Raveendran Indian drama films