''Anandabhadram'' (Anand's Bhadra) is a 2005 Indian

Malayalam-language 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 ...

dark fantasy horror film based on the novel of the same name by Sunil Parameshwaran. The film was the debut Malayalam film venture of

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Santosh Sivan Santosh Sivan (born 8 February 1964) is an Indian cinematographer, film director, producer and actor known for his works in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi cinema. Santosh graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India and has to dat ...

and actress

Riya Sen Riya Sen (born Riya Dev Varma; 24 January 1981) is an Indian actress and model. who predominantly appears in Hindi, Bengali language, Bengali, English language, English, Telugu language, Telugu and Tamil language, Tamil films. Sen comes from ...

. The story concerns ghosts, spirits, and

black magic Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 14 ...

. The film stars Prithviraj,

Kavya Madhavan Kavya Madhavan (born 19 September 1984) is a former Indian actress, who appeared predominantly in Malayalam films. She made her debut in 1991 as a child artist in '' Pookkalam Varavayi''. Her debut role as a lead actress was in Lal Jose's '' ...

Manoj K Jayan Manoj Kadampoothramadom Jayan also known as Manoj K.Jayan is an Indian actor of Malayalam and Tamil films. He has also done a few Telugu and Kannada films and has also acted in a Bollywood film. Manoj has won three Kerala State Film Award for ...

Kalabhavan Mani Kunnisseri Veettil Raman Mani (1 January 1971 – 6 March 2016), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Mani, was an Indian actor and singer. Mani started his career as a mimicry artist with the Kalabhavan comedy troupe. He had starred in ove ...

and Biju Menon. The film was inspired by the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma,

Theyyam Theyyam (/ t̪eːjjəm/; romanised: ''teyyam'') are Hindu ritualistic dance forms practiced in northern Kerala and some parts of Karnataka. Theyyam is also known as Kaḷiyāṭṭaṁ or Tiṟa. Theyyam consists of traditions, rituals and c ...

, and Kathakali dance movements, and Kalaripayattu martial art forms. It rode on a renewed interest in both Ravi Varma and Kalaripayattu in and outside of India. Anandabhadram was released on November 4 coinciding with Diwali. The film won five awards in the 2005 Kerala State Film Awards and two in the 2005

Asianet Film Awards The Asianet Film Awards is an award ceremony for films presented annually by Asianet, a Malayalam-language television network from the south-Indian state of Kerala. Asianet says that awards ceremony has been instituted to honour both artis ...

. It also was a commercial success. During production, Santosh replaced Sabu Cyril with Sunil Babu as the art director, M. G. Radhakrishnan replaced Vidyasagar as the music director,

Gireesh Puthenchery Girish Puthenchery (1961–2010) was a noted Malayalam Lyricist, Poet, Scriptwriter and Screenwriter. He was always referred to as the aristocratic lyricist of Malayalam who had a distinctive writing style of his own. He also served as the dire ...

replaced

Sreekumaran Thampy Sreekumaran Thampi (born 16 March 1940) is an Indian lyricist, music director, director, producer, and screenwriter in Malayalam cinema. He also writes poetry and is a recipient of the Vallathol Award. In 2017, he was awarded the J. C. Daniel ...

as the lyricist and Kavya Madhavan replaced

Meera Jasmine Jasmine Mary Joseph, known professionally as Meera Jasmine, is an Indian actress who appears primarily in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada language films. Meera Jasmine won the National Film Award for Best Actress in 2004 for her role in ...

as the actress. The audiography of the film was done by M. R. Rajakrishnan . It was also dubbed in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

, Telugu (as ''Sivapuram''), Hindi (as ''Phir Wohi Darr'') and English, and was an inspiration for ''Tanthra'' (2006), another Malayalam film.

Plot

In the ancient village of Shivapuram, little Ananthan hears a tale from his mother, Gayathri. She tells him that his family comes from a line of powerful magicians, and they are responsible for protecting ''nagamanikyam'', a jewel on a serpent's head. The jewel, she narrates, lies in a secret place in the house guarded by snakes, including a tiny snake called Kunjootan. Years later, obeying the wishes of his dead mother, Ananthan returns to his ancestral village to light the lamps at ''Shivakavu'', a dark and mysterious temple of

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

. On his way home he meets the comical Maravi Mathai on the train. The local black magician Digambaran opposes the lighting of the lamps on the grounds of local superstitions in order to get his hands on the ''nagamanikyam''. Disbeliever Ananthan meets the supernatural for the first time in his life. In his effort to fit into the local environment, Ananthan gradually wins the villagers' hearts over by his easy and kind manners. This appreciation is breached briefly when the magician takes over his mind for a short while. Meanwhile, Ananthan's cousin Bhadra falls for him and his light-hearted flirting, eventually leading to a commitment of love between them. At one point, Bhadra faces the dilemma of choosing between Ananthan's love and becoming a Devi in a mystical ritual of self-offering. Chemban, a blind martial arts expert, stands in the way of Digambaran's hunt for the ''nagamanikyam''. The evil black magician manages to remove Chemban from his way, and leaves a trail of blood in his wake. Digambaran also lures Chemban's sister Bhama. A series of sensuous and evil magical rites follows that features a wide paraphernalia of the exotic, including Kathakali movements, tantric paraphernalia, traditional magic spells. In the end, Ananthan and Bhadra escape from Digambaran after injuring them badly. However Chemban decides to destroy Digambaran for killing Bhama and to restore peace in the village. After a fight, Chemban cuts off Digambaran's right toe which had a ring of which he killed all who came across him. Later, Ananthan and Bhadra reunite after restoring the Nagamanikyam and Digambaran is seen without eyes which was taken by Chemban.

Cast

as Digambaran *

as Bhadra *

Prithviraj Sukumaran Prithviraj Sukumaran (born 16 October 1982) is an Indian actor, director, producer and playback singer primarily working in Malayalam cinema. He has also done Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. He acted in more than 100 films in a variety of ...

as Anandan *

as Chemban * Biju Menon as Sivaram *

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 Bhadra's Father / Padmanabhan Nair *

Kalasala Babu Kalasala Babu (1950 14 May 2018) was an Indian actor who performed on stage, and in television serials and films. On stage Babu had been acting in radio plays while at college. Following his graduation in 1973, Babu acted in ''Paanchajanyam ...

as Raman Panikker * Cochin Haneefa as Maravi Mathai * Suresh Krishna as Police Inspector *

as Bhama, Chemban's sister * Revathy as Gayathri Devi, Ananthan's mother *

Santha Devi Damayanthi (1927 – 20 November 2010), better known by her stage name Kozhikode Santha Devi, was an Indian Malayalam film and stage actress. In a career spanning about sixty years, she acted in more than 1000 plays and about 480 films. Biog ...

* Govindankutty as Sreeni * Kunchan * T. P. Madhavan as Ramunni Nair *Lakshmi Krishnamoorthy as Nangeli Muthassi *Maya Viswanath *Neethu S Nair as Subhadra, Bhadra's elder sister *Akhila as Ammu, Bhadra's friend

Production

Development

''Ananthabhadram'' is based on the novel of the same name by Sunil Parameswaran. The story was inspired by tales told to Sunil by his grandmother when he was a child. Director Santosh Sivan was also influenced by such stories told by his own grandmother. Set in rural Kerala, the story is a fairy tale dominated by Shakta black magic, martial arts, and tantric seduction rituals.

Inspirations

Theyyam and Kathakali: Sivan said he received inspiration from the arts of his country: "We have a rich visual culture and even in Ananthabhadram, I have used certain aspects from Theyyam dancers and Kathakali to create the wizard Digambaran's image. The colour, long nails, kohl-lined eyes and so on were inspired from Theyyam and Kathakali." The sequence between Manoj K Jayan using Riya Sen as a channel for black magic, choreographed by

Aparna Sindhoor Aparna Sindhoor (born 1970/1971) is a choreographer, dancer, and teacher from Mysore, India. She is the Artistic Director of Navarasa Natyalya Dance Theater. Education Sindhoor began dancing at the age of five, first learning from her mothe ...

, the dance director of the film, uses Kathakali movements in particular, which has been an inspiration for major Indian films like director Shaji Karun's ''

Vanaprastham ''Vanaprastham: The Last Dance'' (french: Vanaprastham: La Dernière Danse) is a 1999 Indo-French psychological drama period film in Malayalam-language that was directed by Shaji N. Karun. It was produced by Pierre Assouline and co-produced b ...

'' (1999) and director

Adoor Gopalakrishnan Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film '' Swayamvaram'' (1972), Go ...

's ''

Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair (25 May 1925 – 11 March 2013) was a performer of Kathakali, who practiced the Kerala art form for more than seven decades. Biography His guru was Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon, his only teacher in his entir ...

'' (2005). Kalarippayattu: The film also used

Kalarippayattu Kalaripayattu (; also known simply as Kalari) is an Indian martial art that originated in modern-day Kerala, a state on the southwestern coast of India. Kalaripayattu is known for its long-standing history within Indian martial arts, and is ...

, the traditional

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...

, for the fight sequences between Digambaran and Chemban choreographed by action director Arash. Use of Kalari in the film followed the footsteps of Kalari-based movies like ''

Palattu Koman ''Palattu Koman'' is a 1962 Indian Malayalam-language film.Palattu Koman
...

'' (1962), '' Thacholi Othenan'' (1964), '' Kannappanunni'' (1977) and ''

Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha ''Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha'' () is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language epic historical drama film directed by Hariharan, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, and starring Mammootty, Suresh Gopi, Balan K. Nair, Captain Raju and Madhavi. The film won ...

'' (1989), as well as famous martial art film actor

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

's '' The Myth''. After ''

Asoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

'', it was the second time the director had used Kalari (as it is known in popular coinage). Raja Ravi Varma: The director used three paintings of Raja Ravi Varma – ''

Damayanti ''Damayanti'' (Sanskrit: दमयंती) is a character in a love story found in the Vana Parva book of the Mahabharata. She was the daughter of Bhima (not the Pandava one) and a princess of the Vidarbha Kingdom, who married King Nala of ...

and the swan'', ''Lady in thought'' and ''Girl carrying milk tray'' – as inspiration to picturize the song ''Pinakkamano'' (acted by Prithviraj Sukumaran and Kavya Madhavan; sung by M. G. Sreekumar and Manjari; choreographed by

). Sivan said, "Yes, it is a tribute to Raja Ravi Varma, who is so intrinsically etched in every Malayali's mind." This song came in the wake of a renewed interest in Varma's work in Indian showbiz, as evidenced in Indian pop star

Falguni Pathak Falguni Pathak (born 12 March 1969) is an Indian singer, performing artist and composer based in Mumbai. Her music is based on traditional musical forms from the Indian state of Gujarat. Since her professional debut in 1987, she has developed in ...

's music video for the song "Meri Chunar Ud Ud Jaaye" (2001, acted by

Trisha Krishnan Trisha Krishnan (born 4 May 1983), known mononymously as Trisha, is an Indian actress and model, who primarily works in Tamil and Telugu films. She was noticed after winning Miss Chennai contest (1999), which marked her entry into the fil ...

) which emulated Varma's '' Shakuntala'' and Shaji Karun's declared film to be made on the artist's life which would feature

Madhuri Dixit Madhuri Dixit Nene (née Dixit; born 15 May 1967) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. A leading actress of Indian cinema, she has appeared in over 70 films. Noted by critics for her beauty, dancing skills, and characters ...

(actress of ''

Gaja Gamini ''Gaja Gamini'' (English: ''Woman with an elephant's gait.'') is a 2000 Indian film written and directed by M. F. Husain and is his ode to womanhood and his muse of the time, Madhuri Dixit, who stars as the lead in the film with Shahrukh Khan ...

'', a film by painter M.F. Hussain). Pattanam Rasheed said about the make-up of the ''Pinakkamano'' sequence, "The skin tone I gave the characters is akin to an oil painting, orange-yellow shades, which give a painting-like look. That is why you feel that a painting is coming to life in some shots. The eye and eye brow make-up is also different, according to the old styles in the paintings." Costumer Satheesh said, "Not one of the saris that Kavya wears is complete in itself. To get the colours of the body and border of the sari as close as possible to the ones in the paintings, I shopped in Chennai, Bangalore and Kochi. I had to attach the borders to some of the saris and dyed some to get the right shade... I had to rework all the jewels, with a few stones from one chain added to another." art director Sunil Babu points out that despite attempts at accuracy, in the Damayanthi scene, the swan is missing.

Pre-production

Sabu Cyril was originally scheduled to direct the film with actress

in the lead. Production was delayed due to a strike in the Malayalam film industry in June 2004. Later, Cyril became busy with Shankar's film ''

Anniyan ''Anniyan'' () is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language psychological action thriller film written and directed by S. Shankar and produced by V. Ravichandran of Aascar Films. The plot centres on a disillusioned everyman whose frustration at what he se ...

''. At this point,

stepped in to replace Cyril. Cyril's assistant Sunil Babu art directed the film.

Filming

Like his earlier directorial ventures ''

'' and '' The Terrorist'' (a.k.a. ''Malli''), Santosh was also the cinematographer for ''Anathabhadram''. Prithviraj as the hero had his biggest success of 2005, out of the five cinemas he did that year.

was to have a '' sannyasin'' look with long hair in the proposed Sabu Cyril version, but sported a more contemporary look in the version that was eventually shot, winning much critical accolades.

Music

Initially Sabu Cyril was the film director and Santhosh Sivan was the Cinematographer. Vidyasagar composed songs for the film penned by Sreekumaran Thampi. The songs were never recorded. After some months Sabu Cyril opted not to direct the film due to other reasons. And the film was taken over by Santosh Sivan who appointed M. G. Radhakrishnan for the film. Radhakrishnan went on to win

as the best music director for the film's tracks.Lifetime achievement award for Sukumari
The Hindu, 2006-03-12, Retrieved: 2010-11-22 He also did the score for ''Sivapuram'', the Telugu version of the film. M. G. Sreekumar won Asianet Award as the Best Male Playback Singer for singing "Pinakkamano".

Release

It is the first Malayalam feature screened using a satellite feed instead of conventional prints; aimed at an international market. it was also dubbed in

, Telugu (as ''Sivapuram''), and English. The release of ''Anandabhadram'' in India followed that of the horror movie '' Chandramukhi'', starring

Rajnikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...

, which was a remake of the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

film ''

Manichitrathazhu ''Manichitrathazhu'' () is a 1993 Indian Malayalam-language epic psychological horror film directed by Fazil, written by Madhu Muttam, and produced by Swargachitra Appachan. The film stars Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi and Shobana with Nedumudi Venu ...

'', creating a brief success for the horror genre. The film was showcased in

Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema Osian's-Cinefan is one of Asia's leading film-festival devoted to Asian and Arab cinema, and is part of ''Osian's Film House Division''. The festival celebrated its 10th anniversary in July 2008. After a two-year break, the 12th staging of the f ...

in 2006.

Reception

''Anandabhadram'' was a commercial success. According to

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.Rajamanikyam ''Rajamanikyam'' is a 2005 Indian Malayalam-language action comedy film directed by Anwar Rasheed and written by T. A. Shahid. It stars Mammootty in the title role along with Rahman, Manoj K Jayan, Cochin Haneefa, Ranjith, Salim Kumar, Sai Kum ...

'' and could not compete with it. ''Pinakkamano'' became the top hit among Malayalam film songs in 2005. The film also inspired director KJ Bose's ''Tanthra'' (2006) featuring actors Siddique and

Shweta Menon Shwetha Menon is an Indian actress, model and television anchor. She won '' Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 1994''. She has predominantly acted in Malayalam and Hindi language films, besides appearing in a number of Telugu and Tamil Language Fi ...

. Sunil Babu, the art director, came to the notice of

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 ...

audience because of the film, especially his treatment for Raja Ravi Varma inspired songs. The performance of Manoj K. Jayan was critically acclaimed.

Accolades

''Anandabhadram'' won five awards in the

Kerala State Film Award The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Ch ...

s for 2005, including Best Cinematography (Santosh Sivan), Best Music Direction (MG Radhakrishnan), Best Editing (Sreekar Prasad), Best Art Direction (Sunil Babu) and Best Makeup (

Pattanam Rasheed Pattanam Rasheed ( ml, പട്ടണം റഷീദ്) is an Indian make-up artist. He won the 55th National Film Award for Best Make-up Artist. Awards ; Kerala State Film Awards * 1992 Kerala State Film Award for Best Makeup Artist - '' Aadha ...

). It won five awards in the Kerala Film Critics Association Awards 2005, including Best Film, Best Director (Santhosh Sivan), Best Actor (Manoj K Jayan), and Best Cinematography (Santhosh Sivan). M. R. Rajakrishnan had won the Amritha Fertanity Award for Best Audiography for his work in this film.

References

External links

* *
''Anandabhadram''
at the Malayalam Movie Database {{Santosh Sivan 2000s Malayalam-language films 2005 fantasy films 2005 films Films based on Indian novels Films scored by M. G. Radhakrishnan Films shot in Ottapalam Films shot at Varikkasseri Mana Indian dark fantasy films Indian ghost films Indian horror films Films directed by Santosh Sivan