''Aranyakam'' (

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 ...

:ആരണ്യകം,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

:Forest) is a 1988

Malayalam film Malayalam cinema is an Indian cinema, Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, ...

, directed by Hariharan, written by

M. T. Vasudevan Nair Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair (born 1933 July 15 ), popularly known as MT, is an Indian author, screenplay writer and film director. He is a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and is one of the masters of post-I ...

and starring Saleema, Devan and

Vineeth Vineeth Radhakrishnan (born 23 August 1969) is an Indian actor, classical dancer, voice artist and choreographer who primarily works in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu language films. He has also starred in a few Kannada and Bollywood films. He h ...

.imdb.com
/ref> The film was produced by B. Sasikumar.
/ref> The music was composed by

Raghunath Seth Pandit Raghunath Seth (1931 – 15 February 2014) was a noted Indian exponent of Hindustani classical music through the medium of Bansuri, or bamboo flute; he was also a noted film score composer. He has received Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 19 ...

, with lyrics 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 vocals by K. J. Yesudas and

K. S. Chitra 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 ...

. It is about a teenage girl named Ammini who likes to visit forests and has a hobby of writing imaginary letters to famous people. Actress Saleema memorably portrays Ammini. She remains one of the few quirky female characters in Malayalam cinema till date.

Plot

The film handles the issue of exploitation of

Adivasi The Adivasi refers to inhabitants of Indian subcontinent, generally tribal people. The term is a Sanskrit word coined in the 1930s by political activists to give the tribal people an indigenous identity by claiming an indigenous origin. The term ...

s by feudal lords, and that of Naxalism which attempts to resist and counter this, and of how the feudal lords use the "system" to suppress the resistance. The film speaks through the eyes of protagonist Ammini (

Saleema Kaleeshwari Devi (born 4 November 1970) better known by her stage name Saleema is an Indian actress who predominantly acts in Malayalam films. She is best known for her portrayal of Ammini in ''Aranyakam'' and Lakshmi in ''Nakhakshathangal''. ...

), a 16 old girl whose life takes a turn when Mohan (

), who has love interest on her and a stranger ( Devan), who inspires her and believes in her brilliance unlike everyone else, enters her life. The latter turns out to be a Naxalite who has been conspiring to kill her uncle, a feudal lord (

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 ...

), who has been exploiting the tribal community in the area for his own personal interests.

Cast

as Ammini, the protagonist who aspires to be a writer * Devan as a stranger / naxal activist *

as Mohan, cousin of the protagonist, and a research scholar who does academic research on

s *

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 a feudal lord and grandfather of the protagonist *

as Madhavan Nair, a feudal lord and a relative of the protagonist * Parvathy as Shailaja, a cousin of the protagonist *

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 Ravunni, a police officer *

Bahadoor Padiyath Kochumoideen Kunjalu (1930 22 May 2000), known by his stage name Bahadoor, was an Indian actor and comedian who, along with Adoor Bhasi, redefined the way in which comedy and funny scenes were perceived in the Malayalam cinema. They ...

as Nanu, house keeper at the feudal home *

Prathapachandran Prathapachandran (1941–2004) was an Indian actor, who worked predominantly in Malayalam film, Malayalam film industry, though he acted in a few Tamil and Telugu movies as well. He known for the portrayal of villainous and character roles in o ...

as Nambiar *

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 a police officer *

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 Madhavan Nair's wife *

Valsala Menon Valsala Menon (born 1945) is an Indian actress who works in Malayalam films. She has acted in over 200+ films. Currently she is active in Malayalam television serials. Early life Valsala Menon was born in 1945 to Raman Menon and Devakiyamma in ...

as Nambiar's wife * Deepthi

Soundtrack

References

External links

* 1988 films 1980s Malayalam-language films Films with screenplays by M. T. Vasudevan Nair Films directed by Hariharan Films about Naxalism {{1980s-Malayalam-film-stub