''Chithram'' () is a 1988 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

screwball comedy Screwball comedy is a subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1940s, that satirizes the traditional love story. It has secondary characteristi ...

film written and 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 ...

. The film was produced by

P. K. R. Pillai Parisapparambil Kunjan Pillai Ramachandran Pillai (1930/1931 – 16 May 2023) was an Indian film producer, distributor, businessman, and actor who worked in the Malayalam film industry. He was the founder of film production company Shirdi Sai Cr ...

under his production house Shirdi Sai Creations, and 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 ...

, Ranjini,

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 ...

, Lizy,

Poornam Viswanathan Poornam Viswanathan (15 November 1921 – 1 October 2008) was an Indian actor who predominantly appeared in Tamil films. He started performing on stage at age 18. He worked as a reader for All India Radio and went on to act in films such as ''C ...

Sreenivasan Sreenivasan (born 6 April 1956) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, dubbing artist and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Sreenivasan has starred in over 225 films. Sreenivasan wrote the screenplays of films such as ' ...

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 ...

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 ...

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.Shanavas Shanawas Prem Nazir is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam film . He is the son of legendary Malayalam actor Prem Nazir (Evergreen Hero of Malayalam Cinema). He has acted in more than 50 Malayalam films. Background Shanawas was born at T ...

, while

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 ...

makes a cameo appearance. The songs were composed by

Kannur Rajan Kannur Rajan (24 June 1940 – 7 April 1995) was a music composer from Kerala, India. Though his songs are less in numbers, they are noted as emotional and nostalgic in the Malayalam film songs. He was the father-in-law of currently famous mu ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

won the Kerala State Film Award - Special Jury Award for his performance in this film. Kalyani ( Ranjini) decides to marry her boyfriend Ravi (

Shanavas Shanawas Prem Nazir is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam film . He is the son of legendary Malayalam actor Prem Nazir (Evergreen Hero of Malayalam Cinema). He has acted in more than 50 Malayalam films. Background Shanawas was born at T ...

) against her father Ramachandra Menon's (

) wishes. But Ravi breaks up when he learns that she would be disinherited. Kalyani's father, who stays in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, is unaware of the breakup and comes home 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 ...

to spend time with his daughter and son-in-law. This prompts a family friend and

Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

Kaimal (

) to hire a thief, Vishnu (

) to act as Kalyani's husband during Menon's vacation stay. ''Chithram'' was released during a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

weekend on 23 December 1988. Made on a budget of 44 lakh, the film grossed 3.5 crores at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing Malayalam film at its time.

Plot

Kalyani ( Ranjini) is the daughter of a wealthy

NRI NRI or Nri may refer to : * Kingdom of Nri, an Igbo kingdom that flourished between the 10th century and early 20th century * National Radio Institute, a now defunct post-secondary vocational correspondence school * National Resources Inventory * N ...

Ramachandran Menon (

) who resides in the

. Kalyani, brought up in

Madras 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 ...

by her father's friend Purushothaman Kaimal (

), falls in love with another man and decides to marry against the wishes of her father. When her boyfriend finds out that she will be disinherited, he ditches her at the altar. Then her father wrote a letter that he decides to approve her husband and wanted to spend a fortnight's vacation with his daughter and son-in-law in his estate near a tribal community where Menon is the chief. As her father is already ill and because this may be his last vacation, Kalyani and Kaimal want to make it as happy for him as possible. They decide to hide the fact that her boyfriend dumped her. Vishnu (

) comes into the picture who played a trick on a foreigner by telling lie to him that his brother cannot swim. Then the foreigner jumps into the river and Vishnu then runs off with his clothes. The foreigner questions and asks Kaimal about his clothes, with Kaimal getting slapped. Kaimal then goes to Vishnu and confronts him for stealing the clothes. Vishnu states his urgent need for money and Kaimal hires Vishnu to play the part of the husband for 14 days. Meanwhile, Kalyani's cousin Bhaskaran Nambiar (

) who is the caretaker of the estate was expected to inherit Menon's estate and property when Kalyani was disinherited, is determined not to let go without a fight. He knows that Vishnu is not Kalyani's husband and makes various botched attempts to prove this. Initially, Vishnu and Kalyani do not get along and keep bickering. But as time passes, Kalyani sees Vishnu's heart as he tied the mangalasutra around her neck, just in time before her father came (Bhaskaran informed him that she didn't have the mangalasutra around her neck). Kalyani eventually develops an affection towards Vishnu and hopes to marry him for real. A couple of days after they have a mysterious visitor (

Soman Soman (or GD, EA 1210, Zoman, PFMP, A-255, systematic name: ''O''-pinacolyl methylphosphonofluoridate) is an extremely toxic chemical substance. It is a nerve agent, interfering with normal functioning of the mammalian nervous system by inhibiti ...

) who claims to be a relative of Vishnu. Finally, it is revealed that Vishnu is actually an escaped convict from jail who is sentenced to death and the visitor turns out to be the

prison warden The warden (United States, US, Canada) or governor (United Kingdom, UK, Australia), also known as a superintendent (US, South Asia) or director (UK, New Zealand), is the official who is in charge of a prison. Name In the United States and Canad ...

. Vishnu's past is shown in flashback and he was a freelance photographer who was married to a woman named Revathy ( Lizy Priyadarshan), a mute dancer. They also had a child. Vishnu discovers that a man was visiting his wife when he was not around and begins to suspect her. Coming home one day he finds the man there and tries to attack him. Revathy dies in the scuffle, Vishnu discovers that the man is actually her brother who is a naxalite. He tells Kalyani that he escaped prison to make money for the surgery of his child. On the last night of Vishnu's stay at the house, he asks Jail Warden, is it possible for him to live, as he started to like life again. The warden does not reply to this question, as he is helpless regarding this. After a happy fortnight, Kalyani's father returns to the US. The final scene shows the warden taking Vishnu to jail, with Kalyani watching him leave, where his execution awaits him. This film ends with Vishnu and Kalyani waving goodbye.

Cast

as Vishnu * Ranjini as Kalyani *

as Adv. Purushothama Kaimal * Lissy as Revathy *

as Ramachandra Menon *

as Bhaskaran Nambiar *

Jagadish P. V. Jagadish Kumar (born 12 June 1955) known mononymously as Jagadish, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, television presenter and former politician. He has starred in over 375 Malayalam films and 2 Hindi films. He is best known for his comi ...

as Jayan, Vishnu's friend *

K. B. Ganesh Kumar Keezhoote Balakrishna Pillai Ganesh Kumar (born 25 May 1966) is an Indian actor, television host, and politician. Ganesh Kumar is a proposed cabinet minister for the last 2.5 years in the ongoing 2nd LDF govt in Kerala and he is also the curre ...

as Kannappan, Revathy's Brother *

as Jail Superintendent Sathyanathan *

as Lathika, Ramachandra Menon's sister and Bhaskaran Nambiar's mother *

Unni Mary Unni Mary (born 12 March 1962) is an Indian actress who works mainly in Malayalam films. She has also worked in Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films, where she had used the screen name Deepa. Personal life Unnimary was born to Augustine Fernande ...

as Ammini, Bhaskaran Nambiar's sister *

as Ravi * Chandraji as Kattumooppan *

Soorya Soorya is an Indian actress who appeared in Malayalam and Tamil films. She was a prominent actress in 1980s. She was well noted for her glamorous roles. She debuted with the film '' Parankimala'' in 1981. Filmography Malayalam *'' Parankimal ...

as Mooppan's daughter *

Bobby Kottarakkara Bobby Kottarakkara (11 March 1952 – 3 December 2000) was an Indian actor who acted in Malayalam films. He was born to Pareedkunju Ravuthar in Kottarakkara. He began his acting career on stage. He made his film debut with Mucheettukalikkaarant ...

as Sugunan, Marriage Broker *

as Shivakumar, Revathy's father *

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 a money lender

Soundtrack

The film's songs were composed by

and lyrics penned by

Shibu Chakravarthy Shibu Chakravarthy is an Indian lyricist, screenwriter, and poster designer who works in Malayalam cinema. His ancestors were the rulers of Kurukkanmoola Dynasty, hence the name ''Chakravarthy'' (). His birthname was Shibu Rajav, later change ...

M. G. Sreekumar Malabar Gopalan Sreekumar (born 25 May 1957), better known as M.G. Sreekumar is an Indian playback singer, composer, music producer, television presenter and film producer, who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. He has sung more than 2000 ...

sang most of the songs in the film.

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...

singer

Neyyattinkara Vasudevan Neyyattinkara Vasudevan (1940–13 May 2008) was a Carnatic music vocalist from Kerala in south India. The Padmasree-winning Carnatic vocalist and disciple of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Ramnad Krishnan, he combined tradition and innovatio ...

was a guest singer. The classical Krithis like "Nagumo" and "Swaminatha" featured in the film gained a mass popularity. Playback singer

Sujatha Mohan Sujatha Mohan (credited as Sujatha) is an Indian playback singer who is popular for singing in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu movies. She has also sung for Kannada, Badaga, Hindi and Marathi movies. In a career spanning 48 years, she has recorde ...

also sang in the film, marking her return after years of sabbatical.

sang two songs "Kaadumi Naadumellam" and "Aey Monnu".

Reception

''Chithram'' was released during a

weekend on 23 December 1988. Upon release, it broke all existing records in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema is an 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, ''Elippathayam' ...

until then. Released in 21 A class theatres, ''Chithram'' ran for 50 days in 16 release theatres, 100 days in 6 theatres, 150 days in 5 theatres, 200 days in 4 theatres, 225 days in 3 theatres and 300 days in 2 theatres. It had a theatrical run of more than 400 days in Little Shenoys (

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...

). It completed 366 days run with regular shows in two theatres—Little Shenoys (Ernakulam) and Ajanta (

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

), and 200 days in four theatres—Little Shenoys (Ernakulam), Ajantha (Trivandrum), Asha (

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-we ...

), and Priya (

Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...

). Made on a budget of 0.44

crore A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is e ...

, the film grossed 3.9 crore at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing Malayalam film of its time. The film was a success in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

also.

Remakes

References

External links

* {{Priyadarshan 1988 films 1980s Malayalam-language films 1980s romantic comedy-drama films 1980s musical comedy-drama films 1980s screwball comedy films Films scored by Kannur Rajan Films shot in Ooty Malayalam films remade in other languages Films directed by Priyadarshan Indian romantic comedy-drama films Indian screwball comedy films 1988 comedy films Indian musical comedy-drama films