''Dhanam'' ( ml, ധനം) is a Malayalam film released in 1991. Directed by

Sibi Malayil Sibi (Sindhi: سيوي ur, ) is a city situated in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The city is the headquarters of the district and tehsil of the same name. Etymology The origin of the town's name is attributed to Rani Sewi, a Hindu lad ...

, this film had a strong casting line including

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 app ...

, Murali,

Thilakan Palappurathu Kesavan Surendranatha Thilakan (15 July 1935 – 24 September 2012) was an Indian film and stage actor who appeared in over 200 Malayalam films. Thilakan was known for his elaborate method acting, realistic and spontaneous appearan ...

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 ...

Charmila Charmila (born 2 October 1974) is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Apart from movies in Malayalam, she acted in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada movies. She completed almost 38 films in the Malayalam film industry. Ea ...

Zeenath Zeenath A.P is an Indian actress and dubbing artist. She was a prominent supporting actress during the 1990s in Malayalam films. Background Zeenath was born to Abu Achippuram and Fathima in Nilambur, Malappuram district. She had her primary ed ...

and

Kaviyoor Ponnamma Kaviyoor Ponnamma is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films and television. She began her career performing in theatre dramas before foraying into cinema. She has also acted in TV serials and commercials and has playback singing cred ...

. The script was done 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 ...

. The film features a musical score 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 ...

and songs 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 a ...

Plot

Sivasankaran Nair is a young aspiring middle class medical representative with his home and other properties under mortgage (for a loan taken by his expired father). He lives with his mother and sister. His dream is to earn more money and build a bigger home after repaying the loans. His neighbor and his close childhood friend is Abubecker. He is a taxi driver and both of them are intimate friends. Sivasankar usually travels with his friend. On one occasion, they accept a trip to carry a dead body at night for more money. While returning, the taxi breaks down near a beach and they decide to spend the night in the car until morning when the will be able to repair the car and resume the journey. Sivasankar gets a dream where in the corpse comes alive and asks for a match. Sivasankar convinces Abu that the car smells of the corpse and they decide to stay on the beach. Coincidentally, they overhear a smuggler trio talking about why they were not able to deliver the goods today. They tip the Customs department to get a monetary reward. After the Customs department catches the smugglers red-handed, they get a reward of 20 lakhs. But the smuggler Stephen who lost the gold, learns about the informer from inside sources. He wants to kill the informer for the loss. His associates try to kill both Sivasankar and Abu on their return from receiving the reward. They decide to stay in a Hotel with the money before depositing it in a bank. Sivasankar unknowingly stays in the same hotel of Stephen's, whereas Abu returns home. On seeing Sivasankar accidentally, Stephen and his henchmen try to kill him. Sivasankar runs with money for cover. In the end of the fight, they shoot Sivasankar when he jumps of a bridge into a river. Local Police constable Rajappan, a lecher lives with his wife Lekshmi and his sister-in-law Thangam/ Snehalatha. Bullet injured Sivasankar resurfaces in their upper balcony of home. When she runs for cover from a sexual advance of her sister's husband Thangam sees Sivasankar and helps him to hide. She feeds him and helps him to remove his bullet. They both get to know each other. Sivasankar tells his story to Thangam and that after struggling for life and food for 3 days in hiding, he realises the value of life and the idiocy in running behind money. He also tells that it is because of her compassion and empathy that he survived. Meanwhile, Police Constable Rajappan

batters Batter or batters may refer to: Common meanings * Batter (cooking), thin dough that can be easily poured into a pan * Batter (baseball), person whose turn it is to face the pitcher * Batter (cricket), a player who is currently batting * Batter ...

his wife over a missing alcohol bottle which was used for Sivasankar while removing the Bullet. Stephen reaches Sivasankar's house to enquire about him. He reaches to Abu on information from Sivasnakar's brother. Stephen enquires about Sivasankar and Abu replies that their aim was only making some money and he won't reveal the whereabouts of Sivan, even if he dies. Stephen lets him go and follows him. Sivan sends a Letter via Thangam to Abu for a meeting. Thangam's father slaps her on return for going away without informing the family members and coming home late. Thangam manages to pass the message from Sivan. Abu comes to meet Sivan in the cover of darkness. Sivan explains his position that he never ran with the money. Abu says him that he believes him and doesn't want the money and informs him on arranging a train ticket the next day for leaving the place with the money. Sivan asks Abu to take care of his family. Before leaving, Thangam asks Sivan to take her along with him to escape her brother-in-law. In the middle of the night, Rajappan arrives home and on seeing Thangam alone, he tries to take advantage of her. Sivan interferes and saves her. On seeing the fight, furious Thangam's father attacks Rajappan and sends him out of the house. Sivasankaran leaves to railway station with a promise of returning to marry Thangam. Whilst Stephen was losing patience, he asks Abu about Sivan's whereabouts. He refuses to divulge the information and Abu is murdered. On the way to the railway station, Sivasankar finds the taxi with Abu's dead body inside. Stephen and his associates attack him. In retaliation, Sivan kills Stephen. The movie ends with a devastated Sivasankar holding his friend's dead body and open briefcase of Money (Dhanam) that is flying around.

Cast

as Sivasankaran Nair * Murali as Aboobacker/Abu *

as Thankam/Snehalatha * Nassar as Stephen *

as Sivasankarans mother *

as Thankams father *

as Rajappan *

as Lekshmi ,Rajappan's wife *

Babu Namboothiri Babu Namboothiri (born 12 August 1947) is a retired Chemistry Professor and Head Of Department of Deva Mata College Kuravilangad and an Indian film and TV actor who has starred in more than 100 Malayalam films and various serials. He is famous ...

as Balan *

Oduvil Unnikrishnan Oduvil Unnikrishnan (13 February 1943 – 27 May 2006) was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam cinema. He has portrayed supporting roles in both dramatic and comedic roles.The HindMalayalam film actor Oduvil Unnikrishnan dead He is a four- ...

as Menon *

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 ...

as Aboobacker's mother *

Indrans Indrans is an Indian actor and former costume designer, who appears in Malayalam films.His mentor was Shiyas M S, a law college student. He started his film career as a costume designer and actor in 1981 and got a breakthrough in 1994 with the ...

as Sasidharan

Music

The score was composed by

and the songs of this film were composed by

, with lyrics penned by P. K. Gopi.

Box office

Dhanam was a superhit and one of the highest-grosser Malayalam films of 1991.

References

External links

* {{A. K. Lohithadas 1991 films 1991 drama films 1990s Malayalam-language films Indian drama films Films shot in Palakkad Films directed by Sibi Malayil Films with screenplays by A. K. Lohithadas