''Dhwani (ധ്വനി)'' (meaning sound, melody or music) is a 1988 Malayalam-language

musical romance film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

directed by A. T. Abu. It was the last completed film of veteran actor and evergreen hero of Malayalam cinema Prem Nazir who died on 16 January 1989. The film has music composed by legendary

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

composer

Naushad Naushad Ali (25 December 1919 – 5 May 2006) was an Indian music director for Hindi films. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and foremost music directors of the Hindi film industry. He is particularly known for popularising the ...

. It stars

Shobhana Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai (born 21 March 1970) is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer. She acts predominantly in Malayalam films along with Telugu and Tamil films with few Hindi, Kannada and English films. She has won two National Fil ...

and

Jayaram Jayaram Subramaniam, (born 10 December 1965) known mononymously as Jayaram, is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam,Tamil films, along with a few Telugu films. He is also a chenda percussionist, mimicry artist, and occasional ...

in the lead roles.

Suresh Gopi Suresh Gopi (born 26 June 1958) is an Indian actor, politician, playback singer and television presenter. He works predominantly in Malayalam cinema and has also appeared in some Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bollywood films. Suresh made his acti ...

also makes an appearance in the movie. Noted writer

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer (21 January 1908 – 5 July 1994), popularly referred to as Beypore Sulthan, was a writer of Malayalam literature. He was a writer, humanist, freedom fighter, novelist and short story writer, noted for his path-breaking, ...

makes a special appearance as the visitor at the hospital. The film was a huge hit due to several factors like the excellent performances by the cast and the rousing music scored by veteran composer Naushad, his first and only score for a Malayalam film.Renuka Narayanan. (9 April 2011)
"The song of songs for this Tuesday"
''

The Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyal ...

''. Retrieved 28 April 2011.

Plot

Ongallur Sadasivan, a Kerala minister, is alleged to be involved in a scam related to the construction of a dam. A Judicial Commission, headed by an honest judge, Justice Rajeshekharan Nair, is investigating into the scam. Vettukuzhi, a corrupt political kingmaker, tries to save Sadasivan and the reputation of his party. Dr. Dinesh, son of Sadasivan, does not appreciate his father's illicit friendship with Vettukuzhi. Dr. Dinesh's and his lover Sunitha's marriage gets called off due to the allegations faced by his father. With things getting tense, Vettukuzhi tries to bribe Rajasekharan, but fails. In his attempt to complete his new novel, Shabari, a young and noted writer, has a temporary residence at the local government guest house. With the arrival of the Commission, Shabari is forced to vacate his room for Justice Nair and family, which consists of wife Malathi and daughter Devi, who is also an amateur dancer. Shabari and Devi fall in love via mutual admiration for their artistic skills, without personally getting to know each other. Rajasekharan and Malathi are happy about this union. When Shabari proposes to Devi, she remains silent, and only then he realizes that she lacks the ability to speak. Though devastated, he informs his parents about the situation, and his family staunchly opposes his proposal. Justice Rajasekharan tries to convince Shabari's father, who is also his childhood friend, though he fails to influence the family's decision. Eventually, the Commission submits its report about the dam scam, which results in the resignation of Minister Sadasivan. Devi's family remains heartbroken over her fate, while preparing to leave the Guest House. The very next morning, Shabari's family arrives and convinces Rajasekharan of their consent to accept Devi, who has now gone missing. In a frantic search, Shabari finally finds a weary Devi sitting by the river side. Thus, the duo is united, ending the film on a happy note.

Cast

as Devi, Rajasekharan's Daughter * Prem Nazir as Justice Rajasekharan Nair *

as Shabari *

Jayabharathi Jayabharathi is an Indian actress. She is a two-time recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for best actress. Jayabharathi's first leading role was given by director P. Bhaskaran for his movie Kattukurangu in 1969. Later she became one of ...

as Malathi, Rajasekharan's Wife *

as Dr. Dinesh, Minister Ongallur Sadasivan's Son(cameo) *

Karamana Janardanan Nair Karamana Janardanan Nair (25 July 1936 – 24 April 2000) was a Malayalam film actor, who was active during the 1980s and 1990s. He was especially known for his character roles. He won wide acclaim especially for the role of the protagonis ...

as Kuttisankaran, Shabari's Father *

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 ...

as Vettukuzhy, A Politician and Minister Ongalloor Sadasivan's Friend * Sukumari as Thankamani, Shabari's Mother *

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 Shekharan, Shabari's Family Friend *

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 Rappayi, Aide at the Guest House *

Jagathi Sreekumar Sreekumar P. K. (born 5 January 1951), better known by his stage name Jagathy Sreekumar or simply Jagathy, is an Indian actor, director and playback singer, who has appeared in over 1500 Malayalam films in a career spanning almost four decades ...

as Manikanta Pillai, Manager at the Guest House *

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 Kurup, Marriage Broker *

Mamukkoya Mamukkoya (born 5 July 1946) is an Indian actor known for his work in Malayalam cinema, and has also appeared in French film ''Flammens of Paradise''. He has mostly appeared in comedic roles. His unique usage of the Mappila dialect and style mar ...

as Mamu *

K. P. Ummer Kachinamthoduka Puthiyapurayil Ummer known as K. P. Ummer (Malayalam: കെ.പി. ഉമ്മർ) was an Indian actor from Thekkepuram quarter of Kozhikode, Kerala, India. He was active in the Malayalam cinema from early sixties until late ...

as Minister Ongalloor Sadasivan, Dinesh's Father *

Sabitha Anand Sabitha Anand is an Indian actress who has performed in Tamil and Malayalam movies and serials. She was one of the lead actresses in the 1980s. She is the daughter of Jacoob Abdu Rahman Anand, an Indian actor in Malayalam movies during the 1960 ...

as Kanakam * Balan K. Nair as Bahuleyan * K. P. A. C. Sunny as Police Officer * V. K. Sreeraman as Thampi, Sunitha's Father * Rohini as Sunitha *

as Visitor at the Hospital (Special Appearance)

Soundtrack

The score and the songs for the film are composed by renowned musician

. This soundtrack remains as his only work for a Malayalam film. The lyrics are written by poet

Yusuf Ali Kechery Yusufali Kechery (Yūsaphali Kēccēri; യൂസഫലി കേച്ചേരി 16 May 1934 – 21 March 2015) was a poet, film lyricist, film producer and director from Kerala, India. He wrote during the modern era of Malayalam poetry and ...

in Malayalam and Sanskrit. The soundtrack is highly regarded as one of the all-time best in Malayalam film music.

Awards

Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actor The Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actor was an award presented annually from 1969 to 2014 at the Kerala State Film Awards of India. The Kerala State Film Awards is managed by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, an autonomous non-prof ...

–

References

External links

* {{Basheer 1988 films 1980s Malayalam-language films 1988 romantic drama films Indian romantic drama films Films shot in Palakkad Films shot in Ottapalam Films shot in Kozhikode Films directed by A. T. Abu