''Kannum Karalum'' () is a 1962 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by

K. S. Sethumadhavan K. S. Sethumadhavan (15 May 1931 – 24 December 2021) was an Indian film director and screenwriter who worked predominantly in Malayalam cinema. He also directed films in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Since the early 1960s, he directed over 60 mov ...

, produced by A. K. Balasubramaniam under the banner of ''Saravanabhava Pictures''. The film stars

Sathyan Sathyan is a common Indian name and can refer to: * Sathyan (actor) (1912–1971), Manuel Sathyaneshan , Malayalam film actor * Sathyan (Tamil actor) (born 1975), Tamil film comedian and actor * Sathyan (singer) Satyan, (Satyan Mahalingam), ...

, Ambika Sukumaran and

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...

, while

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 ...

and debutant

Vinodini Vinodhini is an Indian actress, who has appeared in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada films and Tamil serials. Beginning her acting career as a child artist, she went on to play lead and supporting roles before acting in television series as well. ...

play supporting roles. It was about a child Babu (Kamal Haasan) writing letters to his mother who he thought was in heaven. ''Kannum Karalum'' was released on 28 September 1962. It was also a box office success and had a theatrical run of 100 days. The film was based on the story of

K. T. Muhammed K. T. Muhammed (29 September 1927 – 25 March 2008), popularly known as KT, was a Malayalam playwright and screenwriter. He had scripted about 40 stage plays, including ''Idhu Bhumiyanu'' (''This is the Earth''), considered to be his masterpie ...

, who also wrote the script and dialogues. The music for the film was composed by

M. B. Sreenivasan Manamadurai Balakrishnan Sreenivasan (19 September 1925 – 9 March 1988), or MBS, was a South Indian music director who worked mainly in the Malayalam and Tamil film industries. He was born to an orthodox Tamil Brahmin family on 19 Septe ...

, with lyrics written by Vayalar Ramavarma.

Plot

Cast

as Mohan *

as Babu * Ambika Sukumaran as Sarala *

Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai (1900–1979) was a Malayalam dramatist, poet, screen play writer and actor who was well known in the role of Ashaan in Kavyamela. He was born in 1900 in Muthukulam, a small village near Haripad in Alappuzha District ...

as Gopalan Nair, Sarala's father. * Baby Vinodini as Indira, (dual role child Babu and Indira) *

S. P. Pillai S. P. Pillai (28 November 1913 – 12 June 1985) was an Indian film and stage actor, best known for his comic roles in Malayalam films. Biography S. Pankajakshan Pillai alias S. P. Pillai was born in 1913 in the temple town of Ettumanoor in ...

Production

The film was based on the story of

, who also wrote the script and dialogues. This was the first Malayalam film of

, he played Sathyan's son. It also debut Malayalm film of producer A. K. Balasubramaniam.

was a child artist when she did this film and she did a dual role as the teenaged Babu and Indira. The climax scenes of this film was shot on the top of the Sreenarayana Guru memorial at Varkala, Sivagiri.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

and lyrics were written by Vayalar Ramavarma. Latha Raju worked her second movie of this film as playback singer.

Release and reception

''Kannum Karalum'' was released on 28 September 1962. The film was distributed by P. K. Kaimal under the banner of ''Thirumeni Pictures'' and the film was commercial success. The distributors who saw the film in Kochi predicted the film would not run successfully, as there was no romantic interest for the lead actor in it. Despite this, it ran for 100 days. Even in Palakkad, where Malayalam films never ran, it ran for 50 days. Jaycey Foundation chairman and film producer ''J.J. Kuttikkattu'' had conduct an event to celebrated the 50th anniversary of this film.

References

External links

* {{K. S. Sethumadhavan 1960s Malayalam-language films 1962 films Films directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan Indian avant-garde and experimental films Films shot in Thiruvananthapuram Films scored by M. B. Sreenivasan