''Marupakkam'' ( en, The Other Side, italic=yes) is a 1991 Indian
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nati ...
-language
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
written and 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 ...
. An adaptation of the Tamil novella ''Uchi Veyyil'' by
Indira Parthasarathy
R. Parthasarathy, commonly known as Indira Parthasarathy or Ee. Paa., is an Indian author and playwright who writes in Tamil. He has published 16 novels, 10 plays, anthologies of short stories, and essays. He is best known for his plays, "Aurang ...
, the film stars
Sivakumar
Palaniswamy, better known by his stage name Sivakumar (born 27 October 1941), is an Indian visual artist and former actor who has portrayed a wide range of leading and supporting roles onscreen in Tamil cinema and television. He made his actin ...
,
Radha
Radha ( sa, राधा, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is worshiped as the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. She is the avatar of goddess Lakshmi and is also de ...
, and
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 ...
. Its music is composed by
L. Vaidyanathan
Lakshminarayana Vaidyanathan ( ta, லக்ஷ்மிநாராயண வைத்தியநாதன்; kn, ಎಲ್.ವೈದ್ಯನಾಥನ್; 9 April 1942 – 19 May 2007) was an acclaimed musicologist, music director and compo ...
.
At the
38th National Film Awards
The 38th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1990. Ceremony took place in 199 ...
, ''Marupakkam'' won three
National Film Awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...
, including the Golden Lotus Award for
Best Film
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
, making it the first Tamil film to win in that category. The film was featured at the
International Film Festival of India
The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually, currently in the state of Goa, on the western coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common pla ...
in 2003 as part of a retrospective tribute to Sethumadhavan.
Plot
Ambi, who lives in Delhi with his
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
wife Sweetie, arrives at
Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum) or Kudanthai is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the headq ...
to meet his father Vembu Iyer who recently suffered a stroke and was paralysed after getting a message that Ambi separated from his wife. Ambi, feeling guilty, comes to see his father. A few weeks earlier, Ambi, who married Sweetie, came with her to meet his orthodox
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
parents Vembu and Janaki. Vembu insulted Sweetie and, unable to accept it, she decided to return immediately to Delhi and forced Ambi to leave with her. At Delhi, they continued quarrelling over it and finally separated. When Vembu got the news, he was upset and suffered a stroke. In the present, the doctor recognises that there is another side to Vembu's life. His son's separation from his wife reminded him of his separation from his beloved first wife Avayam. Slowly, Ambi understands that his father is longing to see has erstwhile wife, because though paralysed, Vembu keeps tapping his fingers as steps for a dance. Vembu now recollects his past.
Vembu and Avayam loved each other and got married against the wishes of Vembu's mother. While Vembu sang well, Avayam sang and danced well. Both kept enjoying their singing and dancing, which was not liked by Vembu's mother whose husband abandoned her for a dancer many years back. Avayam's continued interest in singing and dancing angered her, and she accused Avayam of behaving like a prostitute. When Avayam protested, Vembu slapped her and threw her out of his house for opposing his mother, whom he respected dearly. Avayam walked out and filed for divorce. In court, Vembu accused her of moral turpitude to justify the divorce petition, which hurt Avayam deeply and they got separated. Though separated, Vembu felt guilty of wrongly accusing Avayam.
Ambi's friend Murthy proposes that Ambi should bring Avayam so that his father can see her once before he dies. However, Janaki refuses. When Vembu's situation deteriorates. the doctor and others feel that his hours are numbered and is awaiting his death. However, Vembu hangs on to life. Murthy learns that Avayam Is now a famous dancer named Chitralekha and goes to meet her. In the meanwhile, knowing Vembu's grave condition, Sweetie returns home in traditional attire and seeks forgiveness from Janaki and Vembu. Janaki is happy that her daughter-in-law is back and Vembu is also happy, but still not satisfied. That is when Murthy brings Avayam. Looking at Avayam, Vembu is excited and feels relieved that she has forgiven him. Avayam holds Vembu's hand tightly, which was tapping all along awaiting her return.
Cast
*
Sivakumar
Palaniswamy, better known by his stage name Sivakumar (born 27 October 1941), is an Indian visual artist and former actor who has portrayed a wide range of leading and supporting roles onscreen in Tamil cinema and television. He made his actin ...
as Vembu Iyer
*
Radha
Radha ( sa, राधा, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is worshiped as the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. She is the avatar of goddess Lakshmi and is also de ...
as Avayam
*
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 Janaki
*Sekar as Ambi
*
Gopi
Gopi ( sa, गोपी, ) or Gopika in Hinduism are worshipped as the consorts and devotees of Krishna within the Vaishnavism and Krishnaism traditions for their unconditional love and devotion ('' Bhakti'') to god Krishna as described in the ...
as Murthy
*Veeraraghavan as the doctor
*Yuvashree as Sweetie
Production
Development
As a fan of
Indira Parthasarathy
R. Parthasarathy, commonly known as Indira Parthasarathy or Ee. Paa., is an Indian author and playwright who writes in Tamil. He has published 16 novels, 10 plays, anthologies of short stories, and essays. He is best known for his plays, "Aurang ...
's stories,
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 ...
filmmaker
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 ...
approached him with a desire to adapt his novel ''Vendhu Tanindha Kaadugal'' for the screen; Parthasarathy however suggested the novella ''Uchi Veyil'', and Sethumadhavan, who had read the story before, read it again and agreed to make it into a film. The title ''Uchi Veyil'' could not be retained due to a different film with the
same name already having released in 1990, so ''Marupakkam'' was chosen.
The film was produced by the
National Film Development Corporation of India
The National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) based in Mumbai is the central agency established in 1975, to encourage high quality Indian cinema. It functions in areas of film financing, production and distribution and under Ministr ...
and
Doordarshan
Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...
,
Sethumadhavan, in addition to directing, also wrote the screenplay. Cinematography was handled by D. Vasanth Kumar, and editing by G. Venkitaraman, while the background music was composed by
L. Vaidyanathan
Lakshminarayana Vaidyanathan ( ta, லக்ஷ்மிநாராயண வைத்தியநாதன்; kn, ಎಲ್.ವೈದ್ಯನಾಥನ್; 9 April 1942 – 19 May 2007) was an acclaimed musicologist, music director and compo ...
.
Casting and filming
When offered the role of Vembu Iyer by Sethumadhavan,
Sivakumar
Palaniswamy, better known by his stage name Sivakumar (born 27 October 1941), is an Indian visual artist and former actor who has portrayed a wide range of leading and supporting roles onscreen in Tamil cinema and television. He made his actin ...
, who had read the source material, readily accepted as he thought it would be a challenging role. He consulted dentists in deciding for his make-up. Though the story is primarily set in Kumbakonam, the film was shot in Madras.
Made on a shoestring budget of ₹12 lakh (worth ₹2.7 crore in 2021 prices), filming was completed in 14 days.
Accolades
''Marupakkam'' won three awards at the
38th National Film Awards
The 38th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1990. Ceremony took place in 199 ...
which took place in 1991: Golden Lotus Award for
Best Film
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
, Silver Lotus Award for
Best Screenplay
Best or The Best may refer to:
People
* Best (surname), people with the surname Best
* Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer
Companies and organizations
* Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain
* Best Lock Corporatio ...
(Sethumadhavan), and Silver Lotus Award for
Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Jayabharathi).
It was the first Tamil film to win the Best Film award. Sivakumar was a strong contender for the
National Film Award for Best Actor
The National Film Award for Best Actor, officially known as the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actor (), is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India instituted since 1967 to actors who have delivered the best performanc ...
, but lost to
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
for ''
Agneepath''.
The film was featured at the
International Film Festival of India
The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually, currently in the state of Goa, on the western coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common pla ...
in 2003 as part of a retrospective tribute to Sethumadhavan.
Reception
''Marupakkam'' was theatrically released on 6 March 1992.
N. Krishnaswamy of ''
The Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
'' wrote the following week, "Sethumadhavan's narration is designed to be impressive. Based on Indira Parthasarathy's novella, the script of ''Marupakkam'' tries to be offbeat by withholding information and by cutting back and forth time." The Tamil magazine ''
Ananda Vikatan
''Ananda Vikatan'' is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India.
History and profile
''Ananda Vikatan'' was started by Late Pudhoor Vaidyanadhaiyar in February 1926 as a monthly publication. The issue for December 1927 wa ...
'', in a review dated 15 March 1992, applauded ''Marupakkam'' as a sharply focused film on the subject without any diversion with good editing, superb acting, re-recording at the right places and nice presentation. The reviewer said only Sethumadhavan could translate a simple but meaningful story by Indira Parthasarathy into an amazing film like this, and felt more such films like this must come in Tamil cinema.
Another Tamil magazine, ''
Kumudam
''Kumudam'' is a Tamil weekly magazine published in Chennai, India. It was founded in 1948 by S.A.P. Annamalai, and his close friend and confidante P.V. Parthasarathy. Now the magazine is published under the Kumudam Group, which also publishes ...
'', called it a "masterpiece" from Sivakumar, and said his career could be divided into two eras: "pre-''Marupakkan'' and post-''Marupakkam''".
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
*
{{NationalFilmAwardBestFeatureFilm
1990 drama films
1990 films
1990s Tamil-language films
1992 drama films
1992 films
Films scored by L. Vaidyanathan
Best Feature Film National Film Award winners
Films based on Indian novels
Films directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan
Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay National Film Award
Indian nonlinear narrative films
National Film Development Corporation of India films