''Mohiniyaattam'' is a 1976

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

film, directed by

Sreekumaran Thampi Sreekumaran Thampi (born 16 March 1940) is an Indian lyricist, music director, director, producer, and screenwriter in Malayalam cinema. He also writes poetry and is a recipient of the Vallathol Award. In 2017, he was awarded the J. C. Daniel ...

. The film stars

Adoor Bhasi K. Bhaskaran Nair (1 March 1929 – 29 March 1990), known by his stage name Adoor Bhasi, was an Indian actor and film director from Kerala. Adoor Bhasi was almost always cast as the man who stands next to the hero. His hilarious actions and role ...

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...

, T. R. Omana and Nilambur Balan in the lead roles. The film has musical score by G. Devarajan. P. S. Nivas won the

National Film Award for Best Cinematography The National Film Award for Best Cinematography is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several awards p ...

for the film. The film won three Filmfare Awards South.

Cast

as Krishnan *

as Mohini * T. R. Omana as Nalini * Nilambur Balan as Panikker * P. N. Menon as Artist K. M. Panicker *

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.Babu Nanthankode Babu Nanthankode is a South Indian film director who works mainly in the Malayalam film industry. Born in Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of K ...

as Prospected groom *

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 Narendran *

Kanakadurga Kanakadurga is an Indian actress best known for her work in Malayalam cinema. She hails from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. She debuted in the Malayalam movie ''Nellu'' as Kurumatti. She has acted in a few Tamil, Kannada and Telugu movies as wel ...

as Anasooya *

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 ...

as Venu * Mallika Sukumaran as Ranjini * Master Rajakumaran Thampi as Young Chinthu *

T. P. Madhavan T. P. Madhavan (born 7 November 1935) is an Indian actor who appeared in Malayalam films. He started acting at the age of 40. He has acted in more than 600 films. He came into the film industry playing villain roles; later he started doing com ...

as Nalini's husband *

Jagathy 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 Ranjini's lover *

Vijayan Vijayan is a South Indian name and may refer to: Given name *Pinarayi Vijayan (born 1944), Indian politician * Vijayan (actor) (1944–2007), Tamil & Malayalam film actor *Vijayan (stunt coordinator), action choreographer for South Indian films *Vi ...

as Reporter Kutty * Vanchiyoor Radha as Nirmala's Aunt * Mancheri Chandran as Hotel Receptionist * P. R. Menon as Industrialist *

Prathapachandran Prathapachandran (1941–2004) was an Indian actor, who worked predominantly in Malayalam film industry, though he acted in a few Tamil and Telugu movies as well. He known for the portrayal of villainous and character roles in over 300 movies. ...

as Raghavan Nair * Haripppad Soman as House maid * Girija as Sreedevi *

Master Sekhar J. V. Sekhar (7 January 1963 – 8 July 2003), better known as Master Sekhar, was an Indian child actor who predominantly appeared in Tamil and Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indi ...

as Chintu

Soundtrack

The music was composed by G. Devarajan and the lyrics were written by

and Jayadevar.

Reception

B. N. Reddy Bommireddy Narasimha Reddy (16 November 1908 – 8 November 1977), professionally known as B. N. Reddy, was an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was an early figure in the Telugu cinema. Many of his earlier films like ''Vand ...

wrote, "''Mohiniyattam'' is a well produced, artistic and thought-provoking picture. Lakshmi's brilliant acting, the direction and the photography are the highlights." ''

The Sunday Standard ''The Sunday Standard'' was an English-language weekly newspaper in Sri Lanka published by Standard Newspapers (Private) Limited, part of Communication and Business Equipment (Private) Limited (CBE). It was founded in 2006 and published from Colo ...

'' wrote, "A good film for woman's libbers and those who fight against a cruel, selfish, debauched male-oriented society. A good theme and great ideals significantly a boost to the anti-dowry movement." ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'' wrote, "Thampi lands Indianness to the women's liberation movement by emancipating Mohini through a vicarious realization of her motherhood." ''

The Economic Times ''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. It is owned by The Times Group. ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961. As of 2012, it is the world's second-most widely read English-language bu ...

'' wrote, "Lakshmi's performance is memorable, even great at times. Thampi tries to say something different from the run of the mill film." ''

Screen Screen or Screens may refer to: Arts * Screen printing (also called ''silkscreening''), a method of printing * Big screen, a nickname associated with the motion picture industry * Split screen (filmmaking), a film composition paradigm in which mul ...

'' wrote, "In its best moments ''Mohiniyattam'' is a fine piece of celluloid art replete with visually beautiful scenes and poetic imagery. It is also one of the most meaningful tributes paid to women by the commercial cinema and it should be valued for this if not for anything else."

Awards

; Filmfare Awards South - 1976 * Best Film - Malayalam - Raji & Thapsi * Best Director - Malayalam -

* Best Actress - Malayalam -

References

External links

* 1976 films 1970s Malayalam-language films Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography National Film Award Indian feminist films Films about women in India Films directed by Sreekumaran Thampi {{1970s-Malayalam-film-stub