''Naayika'' ( en, Heroine) is a 2011 Malayalam

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 ...

directed by

Jayaraj Jayarajan Rajasekharan Nair, professionally credited as Jayaraj, is an Indian filmmaker, who predominantly works in Malayalam film industry. He has won many awards, including Crystal Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Golden ...

. The film stars Urvasi Sharada,

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 occasiona ...

Padmapriya Padmapriya (born Padmalochani; died 16 November 1997) was an Indian actress who worked in Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. Her first movie was in Telugu, ''Adapillala Tandri'' (1974). In Kannada, she debuted with '' Bangarada Gudi' ...

and

Mamta Mohandas Mamta Mohandas is an Indian actress, film producer and a playback singer of Malayalam film industry, she has also worked in Tamil and Telugu productions. She has acted in more than 50 films and won several accolades including two Filmfare Awar ...

in the lead roles.

Plot

''Naayika'' tells the life and times of a yesterdays' heroine of

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, ''Elippathayam' ...

. It is the story of Gracy a leading star until she suddenly disappeared from the silver screen. Gracy loves Anand. Anand was playing roles as the evergreen star

Prem Nazir Prem Nazir (born Abdul Khader; 7 April 1926 – 16 January 1989) was an Indian actor known as one of Malayalam cinema's definitive leading man, leading men of his generation. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential actors in the histo ...

. when he suddenly has a disease with his blood. He loses too much of his blood by his nose, and dies during his last film with his coming bride. She stops acting and disappears from the silver screen. She would like to adopt a young girl. But the young girl wants to star in the next film Gracy stars. But her dress falls off and she goes nude and it appears on the film. She begs for the negative clip from the producer but he wants her instead. But when the film is released, the negative clip was still there which broke her heart. And she told the producer that she will disclose his intentions to the public. This made him conscious and made him think to kill her. He ordered her make up man to put poison on her lipstick and kill her. She has the poison on her lips and dies. This results in Gracy losing her mental stability. Mamtha comes as a girl reporter and tries to investigate and reveal the truth. But gracy still lives mental, and live for the rest of her life acting unmarried.

Cast

* Sharada (Older) &

(Younger) as Gracy *

as Anand *

as Aleena *

Sarayu The Sarayu is a river that originates at a ridge south of Nanda Kot mountain in Bageshwar district in Uttarakhand, India. It flows through Kapkot, Bageshwar, and Seraghat towns before discharging into the Sharda River at Pancheshwar at the Ind ...

as Vani * Nayanthara as young Vani *

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 decad ...

Hakim Rawther Hakim Rawther, known mononymously as Hakim, was an Indian actor and film maker in Malayalam cinema. He was known for his directional debut ''The Guard'' (2001), which is the world's first film with only a single actor in the cast. He had also acte ...

as camera man *

KPAC Lalitha Maheshwari Amma, better known by her stage name K. P. A. C. Lalitha, was an Indian film and stage actress who worked primarily in Malyalam. She started her acting career with K. P. A. C., a theatre collective in Kayamkulam, Kerala. In a caree ...

as Sister *

Salim Kumar Salim Kumar (born 10 October 1969) is an Indian actor, comedian, director and writer in Malayalam cinema. Mostly known for his comic and comedy roles, Salim Kumar is considered one of the best and most prominent comedians in the history of Mala ...

as Young Gracy's father *

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 ...

as Herself * Siddique as Film producer Stephen Muthalali *

Ambika Mohan Ambika Mohan is an Indian actress known for her work in Malayalam cinema and television series mostly in supporting roles. She made her debut in the film, ''Meghamalhar ''Meghamalhar'' is a 2001 Indian Malayalam-language romance film writ ...

as Young Gracy's mother * Narayanankutty

Uncredited cast

(Video Shots of old actresses used in title song) * Ambika * Jayabharathi * KR Vijaya * Lakshmi * Monisha * Seema * Sreevidya * Sumalatha ...

Sound Track

The film's soundtrack contains 5 songs, all composed by

M. K. Arjunan M. K. Arjunan ( ml, എം.കെ. അർജുനൻ; 1 March 1936 – 6 April 2020) was an Indian film and theatre composer, known for his works in Cinema of Kerala, Malayalam cinema and the theatre of Kerala. He was fondly referred to as ''Ar ...

and Lyrics 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 ...

Production

After the dismal performance of his few previous films including The Train with

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil l ...

, director

did Naayika. A take on the life of a yesteryear heroine, this film has

and senior actress Sharada in the lead roles. The film has

playing the younger ages of Sharada.The movie is produced by Thomas Benjamin.

appears in a role with subtle comparisons with the 'evergreen star

'. The film features songs by

and Sreekumaran Thampi who had composed for many

films.

References

{{Jayaraj 2010s Malayalam-language films 2011 films Films about films