''Nirakkoottu'' is a 1985 Indian

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 ...

-language film directed by

Joshiy Joshiy (born 18 July 1952) is an Indian film director and producer from Varkala in Kerala who works predominantly in the Malayalam film industry. He made his debut with ''Tiger Salim'' (1978) and has directed over 80 films. He has also directe ...

, written by

Dennis Joseph Dennis Joseph (20 October 1957 – 10 May 2021) was an Indian scriptwriter and director known for his work in Malayalam films. He was active during the 1980s and early 1990s. He frequently collaborated with directors Joshi (director), Joshi and ...

, starring

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 ...

Sumalatha Sumalatha (born 27 August 1963) is an Indian actress, politician who is the current Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Mandya, Karnataka. She has acted in more than 220 films in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Hindi. She gained ...

Urvashi Urvashi ( sa, उर्वशी, Urvaśī}) is the most prominent apsara (celestial nymph) in Hindu mythology, considered to be the most beautiful of all the apsaras, and an expert dancer. She is mentioned in both ''Vedic'' and ''Puranic'' s ...

, Lizy,

Babu Namboothiri Babu Namboothiri (born 12 August 1947) is a retired Chemistry Professor and Head Of Department of Deva Mata College Kuravilangad and an Indian film and TV actor who has starred in more than 100 Malayalam films and various serials. He is famou ...

and

Jose Prakash Jose Prakash (14 April 1925 – 24 March 2012) was an Indian actor and singer who worked in Malayalam cinema. He was a singer turned actor who had appeared in more than 300 films mostly in antagonist roles. He was awarded with the J. C. Daniel ...

. The music was composed by

Shyam Shyam is a name of Krishna and an Indian masculine given name and surname. Notable people with this name include: ;Shyam *Shyam (actor), Indian Hindi film actor *Shyam (composer), an Indian music composer from Kerala * Shyam Benegal, Indian film di ...

. The story follows journalist Sasikala Varghese's (Urvashi) investigation of millionaire Ravi Varma (Mammootty), who is sentenced to death for the murder of his wife Mercy (Sumalatha).

Plot

Sasikala Varghese gets a job as a news reporter in a Malayalam daily named "Keralarema", which is owned by M. K. Abraham. Sasikala stays with her friend, Dr. Suma. She is assigned to interview Ravi Varma, a millionaire who is sentenced to death for the murder of his wife Mercy, who was also Sasikala's sister. The Supreme Court has sentenced Ravi to death, and the president has rejected Ravi's appeal. Sasikala covers and publishes the story of Ravi Varma and is praised by Abraham, her boss, during the official meeting. They were then surprised by a feedback letter that had reached the Keralarema office regarding the published article. The film then transitions into a flashback following Ravi Varma, the accused man. Ravi is a wealthy man and the owner of an advertising agency. Mercy is employed as a clerk in a firm and is also a classical dancer. Ravi had met Mercy during a dance program hosted at a club. He had then proposed an offer to Mercy for her to join his advertising agency as a model, which Mercy immediately rejects. However, upon losing her job as a clerk and with her family (consisting of an ill father, a younger sister and brother) already dependent on her income, she is forced to join Ravi's advertising agency. The advertising agency flourishes well with the utilization of Mercy's modeling skills. A career-oriented Ravi, in order to make Mercy stay with his firm permanently, proposes to Mercy and they get registry-married, as they belong to different religions. After a week-long honeymoon, Ravi forces his wife to pose for modeling with a half-dressed costume, despite her protests. This leads to conflict in their family life. Once Ravi learns that his wife is pregnant, an argument begins again regarding the fatherhood of the conceived child, and Ravi asks his wife to move out of his house. Mercy then takes shelter with her friend, Dr. Suma. Ravi files for divorce, and it is granted with the verdict that Ravi needs to compensate his wife and child on a monthly basis until the child becomes a youth. A drunken Ravi visits Mercy and tells her that instead of paying the compensation monthly, he would pay her all the money at once. Ravi then pulls a knife and murders Mercy. A day before his scheduled execution, Ravi Varma escapes prison, and accidentally meets Sasikala. He learns that Sasikala and Mercy are sisters and tells her the truth about what really happened. Ravi loved Mercy and never pressured her for any modeling assignments. Ajith had blackmailed Mercy by threatening to expose nude images of her to the world. Fearing social stigma, Mercy divorces Ravi unwillingly. Ajith later tries to molest Mercy, kills her and flees. Since Ravi was at the scene of the murder, he was taken into custody by the police. To avenge his wife, Ravi escapes from the prison and then kills Ajith.

Cast

as Ravi Varma *

as Mercy *

as Sasikala Varghese * Lissy as Dr. Suma *

as Ajith *

Azeez Aziz ( ar, عزيز, , is an Arabic male name. The feminine form of both the adjective and the given name is Aziza. ''Aziz'' in Arabic is derived from the root ''ʕ-z-z'' with a meaning of "strong, powerful" and the adjective has acquired its m ...

as Jailor *

as M. K. Abraham * Baiju as Boy at the petrol bunk *

Prathapachandran Prathapachandran (1941–2004) was an Indian actor, who worked predominantly in Malayalam film, 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 o ...

as Paul Mathew *

Thodupuzha Vasanthi Thodupuzha Vasanthi was an Indian actress who acted mainly in Malayalam films. She appeared in over 450 movies and also in 16 tele-serials and 100 plays. She was a theater artist, before starting with small roles in movies. Her first full length ...

as co-worker of Sasikala

Release

The film was released on 12 September 1985.

Box office

The film was both commercial and critical success.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

and the lyrics were written by

Poovachal Khader Poovachal Khader (25 December 1948 – 22 June 2021) was a Malayalam lyricist from Kerala who worked mainly in Malayalam film industry. His first movie as a lyricist was ''Kaattuvithachavan'' (1973) but his first released movie was ''Chuzhi'' ( ...

K. S. Chithra Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963), always credited as K. S. Chithra or Chithra, is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning over four decades, she has recorded over 25,000 songs in various In ...

won her first

Kerala State Film Award for Best Singer The Kerala State Film Award for Best Singer is an honour, established in 1969, and presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India for best female and male playback singer in Malayalam cinema. The first recipients of the award were P. ...

for the song ''Poomaname.''

Awards

won the

Kerala State Film Award – Special Jury Award The Kerala State Film Award – Special Jury Award is an award presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India. Winners See also * Kerala State Film Award – Special Mention The Kerala State Film Award – Special Mention is an ...

in 1985

Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Cha ...

for his role as Ravi Varma.

won the

in 1985 Best Play Back Singer for the song "Poomaname" * Filmfare Award for Best Film - Malayalam -

Joy Thomas Joy Thomas is an Indian politician and currently the President of the Kerala State Co-operative Consumers Federation Limited. Early life Joy Thomas was born in Idukki, Idukki district of Kerala in a Syro-Malabar, Syrian Catholic Christians ...

(1985) 33rd Filmfare Awards South

References

External links

* {{Dennis Joseph 1985 films 1980s Malayalam-language films Malayalam films remade in other languages Films scored by Shyam (composer) Films directed by Joshiy Indian thriller films Films with screenplays by Dennis Joseph 1985 thriller films