''Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu'' () is a 1984 Indian

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 ...

-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 ...

written and directed by Fazil, and starring

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically app ...

, Nadhiya, Padmini. The film features original songs composed by

Jerry Amaldev Jerome Thomas Veleeparambil, more popularly known by his stage name Jerry Amaldev (born 15 April 1939) is a three-time Kerala State Film Awards winning Indian composer of film scores who has given music to some of the most important motion pic ...

and background score by

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

. Nadhiya made her Malayalam and acting debut through this film. The film also marked the comeback of Padmini after a hiatus. ''Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu'' was the highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year at the box office and ran for more than 200 days in theatres. It won the

Kerala State Film Award 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 Ch ...

for Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value. Nadhiya won the

Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam The Filmfare Best Actress Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Malayalam films. The awards were extended to "Best Actress" in 1972. Film world, p 43 The year indicates the year of release of ...

. The film was remade in

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, nativ ...

titled ''

Poove Poochooda Vaa ''Poove Poochooda Vaa'' () is a 1985 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Fazil, starring Padmini, S. Ve. Shekher, Nadhiya and Jaishankar. It is a remake of his own Malayalam film ''Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu'' and also marked t ...

'' (1985) by Fazil himself, and in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

as ''Muddula Manavaraalu'' (1986) by Jandhyala.

Plot

Kunjoonjamma Thomas is a widow living in the village all by herself. People always make fun of her because she is grumpy and depressed due to the deaths of her husband and her only child. Children irritate her by ringing her door bell and running away. One day, her granddaughter Girly, who she had never met, visits her. Initially, Kunjoonjamma does not like Girly, but they soon become close to each other. Kunjoonjamma takes down the door bell, saying to Girly that its only purpose was for Girly's return. Now that Girly is with her, she does not need it. Kunjoonjamma's neighbor, Sreekumar, falls in love with Girly. One day, Sreekumar's friend, Alexi, comes to his house and sees Girly. He identifies her as a girl missing from Delhi, and immediately informs her father about her whereabouts. Girly had run away from Delhi because she had

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

and does not have much time to live. She wanted to enjoy the rest of her life. When her father comes to take her back to Delhi for an urgent operation, she refuses to go, claiming that even the doctors are not sure whether the operation will be successful. Her grandmother mixes sleeping pills in soup and gives it to Girly, and her father takes her to Delhi while she is unconscious. The movie ends with the ambulance slowly fading away into the darkness. Sreekumar watches it leave, and when he turns away he sees Kunjoonjamma refixing the door bell with the hope that Girly will return one day.

Cast

as Sreekumar *

Nadhiya Moidu Zareena Moidu, known by her stage name Nadhiya, is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. She made her debut in the Malayalam film ''Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu'' (1984), alongside Mohanlal and Padm ...

as Girly Mathew * Padmini as Kunjoonjamma Thomas, Girly's grandmother *

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 Mathews, Girly's father *

Nedumudi Venu Kesavan Venugopal (22 May 1948 – 11 October 2021), better known by his stage name Nedumudi Venu, was an Indian actor and screenwriter from Kerala, who predominantly worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 500 films, primarily in Ma ...

as the priest *

Thilakan Palappurathu Kesavan Surendranatha Thilakan (15 July 1935 – 24 September 2012) was an Indian film and stage actor who appeared in over 200 Malayalam films. Thilakan was known for his elaborate method acting, realistic and spontaneous appearan ...

as Alexander, a school headmaster staying in the neighborhood *

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.Sukumari - Sreekumar's mother * Usha as Child Artist, In Song Lathiri Poothiri Punchiri *Master Sam as Jacob Alexander *Master Asif as Unni Alexander *Master Cherian as Jo Alexander * Fazil as Alexi (

Cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

)

Production

Some portions of the film was shot at the

Udaya Studios Udaya Studios was one of the oldest film studios in the Malayalam film industry of India. It was established in 1947 by director-producer Kunchacko (1912–1976) and film distributor K. V. Koshy in Pathirappally, Alappuzha in Kerala. The stud ...

in Alappuzha, such as the dance sequences of the song "Lathiri Poothiri Punthiri Cheppo" and a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

scene. During that scene, Nadhiya Moidu's hand was burnt with a sparkler from a fellow dancer, which left a scar on her hand since then. ''Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu'' was the debut film of Nadhiya and the comeback film of Padmini onscreen. It is also the acting debut and the only film appearance of Fazil as of 2017, who did a minor role until 2019 film ''Luficer''. Nadhiya's voice was dubbed by Bhagyalakshmi in the film. This film marked the film debut of director duo Siddique-Lal, who worked as assistant directors to Fazil.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

and lyrics was written by Bichu Thirumala. The songs sung by K. S. Chithra in the film gave her first break in her career.

Reception

The film was the second highest grossing Malayalam film of the year and was the longest running Malayalam film of the year, running for 175 days in theatres. The performances of Mohanlal, Nadhiya, and Padmini were critically acclaimed.

Awards

; Kerala State Film Awards * Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value - Bodhichitra (Ouseppachan, Khayas, Kurian) and Fazil * Best Female Singer - K. S Chithra ; Filmfare Awards South *

Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Malayalam ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of Indian most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, an ...

Remakes

A Tamil remake was made by Fazil himself as ''

'', in which Nadia Moidu and Padmini reprises their roles. Mohanlal's role was done by S. V. Shekhar. The film was a commercial success. It was also remade in

as ''Muddula Manavaraalu'' (1986), directed by

Jandhyala Jandhyala Subrahmanya Sastry (14 January 1951 – 19 June 2001), known mononymously by his surname Jandhyala, was an Indian film director, screenwriter, playwright, and actor known for his works in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He is popu ...

Sequel

Fazil once planned to make a sequel for the film, which did not materialise. He had a plot of Girly after the operation and Sreekumar searching for her. He said in an interview with

Vanitha ''Vanitha'' () is an Indian magazine published fortnightly by the ''Malayala Manorama'' group. It is the largest magazine in India by circulation according to Audit Bureau of Circulations, with average qualifying sales of 687,915 copies (as of ...

References

External links

*
''Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu'' at Malayalachalachithram

''Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu'' at Malayalasangeetham

''Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu'' at Spicyonion

Article about the film in ''Deepika''
{{Fazil (director) 1980s Malayalam-language films 1984 films 1984 romantic drama films Malayalam films remade in other languages Films directed by Fazil Indian romantic drama films Films scored by Jerry Amaldev