''Onnu Muthal Poojyam Vare'' () is a 1986 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

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 ...

produced by

Navodaya Appachan Maliampurackal Chacko Punnoose, known as Navodaya Appachan (6 February 1924 – 23 April 2012) was an Indian film producer, director and entrepreneur. He is best known for his work in Malayalam cinema, especially as the founder of Navodaya ...

under

Navodaya Studio Navodaya Studio is an Indian film studio headquartered at Kochi, Kerala. It is one of the earliest film studios in Kerala, established in 1976 by Navodaya Appachan. Navodaya is known for producing some of the landmark films in Indian cinema. His ...

, written and directed by

Reghunath Paleri Raghunath Paleri (born 7 February 1954) is an Indian novelist, screenwriter, director and actor from Kerala. Career He has directed three films''Onnu Muthal Poojyam Vare'' (1986), '' Vismayam'' (1998), and ''Kanneerinu Madhuram'' (unreleased); ...

in his directorial debut. The film features Asha Jayaram and

Geethu Mohandas Gayatri Das (born 8 June 1981), known professionally as Geetu Mohandas, is an Indian actress and director known for her works in Malayalam cinema and Bollywood. In 2013, she directed the socio political film '' Liar's Dice'' which has received ...

in lead roles.

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 appeare ...

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-Diegetic#Film sound and music, diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, th ...

appears throughout the film, but he appears only at the end of the story.

Suresh Gopi Suresh Gopi (born 26 June 1958) is an Indian actor, politician, playback singer and television presenter. He works predominantly in Malayalam cinema and has also appeared in some Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bollywood films. Suresh made his acti ...

and

Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It also means god of 3 worlds, heaven, hell & earth, which in turn represents Hindu god Shiva. It is commonly used as a male given name in India. Peopl ...

makes cameo appearances. The film explores the loneliness of a widow and the need of a father figure for her daughter. The film won six

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 Best Debut Director (Reghunath Paleri), Best Child Artist (Geethu),

Best Cinematography 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 ...

(

Shaji N. Karun Shaji Neelakantan Karun (born 1 January 1952) is an Indian film director and cinematographer. His debut film '' Piravi'' (1988) won the Caméra d'Or – Mention d'honneur at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. He was the premiere chairman of the Keral ...

), Best Editor (Shekhar), Best Art Director, and Best Sound Recordist.

Plot

The film sheds light on the story of Aleena (Asha Jayaram), a widow and her four-year-old daughter Deepamol (

). Aleena lives with her daughter treasuring the memories of her late husband (

Prathap Pothan Pratap Pothen (13 August 1952 – 15 July 2022) was an Indian actor and filmmaker who acted in about 100 films and directed 12 films. He appeared in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu as well as Hindi films. He also worked as a scriptwriter and produ ...

) in a big house. She repeatedly dismisses the notion of remarriage. She is a painter and works in the advertising industry. Deepamol is a bubbly little girl always playing around with the telephone making random calls. One such call turns their life forever when Deepamol gets in contact with her "Telephone uncle" (

). Deepamol gets attached to Telephone uncle very fast. Though Aleena was on the fence and skeptical of the man's intentions, she eventually falls in love. Telephone uncle resists the coercions from the mother and never reveals his name or whereabouts. Finally, he comes to their place on the night of Deepamol's birthday raising Aleena's hope for a better life, only to put an end to it within a very short time.

Cast

* Asha Jayaram as Aleena *

as Deepamol *

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 Dr. K. K. Menon *

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 Sister * Shari as Elizabeth, Aleena's friend *

as Josekutty, Aleena's late husband * Zainuddin as the Santa Clause * Kalabhavan Rahman as the icecream parlour waiter *

as the man at the beach (Cameo appearance) *

as the man at the ice cream parlour (Cameo appearance) *

as Telephone uncle (Cameo appearance)

Production

Geethu Mohandas who was barely four years old made her acting debut as child artist with this film. In order to make her perform to the character, the film's director Paleri used to converse with her through telephone as Mohanlal's character to make her get familiarize with the character.

Soundtrack

Awards

References

External links

* {{IMDB title, 0292160
''Onnu Muthal Poojyam Vare''
at the Malayalam Movie Database 1980s Malayalam-language films Films scored by Mohan Sithara 1986 drama films 1986 films Indian drama films Films produced by Navodaya Appachan