''Photographer'' is a 2006 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

Ranjan Pramod Ranjan Pramod is an Indian screenwriter and director best known for his work in Malayalam cinema. He made his debut as a writer with ''Randam Bhavam'' (2001). His popular films include '' Meesa Madhavan'' (2002), '' Manassinakkare'' (2003), '' ...

. 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 ...

Neethu Neethu, also known as Neethu Shetty, is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Kannada-language films and a few Tulu and Malayalam films. She won acclaim and praise for movies like '' Joke Falls'' (2004), '' Beru'' (2005), ''Photographe ...

, Master Mani and Biju Menon in lead roles. The film is loosely based on the Muthanga incident of 2003, in which a policeman and a

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...

were killed. Mohanlal plays dual roles as a

wildlife photographer Wildlife photography is a genre of photography concerned with documenting various forms of wildlife in their natural habitat. As well as requiring photography skills, wildlife photographers may need field craft skills. For example, some anima ...

and a farmer. The soundtrack was composed 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 ...

. The film marks the directorial debut of screenwriter Pramod and the debut of

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

actress

in Malayalam cinema, as well as the comeback of composer Johnson after a sabbatical. ''Photographer'' was released on 21 October 2006 on the occasion of Diwali. Mani, who played the role of a tribal boy won the

Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist The Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist is an award, begun in 1969, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India for the best performance by a child actor in the Malayalam cinema. Until 1997, the awards were managed dir ...

. Johnson won the Mathrubhumi Film Award for Best Music Director for the soundtrack and Mullasserry Raju Music Award for the song "Enthe Kannanu".

Plot

Dijo John is a nature and

. He has a wife and a young son. In a flashback scene, we see Dijo eloping with

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...

girl Sathyavathy. He keeps taking trips to the forests and taking pictures for magazines like National Geographic and also on his website which he uses to sell his images online. On one such trip to the forests, he happens to save an

adivasi The Adivasi refers to inhabitants of Indian subcontinent, generally tribal people. The term is a Sanskrit word coined in the 1930s by political activists to give the tribal people an indigenous identity by claiming an indigenous origin. The term ...

boy, Thammi, from the hands of a notorious police officer and his crew and becomes the spokesperson on their behalf. He even makes a photograph of the police officer aiming at the harmless boy and tries to bring the issue to the public. But his friend who is also the state forest minister assures protection to the boy and advises him from making these incidents more public. Thammi who is lodged in a juvenile home, happens to be there for a while but toward the middle of the film goes missing. Then our wild life activist is again on the run towards the interiors of the forest to trace the child. And amidst the new mission, the photographer is also missing. Dijo's younger brother Joy is a happy-go-lucky rich planter and a pulp writer who has a publication. He try to investigate the situation but with little success. Later, Dijo is found walking around the forest in a dazed condition as he realizes that his fight for the rights of adivasi is a futile exercise and all including his friend, the forest minister and the bureaucracy is nowhere to help the men of the forest.

Cast

as Photographer Dijo John / Planter Joy John (double role) *

Bharathi Vishnuvardhan Bharathi Vishnuvardhan (born 15 August 1950), also known mononymously as Bharathi, is an Indian actress known primarily for her work in Kannada cinema and television serials. She began her career in 1966, as a lead actress, with the Kannada mov ...

as Dijo's mother *

as Sathyavathi, Dijo's wife * Master Mani as Thammi a tribal child * Biju Menon as Forest Minister * Master Sougandh as Sharan *

Saranya Bhagyaraj Krishnasaamy Bhagyaraj (born 7 January 1953) is an Indian director, actor, screenwriter, music director, producer and politician active mainly in Tamil films. He has also written and directed Hindi and Telugu films and TV serials. As an actor, ...

as Asha *

Venu Nagavalli Venu Nagavally (16 April 1949 – 10 September 2010) was an Indian actor, screenwriter and director best known for his work in Malayalam film industry. He has directed 12 films. Son of writer, commentator, and broadcaster Nagavally R. S. Kurup, ...

as Chief Minister * Manoj K. Jayan as Circle Inspector * Ramachandran as Jose John (Dijo's /Joy's Elder Brother) *

Mammukoya Mamukkoya (born 5 July 1946) is an Indian actor known for his work in Malayalam cinema, and has also appeared in French film ''Flammens of Paradise''. He has mostly appeared in comedic roles. His unique usage of the Mappila dialect and style mar ...

as Teastall owner Hassanikka *

K. B. Ganesh Kumar Keezhoote Balakrishna Pillai Ganesh Kumar (born 25 May 1966) is an Indian actor, television host, and politician. Ganesh Kumar is a proposed cabinet minister for the last 2.5 years in the ongoing 2nd LDF govt in Kerala and he is also the curre ...

as Ananthan * Murali as Viplavam Balan * Ambika Mohan as Balan's wife * Daniel Balaji as S.I.T officer *

Janaki Sabesh Janaki Sabesh is an Indian media professional, actor, model, storyteller, author of children's book, theatre and voiceover artist. Throughout her film career, she has played the "screen mother" to several leading actors, appearing predominantly ...

as John's sister-in-law

Production

The film is loosely based on the Muthanga incident of 2003, in which a policeman and a

were killed. The film marks the directorial debut of screenwriter

. Filming began in July 2006. The film was also the debut of

actress

in Malayalam cinema, as well as the comeback of composer

after a sabbatical. Mani, a real tribal boy played a tribal in the film.

Soundtrack

The original songs featured in the film was composed by

, with lyrics by

Kaithapram Damodaran Padma Shri Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, popularly known as Kaithapram, is a Malayalam lyricist, poet, music director, actor, singer, screenwriter, music therapist and performer of Carnatic music. He debuted with the movie Ennennum Kannet ...

. Soundtrack album was released by the label

Satyam Audios Satyam Audios is an Indian music company headquartered at Kochi, Kerala. The greatest stage is not the one where we perform, rather it is for those who create, shape, and mold to form a piece of music. Satyam audios are one of the leading musi ...

Release

''Photographer'' was released in theatres on 24 October 2006.

Awards

Master Mani won the

. Johnson won the Mathrubhumi Film Award for Best Music Director for the soundtrack and the Mullasserry Raju Music Award for the song "Enthe Kannanu".

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0867401, Photographer 2006 films 2006 drama films 2000s Malayalam-language films Films scored by Johnson 2006 directorial debut films