''Samaantharangal'' ( ml, സമാന്തരങ്ങള്‍, en, Parallelism) is a 1998 Malayalam drama film written and directed by

Balachandra Menon Balachandra Menon ( ml, ബാലചന്ദ്ര മേനോൻ) (born 11 January 1954) is an Indian actor, director and script writer. He made a number of films in the Malayalam films of the 1980s, 1980s and Malayalam films of the 1990s, ...

. The film stars Menon himself along with

Maathu Madhavi (born 1973), better known by her stage name Maathu, is an Indian actress who was active during the 1980s and 1990s in Malayalam cinema. She is born to Telugu-speaking parents Venkit and Shantha. She is best known for her role as ''Rad ...

Renuka Renuka, also known as Yellamma, is a Hindu goddess worshipped predominantly in the South Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and western state of Maharashtra. She is also known as the mother of Parashurama ...

and

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 ...

in supporting roles. The film depicts the clash between father and son and won several awards including two

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

45th National Film Awards The 45th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1997. The awards were announced ...

. Balachandra Menon portrayed the role of station master father and was acclaimed for his performance. The film is noted for Menon who managed nine departments for the film; producer, director, story, screenplay, dialogues, actor, editor, music and distribution with also winning the

National Film Award for Best Actor The National Film Award for Best Actor, officially known as the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actor (), is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India instituted since 1967 to actors who have delivered the best performanc ...

Plot

Ismail is a

Station master The station master (or stationmaster) is the person in charge of a railway station, particularly in the United Kingdom and many other countries outside North America. In the United Kingdom, where the term originated, it is now largely historical ...

of Meenakshipuram, a small town located on the borders of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. He is accompanied by his family consisting of an aged ailing mother, a wife, two daughters, three sons and a grandson. Ayshumma, Ismail's mother, is proud of Ismail for his honesty and integrity with which he binds everybody; whereas his second wife, Razia, expects him to accept bribes so that she can manage the household more efficiently. Ameena, an elder daughter from his first wife, is a married to Jamal who works on ship but has gone missing for long time. Ismail's elder son Najeeb is an ambitious youngster who wants to do business and earn money. In order to follow his dreams, Najeeb asks his father some money so that he can open a

telephone booth A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box, telephone box or public call box is a tiny structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience; usually the user steps into the booth and closes the booth ...

but then Ismail rejects and advises him to concentrate on studies. Disappointed with Ismail's behaviour, Najeeb decides to leave the house for his own future. He gets introduced to a political leader who convinces Najeeb that politics would help him fulfill his dreams. A political activist now, Najeeb and his political party decides to do complete railway lockout (

Bandh Bandh (Devanagari: बंद) (literally: shutting down) is a form of protest used by political activists in South Asian countries such as India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the s ...

) in the country so that the party can become popular. To achieve this, they decide to remove railway tracks. Knowing Ismail, Najeeb secretly informs Razia about this and asks her to convince Ismail not to go on duty on that day. Razia unsuccessfully tries to convince Ismail but he rejects all her plea and goes for duty. At the station, he learns about Bandh and also learns that Najeeb is an active member of the plan. Knowing about railway tracks being sabotaged, Ismail tries to inform the loco pilot to avoid accident. Too late to warn the loco pilot, Ismail runs on the railway tracks himself to stop the train. He successfully stops the train and avoids accident but not before he has been run over.

Cast

as Ismail * Akhil Gopakumar as Jamal's son * Rajesh Rajan as Najeeb * Sai Kumar as Political leader *

as Aishu *

as Amina *

Madhu Madhu (Sanskrit: ) is a word used in several Indo-Aryan languages meaning ''honey'' or ''sweet''. It is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European ''*médʰu'', whence English '' mead''. Metaphorical use ''Madhu'' has been used for millennia si ...

as Minister *

as Raziya *

Jose Pellissery Jose Pellissery (1950 – 5 December 2004) was an Indian film and theatre actor. Biography As an actor in Malayalam cinema, he played supporting roles in about 100 films. His 15-year film career included roles in such movies as ''Aadhaaram'', ...

as Financier * Gopi as Musaliyar *

Madhupal Madhupal Kannambathu is an Indian actor, director, and screenwriter who works in Malayalam cinema. Madhupal made his acting debut with ''Kashmeeram'' in 1994 and his directorial debut with ''Thalappavu'' (2008), which was about Naxal Varghese an ...

as Jamal *

Viji Thampi Viji Thampi is an Indian film director, actor and social activist who works in Malayalam films. Thampi is a member of Thiruvananthapuram regional board of the Central Board of Film Certification and the State Advisor of Kerala Kshetra Samraksha ...

as Matthew * Poojappura Radhakrishnan as Vasu *

Kundara Johny Johny Joseph with the stage name Kundara Johny is an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He has acted in more than 100 films. He has also done Cinema of Tamil Nadu, Tamil films like ''Vaazhkai Chakram'' and ''Nadigan''. He surprised everyone wit ...

as Roy *

Ravi Vallathol Ravi Vallathol (25 November 1952 25 April 2020) was an Indian actor, mainly noted for his acting in many famous serials, including the first serial in Malayalam. Biography He was born as the son of famous Drama legend T. N. Gopinathan Nair ...

as Murali *

Usharani Usharani (29 May 1958 – 20 June 2020) was an Indian actress who acted mainly in Malayalam films. Personal life Usharani married Malayalam movie director N. Sankaran Nair in 1977. Filmography Tamil * Thirumalai Thenkumari (1970) * Kalam ...

as Mary * Arya as Mrs. Murali

Soundtrack

Awards

The film won several awards for Balachandra Menon including

. ;

Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...

* 1998 -

Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Malayalam The Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Malayalam is an award instituted in 1972, presently annually at the Filmfare Awards South to an actor via a jury. This given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for performers ...

- Balachandra Menon ;

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 Cha ...

* 1997 -

Kerala State Film Award (Special Jury 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 Cha ...

- Balachandra Menon ;

Asianet Film Awards The Asianet Film Awards is an award ceremony for films presented annually by Asianet, a Malayalam-language television network from the south-Indian state of Kerala. Asianet says that awards ceremony has been instituted to honour both artis ...

* 1998 -

Asianet Film Award for Best Supporting Actress Asianet may refer to: Disney Star channels *Asianet Communications, an Indian media company wholly owned by Disney Star **Asianet (TV channel), a Malayalam language general entertainment channel **Asianet Plus, a Malayalam language general entertai ...

for Sukumari. ;

* 1997 -

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to th ...

- Balachandra Menon ::Citation: ''For his realistic and sensitive portrayal of a middle-class man who stands up for his high principles.'' * 1997 - Best Film on Family Welfare ::Citation: ''For an original script evolved from personal experience in a film that nurtures family and community life. The protagonist makes sacrifices in order to project the emotional and moral needs of his family members and through them projects a larger picture of the National Interests that bind us all.''

References

External links

{{Balachandra Menon 1990s Malayalam-language films 1998 films Films directed by Balachandra Menon Films featuring a Best Actor National Award-winning performance Best Film on Family Welfare National Film Award winners