''Swathi Muthyam'' () is a 1986 Indian

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 ...

-language drama film written and directed by K. Viswanath and produced by Edida Nageswara Rao. The film stars

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...

and Raadhika, while Gollapudi Maruti Rao, J. V. Somayajulu,

Nirmalamma Nirmalamma (18 July 1920 – 19 February 2009) was an Indian actress in the Telugu cinema. She has acted in more than 800 films. She was well known for her grandmother roles in several films.She won two Nandi Awards. Early life She was born in ...

, Sarath Babu, and Y. Vijaya play supporting roles. The soundtrack and background score were composed by

Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...

. ''Swathi Muthyam'' depicts the plight of a young widow who is rescued by an autistic man. ''Swathi Muthyam'' was a box office success. The film was screened at the Moscow Film Festival, the Asian and African film festival in Tashkent, the 11th International Film Festival of India in the inaugural mainstream section. The film received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu, three Nandi Awards and the Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu. The film was selected by India as its entry for the Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards in 1986, but was not nominated. The film was later dubbed into Tamil as ''Sippikkul Muthu'', released on October 2, 1986. Upon its success, the film was later remade in Hindi as '' Eeshwar'' (1989) and in Kannada as ''

Swathi Muthu ''Swathi Muthu'' () is a 2003 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed by D. Rajendra Babu and written by K. Vishwanath. This film starred Sudeep and Meena. This film is a remake of Telugu film '' Swati Mutyam'' (1986). Plot Shivaiah (S ...

'' (2003).

Plot

Shivaiah (

) is an innocent orphan with a brain injury resulting in low intellectual function. He lives along with his grandmother (

) in a village. In that village, Lalitha ( Raadhika), a young widow with a five-year-old son, lives along with her brother Chalapati's ( Sarath Babu) family. She and her son often get abused by her sister-in-law ( Y. Vijaya), but Lalitha, having nowhere to go, bears it all. Shivaiah often encounters Lalitha and gets appalled by her condition. One day, during

Sri Rama Navami Rama Navami () is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birthday of Rama, the seventh avatar of the deity Vishnu. people from different parts of Jharkhand attended the world famous international Hazaribagh procession organized in the city every ...

festival, Shivaiah marries Lalitha, shocking all the villagers. His grandmother (

) approves of his marriage as she also has much sympathy and regard for Lalitha, but his uncle and Orthodox villagers oppose that marriage as they consider remarriage of a widow as a sin. In that brawl, Shivaiah's grandmother dies, leaving innocent Shivaiah in the hands of Lalitha. Lalitha moves in with her husband with the blessings of her brother. Some of the villagers help them to build a new life. Gradually, Lalitha makes Shivaiah understand the household duties and responsibilities of a man. Shivaiah finds work and starts to support his wife and stepson. Later they have a son and live happily for a long time. Years pass, and Lalitha becomes ill and dies in her husband's arms. In the climax, Shivaiah walks out of his house surrounded by his children and grandchildren. He carries a tulsi plant, which was his memory of Lalitha's love.

Cast

as Sivayya * Raadhika as Lalitha * Gollapudi Maruthi Rao as Landlord * J. V. Somayajulu as Lalita's guru *

as Sivayya's grandmother * Master Karthik as Balasubrahmanyam, Lalita's first son, whom later adopted or accepted by Sivayya after their marriage * Sarath Babu as Chalapati, Lalita's brother * Y. Vijaya as Lalita's sister-in-law * Master Allu Arjun as Sivayya's grandson *

Major Sundarrajan Srinivasan Sundarrajan (17 March 1925 – 28 February 2003), popularly known as Major Sundarrajan, was an Indian actor and director who performed predominantly in Tamil language films and plays. He was well known for his sophisticated and ...

* Deepa * Dubbing Janaki * Mallikarjuna Rao *

Suthi Veerabhadra Rao Sutti Veerabhadra Rao or Mamidipalli Veerabhadra Rao was a very popular south Indian film actor who played comedians and character artists, as well as a renowned radio and theater artist. Early life Veerabhadra Rao was the only son, and had tw ...

* Edida Sriram

Production

Arun Kumar and Venkatesh were the production designers for the film. The film was shot for nearly 70 days near the shores of Rajahmundry, Torredu, Tadikonda,

Pattiseema Pattiseema is a village in Polavaram mandal of East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located on the bank of the River Godavari. It is a site of historical importance for Hindus. Famous temple named Sri Veerabhadra Swamy Temple i ...

, Chennai, and Mysore. Allu Arjun did a small role as one of the grandsons of Kamal Haasan. The scene where Haasan dances like someone who cannot dance took so many days to get it "rightly wrong," as Haasan is a seasoned dancer.

Soundtrack

Reception

Baradwaj Rangan said in 2017, "K. Viswanath, this year's recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, made three films with Kamal Haasan. '' Sagara Sangamam'' is the best, ''

Subha Sankalpam ''Subha Sankalpam'' () is a 1995 Indian Telugu-language film directed by K. Viswanath and produced by noted singer, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam. It stars Kamal Haasan, Aamani and Priya Raman, with Viswanath also playing a pivotal role. P. C. Sreeram ...

'' the weakest – and between these two films, chronologically and quality-wise, lies ''Swathi Muthyam'' (White Pearl)."

Awards

Remakes

References

External links

* {{Indian submission for Academy Awards 1986 films 1980s Telugu-language films Films about autism 1986 romantic drama films Indian nonlinear narrative films Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja Indian romantic drama films Films directed by K. Viswanath Fictional characters with disabilities Telugu films remade in other languages Films about widowhood in India Best Telugu Feature Film National Film Award winners