''T. D. Dasan Std. VI B'' is a 2010 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 film written and directed by

Mohan Raghavan Mohan Raghavan (22 January 1964 – 25 October 2011) was a Malayalam film director. He studied at the School of Drama, Thrissur, and in Theatre Arts at Madurai Kamaraj University. Biography Raghavan is from Annamanada, Thrissur district. H ...

and produced by Paul Vadukumcherry. The film deals with a child's desire to see his father, and the beginning is made when he gets a clue from a piece of paper he finds in his mother's trunk. The wanderings of the boy's mind and the real unravel of world which is a mix of dreams, desires and the present are portrayed in the movie. The film features Master Alexander, Biju Menon,

Jagadish P. V. Jagadish Kumar (born 12 June 1955) known mononymously as Jagadish, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, television presenter and former politician. He has starred in over 375 Malayalam films and 2 Hindi films. He is best known for his com ...

and

Shwetha Menon Shwetha Menon is an Indian actress, model and television anchor. She won '' Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 1994''. She has predominantly acted in Malayalam and Hindi language films, besides appearing in a number of Telugu and Tamil Language Fi ...

in the lead roles. Master Alexander won the Best Child Actor award in an online poll conducted by ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

''. The film opened in Kerala theatres on 9 April 2010 to universal acclaim. It was screened at various international film festivals and has garnered several awards. Despite all the acclaim, the film performed poorly at the box office. ''T. D. Dasan Std. VI B'' was the only film directed by Mohan Raghavan who died a year after the release of the film.

Plot

T. D. Dasan (Master Alexander) is a young boy who lives with his mother (

). His father had left them years back when Dasan was an year old. Dasan gets his dad's address from his mother's old trunk box and writes him a letter. Dasan's father had moved out of that address and the letter reaches the current resident Nandakumar Poduval ( Biju Menon), an Ad film-maker who lives with his thirteen-year-old daughter Ammu (Tina Rose) in

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

. Nandan requests Ammu's caretaker Madhavan (

) to find out the whereabouts of the person and deliver the letter to him. But Madhavan is not that enthusiastic and the letter ends up in the waste bin. Ammu sees this and feels bad about it. She starts writing replies to Dasan, as if they were written to him by his dad. The young boy is excited at the thought of having found his dad, and shares all his feelings and needs with his dad. Ammu promptly replies with pens and other gifts Dasan asked his father. Later Dasan's mother gets to know this and gets shattered by this news. Nandan also gets to know this news and becomes furious at his daughter, revealing that Dasan's father had actually died months ago while suffering from jaundice. He now wants to meet Dasan, apologize and tell him the truth. Dasan's mother was later found dead under mysterious circumstances. When Nandan comes to meet Dasan, he understands that Dasan is now an orphan, who was now under the care of his uncle Raman Kutty. Dasan meets Nandan, who now sees him as his father. Nandan first thinks of leaving the place without Dasan but changes his mind soon after.

Cast

* Master Alexander as T. D. Dasan * Tina Rose as Ammu * Biju Menon as Nandakumar Poduval *

as Madhavan *

as Chandrika *

Valsala Menon Valsala Menon (born 1945) is an Indian actress who works in Malayalam films. She has acted in over 200+ films. Currently she is active in Malayalam television serials. Early life Valsala Menon was born in 1945 to Raman Menon and Devakiyamma in ...

as Ammumma *

Shruthy Menon Shruthy Menon (born 19 April 1984) is an Indian actress, television host A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator f ...

as Megha *

Jagathy Sreekumar Sreekumar P. K. (born 5 January 1951), better known by his stage name Jagathy Sreekumar or simply Jagathy, is an Indian actor, director and playback singer, who has appeared in over 1500 Malayalam films in a career spanning almost four decades ...

as Menon * Suresh Krishna as Raman Kutty *

Mala Aravindan Mala Aravindan (15 January 1939 – 28 January 2015) was an Indian actor. He was best known for his work as a comedian and character artist in Malayalam films. He has acted in over 500 films. Early life He was born in Vadavucode, Ernakulam d ...

as Teacher *

Ottapalam Pappan Ottapalam Pappan (15 June 1945 - 25 July 2013) was an Indian theatre, television and film actor in Malayalam movies during the 1990s and 2000s. Pappan started as a theatre artist and later debuted in film with the 1991 movie ''Valsalyam''. He ac ...

* Alosious Panikulangara as Baalu * Sreehari as Advocate * Dennis Parakkadan as Vagrant * Gayathri

Reception

''T. D. Dasan Std. VI B'' had an overwhelmingly positive reception from the critics. Paresh Palicha of Rediff.com said the movie "is miles ahead of the films that are served in the garb of entertainment week after week, and leaves us with a sense of elation. A brilliant effort indeed!" This is what Nowrunning had to say. "Mohan Raghavan's debut film matches up in texture, dimension and depth to the wonderfully crafted films of Walter Salles that often transcend boundaries. This is the work of an artist who refuses to see the medium as a mere commodity, and the highly sensitive writing and truly marvelous direction make this film a captivating watch." Sify.com said "With no loud statements, buffoonery or gimmicks that we usually see in every other film, debutant director Mohan Raghavan's ''T D Dasan Std VI B' is a little gem that could perhaps shock you with its inherent honesty." Indiaglitz also had given a glowing review for the movie. Despite the favourable critic opinion, the movie was a non-starter at the box-office. Budget constrains heavily limited the marketing of the movie, with the film ending up as a minuscule release. The collection was hardly noticeable. The film was initially adjudged the Golden Pheasant Award for Best Film at the

International Film Festival of Kerala The International Film Festival of Kerala (abbreviated as IFFK) is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy ...

2010. However, it was decided to award a foreign film after some jury members felt that giving the award for a regional film will diminish the interest of foreign delegates in IFFK. The issue was revealed by actor P. Sreekumar in a press conference, which garnered wide criticism from the Malayalam film fraternity against the IFFK. The film was one of the two South Indian films screened at the 11th New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF 2011). The film won the award for the Best Screenplay at the festival. It was an official selection in the competition section for the Asian New Talent Award at the

Shanghai International Film Festival The Shanghai International Film Festival (, French: ''Festival international du film de Shanghai''), abbreviated SIFF, is one of the largest film festivals in East Asia. "China's biggest film festival" according to the Hollywood Reporter. Nex ...

Film festival participation

Chennai International Film Festival The Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF) is a festival organised in the city of Chennai, India, by a film society, the Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation (ICAF), with the support of The Government of Tamil Nadu, the South Indian Film Ch ...

* FILCA Film Festival * Habitat International Film Festival *

* New York Indian Film Festival * Pune International Film Festival *

Awards

; Kerala State Film Awards * Best Debut Director -

* Second Best Actor - Biju Menon ; New York Indian Film Festival * Best Screenplay -

; John Abraham Award *

Best Film 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 ...

;

Kerala Film Critics Association Awards The Kerala Film Critics Association Awards are presented annually by the Kerala Film Critics Association to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Malayalam language film industry of India. The awards were instit ...

* Best Story -

* Best Child Artist-Master Alexander ;

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 ...

* Best Child Artist - Master Alexander ; World Malayali Council Awards * Special Jury Award -

; INSPIRE Awards * Best Debutant Director -

* Best Supporting Actress -

Shweta Menon Shwetha Menon is an Indian actress, model and television anchor. She won '' Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 1994''. She has predominantly acted in Malayalam and Hindi language films, besides appearing in a number of Telugu and Tamil Language Fi ...

;

Amrita ''Amrita'' ( sa, अमृत, IAST: ''amṛta''), ''Amrit'' or ''Amata'' in Pali, (also called ''Sudha'', ''Amiy'', ''Ami'') is a Sanskrit word that means "immortality". It is a central concept within Indian religions and is often referred t ...

-FEFKA Film Awards * Best Film * Best Director -

* Best Screen Play- (Mohan Raghavan) * Best Child Artist-Master Alexander ;

Jaihind TV Jaihind Television is an Indian Malayalam-language channel, based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It was launched on 17 August 2007, in Delhi by the Indian National Congress President and United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. T ...

Film Awards Kalaignar Tv film awards ;isaiaruvi film awards * Best Screenplay (

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' ...

) -

Mathrubhumi Film Awards * Best Child Artist - Master Alexander Times Of India Awards * Best Child Artist - Master Alexander

References

Kalaignar film award 2011 Isaiaruvi award 2011

External links

* * Prema Manmathan
Film Review
''The Hindu''. {{DEFAULTSORT:T D Dasan Std Vi B 2010s Malayalam-language films 2010s children's drama films 2010 directorial debut films Films scored by Sreevalsan J. Menon 2010 films Indian children's drama films 2010 drama films