''Thiranottam'' () is a 1978-made 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 directed by V. Ashok Kumar and written by Kumar and Pachalloor Sasi. The film stars

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 ...

, C. Chandramohan,

Ravikumar Ravikumar is Hindu given name, which means "Son of the Sun", combining the Sanskrit words "Ravi" (Sun) and "Kumar" (Son). The name may refer to: *Ravikumar (actor) (born 1953), Indian actor *Ravikumar (writer) (born 1961), Indian writer * Ravikumar ...

Maniyanpilla Raju Sudheer Kumar (born 20 April 1955), better known by his stage name Maniyanpilla Raju (Malayalam:മണിയൻപിള്ള രാജു), is an Indian actor and producer who works in Malayalam film industry.Manjil Virinja Pookkal ''Manjil Virinja Pookkal'' () is a 1980 Indian Malayalam-language romantic thriller film produced by Navodaya Appachan under Navodaya Studio and written and directed by Fazil (director), Fazil. It stars Shankar (actor), Shankar, Mohanlal and P ...

'' (1980).

Plot

''Thiranottam'' is the tale of Kuttappan, a mentally disabled servant and the life around him.

Cast

as Kuttappan *C. Chandramohan *

Maniyanpilla Raju Sudheer Kumar (born 20 April 1955), better known by his stage name Maniyanpilla Raju (Malayalam:മണിയൻപിള്ള രാജു), is an Indian actor and producer who works in Malayalam film industry.Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

. He was 18 years old then and was studying in college. Mohanlal played Kuttappan, a mentally disabled servant. Currently, the print of the film belongs to a television channel, who have bought the satellite right of the film. The film was completed and censored, but could not release then, after 25 years, the film was telecast on

Asianet 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 ...

. Their plan was to make a

Tamil film Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood' ...

after ''Thiranottam'' and had even recorded music for it, but before that could happen, Mohanlal won the audition for the villain role in ''

Manjil Virinja Pookkal ''Manjil Virinja Pookkal'' () is a 1980 Indian Malayalam-language romantic thriller film produced by Navodaya Appachan under Navodaya Studio and written and directed by Fazil (director), Fazil. It stars Shankar (actor), Shankar, Mohanlal and P ...

'' (1980) in which he made his onscreen debut. The film was made by Mohanlal and his friends, Ashok Kumar (director), Late Sasheendran (Producer),

Priyadarshan Priyadarshan (born 30 January 1957) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works predominantly in Malayalam and Hindi films, while also having done six films in Tamil and two films in Telugu. He has done about 31 films in Hi ...

(Asst.director), Suresh Kumar (clap boy) and the cast were Ravi Kumar, Mohanlal, Renu Chandra, Chandra Mohan and others. Director Priyadarshan and producer Suresh Kumar also debuted in the movie industry through this film. While Priyadarshan worked as assistant director, Suresh Kumar was the clap boy. The film was completed and censored, but couldn't release then, even though a premier show was arranged. Years later, it was released in a single theatre at

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...

. In September 2014, Mohanlal appealed on

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to trace the child actor who had done the first shot along with him. He mentioned, "There is a boy who shared screen space with me in it. However, I am unable to remember who he was. If any of you know his identity, do come forward and inform me. I really wish to meet him once again." The search ended on a sad note when Prasad Nooranad, a freelance director, found out that the boy in question had since died.

Soundtrack

The film's original soundtrack was composed by M. G. Radhakrishnan, with lyrics written by

O. N. V. Kurup Ottaplakkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup (known as O. N. V. Kurup; 27 May 1931 – 13 February 2016) was a Malayalam poet and lyricist from Kerala, India, who won the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary award in India for the year 2007. He receive ...

. K. J. Yesudas sang two songs.

References

{{reflist 1970s Malayalam-language films 1978 films Films shot in Thiruvananthapuram Films scored by M. G. Radhakrishnan