''Thulabharam'' () is a 1968 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 film, directed by

A. Vincent Aloysius Vincent (14 June 1928 – 25 February 2015) was an Indian cinematographer and director known for his works in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi language films. From the mid-1960s on, he directed some 30 movies including the landmark Mal ...

. It is based on the

Kerala People's Arts Club Kerala People's Arts Club (KPAC) is a theatrical movement in Kayamkulam, Kerala, India. It was formed in the 1950s by a group of individuals having close ties with Communist Party of India in Kerala. KPAC was very influential in popularising ...

play of the same name, written by

Thoppil Bhasi Thoppil Bhaskara Pillai, known as Thoppil Bhasi (8 April 1924 – 8 December 1992) was an Indian Malayalam-language playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He was associated with the communist movement in Kerala and his play '' Ningalenne ...

. Thoppil Bhasi also adapted the play for the screen. The film had an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

including

Prem Nazir Prem Nazir (born Abdul Khader; 7 April 1926 – 16 January 1989) was an Indian actor known as one of Malayalam cinema's definitive leading man, leading men of his generation. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential actors in the histo ...

, Sharada,

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 ...

Sheela Sheela Ravichandran (Born 22 March 1945) is an Indian actress and director who appears predominantly in Malayalam cinema. Paired with Prem Nazir, they hold the Guinness World Record for acting in the largest number of films (130) together as h ...

Thikkurisi Sukumaran Nair Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair (16 October 191611 March 1997) was an Indian poet, playwright, script writer, lyricist, orator, film director and actor, though he is best known as an actor in Malayalam cinema. He is the recipient of Padma Shri from t ...

and

Adoor Bhasi K. Bhaskaran Nair (1 March 1929 – 29 March 1990), known by his stage name Adoor Bhasi, was an Indian actor and film director from Kerala. Adoor Bhasi was almost always cast as the man who stands next to the hero. His hilarious actions and role ...

. The film won two National Awards. The film was a major blockbuster and following the Malayalam version, the film was made in Tamil (Thulabharam), Telugu (''

Manushulu Marali ''Manushulu Marali'' is a 1969 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao, starring Shoban Babu and Sharada. The film was a remake of the Malayalam film ''Thulabharam''. Cast * Sobhan Babu * Sharada * Haranath * Kanch ...

'') and Hindi (''

Samaj Ko Badal Dalo ''Samaj Ko Badal Dalo'' () is a 1970 Bollywood drama film directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao. The film stars Parikshit Sahni, Sharada (reprising the latter's role from the original version and making this picture as her Hindi film debut), Prem Ch ...

''), with Sharada playing lead roles in all versions.

Plot

Two close friends, Vijaya ( Sharada) and Vatsala (

) had to part ways after Vatsala's father, a lawyer loses a case of Vijaya's father and it results in the latter's death. Vijaya marries Ramu (

), a trade union leader against her will. Ramu leads a union strike and is killed when the agitation turns violent. Vijaya's life becomes miserable and she kills her starving children, but she is arrested before being able to commit suicide. In the end, she is given the death penalty by the prosecution, led by her former dear friend Vatsala, who had become a famous lawyer in the meantime.

Cast

as Ramu * Sharada as Vijaya *

as Babu *

as Valsala *

as Achuthan Nair *

Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair (16 October 191611 March 1997) was an Indian poet, playwright, script writer, lyricist, orator, film director and actor, though he is best known as an actor in Malayalam cinema. He is the recipient of Padma Shri from t ...

as R. K. Menon *

Adoor Bhavani Adoor Bhavani (1927 – 25 October 2009) was an Indian actress in Malayalam cinema, best known for her appearance in the National Award-winning film ''Chemmeen'' (1965), directed by Ramu Kariat. She had acted in about 450 films, including ''Mudi ...

* Baby Rajani *

Kaduvakulam Antony Kaduvakkulam Antony (9 November 1936 – 4 February 2001) was an Indian actor from Kerala who performed in more than 300 films as a comedian during the 1960s and 1970s. One journalist considers him to have been one of the best and most popular ...

* N. Govindankutty *

Nellikode Bhaskaran Nellikode Bhaskaran (21 April 1924 – 11 August 1988) was an Indian actor in Malayalam movies. His real name was Bhaskara Menon. He mostly played character roles and supporting roles. Awards Kerala State Film Awards: * Second Best Actor ...

*Thoppil Krishna Pillai *KPAC Khan

Production

''Thulabharam'' is an adaptation of the

play of the same name, written by

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

G. Devarajan Paravoor Govindan Devarajan (1927–2006), popularly known as G. Devarajan or Devarajan master, was an Indian music composer and Carnatic singer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Indian film music. He sco ...

and the lyrics were written by

Vayalar Ramavarma Vayalar Ramavarma (March 25, 1928 – October 27, 1975), also known as Vayalar, was an Indian poet and lyricist of Malayalam language. He was known for his poems which include ''Sargasangeetham'', ''Mulankaadu'', ''Padamudrakal'', ''Aayisha'' a ...

Remakes

The film's success prompted for three remakes with Sharada playing the same role in all versions. The Tamil film with the same name was made by Vincent himself with

A. V. M. Rajan Shanmugasundaram, known by his stage name A.V.M. Rajan, (26 July 1935) is a former Indian actor in Tamil cinema who was active during the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Pudukottai, Shanmugasundaram was very eager to join cinema though he held a bachel ...

replacing Nazir. V. Madhusudhana Rao directed the

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 ...

and

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

versions.

Awards

The film won two awards at the

16th National Film Awards The 16th National Film Awards, presented by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in 1968. Ceremony took place at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on 13 February 1970. With 16th National Film ...

. *

National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film The National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film was one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals The Directorate of Film Festivals in India was an organisation that initiated and presented the ...

National Film Award for Best Actress The National Film Award for Best Actress (officially known as the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actress) is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to an actress for the best performance in a leading role wit ...

– Sharada ;

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 ...

Filmfare Award for Best Film - Malayalam ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of Indian most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, an ...

won by Supriya Pictures (1968)

References

External links

* {{National Film Award Second Best Feature Film 1968 films 1960s Malayalam-language films Films with screenplays by Thoppil Bhasi Films about poverty in India Indian drama films Indian films based on plays Malayalam films remade in other languages Films featuring a Best Actress National Award-winning performance Second Best Feature Film National Film Award winners Films directed by A. Vincent 1968 drama films