''Anantaram'' (

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 wa ...

: ''അനന്തരം, )'', also known as ''Monologue'', is a 1987 Indian

-language film produced, written and directed by

Adoor Gopalakrishnan Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film '' Swayamvaram'' (1972), Go ...

. It stars

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, H ...

, Ashokan and

Shobhana Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai (born 21 March 1970) is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer. She acts predominantly in Malayalam films along with Telugu and Tamil films with few Hindi, Kannada and English films. She has won two National Fil ...

in the lead. The film is structured like a monologue. It develops through a commentary by the protagonist about himself in the first person. The attempt of the protagonist is to narrate how his undiagnosed

psychosis Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavi ...

led him where he is now. The film was an experimental film for its time as it did not have a linear narrative. The film won the 1987 FIPRESCI Prize at the

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary) is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has becom ...

and three

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 ...

- for Best Director,

Best Screenplay Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation, ...

and Best Audiography. It was included in an online poll by

IBN Live Network18 Media & Investments Limited, (formerly SGA Finance and Management Service and Network18 Fincap Limited) commonly referred to as the Network18 Group and sometimes as the Network18–Eenadu Group, is an Indian media conglomerate owned b ...

listing 100 greatest Indian films of all time."100 Years of Indian Cinema: The 100 greatest Indian films of all time"

. 26 April 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013."'Mayabazar' is India's greatest film ever: IBNLive poll"
.

. 12 May 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013."IBNLive Poll: Vote for India's greatest film of all time"

. 26 April 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2620mv13.

Plot

The film develops through a commentary by Ajayan ( Ashokan) about himself in the first person. Later he tells another story about his life with the same background. Finally both these stories fuse together. Ajayan is born an orphan. He is brought up by a doctor. A brilliant child, Ajayan grows up as a reclusive person and a

confused In medicine, confusion is the quality or state of being bewildered or unclear. The term "acute mental confusion"

youth. The beautiful Suma (

) arrives at their house after marrying Balu (

), his foster-brother. After Balan's marriage to Suma, Ajayan starts getting attracted to her at the very first sight. This eventually creates internal conflicts and guilt within himself. Ultimately this leads Ajayan to leave the house which ends in a disaster. In the second story Ajayan narrates his confused youth and about the beautiful girl, Nalini who enters his life. Ajayan's mind shifts often between reality and an imaginary romantic world. Finally both these stories converge to a point where Nalini is Suma, his template for delusional escape. He in the end of his monologue says he is unsure whether he has said everything, and a young boy is shown skipping numbers while counting each treads of a stair.

Cast

* Ashokan as Ajayan *

as Sumangali and Nalini *

as Dr Balu *

Sudheesh Sudheesh (born 7 December 1972) is an Indian actor and director from Calicut who predominantly works in Malayalam film industry. He won Kerala State Film Awards for Best Character Actor in 2021. Personal life Sudheesh is the only son of T. Su ...

as teenage Ajayan *

Bahadoor Padiyath Kochumoideen Kunjalu (1930 22 May 2000), known by his stage name Bahadoor, was an Indian actor and comedian who, along with Adoor Bhasi, redefined the way in which comedy and funny scenes were perceived in the Malayalam cinema. They ...

as Driver Mathai * Vembayam Thambi as Raman Nair *

Azeez (actor) Azeez (27 November 1934 – 16 July 2003) was an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 100 films. He came into the movie industry as a villain, later he started doing character roles, such as police officer, jailer, and ministe ...

as the gambler * Kukku as the nurse * Krishnankutty Nair as the ailing patient at the dispensary *

Kaviyoor Ponnamma Kaviyoor Ponnamma is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films and television. She began her career performing in theatre dramas before foraying into cinema. She has also acted in TV serials and commercials and has playback singing cred ...

as Yogini Amma * Adoor Pankajam as Lakshmi Amma

Themes

In ''Anantaram'', the theme of perception is dealt with through the protagonist, a youth who, like Adoor, has a bipolar character. In an interview, Adoor said, "''Anantaram'' is basically about perceptions. About a young, impressionable boy who lacks some sort of functioning. Though, my life was not very familiar, but I was searching for the familiar experience of growing up, struggling with life and relationships. What is in the frame and what is juxtaposed to it just outside the frame... or let us put it this way, it has to do with attuning to the reality just beyond perception. Actually this is part of daily experience though we don't analyse it."

Critical reception

The film upon release got mixed reviews from critics and general consensus was that the film didn't meet the expectations of an Adoor Gopalakrishnan film. However, modern reception is more positive. The film is now considered way ahead of its time. It is regarded by critics to be one of Adoor Gopalakrishnan's best works.

Awards

The film has been nominated for and won the following awards since its release: 1987

FIPRESCI Prize The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

( Karlovy Vary) 1987

(

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

) * Won - Best Director - Adoor Gopalakrishnan * Won -

- Adoor Gopalakrishnan * Won - Best Audiography - P. Devadas, T. Krishnanunni, N. Harikumar

References

External links

*
Of Life...On Films...: Adoor on ''Anantaram''
{{Adoor Gopalakrishnan 1987 films Films directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan 1980s Malayalam-language films 1987 drama films Films whose director won the Best Director National Film Award Films that won the Best Audiography National Film Award Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay National Film Award Indian drama films