''Artham'' () is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

Sathyan Anthikkad Sathyan Anthikad is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and lyricist who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. In a career spanning five decades he has directed more than 50 films, been the lyricist for 12 films and been the scriptwriter f ...

and written by

Venu Nagavally Venu Nagavally (16 April 1949 – 10 September 2010) was an Indian actor, screenwriter and director best known for his work in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry. He has directed 12 films. Son of writer, commentator, and broadcaster Nagav ...

. 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 cinema, Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil l ...

Sreenivasan Sreenivasan (born 6 April 1956) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, dubbing artist and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Sreenivasan has starred in over 225 films. Sreenivasan wrote the screenplays of films such as ' ...

, Murali,

Saranya Sanjna (Sanskrit: संज्ञा, IAST: ''Saṃjñā''), also known as Saranyu ( sa, सरन्यू, IAST: ''Saraṇyū''), is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of Surya, the Sun god. She is mentioned in the ''Rigveda'', and also a ...

, in lead roles along with Parvathy,

Mamukkoya Mamukkoya (born 5 July 1946) is an Indian actor known for his work in Malayalam cinema, and has also appeared in French film ''Flammens of Paradise''. He has mostly appeared in comedic roles. His unique usage of the Mappila dialect and style ma ...

Philomina Philomina (1926 – 2 January 2006) was an Indian actress, who worked in the Malayalam film industry. She acted in more than 750 films in her career. She played mostly character and comedy roles, besides that of mother and grandmother. She star ...

Mohan Raj Mohan Raj, better known by his stage name Keerikkadan Jose, is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu-language films. Personal life Mohan Raj is married to Usha. They have two daughters, Jaishma and Kaaviya. He is settled a ...

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 ...

Sukumari Sukumari Amma (6 October 1940 – 26 March 2013) was an Indian actress best known for her works in Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning more than five decades, She has appeared in more than 2500 films predominantly in Malayalam, Tam ...

Jagannatha Varma K. N. Jagannatha Varma (1 May 1939 – 20 December 2016) was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam film and television industry. He was also a Kathakali artist. His son Manu Varma is also an artist and his son-in-law Viji Thampi is a film dire ...

, and

Oduvil Unnikrishnan Oduvil Unnikrishnan (13 February 1943 – 27 May 2006) was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam cinema. He has portrayed supporting roles in both dramatic and comedic roles.The HindMalayalam film actor Oduvil Unnikrishnan dead He is a four- ...

in other pivotal roles.

Jayaram Jayaram Subramaniam, (born 10 December 1965) known mononymously as Jayaram, is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam,Tamil films, along with a few Telugu films. He is also a chenda percussionist, mimicry artist, and occasiona ...

plays a cameo role. The music was composed by

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

. The film is an adaptation of the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

detective novel ''Ethir Katru'' by Subha. The story revolves around a loner and award-winning novelist Ben Narendran (Mammootty) who seeks revenge against the forces who murdered his dear friend Janardanan (Jayaram). Joining in Narendran's aid are journalist Manasa (Saranya) and Advocate P. S. Nenmara (Sreenivasan). It was also later adapted in

Tamil cinema 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' ...

as ''

Ethir Kaatru ''Ethir Kaatru'' () is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language thriller film, directed by Muktha S. Sundar and produced by Muktha Srinivasan. The film stars Karthik and Kanaka. It was released on 7 December 1990. The film is based on the Malayalam film ...

'' (1990).

Plot

The movie starts with a loner named Ben Narendran writing a suicide note. He mentions that he is committing suicide as he has nothing to do with his life. He chooses to jump in front of the train to perform the act. He waits for the train but ends up saving another young man named Janardanan who has the same intention. Janardanan has committed a murder out of desperation and is scared of revenge. Narendran consoles him and offers to take the blame of the murder so that Janardanan can live freely. Narendran gets sentenced to lifetime imprisonment. While in jail, he writes a book haranalayamunder the pen name "Ben" which becomes immensely popular. He is also given an award by the state, but his true identity is never revealed. Journalist Manasa discovers that the author is behind bars and tries to get a parole for him. Though Narendran is not initially interested, he eventually applies for parole and is granted 28 days of parole so that he can receive the award in person. Once out of jail, Narendran gets word that Janardanan has died mysteriously. He sets out on a mission to find the culprits and destroy those who caused his death.

Cast

as Ben Narendran *

as Adv. P. S. Nenmara *

Saranya Ponvannan Saranya Ponvannan (born Sheela Christina) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam language films. Saranya made her debut in a lead role in Mani Ratnam's ''Nayakan'' (1987) and went on to play lead roles from ...

as Manasa * Murali as R. K. Nambyar *

as Janardanan(cameo) *

Parvathi Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi in ...

as Geetha *

Kollam Thulasi Kollam Kanjaveli Kuttilazhikathu Thulasidharan Nair is an actor in Malayalam cinema, who is better known as Kollam Thulasi relating to the name of his birthplace Kollam to his first name as customary in some parts of Kerala. His first appearance ...

as Jaleel *

as Kunjikannan *

as house owner *

as Sukumaran, Janardanan's father *

as Janardanan's mother *

(Keerikkadan Jose) as Stanley *

as Warrier *

as Ananthan *

Karamana Janardanan Nair Karamana Janardanan Nair (25 July 1936 – 24 April 2000) was a Malayalam film actor, who was active during the 1980s and 1990s. He was especially known for his character roles. He won wide acclaim especially for the role of the protagonis ...

as George Zachariah *Azeez as David *Jagannathan as bookshop owner *Sindhu Varma

Soundtrack

Lyrics by Kaithapram. *"Shyaamambaram Neele" (male) - K J Yesudas *"Shyaamambaram Neele" (female) - K S Chitra

Box office

The film was one of the biggest hits of 1989.

References

External links

* 1980s Malayalam-language films 1989 films Films directed by Sathyan Anthikad Indian thriller films Malayalam films remade in other languages Films scored by Johnson 1989 thriller films {{1980s-Malayalam-film-stub