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 ...
-language film co-written and directed by
Lenin Rajendran
Lenin Rajendran ( ml, ലെനിൻ രാജേന്ദ്രൻ) was an Indian film director and screenwriter who worked in Malayalam cinema. He served as the Chairman of Kerala State Film Development Corporation from 2016 to January 2019 ...
based on
M. Mukundan
Maniyambath Mukundan, (born 10 September 1942) commonly known as M. Mukundan, is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Many of his early works are set in Mahé (Mayyazhi) which has earned him the moniker, ''Mayyazhiyude Kathakaaran''. He is ...
's novel of the same name. The film tells the story of Alphonso, a man who chooses to suffer a slow, torturous life in his little village, Mahe, in preference to fortunes and pleasures away from it. Raghuvaran,
Srividya
Srividya (24 July 1953 – 19 October 2006), also known as Sreevidya, was an Indian actress best known for her work predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films, along with few Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. In a career spanning for 40 years, ...
,
Rajan P. Dev
Rajan P. Dev (20 May 1951 – 29 July 2009) was an Indian film and stage actor. He was born in Cherthala in the Alappuzha district of the former state Thiru-Kochi (present day Kerala). He had acted in over 500 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Telug ...
and Malavika play the pivotal roles.
Raghuvaran was considered for the prestigious
National Film Award for Best Actor
The National Film Award for Best Actor, officially known as the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actor (), is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India instituted since 1967 to actors who have delivered the best performanc ...
The story begins in 1954, when the French, the colonial rulers were packing off from Mahé, a coastal town in North Malabar, after 230 years, leaving behind remnants of a cultural history. Those, who considered themselves as belonging to Francophone culture, jumped onto the first available vessel to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
Alphonso ignored the repeated pleas of his wife, Maggi to leave the land, where they no longer "belonged". The new social order became more, suffocating as Alphonso's earnings (as a "magician" of sorts) dwindled. The arrival of their son, Michael, from France revived hopes of a life without poverty, but Michael went back, leaving behind counterfeit gold and plunging the Alphonso family in deeper debts. Daughter Elsie's affair with Sasi became a local scandal.
Alphonso decided to leave, but the decision hung in the air. Alphonso looked around in the realization that he cannot tear himself away from Mahé and the river to which he belonged. Mahé was within him even in a society, where he had no reason for the sense of belonging. In a way, the film reveals what is now described as authentic "ethnicity".
Srividya
Srividya (24 July 1953 – 19 October 2006), also known as Sreevidya, was an Indian actress best known for her work predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films, along with few Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. In a career spanning for 40 years, ...
as Maggi
*
Rajan P. Dev
Rajan P. Dev (20 May 1951 – 29 July 2009) was an Indian film and stage actor. He was born in Cherthala in the Alappuzha district of the former state Thiru-Kochi (present day Kerala). He had acted in over 500 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Telug ...
Thilakan
Palappurathu Kesavan Surendranatha Thilakan (15 July 1935 – 24 September 2012) was an Indian film and stage actor who appeared in over 200 Malayalam films. Thilakan was known for his elaborate method acting, realistic and spontaneous appearan ...
as Kumaran Vaidyar
*
Vineeth
Vineeth Radhakrishnan (born 23 August 1969) is an Indian actor, classical dancer, voice artist and choreographer who primarily works in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu language films. He has also starred in a few Kannada and Bollywood films. He h ...
as Sasi, Son of Kumaran Vaidyar
*
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 ...
Kerala state film awards
The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Ch ...
1992
*
Kerala State Film Award for Best Film
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Film is an award presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to the best film in Malayalam cinema. The awards are managed directly by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy under the Department ...
Srividya
Srividya (24 July 1953 – 19 October 2006), also known as Sreevidya, was an Indian actress best known for her work predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films, along with few Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. In a career spanning for 40 years, ...
''
*
Kerala State Film Award for Best Story
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Story is an honour, begun in 1969, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Award of India to a writer for the best story in a Malayalam film. Until 1997, the awards were managed directly by the Departme ...
: ''
M. Mukundan
Maniyambath Mukundan, (born 10 September 1942) commonly known as M. Mukundan, is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Many of his early works are set in Mahé (Mayyazhi) which has earned him the moniker, ''Mayyazhiyude Kathakaaran''. He is ...
''
*
Kerala State Film Award for Best Costume Designer
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Costume Designer is an honour, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards for the outstanding contribution in a Malayalam cinema through costume design. The winners are announced by the Minister for Ci ...
:Danda Pani
Novel
The film is based on an award-winning novel of the same name by
M. Mukundan
Maniyambath Mukundan, (born 10 September 1942) commonly known as M. Mukundan, is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Many of his early works are set in Mahé (Mayyazhi) which has earned him the moniker, ''Mayyazhiyude Kathakaaran''. He is ...
. The novel, published in 1989 by D. C. Books, is considered a sequel to Mukundan's magnum opus ''Mayyazhipuzhayude Theerangalil''. The novel won the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award and N. V. Prize. It was translated to English under the title ''God's Mischief'' by
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.ONV Kuruppu and rendered by another famous poet V. Madhusudanan Nair .