''Nirmalyam'' ( ml, നിര്‍മ്മാല്യം, ) is a

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

-language film written and directed by

M. T. Vasudevan Nair Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair (born 1933 July 15 ), popularly known as MT, is an Indian author, screenplay writer and film director. He is a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and is one of the masters of post-I ...

, and starring P. J. Antony, Sumithra and

Ravi Menon Chalappurathu Raveendranatha Menon (1950 – 24 November 2007), popularly known as Ravi Menon was a veteran Indian film actor who worked in Malayalam cinema. He was born in Sreekrishnapuram, Palakkad in 1950. He completed diploma from the Film a ...

. P. J. Antony won the

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 ...

in 1974 for his performance as a ''velichappadu'' (an oracle or a medium between the Goddess and the worshipper in a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

temple) in this movie. The film received the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film The National Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India. It is one of se ...

and

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 ...

in 1974. It is one of the classics in Malayalam cinema. It is the debut of M. T. Vasudevan Nair as director and also the debut of Sukumaran and Sumithra as actors. It is the second movie of

, who acted earlier in a Hindi movie. This movie was a breakthrough in Ravi Menon's acting career. The movie is an adaptation of the short story "Pallivalum Kalchilambum" by

Plot

The movie revolves around a neglected temple and the people dependent on the temple. P. J. Antony (Velichappadu or oracle) is the caretaker of the temple. The Velichapadu's wife Narayani (

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 ...

) runs the household with the meager income from temple. His son Appu (

Sukumaran Edappal Ponnamkuzhi Veettil Parameswaran Sukumaran Nair (10 June 1948 – 16 June 1997), known mononymously as Sukumaran, was an Indian actor and producer of Malayalam films. Sukumaran became a popular film star in Malayalam cinema during the ...

) is educated but is unemployed as a result he loses faith in the temple and goddess. Velcihapadu's daughter Ammini helps him in temple rituals. The temple priest quits and starts a tea shop. A new priest from neighboring village Brahmadattan Nambothiri (Ravi Menon) now takes care of the temple. He is eager to get a government job as his situation at home is not good and younger sisters not yet married. He seduces Ammini, daughter of Velichapdu and leaves the village. Because of extreme poverty Velichapdu starts to beg. One day his son Appu tries to sell the holy sword to a pawn seller and Velichapadu finds it. He asks his son Appu to leave the house immediately. Meanwhile, there is a smallpox outbreak in the village, first affected is Variyar's wife. Due to the outbreak of smallpox people become serious about the temple and its ritual. The villagers decide to conduct the festival in temple for the Goddess and started collecting money from all. On the day of festival Velichapadu found that his wife was selling her body to a local moneylender for a living. The Velichapadu was totally devastated. The film ends with a devastating scene. The oracle dances before the goddess, spits at her face with his blood, strikes his forehead with the sacred sword, till he falls down dead.

Cast

* P. J. Antony as Velichappad (Oracle) * Sumithra as Velichapad's daughter Ammini *

as Brahmadathan Namboothiri, the temple priest *

as Velichapad's wife Narayani *

as Velichapad's son Appu *

Kunjandi Kunjandi ( ml, കുഞ്ഞാണ്ടി; 1919–2002) was an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He has acted in more than 50 films. He handled character roles as well as supporting roles. Background Kunjandi was born at Calicut. His first ...

as the local money lender * Sankaradi as Ravunni Nair * Shantha Devi *

Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair N. Sreedharan Nair (11 September 1922 – 19 October 1986), popularly known as Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair or just Kottarakkara, was an Indian actor who appeared Malayalam movies. He hailed from Kottarakkara in Kollam district of Kerala. Sre ...

as Valiya Thamburan * M. S. Namboothiri * S. P. Pillai

Production

The film's major shooting location was a small village near

Edappal Edappal is a town which lies near to the town of Ponnani in Ponnani taluk, Malappuram district, Kerala, India. Edappal is at a junction of two roads Thrissur-Kozhikode and Palakkad-Ponnani state highways located from Malappuram. Edappal lies ...

called Mukkola (Mukuthala). The film is produced by M. T. Vasudevan Nair under the banner of Novel Films. Cinematographer Ramachandra Babu says, "There was full co-operation from the villagers and they always were there to help us with properties for the scenes and also acting in minor and crowd scenes. In fact, they got so attached to the unit, many children were in tears when it was time for us to depart after the shooting was over. Except for the Sreekovil portion all other scenes were completed in one schedule. We had erected a set in Calicut where the Sreekovil with the idol where close-up shots were taken. It was because in the temple which was used for our shooting there were no regular Poojas taking place and moreover it was such a cramped place and customs prevent you from entering it too for placing lights etc. For other outdoor locations, we used the steps on the riverside at Thirumittakode temple for the parting song and a cave nearby for the rain sequence which was done with the help of fire engines." Post-production was done in Madras. Veteran actor Sankaradi was also considered for the role of Velichapad. But he rejected the offer saying that his physique wouldn't suit the role. He himself suggested P. J. Antony, whose performance is still regarded as one of the finest onscreen performances ever.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

K. Raghavan K. Raghavan (2 December 1913 – 19 October 2013), also fondly called Raghavan Master, was a Malayalam music composer and Carnatic Vocalist. Along with G. Devarajan, V. Dakshinamoorthy and Baburaj, Raghavan is often credited for the renaissance ...

. Poems written by

Swathi Thirunal ( ml, സ്വാതി തിരുനാള്‍ രാമവർമ്മ) (16 April 1813 – 26 December 1846) was the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore. He is also considered as a brilliant music composer and is credited with over 4 ...

and Edasseri were used in the film.

Awards

- P. J. Antony *

Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor The Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor is an honour, begun in 1969, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to an actor for best performance in a Malayalam film. Until 1997, the awards were managed directly by the Depart ...

- P. J. Antony *

Kerala State Film Award for Best Editor The Kerala State Film Award 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 be ...

Kerala State Film Award for Best Screenplay The Kerala State Film Award 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 bee ...

References

External links

* {{NationalFilmAwardBestFeatureFilm 1973 films 1970s Malayalam-language films Films featuring a Best Actor National Award-winning performance Films with screenplays by M. T. Vasudevan Nair Best Feature Film National Film Award winners Films shot in Kerala Films shot in Kozhikode Films directed by M. T. Vasudevan Nair