''Olavum Theeravum'' () is a 1970 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 drama film directed by P. N. Menon, written 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 produced by P. A. Backer. It stars

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 ...

and

Ushanandini Ushanandini (Malayalam: ഉഷാ നന്ദിനി) is an Indian actress in South Indian movies. She was a prominent lead actress during the 1970s in Malayalam film, Malayalam films. She had acted in Tamil film, Tamil films as well. Biogr ...

, with

Jose Prakash Jose Prakash (14 April 1925 – 24 March 2012) was an Indian actor and singer who worked in Malayalam cinema. He was a singer turned actor who had appeared in more than 300 films mostly in antagonist roles. He was awarded with the J. C. Daniel ...

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 ...

, and Nilambur Balan in supporting roles. The film has a musical score by

M. S. Baburaj Mohammad Sabir Baburaj was an Indian music composer. He is often credited for the renaissance of Malayalam film music. Baburaj has rendered music to many evergreen Malayalam film songs. Early years Baburaj was born on 9 March 1929 in Kozhikod ...

. Cinematography was done by

Mankada Ravi Varma Mankada Ravi Varma (4 June 1926 – 22 November 2010) was an Indian cinematographer and director who worked in Malayalam cinema. He is exclusively known for his association with renowned film-maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan. He has associated with ot ...

. Based on M. T. Vasudevan Nair's own short story of the same name, published in an anthology of short stories in 1957. The story is about a Muslim trader who falls in love with his dead friend's sister who is the daughter of a prostitute. But the girl's mother forces her to marry a wealthy man who has an eye on her. ''Olavum Theeravum'' was released on 27 February 1970 to critical acclaim. The film was also a commercial success and went on to become one of the highest grossing Malayalam films of the year. The film won four Kerala State Film Awards that year for

Best Feature Film 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 Corporatio ...

, Best Cinematography (Mankada Ravi Varma), Script (M.T. Vasudevan Nair) and Second Best Actress (Philomina). The film is now regarded a landmark film in Malayalam film history as this film is credited to be the catalyst for the making of

art house films An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primaril ...

that flourished in the

Malayalam film Industry Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, '' Elippathayam ...

during the seventies. Films like '' Swayamvaram'' and ''

Peruvazhiyambalam ''Peruvazhiyambalam'' is a 1979 Indian Malayalam-language crime drama film written and directed by P. Padmarajan, based on his novel of the same name. The film was Padmarajan's directorial debut and the acting debut of Ashokan, who played th ...

'' is said to have taken inspiration from this film''.''

Plot

Timber traders ''Bapputty'' (Madhu) and ''Abdu'' (Nellikkodu Bhaskaran) are friends. Ashamed of his mother ''Beevathu's'' (Philomina) immoral life after his father's death, ''Abdu'' runs away from his native village Vazhakkadavu and is engaged in timber trading. ''Abdu'' never returns to his home after that. On the way to the trading centre after loading timber from the forest Abdu falls ill and dies on the way. ''Bapputty'' reaches ''Beevathu's'' hut with Abdu's dead body. ''Bapputty'' takes pity on the family and decides to support them. Here, ''Bapputty'' falls in love with Abdu's only sister ''Nabeesa'' (Usha Nandini) who also hates her mother's way of life but is helpless. ''Bapputty'' takes a decision to make enough money, marry ''Nabeesa'' and live happily. He leaves the village to distant timber depots to realize this dream. Meanwhile, a rich trader ''Kunjali'' (Jose Prakash) who was away from his native village for a long time now returns. His sees ''Nabeesa'' and makes advances. ''Beevathu'', who only thinks of making money, encourages ''Nabeesa'' to befriend ''Kunjali'', but she avoids going anywhere near him. She keeps waiting for ''Bapputty'' to return and take her away. One day, with ''Beevathu's'' support ''Kunjali'' molests ''Nabeesa''. On that fateful day ''Bapputty'' reaches the village and is heartbroken at the happenings. But the kind-hearted Bapputty who loved Nabeesa sincerely, affirms his decision to marry her. ''Nabeesa'' refuses and pleads with him to leave her. The film ends with ''Nabeesa's'' suicide and ''Bapputty'' staring at her swollen corpse washed ashore as he leaves the village.

Cast

as Baputty *

as Nabeesa *

as Kunjali * Nilambur Balan as Mooppan *Abbas as Butcher Moosa *Ali *

Alummoodan Alummoodan (15 March 1933 3 May 1992) was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam films. He had acted in more than 100 films and mainly did comedy roles. Background Alummoodan was born to Alummoottil Joseph and Rosamma in Changanassery, Changa ...

as Narayanan *Kunjava *

Mala Aravindan Mala Aravindan (15 January 1939 – 28 January 2015) was an Indian actor. He was best known for his work as a comedian and character artist in Malayalam films. He has acted in over 500 films. Early life He was born in Vadavucode, Ernakulam d ...

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 The Kerala St ...

as Abdukka *

Nilambur Ayisha Nilambur Ayisha is an Indian actress in Malayalam movies. She started her career as a theater artist. Later she became a supporting actress in the Malayalam movies in late 1960s and 1970s. She has acted in more than 50 movies. She was the first ...

as Ayisha *

Paravoor Bharathan Vadakkekarayil Koran Bharathan (16 January 1929- 19 August 2015), better known as Paravoor Bharatan was an Indian actor who acted in Malayalam films. He started his career in movies during the 1950s. Bharathan is known as a versatile actor and h ...

as Suleiman *Pariyanampatta as Kadathukaaran Mammathu *

as Beevaathu * Sujatha * T. Damodaran

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

with lyrics by P. Bhaskaran and Moinkutty Vaidyar.

Reception

Critical Response

In a retrospect review, B. Vijaykumar of ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' states that, " Madhu and Philomena excelled in their roles. In fact, Beevathu is considered as one of the best performances of Philomina, which fetched her a State award for the second best actress of the year. The songs written by P. Bhaskaran and set to tune by Baburaj were haunting. The films traditional Mappila songs were also very well done. The film will be remembered as a film that won State awards for best feature film, best cinematography (Mankada Ravi Varma), script (M.T. Vasudevan Nair) and second best actress (

). And also for its haunting music."

Box Office

The film was a commercial success.

Legacy

''Olavum Theeravum'' has been credited with helping to bring about a "flowering of art-house films that have today become the defining quality of Malayalam cinema", with being Malayalam cinema's "breakthrough into realism", and as "a watershed in the history of Malayalam cinema". The tragic realism in this art-house movie, which was also a commercial hit, later became a definitive formula for a whole generation of Malayalam directors, including P. A. Backer. MT's flawless script centering on the love affair of a trader with the daughter of a sex worker was the base on which P.N. Menon made this classic, which became a trendsetter for the realistic way of making movies in Malayalam. It is rightly regarded as one of the milestones in Malayalam cinema.

References

External links

*
"Old is Gold: Olavum Theeravum (1970)"
{{KeralaStateFilmAwardBestFilm 1970 films 1970 drama films 1970s Malayalam-language films Films scored by M. S. Baburaj Films with screenplays by M. T. Vasudevan Nair Films directed by P. N. Menon (director)