''Panchavadi Palam'' () is a 1984 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

political satire Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where s ...

film written and directed by K. G. George, based on the story ''Palam Apakadathil'' (1981) written by Veloor Krishnankutty. It stars Bharat Gopy,

Nedumudi Venu Kesavan Venugopal (22 May 1948 – 11 October 2021), better known by his stage name Nedumudi Venu, was an Indian actor and screenwriter from Kerala, who predominantly worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 500 films, primarily in Ma ...

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 ...

Jagathy Sreekumar Sreekumar P. K. (born 5 January 1951), better known by his stage name Jagathy Sreekumar or simply Jagathy, is an Indian actor, director and playback singer, who has appeared in over 1500 Malayalam films in a career spanning almost four decades ...

, Sukumari and

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 ...

in the main roles. The film tries to caricaturise the political scenario in the state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

and portrays the pitiful corruption by politicians. It is the first Malayalam movie in this genre.

Plot

A henpecked politician wants his name attached to a new bridge, even if that means destroying another, perfectly serviceable bridge. The politician Dussasana Kuruppu (

Bharath Gopi Gopynathan Velayudhan Nair (2 November 1937 – 29 January 2008), popularly known by the stage name Bharat Gopy, was an Indian actor, producer and director. He was one of the first actors to be associated with the New Wave cinema movement in ...

) is the president of the village. He, along with his other members, tries to demolish the bridge on the advice of his fellow party member, his right hand and crooked mind Sikhandi Pillai (

). The opposition leader Ishak Tharakan (

) makes moves to thwart this and to capture the position of the village presidency. As a compromise step, both groups agree to relocate the bridge to a distant location, so that not only a new bridge, a new road also will be needed to reach the bridge. The two tenders, one for bridge and one for road is given to two local contractors, one belongs to the ruling party and the other one supported by the opposition. Ultimately, the bridge is built and opened to the public on the same day of the marriage of Dussasana Kurup's daughter and the bridge contractor. The marriage function is attended by many, including the minister of state for public works department and the entire people, who came for marriage walks across the bridge, causing it to collapse, killing the crippled Kathavarayan (

). The film ends by showing the broken bridge in the background.

Cast

as Dussasana Kuruppu *

as Sikhandi Pillai * Sreevidya as Mandodhari *

as Ishak Tharakan * Sukumari as Rahel *

as Abel *

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

as Jeemudhavahanan *

as Kathavarayan * Kalpana as Anarkali * K. P. Ummer as Jahangir Thatha * N. L. Balakrishnan as Bus Passenger * Alummodan as Yudaskunju *

Innocent Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience. In relation ...

as Barabas *

Mohan Jose Mohan Jose is an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He has acted more than 100 films. He came into movie industry portraying villains and later began acting in different comedy and character roles. He is the son of famous singer Pappukutty Bha ...

as Opposition Party Member * V. D. Rajappan as Avarachan Swami * Shubha as Poothana

Soundtrack

The music was composed by M. B. Sreenivasan with lyrics by Chowalloor Krishnankutty.

Reception and in popular culture

The movie is considered as one of the best ever political satires in the history of Malayalam film industry. It was also one of the first of its kind of movie in Mollywood. The Palarivattom Flyover Scam has close comparisons with Panchavadi Palam in Kerala's public sphere. The Kerala High Court later compared this incident with Panchavadi Palam.

References

External links

* 1984 films 1984 comedy films 1980s Malayalam-language films Films directed by K. G. George Films scored by M. B. Sreenivasan {{1980s-comedy-film-stub