''Swathi Muthyam'' () is a 1986 Indian Telugu-language

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

written and directed by

K. Viswanath Kasinadhuni Viswanath (born 19 February 1930) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor, known for his works primarily in Telugu cinema. He is recipient of five National Film Awards, seven state Nandi Awards, ten Filmfare Awards South ...

and produced by

Edida Nageswara Rao Edida Nageswara Rao (24 April 1934 – 4 October 2015) was an Indian film producer in Telugu cinema. He owned the film production house Poornodaya Movie Creations in Tollywood. He produced '' Sankarabharanam'', ''Swayam Krushi'', ''Siri Si ...

. The film stars Kamal Haasan and

Raadhika Raadhika Sarathkumar is an Indian actress, entrepreneur, producer and politician who works predominantly in Tamil cinema along with Telugu cinema as well as a few Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada films. She is the founder and CP of the Radaan Media ...

, while

Gollapudi Maruti Rao Gollapudi Maruti Rao (14 April 1939 – 12 December 2019) was an Indian actor, screenwriter, dramatist, playwright, columnist and dialogue writer known for his works in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu Literature. Rao acted in over 250 ...

J. V. Somayajulu Jonnalagadda Venkata Somayajulu (30 July 1920 or – 24 April 2004) was an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu cinema and a few Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. In 1981, he received the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu ...

, Nirmalamma,

Sarath Babu Sathyam Babu Dixithulu (born 31 July 1951), known by his stage name Sarath Babu, is an Indian actor known for his works predominantly in Tamil and Telugu cinema. He has worked in more than 200 films. He has appeared in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada a ...

, and

Y. Vijaya Yenigandla Vijaya (born 8 February 1957) is an Indian actress and classical dancer. She has appeared in more than 1000 films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada languages. Early life and education Y. Vijaya was born on 8 February 1957 in Ku ...

play supporting roles. The soundtrack and background score were composed by Ilaiyaraaja. ''Swathi Muthyam'' depicts the plight of a young widow who is rescued by an

autistic The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

man. ''Swathi Muthyam'' was a box office success. The film was screened at the

Moscow Film Festival The Moscow International Film Festival (russian: Моско́вский междунаро́дный кинофестива́ль, translit. ''Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál''; abbreviated as MIFF) is the film festival first h ...

, the Asian and African film festival in Tashkent, the

11th International Film Festival of India The 11th International Film Festival of India was held from 10-24 January 1987 in New Delhi. The festival gave a breakthrough for commercial cinema, through the introduction of "Indian Mainstream section". India's official entry for the Best Fo ...

in the inaugural mainstream section. The film received the

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

, three

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named after ...

and the

Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu The Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu is presented by the '' Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Telugu films. The awards were extended to "Best Director" in 1972. Film world, p 43 Superlatives * K. V ...

. The film was selected by India as its entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

for the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

in 1986, but was not nominated. The film was later dubbed into

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 ...

as ''Sippikkul Muthu'', released on October 2, 1986. Upon its success, the film was later remade in Hindi as '' Eeshwar'' (1989) and in Kannada as '' Swathi Muthu'' (2003).

Plot

Shivaiah ( Kamal Haasan) is an innocent orphan with a brain injury resulting in low intellectual function. He lives along with his grandmother ( Nirmalamma) in a village. In that village, Lalitha (

), a young widow with a five-year-old son, lives along with her brother Chalapati's (

) family. She and her son often get abused by her sister-in-law (

), but Lalitha, having nowhere to go, bears it all. Shivaiah often encounters Lalitha and gets appalled by her condition. One day, during Sri Rama Navami festival, Shivaiah marries Lalitha, shocking all the villagers. His grandmother ( Nirmalamma) approves of his marriage as she also has much sympathy and regard for Lalitha, but his uncle and Orthodox villagers oppose that marriage as they consider remarriage of a widow as a sin. In that brawl, Shivaiah's grandmother dies, leaving innocent Shivaiah in the hands of Lalitha. Lalitha moves in with her husband with the blessings of her brother. Some of the villagers help them to build a new life. Gradually, Lalitha makes Shivaiah understand the household duties and responsibilities of a man. Shivaiah finds work and starts to support his wife and stepson. Later they have a son and live happily for a long time. Years pass, and Lalitha becomes ill and dies in her husband's arms. In the climax, Shivaiah walks out of his house surrounded by his children and grandchildren. He carries a

tulsi ''Ocimum tenuiflorum'', commonly known as holy basil, ''tulsi'' or ''tulasi'', is an aromatic perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and widespread as a cultivated plant throughout the Southeast Asian ...

plant, which was his memory of Lalitha's love.

Cast

* Kamal Haasan as Sivayya *

as Lalitha *

Gollapudi Maruthi Rao Gollapudi Maruti Rao (14 April 1939 – 12 December 2019) was an Indian actor, screenwriter, dramatist, playwright, columnist and dialogue writer known for his works in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu Literature. Rao acted in over 25 ...

as Landlord *

as Lalita's guru * Nirmalamma as Sivayya's grandmother * Master Karthik as Balasubrahmanyam, Lalita's first son, whom later adopted or accepted by Sivayya after their marriage *

as Chalapati, Lalita's brother *

as Lalita's sister-in-law * Master Allu Arjun as Sivayya's grandson * Major Sundarrajan *

Deepa Deepa or Dipa (Hindi : दीपा) is a Hindu/Sanskrit Indian popular feminine given name, which means "lamp" and "light". Notable people named Deepa * Deepa Bhaskar, Indian actress * Deepa Bhatia, Indian film editor * Deepa Chari, Indian a ...

Dubbing Janaki Dasari Janaki, known professionally as Dubbing Janaki, is an Indian actress and voice artist. She has appeared in several films and television shows in various South Indian languages. Early life Janaki was born in Peddapuram, East Godavari D ...

* Mallikarjuna Rao * Suthi Veerabhadra Rao * Edida Sriram

Production

Arun Kumar and Venkatesh were the production designers for the film. The film was shot for nearly 70 days near the shores of

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry, officially known as Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and District headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the sixth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the District of Rajah ...

, Torredu, Tadikonda, Pattiseema,

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, and

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

Allu Arjun Allu Arjun (born 8 April 1982) is an Indian actor who works in Telugu films. One of the highest paid actors in India, Arjun is also known for his extraordinary dancing skills. He is a recipient of several awards, including six Filmfare Award ...

did a small role as one of the grandsons of Kamal Haasan. The scene where Haasan dances like someone who cannot dance took so many days to get it "rightly wrong," as Haasan is a seasoned dancer.

Soundtrack

Reception

Baradwaj Rangan Baradwaj Rangan is an Indian film critic, writer, and formerly the deputy editor of ''The Hindu''. He later became a senior editor of Film Companion. Rangan won the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 2006. Before joining ''The Hindu' ...

said in 2017, "K. Viswanath, this year's recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, made three films with Kamal Haasan. ''

Sagara Sangamam ''Sagara Sangamam'' () is a 1983 Indian Telugu-language dance film written and directed by K. Viswanath and produced by Edida Nageswara Rao. The film stars Kamal Haasan, Jaya Prada, Sarath Babu, S. P. Sailaja and Chakri Toleti. Upon release, ...

'' is the best, '' Subha Sankalpam'' the weakest – and between these two films, chronologically and quality-wise, lies ''Swathi Muthyam'' (White Pearl)."

Awards

Remakes

References

External links

* {{Indian submission for Academy Awards 1986 films 1980s Telugu-language films Films about autism 1986 romantic drama films Indian nonlinear narrative films Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja Indian romantic drama films Films directed by K. Viswanath Fictional characters with disabilities Telugu films remade in other languages Films about widowhood in India Best Telugu Feature Film National Film Award winners