''Uttarayanam'' ( en, Throne of Capricorn) is a 1975

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 directed by

G. Aravindan Govindan Aravindan (23 January 1935 – 15 March 1991) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, musician, cartoonist, and painter. He was one of the pioneers of parallel cinema in Malayalam. He was known for his unorthodox way of filmmak ...

and written by

Thikkodiyan P. Kunjanandan Nair (February 15, 1916 – January 28, 2001), better known by his pseudonym, Thikkodiyan, was an Indian playwright, novelist, lyricist and screenwriter of Malayalam. He was known for his contributions to the genre of radio p ...

. Aravindan debuted with this film. The film, which exposes opportunism and hypocrisy set against the backdrop of the Independence struggle, is inspired by Aravindan's own cartoon series, titled ''Cheriya Lokavum Valiya Manushyarum'' (''Small World and Big People''), which was published in '' Mathrubhumi'' for several years. The film is about Ravi, an unemployed young man, who has to face a series of encounters during his search for a job. Ravi reflects on the past struggles of the anti-British freedom fighters he has learned about from his paralyzed father. He eventually meets Gopalan Muthalaly, a leader of

Quit India The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule ...

movement, but now a corrupt contractor. Mohandas plays the protagonist and Kunju,

Balan K. Nair Balakrishnan Nair, more popularly known as Balan K. Nair (4 April 1933 26 August 2000) was an Indian actor known for his roles in Malayalam cinema. Although he appeared as a villain in most films, he was also noted for his performances in stron ...

, Adoor Bhasi, Kunjandi and Sukumaran play other roles. The film garnered wide critical praise and several awards, including five Kerala State Film Awards, upon release. It was a prophetic film that foresaw the dark era of national emergency that was to follow immediately. From Utharayanam’s idealist and political conflicts, Aravindan moved to the eternal dilemma relating to power and justice. An experimental film, it has influenced the parallel cinema movement in Kerala to a great extent.

Plot

Ravi is an unemployed MA graduate who writes exams and attends interviews but fails to land a job. He lives with his mother and grandmother. His grandfather, Madhavan Menon was a Gandhian who believed in non-cooperation movement and held non-violent protests against the British. Madhavan Menon married off his daughter to Govindan who turns out to be a revolutionary who believed in Bhagat Singh and armed revolution as the only solution to oust the British Empire. Menon's brother-in-law is Adhikaari who helps the police officers to capture both Congress supporters and revolutionary rebels. Inside the revolutionary movement itself are the soft-heartened like Gopalan who betray the movements on being questioned by the police. Ravi spends time with Kumaran Master, who was a fellow revolutionary with his father. Master spends his time making masks. Both of them visit Achuthan who was another revolutionary but is now frail and bedridden. Master provides Ravi with a letter to meet Gopalan, who Ravi finds is now a rich businessman who drinks liquor with political leaders of minority communities and talk about the freedom struggle days. Ravi meets David, a college-mate of his who hated politics back then, but is now a Trade Union activist who helps Gopalan muthalali with construction of star hotel. Ravi meets Premkumar, another college-mate who is a medical representative and spends his leisure time on drinks, smoke and women. For some days, Ravi stays with Premkumar and his room-mate former Mr. Kerala and bodybuilder Balan who advises them about health being wealth. Ravi is not able to reciprocate the love shown to him by Radha. In the end, a disillusioned Ravi goes to the mountains and seeks a godman who reads to him from the Upanishads about not lusting after another person's possessions. Ravi finally arrives in the presence of a tribal woman burning leaves and throws his mask into it.

Cast

*Dr. Mohandas as Ravi * Kunjandi as Kumaran Master, a former revolutionary * Adoor Bhasi as Adhikari * Sukumaran as Premkumar, Medical Representative * Vijayan as David, Trade Union leader *

as Achuthan, a revolutionary *

Mallika Sukumaran Mohamallika Pillai (born 4 November 1954), better known as Mallika Sukumaran is an Indian actress and businesswoman, known for her works in Malayalam cinema. She debuted in 1974 with the Malayalam film ''Utharayanam'' by G. Aravindan. Since th ...

as Radha * Premji as Madhavan Menon, Ravi's grandfather, a staunch Congress supporter *Radhamani as mother * Santha Devi as grandmother * T. G. Ravi as Govindan, Ravi's father, a revolutionary

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 renaissanc ...

Awards

; Kerala State Film Awards"Kerala State Film Awards: 1969 - 2008"
. Information and Public Relations Department of Kerala. Retrieved 20 January 2011. *

Best 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 ...

Pattathuvila Karunakaran Pattathuvila Karunakaran (1925–1988) was an Indian film producer and short story writer of Malayalam literature. He was best known for his book, ''Vimarsham'' and for his association with the film, ''Uttarayanam'', the directorial debut of not ...

(producer),

(director) * Best Director - G. Aravindan *

Best Screenplay 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 Corporation, ...

, G. Aravindan * Best Photography (Black and white) -

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 ...

* Second Best Actor -

* Best Art Director -

Artist Namboothiri Karuvattu Mana Vasudevan Namboothiri (born 13 September 1925), better known simply as Namboothiri, is an Indian painter and sculptor, known for his line art and copper relief works. He has done illustrations for many Malayalam writers such as ...

;

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

* Award for the Best Feature Film on the 25th anniversary of India's Independence *

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam 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 sev ...

References

External links

* {{National Film Award Best Feature Film Malayalam 1970s Malayalam-language films 1975 directorial debut films 1975 films Films directed by G. Aravindan Best Malayalam Feature Film National Film Award winners