''Manichitrathazhu'' () is a 1993 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 ...

-language

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

psychological horror Psychological horror is a genre, subgenre of horror fiction, horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and Mental state, psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre freque ...

Thriller film directed by Fazil, written by Madhu Muttam and produced by

Swargachitra Appachan Pinakkatt D. Abraham, better known as Swargachitra Appachan is an Indian film producer, distributor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of production and distribution company Swargachitra, best known for producing '' Godfather''. Career Among ...

. The film stars

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...

Shobana Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai (born 21 March 1970); known mononymously as Shobana, is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer, who works predominantly in Malayalam films, in addition to Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, English and Kannada films. She is ...

and

Suresh Gopi Suresh Gopi (born 26 June 1958) is an Indian actor, playback singer, television presenter and politician who is currently serving as the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Minister of Tourism since June 2024. He was ele ...

. It also features

Thilakan Palappurathu Keshavan 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 appeara ...

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 M ...

, Innocent,

Vinaya Prasad Vinaya Prakash ( Bhat), (22 November 1967) also credited as Vinaya Prasad, is an Indian actress known for her work in Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu films, as well as television serials. Career Vinaya Prasad hails from Udupi district of Karna ...

K. P. A. C. Lalitha Maheshwari Amma, better known by her stage name K. P. A. C. Lalitha (10 March 1947 – 22 February 2022), was an Indian film and stage actress who worked primarily in the Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry. Considered one of the greatest ...

Sridhar Sridhar is a given name that is also sometimes used as a surname. Notable people with this name include: *Sridhar (actor), Indian actor in the Kannada film industry *Anup Sridhar, badminton player *C. V. Sridhar, screenwriter and film director *Sri ...

K.B. Ganesh Kumar Keezhoote Balakrishna Ganesh Kumar (born 25 May 1966) is an Indian actor, television host, and politician who is serving as the Second Vijayan ministry, Minister for Transport of Kerala since December 2023 and previously from 2001 to 2003. He h ...

Sudheesh Sudheesh (born 7 December 1972) is an Indian actor and director who predominantly works in Malayalam film industry. He won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Character Actor in 2021. Personal life Sudheesh is the only son of T. Sudhakaran ...

. The story is inspired by a tragedy that happened in the Alummoottil

tharavad Tharavad, also spelled as Tharavadu () (തറവാട്), is the Malayalam word for the ancestral home of aristocratic Nair families in Kerala, which usually served as the common residence for the matrilineal joint family under the Marum ...

located at Muttom (near

Haripad Haripad is a municipality in ''Odanad, Onattukara'' region of Alappuzha District, Kerala, India located between Alappuzha and Kollam on the NH 66, National Highway 66. Haripad is bordered on the east by Pallippad, Veeyapuram and Karuvatta ...

), belonging to central

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

. The inheritor of the Alummoottil property and his

domestic worker A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly ...

girl were murdered by the son-in-law after he had been written-off from the

marumakkathayam Marumakkathayam was a system of matrilineal inheritance prevalent in regions of the Indian state of Kerala. It is similar to the Aliyasanthana system followed by the Bunt community in Karnataka. The word "Marumakkathayam" originated from the ...

system of inheritance prevalent in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

at the time. The murder gave rise to many local legends which serve as the basis for the film. Muttam, the writer of the film, is a member of the Alummoottil tharavad through his maternal family.

Sibi Malayil Sibi (; ;) is a city situated in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The city serves as the administrative headquarters of the district and tehsil of the same name. Etymology The origin of the town's name is attributed to Rani Sewi, a Hin ...

Priyadarshan Priyadarshan Soman Nair (born 30 January 1957) is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He has worked primarily in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam and Hindi cinema, Hindi cinema since 1982, directing over 90 films in multiple Indian languages, ...

and Siddique–Lal served as the second-unit directors, who worked separately but simultaneously with Fazil to significantly speed up the filming process. The cinematography was done by

Venu The ''venu'' (Sanskrit: ; /मुरळि; ''muraļi'') is one of the ancient transverse flutes of Indian classical music. It is an aerophone typically made from bamboo, that is a side blown wind instrument. It continues to be in use in the ...

, Anandakuttan and Sunny Joseph served as the second-unit cinematographers, the film was edited by T. R. Shekar. The original songs were composed by M. G. Radhakrishnan, while the original score was composed by

Johnson Johnson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Johnson (surname), a common surname in English * Johnson (given name), a list of people * List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters *Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...

. Mohanlal, though credited as a lead actor, has been noted to have only an extended cameo, the main role being that of

Shobhana Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai (born 21 March 1970); known mononymously as Shobana, is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer, who works predominantly in Malayalam films, in addition to Tamil language, Tamil, Telugu language, Telugu, Hindi lan ...

, who won the

National Film Award for Best Actress The National Film Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to an actress for the best performance in a leading role within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry. ...

for her portrayal of Ganga / Nagavalli. The film won the

National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment The National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India, and was constituted in the year 1975. This is one of th ...

. The film also won three Kerala state awards -- Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value (1994), Best Actress and Best Make-up Artist (PN Mani). The film dealt with an unusual theme which was not common in

Indian cinema The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...

at the time. The film completed 300 days of run in many theatres. ''Manichitrathazhu'' was remade in four languages – in

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

as ''

Apthamitra ''Apthamitra'' () is a 2004 Indian Kannada-language Psychological horror film written and directed by P. Vasu and produced by Dwarakish. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Soundarya and Ramesh in the lead roles, while Prema, Avinash and Dwarak ...

'' (2004) (with some plot changes) which in turn was remade in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

as ''

Chandramukhi ''Chandramukhi'' () is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language psychological comedy horror film written and directed by P. Vasu. It is a remake of Vasu's Kannada film '' Apthamitra'' (2004) which itself was based on the Malayalam film '' Manichitrathaz ...

'' (2005), in

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

as ''

Rajmohol ''Rajmohol'' is a 2005 Indian Bengali-language horror drama film starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, Abhishek Chatterjee, Anu Choudhury, Rachana Banerjee, Biplab Chatterjee, Subhasish Mukherjee, and Bharat Kaul. It is a remake of the 1993 Ma ...

'' (2005) and in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

as ''

Bhool Bhulaiyaa ''Bhool Bhulaiyya'' () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language Psychological Horror comedy film directed by Priyadarshan from a screenplay by Neeraj Vora and produced by T Series. It is a remake of the 1993 Malayalam-language film '' Manichitrathaz ...

'' (2007)– all being commercially successful. Madhu has been credited as the sole writer for the remakes after he filed a copyright suit against Fazil when the latter started being listed as the writer of the original script in the remakes. '' Geethaanjali'', a spin-off directed by Priyadarshan with Mohanlal reprising the role of Dr. Sunny Joseph was made in 2013. ''Manichitrathazhu'' is considered by many critics as one of the best films in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

and developed a

cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

, years after its release. It has also been regarded as one of the best

psychological thrillers Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

in Indian cinema. It was listed among the "70 Iconic Films of Indian Cinema" by ''Mint'' in 2017. A digitally remastered 4K

Dolby Atmos Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels as well as free-moving sound objects, interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horiz ...

version of ''Manichitrathazhu'' was released in theatres on 17 August 2024.

Plot

Nakulan and his wife Ganga decide to take a vacation to Nakulan's ancestral village in

. Despite warnings from elder family members, Nakulan insists on staying at his ancestral home, the Madampalli

Tharavad Tharavad, also spelled as Tharavadu () (തറവാട്), is the Malayalam word for the ancestral home of aristocratic Nair families in Kerala, which usually served as the common residence for the matrilineal joint family under the Marum ...

, which is apparently haunted. The rest of the family join them, not willing to leave them alone there. The couple is cautioned to avoid certain parts of the house, particularly the "Thekkini," a locked room. About 150 years ago, the family's patriarch and the ruling feudal lord, Karnavar Sankaran Thambi, fell in love with dancer Nagavalli during a trip to

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of southern Indian religion, art ...

, and brought her to the mansion. However, Nagavalli was already in love with dancer Ramanathan, who moved into the nearby house and continued seeing her. When the Karnavar discovered the affair, he killed them and legend has it that Nagavalli's vengeful spirit is in the Thekkini. A sceptical and curious Ganga enlists the help of Nakulan's cousin Alli, to unlock the Thekkini. After they unlock it, people start seeing apparitions of a woman, objects mysteriously break, and Ganga's

sari A sari (also called sharee, saree or sadi)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * is a drape (cloth) and a women's garment in the Indian subcontinent. It consists of an un-sti ...

catches fire. Performing

Puja (Hinduism) () is a worship ritual performed by Hindus to offer devotional homage and prayer to one or more deities, to host and honour a guest, or to spiritually celebrate an event. It may honour or celebrate the presence of special guests, or their mem ...

does not help and the family eventually begins to believe that another of Nakulan's cousins, Sreedevi, may be possessed by Nagavalli's spirit. Nakulan calls on his friend Dr. Sunny, a renowned US-based Indian psychiatrist, to investigate the situation. Sunny soon encounters mysterious events, including an attempt on Alli's life, as well as a woman's voice singing and dancing in

emanating from the locked Thekkini at midnight. Impersonating the Karnavar, Sunny converses with the voice, who reveals herself as Nagavalli and vows revenge on the upcoming Durgashtami night by killing the Karnavar. Sunny also goes to a place called Evoor and talks to the people there. He also foils someone's attempt to kill Nakulan by giving him poisoned tea and blaming Sreedevi, locks her up in her bedroom. On the night before Durgashtami, Sunny finds Ganga supposedly being harassed by Alli's fiancé, Mahadevan, who insists that he is innocent. Sunny deduces that Ganga is orchestrating all the problems in the house and is suffering from dissociative identity disorder which has taken on the personality of Nagavalli. The Nagavalli persona perceives Mahadevan as Ramanathan and Nakulan as Karanavar, and wants to kill Nakulan on Durgashtami night. Sunny explains everything to Sreedevi who starts to help him. Meanwhile, Nakulan's family, skeptical of Sunny's treatment, calls in tantric expert Pullattuparam Brahmadathan Namboodiri, but it turns out he is an old friend of Sunny's and decides to help Sunny cure Ganga. On Durgashtami night, Ganga reverts to Nagavalli persona and, believing Mahadevan to be Ramanathan, follows him to the rituals prepared by the Namboodiri in front of everyone. Namboodiri talks to Nagavalli and promises to help her behead the Karnavar. Nakulan is brought before her but just before she prepares to strike, Namboodiri blows smoke and ash into her face to temporarily blind her. Sunny, meanwhile, swaps Nakulan with a dummy. Nagavalli persona cuts the dummy into pieces and convinced that her enemy is dead, becomes dormant. Later, Sunny uses therapy to cure Ganga. The family bids farewell to Ganga, Nakulan, and Sunny. Before leaving, Sunny proposes to Sreedevi, who accepts.

Cast

as Dr. Sunny Joseph/Sunny/Sunnichan, the psychiatrist from America, who solves Ganga's

personality disorder Personality disorders (PD) are a class of mental health conditions characterized by enduring maladaptive patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience, exhibited across many contexts and deviating from those accepted by the culture. ...

. *

in dual roles: ** as Ganga Nakulan, a slightly modern lady from

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

who grows curious about the legends heard from Nakulan's ancestral house, later develops split personality disorder (

voiceover Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...

Bhagyalakshmi Bhagyalakshmi (born 1 November 1961) is an Indian actress, activist, and dubbing artist. She works predominantly in the Malayalam film industry. She has collaborated with several actresses from Malayalam industries as well as other south India ...

) ** as Nagavalli, the dancer from the legends (

by Durga) *

as Nakulan, Ganga's husband and the Karnavar in Ganga's hallucination as Nagavalli *

as Sreedevi, Thambi's elder daughter and Sunny's

love interest (; ) were stock characters within the theatre style known as commedia dell'arte, who appeared in 16th-century Italy. In the plays, everything revolved around the lovers in some regard. These dramatic and posh characters were present within pl ...

(

Anandavally Anandavally C. R. (14 January 1952 5 April 2019) was an Indian actress and dubbing artist, who predominantly worked in the Malayalam film industry. She has lent voice to over 5,000 characters in over 2,000 Malayalam movies. Anandavally was th ...

) *

as Thambi, maternal uncle of Nakulan *

Kuttyedathi Vilasini Kuttyedathi Vilasini is an Indian actress best known for her work in Malayalam cinema. She has acted in more than 400 films and 120 TV serials. Biography Vilasini was born in Thrissur, Kerala. Her portrayal of Kuttyedathi in the movie of sa ...

as Thambi's wife, Nakulan's aunt by marriage *

as Chandhu, Thambi's son and Sreedevi's younger brother * Innocent as Unnithan, Bhasura's husband and Nakulan's uncle by marriage *

as Bhasura, Nakulan's maternal aunt *

as P. Mahadevan, a professor living next door to Madampally and engaged to Alli / as Ramanathan, Nagavalli's

Rudra Rudra (/ ɾud̪ɾə/; ) is a Rigvedic deity associated with Shiva, the wind or storms, Vayu, medicine, and the hunt. One translation of the name is 'the roarer'. In the ''Rigveda'', Rudra is praised as the "mightiest of the mighty". Rudra ...

as Alli, daughter of Unnithan and Bhasura, engaged to Mahadevan (

by Ambily) *

as Pullattuparam Brahmadathan Namboothiripad, tantric expert and Sunny's friend *

Kuthiravattam Pappu Padmadalakshan, better known by his stage name Kuthiravattam Pappu (24 December 1936 – 25 February 2000), was a popular Indian stage and film actor. His repertoire of acting was based on his unique style and use of the '' Kozhikodan'' dialect, ...

as Kattuparamban, a neighbour * Sajan as Kindi * K. B. Ganesh Kumar as Dasappan Kutty, helper of Unnithan and their distant relative * Vaijayanthi as Jayasree, Thambi's younger daughter *

Kottayam Santha Kottayam Santha was an Indian actress and dubbing artist best known for her work in Malayalam cinema. She has acted in more than 300 films. She had also acted in several TV serials like Valayam, Krishnakripasagaram etc. She dubbed for almost ...

as School Head mistress

Production

Development

Then young directors

and Siddique–Lal served as the second-unit directors, who worked separately but simultaneously with veteran director Fazil to significantly speed up the filming process. The cinematography was by

. Mohanlal, though credited as a lead actor, has been noted to have only an extended cameo, the main role being that of Shobhana.

Filming

The haunted Thekkini room was created inside the Vasan House in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, the house of late S. S. Vasan, the founder of

Gemini Studios Gemini Studios was an Indian film studio based in Madras, Tamil Nadu. It was launched when S. S. Vasan, a businessman of many ventures (including the ownership of Ananda Vikatan) bought Motion Picture Producers' Combines from Krishnaswamy Su ...

. It was one of the film's key locations apart from

Padmanabhapuram Palace Padmanabhapuram Palace, also known as Kalkulam Palace, is a Travancore-era palace located in Padmanabhapuram in the Kanyakumari district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The palace is owned, controlled and maintained by the Kerala Governme ...

and

Hill Palace, Tripunithura Hill Palace is an archaeological museum and palace located in the Tripunithura neighbourhood of Kochi, Kerala. It is the largest archeological museum in the state and was the imperial administrative office and official residence of the Cochin ...

. The major parts of the film were filmed at Hill Palace,

Tripunithura Thrippunithura or Tripunithura (Malayalam:തൃപ്പൂണിത്തുറ) is a prominent historical and residential region in the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. Located about 7 km (4 mi) from the city centre, Tripunithura wa ...

and the climax was filmed at

. The painting of Nagavalli was made by artist R. Madhavan, drawn without a live model.

Dubbing credits

Shobana's voice was dubbed by two dubbing artistes

and Durga. Bhagyalakshmi dubbed her voice for Ganga, while Durga gave voice to the character's

alter-ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a different personality. Add ...

, Nagavalli. Nagavalli's voice is heard only in a minor part of the film compared to Ganga's. Durga was not credited in the film or its publicity material and until 2016, the popular belief was that Bhagyalakshmi solely dubbed both voices. In January 2016, in an article ''Ormapookkal'' published by '' Manorama Weekly'', Fazil revealed that initially Bhagyalakshmi dubbed for both Ganga and Nagavalli, but during post-production, some of the crew, including editor Shekar, had a feeling that both voices sounded somewhat similar even though Bhagyalakshmi tried altering her voice for Nagavalli. Since Nagavalli's dialogues are in the

Tamil language Tamil (, , , also written as ''Tamizhil'' according to linguistic pronunciation) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. It is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world,. "Tamil is one of ...

, Fazil hired Tamil dubbing artist Durga for the part. But he forgot to inform Bhagyalakshmi, hence she was also unaware of it for a long time. Fazil did not credit Durga in the film; according to him, it was a difficult to make changes in the

titles A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

at that time, which was already prepared and her portion in the film was minor. The credits included only Bhagyalakshmi as the dubbing artiste for Shobana. Other dubbing artistes were

and Ambili, who dubbed for Vinaya Prasad and Rudra.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for the film was composed by M. G. Radhakrishnan which went on to become one of the most popular soundtrack in Malayalam. The album consists of nine tracks. The lyrics in

is written by

Bichu Thirumala Bhaskaran Sivasankaran Nair, popularly known as Bichu Thirumala (13 February 1942 – 26 November 2021), was an Indian lyricist and poet. He is known for creating the style of arranging beautiful words in Malayalam film songs. In Malayalam cinem ...

and Madhu Muttam and lyrics in

are written by Vaali.

Release

''Manichitrathazhu'' was released on 25 December 1993, and performed well at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing Malayalam film at the time. It ran for more than 365 days in few theatres.

Awards

Themes

Certain themes that were discussed in the movie were Ganga's yearning for

intimacy An intimate relationship is an interpersonal relationship that involves emotional or physical closeness between people and may include sexual intimacy and feelings of romance or love. Intimate relationships are interdependent, and the member ...

with her husband Nakulan, Mental health disorders and why it's important to turn to science rather than trust conventional modes of treatments as well as Dr. Sunny and Ganga's passionate friendship, all of which were rare in Indian cinema, creating a unique blend which received a positive response from the audience. The film also deals with the

devadasi In India, a devadasi is a female artist who is dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication takes place in a ceremony that is somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony. In addition to taki ...

courtesan A courtesan is a prostitute with a courtly, wealthy, or upper-class clientele. Historically, the term referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other powerful person. History In European feudal society, the co ...

practice formerly prevalent in

southern India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

and its patronage by local

Nair The Nair (, ) also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom hi ...

chieftains,

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

prejudices and Tantric cults.

Legacy

''Manichitrathazhu'' is considered as a classic and is hailed as one of the best films ever made in

. The film has consistently fetched maximum ratings for its television screenings. Even twenty years after its release it has been screened more than 12 times a year on an average on Kerala's leading TV channel,

Asianet Asianet may refer to: JioStar channels * JioStar, is an Indian media conglomerate wholly owned by Disney India. ** Asianet, a Malayalam language general entertainment channel ** Asianet Plus, a Malayalam language general entertainment channel ** As ...

. The film has received the maximum TRP rating on every screening; TRP ratings have increased every year, a rare record for a film produced in Kerala. For many

Malayalis The Malayali people (; also spelt Malayalee and sometimes known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian languages, Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India, ...

, Manichitrathazhu is a part of their cultural lives. In a 2013 online poll in India by ''

IBN Live Network18 Media & Investments Limited, ( d/b/a Network18 Group) is an Indian media conglomerate owned by the Reliance Industries, headed by Mukesh Ambani. Rahul Joshi is the managing director, chief executive officer and group editor-in-chie ...

'', ''Manichitrathazhu'' was voted second among India's greatest films, by the audience. The poll was conducted as part of the celebration of Indian cinema completing 100 years. The poll constituted a list of 100 films from different Indian languages. A

saree A sari (also called sharee, saree or sadi)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * is a drape (cloth) and a women's garment in the Indian subcontinent. It consists of an un-stit ...

featuring Shobhana in a song scene from this film was released in the market as the Nagavali saree. One of the most memorable or defining scenes of the movie where Nakulan provokes Ganga to transform into the Nagavalli persona was recreated in later Malayalam films like '' Om Shanti Oshana''. The film was re-released in theatres after 30 years in August 2024. "Vijanaveedhi", a

horror novel Horror is a genre of speculative fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten, or scare an audience. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defi ...

by Aswathi Thirunal, has been listed by some as an inspiration for the film, though director Fazil and writer Madhu both deny this.

Remakes

Spin-off

A spin-off titled '' Geethaanjali'' was released on 14 November 2013, directed by

with Mohanlal reprising his role as Sunny and Suresh Gopi as Nakulan in a cameo appearance.

References

External links

* {{National Film Award Wholesome Entertainment 1990s Malayalam-language films 1990s Tamil-language films 1990s ghost films 1990s psychological horror films 1990s psychological thriller films 1990s supernatural horror films 1993 controversies 1993 films Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment National Film Award winners Bharatanatyam Comedy epic films Crime horror films Epic fantasy films Films about Indian Americans Films about child abuse Films about courtesans in India Films about curses Films about disability in India Films about dissociative identity disorder Films about dysfunctional families Films about exorcism Films about friendship Films about inheritances Films about kidnapping in India Films about magic Films about marriage Films about mental disorders Films about murder Films about prostitution in India Films about psychiatry Films about psychoanalysis Films about royalty Films about schizophrenia Films about spirit possession Films about superstition Films about telekinesis Films about the caste system in India Films based on Indian folklore Films directed by Fazil Films featuring a Best Actress National Award–winning performance Films involved in plagiarism controversies Films scored by Johnson Films scored by M. G. Radhakrishnan Films set in 1843 Films set in 1993 Films set in Kerala Films set in Kolkata Films set in Tamil Nadu Films set in Thanjavur Films set in abandoned houses Films set in palaces Films set in the 19th century Films set in the British Raj Films shot in Alappuzha Films shot in Chennai Films shot in Ernakulam Films shot in Kanyakumari Films shot in Kerala Films shot in Kochi Films shot in Tamil Nadu Films with atheism-related themes Hindu mythological films Hindu mythology in popular culture Historical epic films History of Kerala on film Indian buddy comedy-drama films Indian comedy horror films Indian comedy mystery films Indian comedy thriller films Indian dance films Indian detective films Indian epic films Indian family films Indian fantasy comedy-drama films Indian fantasy thriller films Indian films about revenge Indian films based on actual events Indian ghost films Indian haunted house films Indian horror thriller films Indian musical comedy-drama films Indian mystery comedy-drama films Indian mystery horror films Indian mystery thriller films Indian mythology in popular culture Indian nonlinear narrative films Indian psychological horror films Indian psychological thriller films Indian supernatural horror films Indian supernatural thriller films Kathakali GNagavalli1 Malayalam films remade in other languages Medical-themed films Occult detective fiction Paranormal films Religious epic films Religious horror films Romantic epic films

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