''Swaham'' (English: ''My Own'') is a 1994 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 drama film produced, co-written and directed by Shaji N. Karun. The film stars Ashwini, Venumani Vishnu, and Mullenezhi. The film's music was composed by Isaac Thomas Kottukapally and K. Raghavan. ''Swaham'' met with widespread critical acclaim upon release. The film was screened at the

1994 Cannes Film Festival The 47th Cannes Film Festival took place from 12 to 23 May 1994. American filmmaker and actor Clint Eastwood served as jury president for the main competition. French actress Jeanne Moreau hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. American fil ...

, where it competed for the

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

Plot

Annapoorna lives with her son and daughter, and struggles to get by, trying to earn a living from the teashop near a railway station once owned by her now deceased husband. Her son Kannan does whatever he can to help whilst trying to continue his education, but this proves difficult and he fails his exams. His mother decides to send him to a military recruitment camp, hoping he will find employment. This seems to be the family's only hope, but this option is expensive. Eventually Kannan is admitted after Annapoorna pays a hefty sum to a man associated with the camp. Later, Kannan is killed in a stampede at the camp, and his bereaved mother brings his body back home in an ambulance. Annapoorna's daughter waits anxiously for the return of her mother and brother.

Cast

*Ashwini * Kalamandalam Haridas * Bharath Gopi *Praseetha *Mullenezhi * Sarath das *Venmani Vishnu *Gopalakrishnan

Awards and nominations

The film has won and been nominated for the following awards since its release: 1995 Bergamo Film Meeting (Italy) * Won – Bronze Rosa Camuna – Shaji N. Karun

(France) * Nominated –

– Shaji N. Karun 1995

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

(India) * Won – Silver Lotus Award – Special Jury Award – Director – Shaji N. Karun 1995

Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Cha ...

(India) * Won – Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Film 1995 Innsbruck Film Festival (Austria) * Won – Best Film – Swam – Shaji N. Karun

References

External links

* {{Kerala Film Critics Association Award for Best Film 1994 films 1994 drama films 1990s Malayalam-language films Films directed by Shaji N. Karun