''Thrishna'' is a 1981 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 ...

film written by M. T Vasudevan Nair, directed by I. V. Sasi and produced by Rosamma George. The film has musical score by Shyam. The film stars

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam-language films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, ...

Rajyalakshmi Rajyalakshmi Chandu, better known by her stage name Sankarabharanam Rajyalakshmi (born 18 December 1964) is an Indian actress. She was a prominent lead actress during the 1980s in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam films. She was well noted ...

, Swapna and

Kaviyoor Ponnamma Kaviyoor Ponnamma (10 September 1945 – 20 September 2024) was an Indian actress who appeared in Malayalam films and television. She began her career performing in theatre dramas before foraying into cinema. She also acted in TV serials and c ...

in the lead roles. The film gave

his major break as a solo hero. The film tells the story of ''Das'' (

), who is a rich playboy and his relationships with his callgirl, ''Jaysree'' ( Swapna) and his love interest, ''Sridevi'' (

). Rosamma George won the 1981 Filmfare Award for Best Film - Malayalam for this film.

Plot

''Das'' is a rich and spoilt playboy who drives to his bungalow in Kodaikanal with a callgirl ''Jaysree''. The bungalow is looked after by caretaker ''Parameswaran'' and his Tamil wife ''Kannamma''. Parameswaran has a son ''Gopan'' who stays away from the place and does guide work for foreigners. Parameswaran has told both of them that Jaysree is Das' wife to avoid ill-fame to the family name. Das feels he owns Jaysree and does not waste a single opportunity to ridicule her profession. Other than sex, there is no emotional bond between them.
A family friend of Das' late father, ''Panikkar'' and family drop by to meet Das' wife which makes Das uncomfortable. Though Jaysree refuses at first to play the role, she then acts as a dutiful wife before them. Panikkar's family consists of his wife ''Chinnammu Amma'', father-in-law ''Rao Bahadur Shankaramenon'', and two daughters, elder one being ''Nirmala'' married to engineer ''Ramakrishnan'' and younger one ''Sridevi'' who is separated from her husband. Two relations build up simultaneously. On one side, Sridevi is able to bring back the fondness of music in Das and they spent time understanding each other. On the other side, Jaysree feels Gopan is like herself, a victim of helplessness and she becomes attached to him. Things take a turn when, after a moment of passion, Jaysree tells the truth about herself to Gopan and he feels a revulsion towards her. Meanwhile, Das confesses his womanising nature to Sridevi and then proposes to her but she is unable to commit to him. Finally, Jaysree leaves the house and Gopan joins her in her journey. Sridevi's separated husband ''Vijayshankar'' apologises to her for his insensitive behaviour and she goes back to him. In the end, Das drives off from the place, all alone.

Cast

as Das *

as Sreedevi * Swapna as Jayasree *

as Chinammu Amma *Beena Kumbalangi as Nirmala *

Jose Prakash Kunnel Joseph Joseph, better known by his stage name, Jose Prakash (14 April 1925 – 24 March 2012) was an Indian actor and singer who worked in Malayalam cinema. He was a singer turned actor who had appeared in more than 300 films mostly in a ...

as Panikkar *

Ratheesh Ratheesh (11 September 1954 – 23 December 2002) was an Indian actor best known for his work in Malayalam cinema. He was a native of Kalavoor in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. He performed villainous roles during the 1990s. He had ac ...

as Vijayshankar *

Sankaradi Paravoor memana Kanakku Chembakaraman Parameswaran Chandrashekara Menon, better known by his screen name Sankaradi (14 July 1924 – 8 October 2001), was an Indian actor. He was a veteran Malayalam comedian and character artist, who had over 70 ...

as Parameswaran * Rajkumar as Gopakumar *

Lalu Alex Lalu Alex is an Indian film actor who works in Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning four decades, Lalu Alex has acted in over 250 films and is known for his character roles, comic roles and antagonistic roles in the Malayalam film in ...

as Ramakrishnan *

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 Kannamma *

Premji Mullamangalath Parameshwaran Bhattathiripad (23 September 1908 – 10 August 1998), commonly known as M. P. Bhatathirippad or Premji, was a social reformer, cultural leader and actor from Kerala state, India. Premji joined Yogakshema Sabha ...

as Raobahadur Shankaramenon

Production

The film is Mammootty's first film in a leading role.

replaced

Babu Namboothiri Babu Namboothiri (born 12 August 1947) is a retired Chemistry Professor and Head Of Department of Deva Mata College Kuravilangad and an Indian film and TV actor who has starred in more than 100 Malayalam films and various serials. He is famou ...

as lead actor just after 12 days of shooting. The film was shot extensivly in and around

Kodaikanal Kodaikanal () (English: ) is a municipality and hill station in Dindigul district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is situated at an altitude of in the Palani hills of the Western Ghats. Kodaikanal was established in 1845 to serve as a r ...

Release

The film was released on 31 October 1981. The film was critically acclaimed and was a commercial success.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Shyam and the lyrics were 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 ...

. The film's songs were chartbusters.

Awards

* Filmfare Award for Best Film - Malayalam won by Rosamma George (1981)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1981 films 1980s Malayalam-language films Films shot in Kodaikanal Films directed by I. V. Sasi Films scored by Shyam (composer)