Utharam
Utharam | |
---|---|
Directed by | V. K. Pavithran |
Written by | M. T. Vasudevan Nair |
Based on | No Motive by Daphne du Maurier |
Produced by | Akbar |
Starring | Mammootty Suparna Sukumaran Parvathy |
Cinematography | Ramachandra Babu |
Edited by | Ravi |
Music by | Johnson (background score) Vidhyadharan (songs) |
Distributed by | Srudhi Combines |
Release date |
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Country | India |
Language | Malayalam |
Utharam (English: Answer) is a 1989 Malayalam mystery-thriller film, starring Mammootty, Suparna, Sukumaran and Parvathy. It was written by Malayalam writer M. T. Vasudevan Nair based on the short story No Motive by Daphne du Maurier.[1][2][3] Utharam is considered one of the best investigative thrillers in Malayalam cinema.[4]
Plot[]
Selina Joseph (Suparna) a budding poet leading a very happy family life, commits suicide on a very "usual" day by shooting herself with her husband's gun.The Police writes this off as a freak accident, but her husband planter Mathew (Sukumaran) realises that it was a suicide. He is perplexed as to the motive of her action.
Balachandran Nair (Mammootty), a Delhi-based journalist, who was close to both Selina and Mathew, decides to look into the reasons that led her to suicide. Mathew and the household servants confirms that Selina was very Happy with her life and there was no motive for her suicide.
Balu starts his investigation from Selina's past by tracking down different people from her past. Balu focuses on Selina's school days after a relative reveals that Selina had to discontinue her school after she was badly injured in a bus accident during a school trip. But later finds from the school principal that there was no accident, but Selina was dismissed when it was found that she was pregnant. Balu meets Selina's school mate Prof. Shyamala Menon (Parvathy), who lost touch with Selina after she discontinued her grade 10 studies abruptly. Selina and Shyamala were mischievous in their school days. While Shyamala recounts their school adventures, Balu realises, that one night after trying out drug laced cigarettes, both Shyamala and Selina were raped by two young men of Gurkha origin while the girls were unconscious. Both girls do not realizes what has happened to them.
Selina gets dismissed after she turns out to be pregnant. Her father secretly arranges delivery at a gynaecological clinic. She did not accept the fact even after the birth of her baby. She considered herself a virgin and called her son Immanuel, meaning the son of Holy virgin Mary. Her child was moved to an orphanage by her father Antony (Karamana Janardanan Nair) without her knowledge. She lost her memory after losing a car accident.
Balu discovers that a rag picker boy was caught stealing from the yard on the day Selina committed suicide. After realising that the boy was of Gurkha origin, Balu understands that it was Selina's lost boy. Seeing her son after a decade as a rag picker, she is emotionally shocked and commits suicide. Balu decides not to reveal the unpleasant truth to Mathew.
The film ended with Shyamala and Balu falling in love with each other, finding Immanuel - Selina’s son and adopting him for Selina.
Cast[]
- Mammootty as Balachandran a.k.a. Balu
- Suparna as Selina Joseph a.k.a. Leena
- Sukumaran as Mathew a.k.a. Mathukkutty
- Parvathy as Shyamala Menon
- Karamana Janardanan Nair as Antony a.k.a. Kunnathurachan
- Innocent as Nanu
- Sankaradi as Achuvettan
- Sukumari as Molly Aunty
- Chandran Nair as Kapyar Mathai
- V. K. Sreeraman as Superintendent
- Valsala Menon as Warden Annie
- Santhakumari as Nurse
- Jayalalitha as Dr. Malathi Krishna
- Jagannathan as Manager Subrahmaniyam
- Thrissur Elsy as Annamma chettathi
- Akbar as 'Principal
- Murukan as Immanuel
- James as narayanan
- Shanthi as nurse
Soundtrack[]
All songs are composed by Vidhyadharan with lyrics by O. N. V. Kurup. The background score of the film was done by Johnson.[citation needed]
Track # | Song | Singer(s) |
---|---|---|
1 | "Manjin Vilolamam" (M) | G. Venugopal |
2 | "Manjin Vilolamam" (F) | B. Arundhathi |
3 | "Ninnilasooyayarnnu" | B. Arundhathi |
4 | "Swaramidarathe" | G. Venugopal, B. Arundhathi |
5 | "Aalthirakkilum" | B. Arundhathi |
6 | "Snehikkunnu Njan" | B. Arundhathi |
7 | "Tibetan Folk Song" | Various Artists |
References[]
- ^ Sanoop K.V., Pavithran, the genius, One India, 19 November 2009
- ^ Kurup, Aradhya (19 October 2019). "30 years since its release, why Mammootty's 'Utharam' still remains a relevant thriller". The News Minute. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ "Five best investigative crime thrillers in Malayalam cinema". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ "'Utharam' - Five best investigative crime thrillers in Malayalam cinema". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
External links[]
- 1989 films
- Malayalam-language films
- 1980s Malayalam-language films
- 1980s mystery thriller films
- Indian mystery thriller films
- Indian films
- Films with screenplays by M. T. Vasudevan Nair