''Bhargavi Nilayam'' () is a 1964 Indian

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 romantic

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...

directed by A. Vincent (in his directorial debut) and written by

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer (21 January 1908 – 5 July 1994), popularly referred to as Beypore Sulthan, was a writer of Malayalam literature. He was a writer, humanist, freedom fighter, novelist and short story writer, noted for his path-breaking, ...

based on his own short story ''Neela Velicham''. The film stars Madhu,

Vijaya Nirmala Vijaya Nirmala (born Nidudavolu Nirmala; 20 February 1946 – 27 June 2019) was an Indian actress, director, and producer known for her works predominantly in Telugu cinema along with a few Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning over si ...

Prem Nazir Prem Nazir (born Abdul Khader; 7 April 1926 – 16 January 1989) was an Indian actor known as one of Malayalam cinema's definitive leading men of his generation. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential actors in the history of India ...

and

P. J. Antony P. J. Antony (1 January 1925 – 14 March 1979) was an Indian stage and film actor. He received the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' Nirmalyam'' in 1974. He was also the first actor working in Malayalam cinema to rece ...

. The film depicts a compassionate relationship between a talented novelist and the spirit of a beautiful lady who had been murdered. The novelist is writing the story of this lady, into whose house he has moved in as tenant. The film mirrors in a meta-cinematic fashion the close and often symbiotic relationships between Malayalam filmmakers and writers in depicting a writer at work, collaborating with an intangible agency in the form of the eponymous Bhargavi. It was the directorial debut of noted cinematographer A. Vincent. It is especially noted for its camera works by P. Bhaskar Rao and music by M. S. Baburaj. It is generally regarded as the first horror film in Malayalam and was one of the biggest hit films of all time.

Plot

An enthusiastic and talented novelist comes to stay in a desolate mansion named Bhargavi Nilayam. The novelist and his servant Cheriya Pareekkanni experience the presence of a strange entity here. They learn from the local people that it is a haunted house. The story is that it is haunted by the ghost of the daughter of the previous owner. The novelist and his servant encounter strange happenings here – the gramophone plays on its own, objects move around. The novelist finds some old letters written to Bhargavi by her lover Sasikumar. It is believed that the ghost of Bhargavi now haunts this house. The letters give some indication about their love affair and their tragic death. The novelist decides to probe the matter. He starts writing the story of Bhargavi. The information gathered from the local people and the hints in the letters help him in his writing. The story develops. Bhargavi falls in love with her neighbour Sasikumar who is a talented poet and singer. Bharagavi's father's nephew, Nanukuttan is also in love with Bhargavi. But Bhargavi hates Nanukuttan who is a wicked wastrel. Nanukuttan tries all nasty tricks to separate the lovers. He kills Sasikumar by poisoning his food. Bharagavi becomes furious when she learns of her lover's murder. In a scuffle Nanukuttan pushes Bhargavi into a well, killing her. Nanukuttan spreads the news that Bhargavi had committed suicide. The novelist reads out the story to the ghost who by now has become quite compassionate with him. Nanukuttan overhears the story. He fears that once the story is published the truth behind the death of Bhargavi and Sasikumar will be out. He attacks the novelist and a fight ensues. During the fight both Nanukuttan and the novelist reaches the well in which Bharagavi was drowned. While trying to push the novelist into the well, Nanukuttan loses his balance. He falls into the well and is killed, while the novelist has a narrow escape. The novelist then prays for the peace of Bhargavi's soul and the movie ends with the laugh of Bhargavi.

Cast

Principle cast * Madhu as novelist *

as Sasikumar *

as Bhargavi *

as Narayanan Nair aka Nanukuttan *

Adoor Bhasi K. Bhaskaran Nair (1 March 1929 – 29 March 1990), known by his stage name Adoor Bhasi, was an Indian actor and film director from Kerala. Adoor Bhasi was almost always cast as the man who stands next to the hero. His hilarious actions and role ...

as Cheriya Pareekanni *

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 Suma *

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 Kuthiravattam Pappu *Mala Shantha as Bhargavi's mother (voiced by

TR Omana T. R. Omana is an Indian actress in Malayalam films. She mainly acts in supporting roles and mother roles. She has acted in more than 500 films. Personal life T. R. Omana was born as eldest among five children to T R Gopala Pillai, Timber mer ...

) Cameo appearances * Shobana Parameshwaran Nair as

mail carrier A mail carrier, mailman, mailwoman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, or letter carrier (in American English), sometimes colloquially known as a postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), is an employee of a post ...

Production

The screenplay written by

is based on his own short story ''Neela Velicham''. But the movie also contains instances from some of his other short stories which he claims as his own life experiences. The scene were the young writer saw a beautiful woman on a beach is actually adapted from the short story ''Nilavu Kanumbol'' were Basheer himself claims that he has seen a naked woman taking bath in a beach and when he tried to speak to her she disappeared. Similarly the scene where the young Bhargavi requests Sasikumar's help for preparing a speech is actually based on the short story ''Hunthrappy Bussatto'', which again we can find in the Novel ''Anuragathinte Dinangal''. The lyrics for the song "Ekanthathayude Apaara Theeram" is taken from the short story ''Anargha Nimisham''.

Soundtrack

The film had a successful and acclaimed soundtrack composed by M. S. Baburaj which is regarded as the noted composer's master piece. The lyrics are penned by noted poet P. Bhaskaran. The soundtrack consists of seven songs, mostly based on Hindustani. Baburaj took inspiration from popular Bollywood songs while composing "Thamasamenthe Varuvan" (from "Mere Mehboob Tujhe" and also perhaps from "Humse Aaya Na Gaya") and "Vasantha Panchami" (from "Chaudhwin Ka Chand"). The soundtrack received immense critical praise for the high quality instrumentation and was one of the biggest audio hits of all time. The song "Thamasamenthe Varuvan" was selected by

Naushad Ali Naushad Ali (25 December 1919 – 5 May 2006) was an Indian music director for Hindi films. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and foremost music directors of the Hindi film industry. He is particularly known for popularising the ...

as one of the few of his favourite songs when he visited Baburaj Music Academy in 1988. "Thamasamenthe Varuvan" is also regarded as one of the most loved songs in Malayalam music history. It was voted the "Best Song in Malayalam" by ''

Malayala Manorama ''Malayala Manorama'' is a morning newspaper in Malayalam published from Kottayam, Kerala, India by the Malayala Manorama Company Limited. Currently headed by Mammen Mathew; it was first published as a weekly on 22 March 1888, and currently has ...

'' in a special issue published as part of 50th anniversary of formation of Kerala state.

Box office

The film was highest grossing Malayalam film at that time and a commercial success.

References

External links

* {{Basheer 1960s Malayalam-language films 1960s romance films 1964 directorial debut films 1964 films 1964 horror films Films directed by A. Vincent Indian black-and-white films Indian romantic horror films Works by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer