''Iruttinte Athmavu'' () is a 1967 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 film directed by P. Bhaskaran and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair based on his own short story of the same name. It stars

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 Sharada in lead roles with

Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair (16 October 191611 March 1997) was an Indian poet, playwright, script writer, lyricist, orator, film director and actor, though he is best known as an actor in Malayalam cinema. He is the recipient of Padma Shri ...

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 ...

, Ushakumari, Kozhikode Shantha Devi and Baby Rajani in supporting roles. The film is about a mentally unstable youth born into a matriarchal family who is forced to live as a mad man in chains and who is misunderstood and ill-treated by everyone except his uncle's daughter. The film features music by M. S. Baburaj, cinematography by E. N. Balakrishnan and editing by G. Venkitaraman and Das. Prem Nazir played the mentally challenged Bhranthan Velayudhan, widely considered to be one of the finest performances of Prem Nazir's career. Nazir himself rated his role of Velayudhan in ''Iruttinte Athmavu'' and as the swashbuckling folk hero Thampan in '' Padayottam'' as his best. Also, its script is regarded as one of the finest by M. T. Vasudevan Nair. A landmark film in Malayalam cinema, the film provided Malayalam cinema with a new direction; that of the low-budget film. The film has earned a dedicated

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

. It won the

National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues The National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues is one of the category in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in In ...

. It missed the

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

and

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...

(Prem Nazir) award only narrowly. Despite all the acclaim, the film was a box office failure. The film was part of MT's trilogy of political melodramas – the other two being '' Murappennu'' (1965) and '' Asuravithu'' (1968), both directed by A. Vincent. Major indoor parts of the film were shot in Satya Studios in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and outdoor parts from the premises of

Bharathapuzha Bharathappuzha ("River of Bhārata"), also known as the Nila or Ponnani River, is a river in India in the state of Kerala. With a length of 209 km, it is the second longest river that flows through Kerala after the Periyar. It flows thr ...

Shoranur Shornur is a town and a municipality located in the Palakkad district, in the Indian state of Kerala, located on the banks of the Bharathapuzha River. The town covers an area of 32.28 km2. Geography Shornur is located at . It has an ...

Plot

Velayudan's existence posed a problem to all the members of the joint family. Velayudhan is a twenty-one-year-old man, but he has the intelligence of a child. The head of the joint family thinks Velayudan symbolizes the curse which hangs heavy over the house. To his mother, he is the source of constant sorrow. His uncle's daughter is his would-be bride. He is attached to her. She is very kind to him and refuses to treat him as a mad man. Velayudan triggers problems one after the other and every new lapse help only to put fresh chains. He refuses to feel he is mad. In the end, Ammukutty is given away in marriage to an old widower. Velayudhan surrenders himself and yells "Chain me, I am mad!"

Cast

as Bhranthan Velayudhan *

as Madhavan Nair (Karanavar) *

as Gopalan Nair * M. S. Nampoothiri as Muthachan (grandfather) *

T. S. Muthaiah T. S. Muthaiah (1923 – 12 February 1992) was a Malayalam and Tamil film actor. He was a very popular actor in both film industries who usually played character and supporting roles in 1950s and 1960s. He acted with M. G. Ramachandran in Thayi ...

as Rajan *

K. Balaji Krishnamachari Balaji (24 June 19342 May 2009) was an Indian film producer and actor. He was a prominent actor in the 1960s and 70s, playing lead, supporting and antagonist roles. He appeared in many Sivaji Ganesan films. Early life Balaji was ...

as Chandran *

Sankaradi Chandrashekaran 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 700 Malayalam films to his credit. He dominated the ...

as Achuthan Nair (house servant) *

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 Guru Kunhichathu *

Kaduvakulam Antony Kaduvakkulam Antony (9 November 1936 – 4 February 2001) was an Indian actor from Kerala who performed in more than 300 films as a comedian during the 1960s and 1970s. One journalist considers him to have been one of the best and most popular ...

as Jyotsyan (astrologist) * Baby Rajani as Unni * Sharada as Ammukutty * Ushakumari/

Vennira Aadai Nirmala Vennira Aadai Nirmala (born as A. B. Shanthi in Kumbakonam) is an Indian actress who has appeared in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. She was a prominent lead actress from 1960s and 70s. She is credited as Ushakumari in Malayalam film indust ...

as Prema * Kozhikode Shantha Devi as Parukkutty Amma (Velayudhan's mother) *

Philomina Philomina (1926 – 2 January 2006) was an Indian actress, who worked in the Malayalam film industry. She acted in more than 750 films in her career. She played mostly character and comedy roles, besides that of mother and grandmother. She star ...

as Meenakshi Amma * Padmini as Nani * Shobha as Malini * Seleena as Neeli * Rugmini as Karthi

Soundtrack

The music was composed by M. S. Baburaj and the lyrics were written by P. Bhaskaran. All songs in the film were sung by

S. Janaki Sistla Janaki (born 23 April 1938) is an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer from Andhra Pradesh. She is referred to respectfully as "Janaki Amma" and Nightingale of South India. She is one of the best-known playback singers in ...

, which is a landmark.

Writing

The film is scripted by M. T. Vasudevan Nair based on his own a short story with the same name. The screenplay is regarded as one of the finest by the noted writer. One could see a lot of the pre-occupations of the scenarist, who carried the touches of human relationships through all of his subsequent films whether as screenplay writer or director. A part of the screenplay of ''Iruttinte Athmavu'' is being taught in school classes while the complete screenplay is being taught at degree level.

Legacy

The film is considered one of the best Malayalam films ever made, it is still critically acclaimed even 50 years after its release. The film provided Malayalam cinema with a new direction; that of the low-budget film. In spite of its large number of studio shots and overall theatricality, the film was so culturally rich that many of the episodes would become archetypes for future Malayalam film makers dealing with family drama. The film remains one of the most influential films in Malayalam film history.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0155763, Iruttinte Athmavu 1960s Malayalam-language films Films based on short fiction Films directed by P. Bhaskaran Films with screenplays by M. T. Vasudevan Nair