''Adimakal'' () is a 1969 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 film, directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan and produced by M. O. Joseph. The film stars Sathyan,

Prem Nazir Prem Nazir (born Abdul Khader; 6 April 1926 – 16 January 1989) was an Indian actor known as one of Malayalam cinema's definitive leading man, leading men of his generation. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential actors in the hist ...

Sheela Sheela Celine (born 24 March 1945) is an Indian actress and director who appears predominantly in Malayalam cinema. Paired with Prem Nazir, they hold the Guinness World Record for acting in the largest number of films (130) together as heroine ...

and Sharada. The film had musical score and songs composed by G. Devarajan. It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Pamman. The film was remade in Hindi as ''Intezar'' (1973) in Telugu as '' Chilakamma Cheppindi'' (1977) and in Tamil as '' Nizhal Nijamagiradhu'' (1978).

Plot

Ponnama is a pretty young girl who goes to work as a live-in maid with a family consisting of a brother, Ananthan, and a sister, Saraswathyamma. Saraswathyamma is very religious and spends most of her time in prayers and rituals. Also working in the house is Raghavan, a.k.a. Pottan, so called, because he cannot hear properly. Potten loves Ponnamma, but she treats him like a friend. Ponnamma and Ananthan become close, and Ponnamma becomes pregnant. Ananthan refuses to accept the baby as his and asks her to not reveal that he is the father. Ponnamma doesn't tell anyone who the father of her child is. The only person she trusts is Appukuttan, a bank employee who likes Saraswathyamma. Saraswathyamma likes Appukuttan but religiosity comes in the way of accepting his love and she rebuffs his affections. Saraswathyamma sends Ponnamma to live with Raghavan as she cannot keep an unmarried pregnant girl in the house due to societal pressures. Ponamma delivers a baby girl. Raghavan treats the baby as his own child, but Ponnamma still has no romantic feelings toward him. Ponnama's mother disowns her when he hears of her pregnancy. Meanwhile, Saraswathyamma realizes the folly of blind devotion when she finds out the swami she was following was a lecherous man. Appukuttan finally reveals to Saraswathiamma who is the birth father of the baby. Saraswathiamma, Appukuttan, and Ananthan go to Raghu's house to get Ponnamma back home to marry Ananthan. But Ponnamma refuses. She has seen Raghavan's unconditional acceptance, and love and care for the baby. She feels he is her baby's deserved father. Everyone accepts her verdict, and Appukuttan prepares to leave town due to a job transfer. He is surprised to see a changed Saraswathiamma, who requests she goes with him to live as husband and wife.

Cast

* Sathyan as Appukkuttan *

as Raghavan *

as Saraswathyamma * Sharada as Ponnamma *

Adoor Bhasi K. Bhaskaran Nair (1 March 1929 – 29 March 1990), professionally credited by his stage name Adoor Bhasi, was an Indian actor and film director. He was mostly cast as a sidekick to protagonists, particularly Prem Nazir. His comedic roles were w ...

as Giridhara Yogi/Naanu Kurup *Ammini *

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 Shanku Ammavan * Jesey as Anandan *

Adoor Bhavani Adoor Bhavani (1927 – 25 October 2009) was an Indian actress in Malayalam cinema, best known for her appearance in the National Award-winning film '' Chemmeen'' (1965), directed by Ramu Kariat. She had acted in about 450 films, including ''M ...

as Karthiyayini *Baby Kumudam as Vilasini *

Bahadoor Padiyath Kochumoideen Kunjalu (1930 22 May 2000), better known by his stage name Bahadoor, was an Indian actor who appeared in Malayalam films, primarily in comedic roles. He, along with Adoor Bhasi, were the two major comedians in Malayalam ...

as Bhargavan * Kumari Padmini as Meenakshi *Kuttan Pillai * N. Govindankutty as Pachu Kurup * Paravoor Bharathan as Unnithan

Soundtrack

The music was composed by G. Devarajan and the lyrics were written by

Vayalar Ramavarma Vayalar Ramavarma (25 March 1928 – 27 October 1975), also known as Rama Varma Vayalar and simply Vayalar, and was an Indian poet and lyricist of Malayalam literature, Malayalam language. He was known for his poems, including ''Sargasangeetham ...

and Jayadevar. The devotional number ‘Chethi mandaram thulasi...' ( P. Susheela) was elevated to the status of a prayer song. ‘Thaazhampoo manamulla thanuppulla...' ( A. M. Rajah) was another hit and one of the singer's best in the language. The other hits include ‘Manaseswari maappu tharoo...' (Raja), ‘Indumukhi ..... ( P. Jayachandran), and the chorus ‘Narayanam bhaje...' led by P. Jayachandran. A few verses ‘Lalitha lavanga Latha...' from Jayadeva's ‘Geeta Govindam' rendered by P. Leela was also a hit.

Reception

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...

'' wrote, "With a little more care in scripting and editing, Manjila's ''Adimakal'' (Slaves) would have aptly ended there, but sometimes, even our best film-makers do not know when and where to stop. There are a few other irrelevant scenes which, if chopped off would help this Malayalam film gain in tempo and appeal."

Awards

* Filmfare Award for Best Film - Malayalam won by M. O. Joseph (1969)

References

External links

* 1969 films 1960s Malayalam-language films Films based on Indian novels Malayalam films remade in other languages Films directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan Films with screenplays by Thoppil Bhasi Best Malayalam Feature Film National Film Award winners {{1960s-Malayalam-film-stub