''Kanmadam'' () is a 1998 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
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
, written and directed by
A. K. Lohithadas. It stars
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...
,
Manju Warrier
Manju Warrier (; born 10 September 1978/1979) is an Indian actress, who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. She is the recipient of a National Film Award, a Kerala State Film Award and seven Filmfare Awards South.
Warrier made her actin ...
and
Lal while
K. P. A. C. Lalitha
Maheshwari Amma, better known by her stage name K. P. A. C. Lalitha (10 March 1947 – 22 February 2022), was an Indian film and stage actress who worked primarily in the Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry. Considered one of the greatest ...
and
Siddique appear in guest roles. The songs were composed by
Raveendran, while
S. P. Venkatesh composed the background score,
Ramachandra Babu
K. Ramachandra Babu (15 December 1947 – 21 December 2019) was an Indian cinematographer of over 125 films, out of which most are Malayalam films. He also worked for films in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Arabic and English languages. He served as ...
was the cinematographer and
A. Sreekar Prasad was the editor. The film was produced and distributed by
Pranavams International. Kanmadam was released on 14 April 1998 on Vishu. The film received critical acclaim and was a commercial success at the box office. It completed 100 days run in theatres.
Plot
A thug-turned-cab driver, Vishwanathan (
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...
), lives in Mumbai next to his friend Johnny (
Lal), a pimp who sells unassuming women as prostitutes to a brothel. One day, while he and Johnny are driving in a cab, a man (
Siddique) enters the cab and holds Vishwan at gunpoint. While driving, Johnny and Vishwam manage to disarm him, however he dies following an accident. When Vishwam checks the dead man's belongings, he discovers stolen jewellery and letters from his sister Bhanu (
Manju Warrier
Manju Warrier (; born 10 September 1978/1979) is an Indian actress, who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. She is the recipient of a National Film Award, a Kerala State Film Award and seven Filmfare Awards South.
Warrier made her actin ...
) revealing that his name is Damodaran and his family has debts in the village and are going to lose their belongings. He decides to leave for Kerala to help them.
Meanwhile, in Kerala, Bhanu is a short-tempered
blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
, being the sole breadwinner in her family that consists of her grandparents, an unmarried elder sister Suma with a child and a school-attending younger sister Raji. She is harassed by workers of the quarry led by Kumarettan whose tools she works on.
Vishwam arrives in Damu's village, visiting his house bringing gifts to the family. He tells the family he is a friend of Damodaran who has left for the Gulf and has tasked him to make arrangements for the family. Bhanu hears of his arrival, and being cautious of him as an unknown, tells him to leave with his presents which he does.
The next day, she is harassed again by Kumarettan and after a brief altercation Kumarettan grabs her by the arms following which she bites him in the neck. At night, Kumarettan harasses the family in front of her house which is witnessed by Vishwam.
The day after, Vishwam confronts Kumarettan at the quarry trying to persuade him to stop the abuse, following which a fight ensues where Vishwam gains the upper hand.
One day, the private debtors arrive wanting their money back stating the family had managed to pay back their bank loan. Vishwam reveals he paid it back, claiming Damu told him to do so. He also convinces the lenders to take 25,000 rupees as repayment from him in advance, getting the rest in 6 months.
At night, Bhanu confronts Vishwam telling him she knows he lied about being Damu's friend, asking him to tell the truth. He complies and Bhanu breaks down crying.
The next day, Vishwam leaves to visit his family, including his mother and stepfather. Here, it is revealed that Vishwam ran away from home after slashing his stepfather, paralysing him in the process. When he meets his family, his mother is initially overjoyed. Yet after the stepfather inquires about the visitor, she tells him to leave, saying that he is not her son. He returns to Damu's village meeting Johnny who has arrived there in search for him.
They both begin to work in the quarry and settling in the village in hopes of breaking the cycle of crime. When Johnny mentions Bhanu's attractiveness after seeing her bathe, Vishwam decides to let Bhanu know of his feelings. He waylays her the next day pretending to tell her and grabs her hands, putting a kiss on her lips following which they become lovers.
Vishwam and Johnny meanwhile clash because Vishwam fears that Johnny might retort to his old behaviour. Johnny wants to return to Mumbai.
Vishwam finds out his mother has died from the newspaper and leaves for his village. He reconciles with his stepfather and performs the funeral rites. When he returns, he is shocked to find out from the grandmother that Johnny had asked for Suma's hand. He objects to the marriage, however he doesn't give any reason.
When Johnny arrives with clothes for Suma, he is told by the family that Damu's consent is needed. He rages and when he finds out Vishwam has objected to the marriage, he leaves to confront Vishwam who tells him he won't let him marry Suma as he is not trustworthy. Following this, Johnny ends their friendship and joins hands with Kumarettan. They kidnap Raji and her lover in order to sell Raji. When Vishwam finds out, he beats Johnny up. When Johnny is hospitalised, Kumarettan gets the information about the brothel owner off Johnny. However, Johnny sends the quarry owner to Vishwam, telling him where the lovers are hidden. Vishwam attacks Kumarettan's group at the hideout and manages to free the lovers. After Johnny is discharged, he apologises to Damu's family and intends to leave, only for Vishwam to stop him and telling him he has to stay, resuming their friendship.
Cast
*
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...
as Vishwanathan
*
Manju Warrier
Manju Warrier (; born 10 September 1978/1979) is an Indian actress, who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. She is the recipient of a National Film Award, a Kerala State Film Award and seven Filmfare Awards South.
Warrier made her actin ...
as Bhanu
*
Lal as Johnny
*
Mala Aravindan
Mala Aravindan (15 January 1939 – 28 January 2015) was an Indian actor. He was best known for his work as a comedian and character artist in Malayalam films. He has acted in over 500 films.
Early life
Aravindan was born at Vadavucode in th ...
as Swami Velayudhan
*
Sreejaya as Suma
*Dhanya Menon as Raji, Bhanu's younger sister
*
Siddique as Damodaran
*
K. P. A. C. Lalitha
Maheshwari Amma, better known by her stage name K. P. A. C. Lalitha (10 March 1947 – 22 February 2022), was an Indian film and stage actress who worked primarily in the Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry. Considered one of the greatest ...
as Yasodha Gopalakrishnan
*
Cochin Hanifa as Shaji, a Police officer
*
Antony Perumbavoor as Sandeep, Police Constable
*Vimal Raj as Kumaran
*Sarada Nair as Bhanu's grandmother
*
Usharani as Raakkamma
* Srihari
* Gayathri
* Mahima as Geetha
* Ramya Salim
Production
Casting
Lal played Johnny. Lal, was in his early career and had difficulty playing his character and decided to abandon the role. Lohithadas persuaded him to continue. His performance received appreciation. For the role of Muthassi, they considered several actresses, but settled on Savithri Amma, who was not an actress. Cinematographer Ramachandra Babu recalls that she had "not seen a movie filming until then, but performed excellently. She enjoyed delivering natural dialogues. It can be seen in the film that she performed like an experienced artist in the scene where she cries remembering her grandson".
Filming
The film was shot in 55 days. Filming began in February 1998 two months before the scheduled release date.
Palakkad
Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...
in
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
was the main location, while some scenes were shot in
Madras
Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
(now Chennai) in
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
and
Bombay
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
(now Mumbai) in
Maharashtra
Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
. The temperature was high during filming, which affected their work. Some of the crew suffered
sun burn
Sunburn is a form of radiation burn that affects living tissue, such as skin, that results from an overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the Sun. Common symptoms in humans and other animals include red or reddish skin that ...
. Palakkad recorded the highest temperature in Kerala.
The screenplay was incomplete when filming began. Lohithadas wrote the scenes to be shot each day the same morning. Hence, filming often began late.
Blessy served as an associate director to Lohithadas in the film. A major part of the film was shot in Kava, near
Malampuzha Dam in Palakkad. Their location was a rocky area, it was difficult to set
tracks for the camera trolley. They borrowed
apple boxes from
Merryland Studio in
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...
, originally used by Berta for the film ''
Vanaprastham''. Bhanu's house in the film is situated on the top of a giant rock, her workplace a
forge
A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...
set
Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to:
Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics
*Set (mathematics), a collection of elements
*Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively
Electro ...
was created beside it. A
quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...
in Palakkad was another filming location.
Due to the season, most regions were dry. It was difficult to find a beautiful place for filming the song sequences. Due to time constraints they selected a greener area inside the dried out Malampuzha reservoir. After wrapping the shoot, they went to Madras for
post-production
Post-production, also known simply as post, is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording indivi ...
. The outdoor scenes including Mohanlal, Siddique, and Lal were shot in Bombay. They returned to Madras to shoot the remaining indoor scenes in the studio, with a few outdoor scenes. A set was created in Madras for the scene where the Bombay police assault Viswanathan inside the
lock-up.
Film scoring, editing and dubbing were ongoing at the same time at
AVM studio. The remaining song sequences were shot in the garden inside the studio.
They shifted to
Thrissur
Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...
, Kerala for filming the scene where Viswanathan goes to see his stepfather. They were denied permission at the planned site and switched to another location by evening where they filmed until sunrise.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack consists of five songs composed by
Raveendran and written by
Gireesh Puthenchery. The
film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
was done by
S. P. Venkatesh. Babu remembers that "many of the crew were not happy with the song "Manjakkiliyude" when it was first heard at the location from a recorded track sung by Raveendran. Because it did not suit the voice of Raveendran, but Yesudas with his voice made the song eternal".
Reception
The film received critical acclaim and was also a commercial success at the box office.
It completed 100 days in two releasing theatres—Sangeetha (Ernakulam) and Sreekumar (Thiruvananthapuram), and had a three-week run in
Bangalore
Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
.
Accolades
Lal won the
Kerala Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor.
References
External links
*
{{A. K. Lohithadas
1998 films
1998 drama films
1990s Malayalam-language films
Pranavam Arts International films
Films scored by Raveendran
Films shot in Palakkad
Films with screenplays by A. K. Lohithadas
Films directed by A. K. Lohithadas