''Kannum Karalum'' () is a 1962 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 Kurukkalpadam Subrahmanyam Sethumadhavan (15 May 1931 – 24 December 2021) was an Indian film director and screenwriter who worked predominantly in Malayalam cinema. He also directed films in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu. Since the early ...

, produced by A. K. Balasubramaniam under the banner of ''Saravanabhava Pictures''. The film stars Sathyan,

Ambika Sukumaran Ambika Sukumaran Nair is an Indian actress best known for her work in Malayalam cinema during the 1950s and 1960s. She is a close relative of the Travancore Sisters; Lalitha, Padmini and Ragini, and also Shobana, Vineeth, Krishna and Sukuma ...

and

Kamal Haasan Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...

, while

Sukumari Sukumari Amma (6 October 1940 – 26 March 2013) was an Indian actress best known for her works in Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning more than five decades, She has appeared in more than 2500 films predominantly in Malayalam, T ...

and debutant

Vinodini Vinodhini, also known by her stage name, Shweta is an Indian actress, who has appeared in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada films and Tamil serials. Beginning her acting career as a child artist, she went on to become one of the popular actress of ...

play supporting roles. It was about a child Babu (Kamal Haasan) writing letters to his mother who he thought was in heaven. ''Kannum Karalum'' was released on 28 September 1962. It was also a box office success and had a theatrical run of 100 days. The film was based on the story of

K. T. Muhammed K. T. Mohammed (29 September 1927 – 25 March 2008), popularly known as KT, was a Malayalam playwright and screenwriter. He had scripted about 40 stage plays, including ''Idhu Bhumiyanu'' (''This is the Earth''), considered to be his masterpi ...

, who also wrote the script and dialogues. The music for the film was composed by

M. B. Sreenivasan Manamadurai Balakrishnan Sreenivasan (19 September 1925 – 9 March 1988), or MBS, was a South Indian music director who worked mainly in the Malayalam and Tamil film industries. He was born to an orthodox Tamil Brahmin family on 19 Sept ...

, with lyrics 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 ...

Plot

Cast

* Sathyan as Mohan *

as Babu *

as Sarala *

Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai Shivanandakumar (22 February 1924)He was an Telugu Superstar and Violnist and who was well known in the role of Ashaan in Kavyamela. Early life He was born on 22 February 1924 in Visakhapatnam, a small village near Peddapalli in Visakh ...

as Gopalan Nair, Sarala's father. *

Baby Vinodini Vinodini Sasimohan is the Chief Administrative Officer of Viswa Kala Kendra, Thiruvananthapuram, India. She was a child artist in Malayalam cinema. Her role as Goddess Devi Kanya Kumari in the film ''Devi Kanyakumari'' was noteworthy. She is th ...

as Indira, (dual role child Babu and Indira) *

S. P. Pillai S. P. Pillai (28 November 1913 – 12 June 1985) was an Indian film and stage actor, best known for his comic roles in Malayalam films. Biography S. Pankajakshan Pillai alias S. P. Pillai was born in 1913 in the temple town of Ettumanoor in K ...

Production

The film was based on the story of

, who also wrote the script and dialogues. This was the first Malayalam film of

, he played Sathyan's son. It also debut Malayalm film of producer A. K. Balasubramaniam.

was a child artist when she did this film and she did a dual role as the teenaged Babu and Indira. The climax scenes of this film were shot on the top of the Sreenarayana Guru memorial at

Varkala Varkala is a major coastal municipality and a northern suburb of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. In legends and myths related to Kerala, texts like the Keralolpathi, Kerala Mahatmyam describe the Varkala reg ...

, Sivagiri.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

and lyrics were written by

Latha Raju Latha Raju (born 25 June 1951) is an Indian film singer and actress in Malayalam cinema during the 1970s. Some of her popular Malayalam songs are "Pinchu Hridayam Devalayam" and "Manjakkilee Swarnakkilee Mayilppeelikkaattile Varnakkilee" from the ...

worked her second movie of this film as playback singer.

Release and reception

''Kannum Karalum'' was released on 28 September 1962. The film was distributed by P. K. Kaimal under the banner of ''Thirumeni Pictures'' and the film was commercial success. The distributors who saw the film in

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

predicted the film would not run successfully, as there was no romantic interest for the lead actor in it. Despite this, it ran for 100 days. Even in

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 ...

, where Malayalam films never ran, it ran for 50 days. Jaycey Foundation chairman and film producer ''J.J. Kuttikkattu'' had conduct an event to celebrated the 50th anniversary of this film.

References

External links

* {{K. S. Sethumadhavan 1960s Indian films 1960s Malayalam-language films 1962 films Films directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan Films scored by M. B. Sreenivasan Films shot in Thiruvananthapuram Indian avant-garde and experimental films