''Kattukuthira'' () is a 1990

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 drama film directed by P. G. Viswambharan and scripted by S. L. Puram, based on his classic play of the same name. The film stars

Thilakan Palappurathu Kesavan Surendranatha Thilakan (15 July 1935 – 24 September 2012) was an Indian film and stage actor who appeared in over 200 Malayalam films. Thilakan was known for his elaborate method acting, realistic and spontaneous appearan ...

as the cantankerous Kochuvava along with Vineeth, Anju and

Kaviyoor Ponnamma Kaviyoor Ponnamma is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films and television. She began her career performing in theatre dramas before foraying into cinema. She has also acted in TV serials and commercials and has playback singing cre ...

in the supporting roles. The film narrates the story of a poor, lower caste man’s rise to power and his revenge against an

aristocratic Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word's ...

family.P. K. Ajith Kumar (25 September 2012)
"The unforgettable Thilakan"
'' The Hindu''. Retrieved 10 April 2014. Released on 20 July 1990, it emerged a major commercial success. P. G. Viswambharan won the Kerala Film Critics Association Awards for Best Director for the film.

Plot

Kochuraman (

V. K. Sreeraman Vettiyattil Krishnan Sreeraman (born 6 February 1953) is an Indian actor, writer, TV anchor and social worker. Personal life and education He was born into a middle-class family at Cheruvathani village near Kunnamkulam, situated in Thrissur di ...

) is the village toddy collector, belonging to the

Ezhava The Ezhavas () are a community with origins in the region of India presently known as Kerala, where in the 2010s they constituted about 23% of the population and were reported to be the largest Hindu community. They are also known as ''Ilhava' ...

caste, with a well-built body and a strong personality. Kochuraman leads a simple and happy life with his wife and son Kochuvava. Manorama "Thampuratti" is the daughter of a feudal lord of the ruling

Kshatriya Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the co ...

family in the village. Thampuratti falls for Kochuraman and tries to seduce him, ignoring the vast

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural ...

gap between them. The affair is caught by the feudal lord and he murders Kochuraman and his chopped off body being displayed for all the village to see. while Manorama Thampuratti is paralysed after getting kicked by the Thampuran during the incident . Kochuvava witnesses his father's body lying in the pool of blood under a coconut tree and despite his young age, he swears revenge upon his father's murderers. Kochuvava grows up into a ruthless abkari amassing wealth through various legal and illegal ways, climbing the social ladder with the changing times. He ends up buying everything in the village including the kovilakam, whose current generation sold the land as they migrated to an urban life. For Kochuvava (

), nothing is more important than money and revenge in his life. Even his wife (

) and son ( Vineeth) are secondary when it comes to that. In his quest for revenge, he bullies anyone and anything who dares to stand up to him. Despite being uneducated during changes around him, he manages his empire with his wit and ruthless efficiency. He plans to exact his ultimate vengeance by starting an illicit

Arrack Arrack is a distilled alcoholic drink typically produced in India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, made from the fermented sap of coconut flowers or sugarcane, and also with grain (e.g. red rice) or fruit depending upon the country of origin. It ...

business in the kovilakam. This will serve to increase his profits as well as help drive out the last residents of the kovilakam - Manorama and a young girl who live their with their property overseer Raman Nair , after which he plans to dig a pond where the kovilalkam stands today. For Kochuvava, drinking a handful of water from that pond will mark his completion of his vengeance. However, this masterful long standing plan is strongly resented by his spoilt immature son Mohan, who also happens to be in love with the young and equally naive girl who is the titular "Kochuthampuratti" ( Anju) of the kovilakam. Kochuvava mostly resents this relationship, accusing the aristocratic girl to be scheming to win all his wealth and offspring while Kochuvava was trying to win her house in exchange for money. One day both of the lovers (neither of who have a job or independent source of income or know of any way of life other than living off the assets of their parents) decide to live together and come and stay with Kochuvava. He initially refuses to let them stay here and threatens to make life impossible for them even if they are to go live in the old ruined palace. As Kochuvava thinks things over in the mediation of other friends and well wishers, the immature couple go and immediately hang themselves in the palace. Raman Nair, the overseer of the feudal family sees the hanging bodies. Kochuvava's words echo in his mind about the inevitability of his plan to start

manufacturing in the upper caste homestead. He realizes the strength of Kochuvava's will upon seeing his own son and the young aristocrat dead as well. Unable to stand the caste humiliation any longer, he burns down the palace with Manorama alive inside it and goes and informs this to Kochuvava and the rest of the village. The film ends in a bitter tragedy for Kochuvava. The film ends with the lines that Kochuvava finally bowed his head for the first time in his life to love and fire. It is unclear what punishment was dealt to Raman Nair or whether this made any change in Kochuvava's plans to dig a pond where the palace once stood.

Cast

''According to the opening credits of the film:'' *

as Kochuvava * Vineeth as Mohan * Anju as Latha *

as Manka * Innocent as Balakrishna Menon * K. P. A. C. Lalitha as Kalyani *

Babu Namboothiri Babu Namboothiri (born 12 August 1947) is a retired Chemistry Professor and Head Of Department of Deva Mata College Kuravilangad and an Indian film and TV actor who has starred in more than 100 Malayalam films and various serials. He is famous ...

as Raman Nair *

Kuthiravattom 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 Mammukka *

as Kochuraman * Sandhya as Manorama Thampuratti *

Jagannatha Varma K. N. Jagannatha Varma (1 May 1939 – 20 December 2016) was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam film and television industry. He was also a Kathakali artist. His son Manu Varma is also an artist and his son-in-law Viji Thampi is a film dir ...

as Valiya Thampuran * Praseetha

Reception

The film was a commercial success. Thilakan's role as Kochuvava is regarded as one the best in his career. P. K. Ajith Kumar of '' The Hindu'' termed it as his "best." It is also regarded as P. G. Vishwambaran's best work.

References

{{reflist 1990 films 1990s Malayalam-language films Films directed by P. G. Viswambharan