''Panchavadi Palam'' () is a 1984 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

political satire Political satire is a type of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics. Political satire can also act as a tool for advancing political arguments in conditions where political speech and dissent are banned. Political satir ...

film written and directed by

K. G. George Kulakkattil Geevarghese George (24 May 1946 – 24 September 2023) was an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter who worked in the Malayalam cinema. He was the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam cinema, along with Bharathan and P ...

, based on the story ''Palam Apakadathil'' (1981) by

Veloor Krishnankutty N. K. Krishnankutty, popularly known as Veloor Krishnankutty (19 September 1927 – 22 August 2003), was an Indian satirist of Malayalam literature. Kerala Sahitya Akademy awarded him their Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Miscellaneous Works, ...

. It stars

Bharat Gopy Gopynathan Velayudhan Nair (2 November 1937 – 29 January 2008), popularly known by the stage name Bharat Gopy, was an Indian actor, producer, and director. Considered one of the greatest actors in the history of Indian cinema, Gopy was one of ...

Nedumudi Venu Kesavan Venugopal (22 May 1948 – 11 October 2021), better known by his stage name Nedumudi Venu, was an Indian actor and screenwriter from Kerala, who predominantly worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 500 films, primarily in M ...

Sreenivasan Sreenivasan (born 6 April 1956) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, dubbing artist and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Sreenivasan has starred in over 225 films. Sreenivasan wrote the screenplays of films such a ...

Jagathy Sreekumar Sreekumar Achary (born 5 January 1951), better known by his stage name Jagathy Sreekumar or simply Jagathy, is an Indian actor, director and playback singer, who has appeared in over 1500 Malayalam films in a career spanning almost four deca ...

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

Thilakan Palappurathu Keshavan 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 appeara ...

in the main roles. The film tries to caricature the political scenario in the state of

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 ...

and portrays the pitiful corruption by politicians.

Plot

A henpecked politician wants his name attached to a new bridge, even if that means destroying another perfectly serviceable bridge. The politician Dussasana Kuruppu is the president of the village. He, along with the other members, tries to demolish the bridge on the advice of his fellow party member, Sikhandi Pillai who is his right hand with crooked mind. The opposition leader Ishak Tharakan makes moves to thwart this and capture the position of the village presidency. As a compromise, both groups agree to relocate the bridge to a distant location, so that not only a new bridge but also a new road will be needed to reach the bridge. The two tenders, one for a bridge and one for a road, are given to two local contractors. One of the contractors belongs to the ruling party while the other one is supported by the opposition. Ultimately, the bridge is built and opened to the public on the same day of the marriage of Dussasana Kurup's daughter and the bridge contractor. The marriage function is attended by many, including the minister of state for the public works department. Everyone who came for the wedding walks across the bridge, causing it to collapse and killing the crippled Kathavarayan. The film ends by showing the broken bridge in the background.

Cast

Bharath Gopi Gopynathan Velayudhan Nair (2 November 1937 – 29 January 2008), popularly known by the stage name Bharat Gopy, was an Indian actor, producer, and director. Considered one of the greatest actors in the history of Indian cinema, Gopy was one of ...

as Dushasana Kuruppu *

as Sikhandi Pillai *

Sreevidya Srividya (24 July 1953 – 19 October 2006), was an Indian actress best known for her work predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films, along with few Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. In a career spanning for 40 years, she had acted in more tha ...

as Mandodhari *

as Ishak Tharakan *

as Rahel *

as Habel *

Venu Nagavalli Venu Nagavally (16 April 1949 – 10 September 2010) was an Indian actor, screenwriter and director best known for his work in Malayalam film industry. He has directed 12 films. Son of writer, commentator, and broadcaster Nagavally R. S. Kurup ...

as Jeemuthavahanan *

as Kathavarayan *

Kalpana Kalpana may refer to: Film and television * ''Kalpana'' (1948 film), an Indian Hindi-language dance film * ''Kalpana'' (1960 film), a romantic Bollywood film * ''Kalpana'' (1970 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''Kalpana'' (2012 film), an I ...

as Anarkali *

K. P. Ummer Kachinamthoduka Puthiyapurayil Ummer known as K. P. Ummer (11 October 1930 - 29 October 2001) was an Indian actor from Thekkepuram quarter of Kozhikode, Kerala, India. He was active in the Malayalam cinema from the early sixties until the lat ...

as Jahangir Thatha *

Alummodan Dominic Alummoodu, known by his stage name Alummoodan (15 March 1933 3 May 1992) was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam films. He acted in more than 100 films and mainly did comedy roles. Background Alummoodan was born as Dominic to Rosam ...

as Yudaskunju *

Innocent Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is prior to the sense of legal guilt and is a primal emotion connected with the sense of self. It is often confused as being the op ...

as Barabas * V. D. Rajappan as Avarachan Swami * Shubha as Poothana *

Mohan Jose Mohan Jose is an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He has acted in more than 100 films. He came into the movie industry portraying villains and later began acting in different comedy and character roles. He is the son of singer and actor Pappu ...

as Opposition Party Member *G. V. Anickaden as Opposition Party Member *N. P. Unnipilla as Jeemuthavahanan's father * Krishna Prasad as Avarachan's disciple *

N. L. Balakrishnan Narayanan Lakshmi Balakrishnan (born Velayudhan) (17 April 1942 – 25 December 2014), commonly known as N. L. Balakrishnan, was an Indian film still photographer and actor who worked in Malayalam cinema. He worked as a still photographer in ab ...

as Bus Passenger

Soundtrack

The music 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 by Chowalloor Krishnankutty.

Reception and in popular culture

The movie is considered one of the best-ever political satires in the history of the Malayalam film industry. It was also one of the first of its kind of movie in Mollywood. The

Palarivattom Flyover Scam Palarivattom Flyover is considered to be one of the most notorious scams in the history of Kerala Public Works Department. The scam exposed the alleged nexus between politicians, bureaucracy and contractors. History Palarivattom flyover is a p ...

has close comparisons with Panchavadi Palam in Kerala's public sphere. The

Kerala High Court The High Court of Kerala is the List of high courts in India, highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and the Union territory of Lakshadweep. It is located in Kochi. Drawing its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the Hig ...

later compared this incident with Panchavadi Palam.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title 1984 films 1980s political satire films 1980s Malayalam-language films Films directed by K. G. George Films scored by M. B. Sreenivasan