''Rangam'' () is a 1985 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

psychological drama Psychological drama, or psychodrama, is a Genre, subgenre of Drama (film and television), drama and psychological fiction literatures that generally focuses upon the emotional, mental, and psychological development of the protagonists and other c ...

film directed by

I. V. Sasi Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran (28 March 1948 – 24 October 2017) was an Indian film director who made over 110 films predominantly in Malayalam, in addition to Tamil and Hindi languages. In 2015, he was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award, the highest a ...

and written by

M. T. Vasudevan Nair Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Narayanan Nair (15 July 1933 – 25 December 2024) was an Indian author, lecturer, Screenwriter, screenplay writer and film director. He was a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and was o ...

. The film 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 ...

Kathakali ''Kathakali'' (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: Kathakaḷi ) is a traditional form of Indian Classical Dance, and one of the most complex forms of Theatre of India, Indian theatre. It is a play of verses. These vers ...

artist Appunni, along with

Shobana Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai (born 21 March 1970); known mononymously as Shobana, is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer, who works predominantly in Malayalam films, in addition to Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, English and Kannada films. She is ...

and

Raveendran Madhavan Raveendran (born Kulathupuzha, Kollam, 9 November 1943 – died Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 3 March 2005), also known as Raveendran Master, was a South Indian music composer and playback singer from Kerala. He composed songs for more tha ...

. It features a musical score composed by

K. V. Mahadevan Krishnankoil Venkadachalam Mahadevan (14 March 1918 – 21 June 2001) was an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician who won the inaugural National Film Award for Best Music Direction in (1967) for '' Kandan Karunai''. ...

Plot

Appunni, a skilled Kathakali artist, is the cousin of Chandramathi, a classical dancer. Chandramathi dreams of going to Madras to study at a prestigious institution, but her father, Kunjikrishnan, initially opposes the idea. However, he eventually agrees after Appunni persuades him. Secretly in love with Chandramathi, Appunni finances her education in Madras. After completing her studies, Chandramathi returns home and secures a position as a dance teacher at Sadanam, a Kathakali training center. Around the same time, Madhavan, the son of Karunakarapanicker, the owner of Sadanam, comes back from Russia. Madhavan falls in love with Chandramathi, and she reciprocates his feelings making Appunni jealous and angry with Madhavan when he walks into the hotel room where Madhavan and Chandramathi are residing. Madhavan slaps Appuni after being confronted by the latter. Although Kunjikrishnan initially disapproves of their relationship, he eventually consents under Appunni's persuasion. Meanwhile, Jayanthi, a passionate artist and the daughter of a wealthy businessman, joins Sadanam to learn Kathakali. Her talent and charm captivate everyone, especially Madhavan. As Madhavan grows closer to Jayanthi, Chandramathi discovers their affair. Heartbroken and angry, she confronts him and then banishes Jayanthi. Madhavan is angry at Chandramathi who is angry with him in return. Madhavan also slaps Chandramathi as he did to Appunni . Heartbroken, she watches as Madhavan leaves for Mumbai with Jayanthi. This shocks Karunakarapanicker, who dies as a result. Appunni consoles Chandramathi and encourages her to run Sadanam with dedication. In the meantime, Jayanthi abandons Madhavan, prompting him to return to Sadanam. During a Kathakali performance where Appunni portrays Bhima and Madhavan plays Dushasana, the former kills the latter in an act of rage. Appunni is arrested by the police, leaving Chandramathi devastated.

Cast

as Appunni *

as Chandrika/Chandramathi *

as Madhavan *

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 Kunjikrishnan *

Raghavan Raghavan is a South Indian name. It derives from the Sanskrit ''raghava'', meaning "derived from Raghu" or "descendant of Raghu" (an epithet of the Hindu god Rama, an incarnation of Vishnu), plus the Tamil-Malayalam third-person masculine singular ...

as Naanu *

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 ...

as Chandrika's mother *

Santhakumari Santha Kumari (born Vellaala Subbamma; 17 May 1920 – 16 January 2006) was an Indian musical artist and actress. She was married to the Telugu film director and producer P. Pullayya. Early years Vellaala Subbamma was born in Proddatur tow ...

as Appunni's mother *

Kottayam Santha Kottayam Santha was an Indian actress and dubbing artist best known for her work in Malayalam cinema. She has acted in more than 300 films. She had also acted in several TV serials like Valayam, Krishnakripasagaram etc. She dubbed for almost ...

as Mrs. Sundaram *

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 d ...

as Karunakara Panikker Ashan *Master Suresh as Rajan *

Mahalakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

as Jayanthi

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

, and the lyrics were written by S. Ramesan Nair.

Responses

In a retrospect review, Neelima Menon of ''

The News Minute ''The News Minute'' is an Indian digital news platform based in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was founded by Vignesh Vellore who is also the current CEO in 2014. Apart from Karnataka, it also has bureaus in the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, ...

'' wrote: "Mohanlal aces the role of the unrequited lover who carries a torch for the lady. And the actor's transition is more internal, letting us buy into his vocation as a

dancer effortlessly". In 2020, while writing about Mohanlal in ''

Mathrubhumi ''Mathrubhumi'' is a Malayalam newspaper that is published from Kerala, India. It was founded by K. P. Kesava Menon, an active volunteer in the Indian freedom struggle against the British. The word "Mathrubhumi" translates to 'mother land'. ...

'', writer

said that, although he loves every roles he enacted in his screenplays, Mohanlal's performance in ''Rangam'' and ''

Sadayam ''Sadayam'' () is a 1992 Indian Malayalam-language psychological drama written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and directed by Sibi Malayil. It stars Mohanlal, Thilakan, Nedumudi Venu, Murali, Sreenivasan, Maathu, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, and T. G. R ...

'' stays close to his heart the most.

References

External links

* 1985 films 1980s Malayalam-language films Indian psychological drama films Films scored by K. V. Mahadevan Films directed by I. V. Sasi {{1980s-Malayalam-film-stub