''Swathi Muthyam'' () is a 1986 Indian

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

-language

romantic drama film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

written and directed by

K. Viswanath Kasinadhuni Viswanath (19 February 1930 – 2 February 2023) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, lyricist and actor who predominantly worked in Telugu cinema. One of the greatest auteurs of Indian cinema, he received international recogn ...

and produced by

Edida Nageswara Rao Edida Nageswara Rao (24 April 1934 – 4 October 2015) was an Indian film producer and actor known for his work in Telugu cinema. He was celebrated for blending artistic values with mainstream appeal, making him one of the most respected produc ...

. The film stars

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 ...

and

Radhika Radhika may refer to: * Radha, a Hindu goddess and eternal consort of Krishna * Radhika (given name), an Indian given name * Radhika (Malayalam actress) * Radhika (choreographer), in South Indian films * Kalamandalam Radhika, Indian dancer and ...

, while

Gollapudi Maruti Rao Gollapudi Maruti Rao (14 April 1939 – 12 December 2019) was an Indian actor, writer and director known for his works in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre, and Telugu literature. Maruti Rao acted in over 250 Telugu films in a variety of roles. Hi ...

, J. V. Somayajulu,

Nirmalamma Nirmalamma (18 July 1920 – 19 February 2009) was an Indian actress in the Telugu cinema. She appeared in more than 1000 films and was well known for her grandmother roles in several films. She won two Nandi Awards. Early life She was born in ...

Sarath Babu Sathyam Babu Dixithulu (31 July 1951 – 22 May 2023), known by his stage name Sarath Babu, was an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Tamil and Telugu cinema. He appeared in more than 300 films, including in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and ...

, and Y. Vijaya play supporting roles. The soundtrack and background score were composed by

Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and playback singer popular for his works in Indian cinema, predominately in Tamil cinema, Tamil in addition ...

. ''Swathi Muthyam'' depicts the plight of a young widow who is rescued by a man with a cognitive disability. ''Swathi Muthyam'' was a box office success and attained

cult status A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, book ...

. The film was screened at the

Moscow Film Festival The Moscow International Film Festival (, translit. ''Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál''; abbreviated as MIFF) is a film festival first held in Moscow in 1935 and became regular since 1959. From its inception to 1959, it was hel ...

, the Asian and African film festival in Tashkent, the 11th IFFI in the inaugural mainstream section. The film received the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu The National Film Award for Best Telugu Feature Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Kam ...

, three

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are annual awards presented by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television, as well as lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. The awards are named after the monolithic ...

and the

Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu The Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu is presented by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Telugu films. The awards were extended to "Best Director" in 1972. Superlatives * K. Viswanath has the re ...

. The film was selected by India as its entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

for the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

in 1986, but was not nominated. It is currently the only Telugu film to be selected as the Indian Oscar submission. The film was later dubbed into

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

as ''Sippikkul Muthu'', released on October 2, 1986. Upon its success, Viswanath directed its Hindi version '' Eeshwar'' (1989) and in Kannada it was remade as ''

Swathi Muthu ''Swathi Muthu'' () is a 2003 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed by D. Rajendra Babu and written by K. Vishwanath. This film stars Sudeep and Meena. It is an official remake of Telugu film ''Swati Mutyam'' (1986). Doddanna, Pavitra Lok ...

'' (2003).

Plot

Sivayya (

) is an innocent orphan with a brain injury resulting in low intellectual function. He lives along with his grandmother (

) in a village. In that village, Lalitha (

), a young widow with a five-year-old son, lives along with her brother Chalapati's (

) family. She and her son often get abused by her sister-in-law ( Y. Vijaya), but Lalitha, having nowhere to go, bears it all. Sivayya often encounters Lalitha and gets appalled by her condition. One day, during

Sri Rama Navami Rama Navami () is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Rama, one of the most popularly revered deities in Hinduism, also known as the seventh avatar of Vishnu. He is often held as an emblem within Hinduism for being an ideal king and h ...

festival, Sivayya marries Lalitha, shocking all the villagers. His grandmother (

) approves of his marriage as she also has much sympathy and regard for Lalitha, but his uncle and Orthodox villagers oppose that marriage as they consider remarriage of a widow as a sin. In that brawl, Sivayya's grandmother dies, leaving innocent Sivayya in the hands of Lalitha. Lalitha moves in with her husband with the blessings of her brother. Some of the villagers help them to build a new life. Gradually, Lalitha makes Sivayya understand the household duties and responsibilities of a man. Sivayya finds work and starts to support his wife and stepson. Later they have a son and live happily for a long time. Years pass, and Lalitha becomes ill and dies in her husband's arms. In the climax, Sivayya walks out of his house surrounded by his children and grandchildren. He carries a

tulsi ''Ocimum tenuiflorum'', commonly known as holy basil, ''tulasi'' or ''tulsi'' (), is an aromatic perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is widely cultivated throughout the Southeast Asian tropics. It is native to tropical and subtropical r ...

plant, which was his memory of Lalitha's love.

Cast

as Sivayya *

as Lalitha *

Gollapudi Maruthi Rao Gollapudi Maruti Rao (14 April 1939 – 12 December 2019) was an Indian actor, writer and director known for his works in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre, and Telugu literature. Maruti Rao acted in over 250 Telugu films in a variety of roles. Hi ...

as Landlord * J. V. Somayajulu as Lalita's guru *

as Sivayya's grandmother * Master Karthik as Balasubrahmanyam, Lalita's first son, whom later adopted or accepted by Sivayya after their marriage *

as Chalapati, Lalita's brother * Y. Vijaya as Lalita's sister-in-law *

Allu Arjun Allu Arjun (born 8 April 1982) is an Indian actor who works in Telugu cinema. He is one of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinemaand has been featured in ''Forbes Indias Celebrity 100 list since 2014. Allu Arjun's accolades include a Na ...

as Sivayya's grandson *

Major Sundarrajan Srinivasan Sundarrajan (17 March 1935 – 28 February 2003), popularly known as Major Sundarrajan, was an Indian actor and film director who performed predominantly in Tamil language films and plays. He was well known for his sophisticated ...

as Rao *

Deepa Deepa or Dipa () is a Hindu name of Sanskrit origin. In India, it is a popular feminine given name, meaning "lamp" and "light". Notable people named Deepa * Deepa Bhaskar, Indian actress * Deepa Bhatia, Indian film editor * Deepa Chari, Indian ...

Dubbing Janaki Dasari Janaki, known professionally as Dubbing Janaki, is an Indian actress and voice artist. She has appeared in several films and television shows in various South Indian languages. Early life Janaki was born in Peddapuram, East Godavari ...

as Rajyam * Mallikarjuna Rao *

Suthi Veerabhadra Rao Mamidipalli Veerabhadra Rao (1947–1988), commonly known as Sutti Veerabhadra Rao, was an Indian actor known for his comic and character roles in Telugu cinema. He was also a radio and theatre artist. Early life Veerabhadra Rao was the only s ...

as Guruvaya * Edida Sriram * Master Ali

Production

Arun Kumar and Venkatesh were the production designers for the film. The film was shot for nearly 70 days near the shores of

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry ( ), officially Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and district headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the fifth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the district of Rajahmu ...

, Torredu, Tadikonda,

Pattiseema Pattiseema is a village in Polavaram mandal of Eluru district, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located on the bank of the River Godavari. It is a site of historical importance for Hindus. Famous temple named Sri Veerabhadra Swamy Temple is pict ...

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, and

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

did a small role as one of the grandsons of Kamal Haasan. The scene where Haasan dances like someone who cannot dance took so many days to get it "rightly wrong", as Haasan is a seasoned dancer. Initially, the team had approached actress

Sridevi Sridevi Kapoor (née Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan; 13 August 1963 – 24 February 2018), known mononymously as Sridevi, was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada language films. She is regarded as one of ...

for the role of Lalitha, but she declined due to a packed shooting schedule, as she was continuously working in Bollywood.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

Reception

Baradwaj Rangan Baradwaj Rangan () is an Indian film critic and writer. A chemical engineering graduate with no formal training in filmmaking or cinema writing, he has a diverse career in advertising, IT consulting, and cinema writing. He has authored two boo ...

said in 2017, "K. Viswanath, this year's recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, made three films with Kamal Haasan. ''Sagara Sangamam'' is the best, ''Subha Sankalpam'' the weakest – and between these two films, chronologically and quality-wise, lies ''Swathi Muthyam'' (White Pearl)." Reviewing the Tamil dubbed version ''Sippikul Muthu'', Jayamanmadhan of ''

Kalki Kalki (), also called Kalkin, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu. According to Vaishnavism, Vaishnava cosmology, Kalki is destined to appear at the end of the Kali Yuga, the last of the four ages i ...

'' wrote that even if it seems like an aimless story that started somewhere and suddenly stopped, the reality is that we have connected with the story until it happened. Reviewing Tamil dubbed version, Balumani of ''Anna'' praised acting, dialogues, music, screenplay and direction.

Accolades

Remakes

References

External links

* {{Indian submission for Academy Awards 1980s Telugu-language films 1986 films 1986 romantic drama films Best Telugu Feature Film National Film Award winners Films about disability in India Films about widowhood in India Films directed by K. Viswanath Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja Indian nonlinear narrative films Indian romantic drama films Telugu films remade in other languages