Iruttinte Athmavu

Iruttinte Athmavu (transl. The soul of Darkness) is a 1967 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by P. Bhaskaran and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair based on his own short story of the same name.[1] It stars Prem Nazir and Sharada in lead roles with Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, P. J. Antony, Ushakumari, Kozhikode Shantha Devi and Baby Rajani in supporting roles. The film is about a mentally unstable youth born into a matriarchal family who is forced to live as a mad man in chains and who is misunderstood and ill-treated by everyone except his uncle's daughter.[2] The film features music by M. S. Baburaj, cinematography by E. N. Balakrishnan and editing by G. Venkitaraman and Das.

Iruttinte Athmavu
Directed byP. Bhaskaran
Written byM. T. Vasudevan Nair
Produced byP. I. Muhammed Kasim
StarringPrem Nazir,
Sharada,
Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair,
P. J. Antony,
Ushakumari/Vennira Aadai Nirmala,
Kozhikode Shantha Devi,
Baby Rajani
CinematographyE. N. Balakrishnan
Edited byG. Venkitaraman ,
Das
Music byM. S. Baburaj
Production
company
Sony Pictures
Distributed byBharath Pictures
Release date
  • 2 March 1967 (1967-03-02)
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam

Prem Nazir played the mentally challenged Bhranthan Velayudhan, widely considered to be one of the finest performances of Prem Nazir's career.[3][4][5] Nazir himself rated his role of Velayudhan in Iruttinte Athmavu and as the swashbuckling folk hero Thampan in Padayottam as his best.[6] Also, its script is regarded as one of the finest by M. T. Vasudevan Nair. A landmark film in Malayalam cinema, the film provided Malayalam cinema with a new direction; that of the low-budget film. The film has earned a dedicated cult following. It won the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues.[7][8] It missed the Best Film and Best Actor (Prem Nazir) award only narrowly.[9] Despite all the acclaim, the film was a box office failure.[10]

The film was part of MT's trilogy of political melodramas – the other two being Murappennu (1965) and Asuravithu (1968), both directed by A. Vincent.[11] Major indoor parts of the film were shot in Satya Studios in Madras and outdoor parts from the premises of Bharathapuzha at Shoranur.

Plot

Velayudan's existence posed a problem to all the members of the joint family. Velayudhan is a twenty-one-year-old man, but he has the intelligence of a child. The head of the joint family thinks Velayudan symbolizes the curse which hangs heavy over the house. To his mother, he is the source of constant sorrow. His uncle's daughter is his would-be bride. He is attached to her. She is very kind to him and refuses to treat him as a mad man. Velayudan triggers problems one after the other and every new lapse help only to put fresh chains. He refuses to feel he is mad. In the end, Ammukutty is given away in marriage to an old widower. Velayudhan surrenders himself and yells "Chain me, I am mad!"

Cast

Soundtrack

The music was composed by M. S. Baburaj and the lyrics were written by P. Bhaskaran.[15][16] All songs in the film were sung by S. Janaki, which is a landmark.

No.SongSingersLyricsLength (m:ss)
1"Ambaadikannanu Mampazham"S. JanakiP. Bhaskaran
2"Eeranuduthukondambaram"S. JanakiP. Bhaskaran
3"Irukanneerthullikal"S. JanakiP. Bhaskaran
4"Vaakachaarthu Kazhinjoru"S. JanakiP. Bhaskaran

Writing

The film is scripted by M. T. Vasudevan Nair based on his own a short story with the same name. The screenplay is regarded as one of the finest by the noted writer.[17] One could see a lot of the pre-occupations of the scenarist, who carried the touches of human relationships through all of his subsequent films whether as screenplay writer or director.[17] A part of the screenplay of Iruttinte Athmavu is being taught in school classes while the complete screenplay is being taught at degree level.[18][19]

Legacy

The film is considered one of the best Malayalam films ever made, it is still critically acclaimed even 50 years after its release. The film provided Malayalam cinema with a new direction; that of the low-budget film.[20] In spite of its large number of studio shots and overall theatricality, the film was so culturally rich that many of the episodes would become archetypes for future Malayalam film makers dealing with family drama. The film remains one of the most influential films in Malayalam film history.[17]

References
  1. The Illustrated weekly of India. Vol. 91. 1970. p. 19.
  2. Indian review of books. Acme Books. 1995. p. 30.
  3. P.K. Ajith Kumar (16 January 2009). "The evergreen hero". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 April 2009. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  4. Indian newsmagazine. Vol. 14. Link. 1972. p. 36.
  5. "A stalwart on the Malayalam screen" (PDF). The Hindu. 5 February 1989. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  6. India Today. Vol. 14. Living Media India Pvt. Ltd. 1989. p. 46.
  7. T. M. Ramachandran (1971). Film world. Vol. 7. p. 106.
  8. Hameeduddin Mahmood (1974). The kaleidoscope of Indian cinema. Affiliated East-West Press. pp. 106, 146.
  9. Malayalam literary survey. Kerala Sahitya Akademi. 1982. p. 121.
  10. Amaresh Datta (2006). The Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature. p. 752.
  11. B. Vijayakumar (21 April 2013). "ASURAVITHU 1968". The Hindu. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  12. Indian newsmagazine. Vol. 9. Link. 1967. p. 38.
  13. India today. Vol. 14. Living Media India Pvt. Ltd. 1989. p. 82.
  14. "Natural actor". The Hindu. 6 August 2007. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  15. "Iruttinte Aathmaavu". malayalachalachithram.com. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  16. "Iruttinte Aathmaavu". malayalasangeetham.info. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  17. K.V.Ramankutty. "Collaborative Cinema of the Sixties". Keralahistory.ac.in. Archived from the original on 11 July 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  18. "Secondary Curriculam Initial Pages final". Central Board of Secondary Education. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  19. "The Department of Oriental Languages". Aquinas College, Edacochin. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  20. "Sixties: Collective Cinema". Public Relation Department, Government of Kerala. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
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