Mathilukal (film)

Mathilukal (transl. Walls) is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language film written, directed and produced by Adoor Gopalakrishnan based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer.[1] The film focuses on the prison life of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer and the love between him and Narayani, a female inmate of the prison, who remains unseen throughout the film.[2] Mammootty plays the role of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer while K. P. A. C. Lalitha gives voice to Narayani. The film was screened at the Venice Film Festival.

Mathilukal
Poster designed by Gayathri Ashokan
Directed byAdoor Gopalakrishnan
Written byAdoor Gopalakrishnan
Based onMathilukal
by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer
Produced byAdoor Gopalakrishnan
StarringMammootty
CinematographyMankada Ravi Varma
Edited byM. Mani
Music byVijaya Raman
Distributed byJubilee Productions
Release date
  • 18 May 1990 (1990-05-18)
Running time
120 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam

On the centenary of Indian cinema in April 2013, Forbes included Mammootty's performance in the film on its list, "25 Greatest Acting Performances of Indian Cinema".[3]

Plot

Vaikom Muhammed Basheer is imprisoned on charges of sedition. He is unlike the other prisoners, very inquisitive and armed with sardonic wit. Everyone takes a liking to him and even turns to him in times of distress. He strikes up a friendship with the Warden(Thilakan) and an enthusiastic jailor (Sreenath). Due to his unique charisma and popularity as an author, he is afforded privileges the other prisoners don't have. His written works are greatly appreciated by the policemen, who supply him papers to finish his work. One day, Basheer is informed that he will be released soon as all political prisoners are pardoned. But unexpectedly, Basheer's name was missing from the list. His enthusiasm and happiness takes a hit and he becomes filled with uneasiness and worry. Due to the eerie solitude of the prison complex, Basheer starts to get depressed, but the other inmates try to encourage him to accompany them in making a vegetable garden in front of the neighbouring women's prison compound.

Bashir falls in love with a woman in the neighbouring prison compound. They are separated by a high wall, thus they never see each other and have to devise ingenious ways for communicating. They exchange gifts with each other by throwing the packages up high so that it crosses the wall. Narayani, Bashir's love is presented as a female voice and never appears in person in the film. Their exchanges are raw, unhinged, and unfiltered. Narayani then comes up with a plan for a meeting and they decide to meet at the hospital a few days later. But before that, Basheer is released, unexpectedly. For once, he does not want the freedom he had craved for. Bashir is released and isn't able to convey it to Narayani. Bashir helplessly looks at the walls and leaves the jail in tears.[4]

Cast

Awards

The film has won the following awards since its release:

1989 Venice Film Festival (Italy)
1989 National Film Awards (India)[5][6]
1990 Kerala State Film Awards (India)[7]
1990 Amiens International Film Festival (France)[8]
2002 Aubervilliers International Children's Film Festival (France)[9][10]

References
  1. P.K.Ajith Kumar. "Romantic interlude". The Hindu. 14 May 2010.
  2. P.M.Girish. "A Brief Examination of Three Widely-Acclaimed Malayalam Novels". Languageinindia.com. 3 March 2008.
  3. Prasad, Shishir; Ramnath, N. S.; Mitter, Sohini (27 April 2013). "25 Greatest Acting Performances of Indian Cinema". Forbes. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  4. "Mathilukal-1989" Archived 21 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Cinemaofmalayalam.net Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  5. "37th National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  6. "37th National Film Awards (PDF)" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  7. "Kerala State Film Awards" Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Must Watch International Award Winning Malayalam Films".
  9. "Adoor Gopalakrishnan wins Best Director Award in France". Rediff.com. 21 November 2002. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  10. "Must Watch International Award Winning Malayalam Films".
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