Vidheyan
| Vidheyan | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Adoor Gopalakrishnan |
| Screenplay by | Adoor Gopalakrishnan |
| Based on | Bhaskara Pattelarum Ente Jeevithavum by Paul Zacharia |
| Produced by | K. Ravindran Nair |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Mankada Ravi Varma |
| Edited by | M. Mani |
| Music by | Vijaya Bhaskar |
Release date |
|
Running time | 112 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
Vidheyan (transl. The Servile) is a 1994 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed and written by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It is based on the novella Bhaskara Pattelarum Ente Jeevithavum by Paul Zacharia. The film, starring Mammootty and M. R. Gopakumar, explores the master-slave relationship in a South Karnataka setting.
Vidheyan won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam and Best Actor Award for Mammootty. It also won numerous awards at the Kerala State Film Awards, including the Best Film.[1]
Plot
[edit]Thommy, a migrant labourer from Wayanad, Kerala comes to patellar's town in South Karnataka for survival. Pattellar, the landlord of the town, abuses the newcomer Thommy. After learning from Thommy about her wife, Pattellar rapes Thommy's wife. Pattellar then offers Thommy a job and gift him things. Thommy becomes an obedient servant of Pattellar. Pattellar continues to rape Thommy's wife. Pattellar is a womaniser and have raped several women. On seeing Kuttaparai's daughter, Pattellar, without regard to consequences, rapes her. Another time, Pattellar senselessly beats a wealthy man Yusuf. Pattellar's wife advices the Pattellar to change his ways and be a good man. She was a kind women and treats Thommy with love and affection. Fed up with her advices, Pattellar decides to kill his wife and asks Thommy's help to make it look like accident. But during the attempt, unfortunately, Thommy was injured in gunshot instead of Pattellar's wife. Pattellar thinks about killing Thommy, but his wife make arrangements to take thommy to the hospital. Once recovered, Pattellar takes Thommy to catch fishes from Temple Pond which is a blasphemous act. But returns unsuccessful. Yusuf, Kuttaparai and several prominent members of the town decide to kill Pattellar and ask Thommy's help. Thommy bring Pattellar to his house as per plan. But Pattellar escapes. Pattellar murders his wife and takes Thommy's help to stage it as suicide. Thommy weeps at Pattellar's wife death. But soon Pattellar's brother-in-laws discovers truth of the death of their sister and retaliate. Bruised and battered, Pattellar takes Thommy with him in search of a safe haven. During travel through jungle, Pattellar was killed by Pattellar's brother-in-laws. Even though at first, Thommy weeps for the death of his master Pattellar, then he exults in freedom.
Cast
[edit]- Mammootty as Bhaskara Pattelar
- M. R. Gopakumar as Thommy
- Tanvi Azmi as Saroja, Bhaskara Patelar's Wife
- Sabitha Anand as Omana
- Aliyar
- Babu Namboothiri
- K. P. A. C. Azeez
- Prof. K. V. Thampi
- Krishnan Kutty Nair
- Naveen D. Padil
- Rohidas Kadri
Production
[edit]The film is a cinematic adaptation of the novel Bhaskara Pattelarum Ente Jeevithavum by Malayalam writer Paul Zacharia.[2] Zacharia's novella was inspired by a real-life character named Patela Shekhara Gowda alias Shiradi Shekhara. Zacharia happened to hear the stories of Patelar when he was residing near Shiradi village Mangalore in Karnataka.[3] After the release of the film, Adoor had a tiff with Zacharia over the film. Zachariah said Adoor tainted his story with Hindutva.[4]
Accolades
[edit]| Category | Winner | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Best Actor | Mammootty (also for Ponthan Mada) | Depiction of the relationship of power and terror at an existential level. |
| National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam | Director – Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Producer: - K. Ravindranathan Nair |
For its in-depth handling and complex delineation of the psychological
evolution of two characters, representative of the transformation of terror into power and its hold over the life of the existentialist outsider. |
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best Film | Director – Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Producer – K. Ravindran Nair (General Pictures) |
| Best Director | Adoor Gopalakrishnan |
| Best Actor | Mammootty |
| Best Screenplay | Adoor Gopalakrishnan |
| Best Story | Paul Zacharia |
| Special Jury Award | M. R. Gopakumar |
- Other awards
| Award |
|---|
| NETPAC Award at Rotterdam International Film Festival |
| INTER FILM Prize – Honourable Mention at the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival |
| Special Jury Mention, Singapore International Film Festival |
| NETPAC-FIPRESCI Award, Singapore International Film Festival |
References
[edit]- ^ Menon, Neelima (30 January 2022). "When Mammootty played the tyrant: Revisiting Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Vidheyan". The News Minute. Archived from the original on 3 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
- ^ Kumar, Pradeep (21 March 1993). "There's no rigidity in my style". Sunday Magazine. Indian Express Limited. p. 6. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ "പട്ടേലർ എന്നൊരു സത്യം". Malayala Manorama (in Malayalam). 27 March 2011.
- ^ Ramnarayan, Gowri (24 September – 7 October 2005). "A constant process of discovery". Frontline. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
- ^ "Kerala State Film Awards: 1993". Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. Archived from the original on 2 October 2010. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- ^ "'Vidheyan' bags six Kerala state awards". The Indian Express. 14 March 1994. p. 11. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
External links
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