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
Thommy, a Christian migrant labourer from Kerala is an obedient slave of his aggressive, tyrannical landlord Bhaskara Pattelar. Thommy obeys all the orders of his master, whether it is to make his own wife sexually available to his master or in killing Pattelar's kind wife, Saroja. When Pattelar escapes to a jungle, due to his own deeds, Thommy escorts him like a pet. But when Pattelar is killed Thommy exults in freedom.
Cast
- Mammootty as Bhaskara Patelar
- 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
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
| 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
- ^ 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.
