Kadalpalam
Encyclopedia
Kadalpalam is a 1969 Malayalam language
film directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan
. Sathyan
, Prem Nazir
, Jayabharathi
, Sheela
, Bahadoor
and Adoor Bhasi
star in the lead. The film is an adaptation of the very popular professional stage play of the same name authored by the renowned dramatist K. T. Mohammed. The film was critically well received and was a box office hit. It is probabily best remembered for the performance by Sathyan, who received the first ever State Award for his performance.
), a leading advocate who loses his eyesight. Kaimal is a strict disciplinarian and always tries to impose his thoughts and principles on his children and fellow beings. This creates a conflict with others. Kaimal's elder son Raghu (Sathyan) dislikes the obstinate nature of his father leading to constant conflicts between the two. Kaimal's younger son Prabhakaran (K. P. Ummer
) who is an advocate and daughter Geetha (Jayabharathi
) try to obey their father, but at times they only pretend to obey him. Kaimal now sees the world through the eyes of his faithful servant Appu (Bahadur).
Prabhakaran is in love with Sarala (Sheela
), daughter of Kaimal's servant Sreedharan Pillai (Sankaradi
). Geetha is in love with Murali (Prem Nazir
), the adopted son of Kadeeja (Adoor Bhavani
), who lives in the neighbourhood. Appu is warned against telling anything about the love affairs to Kaimal. Raghu believes that they lost their mother at very young age only because of the arrogance of their father. Raghu is married to Prashanthi (Vijayachandrika) who was his father's choice.
Raghu shows his protest by his rude behaviour towards his wife. Kaimal demands to give back the tile factory which he had given to Raghu. But Raghu refuses to part with the factory. Kaimal files a court case against his son.
Geetha marries Murali and Raghu supports them. Kaimal regains his eyesight and is thunderstruck to know about the happenings that took place while he was blind. He decides to pretend to be blind so as to know more about his children. Only Appu is aware that Kaimal is now not blind. Kaimal plots to stop the marriage of Prabhakaran. He offers partnership of the factory to the manager Nanukuttan Nair (Adoor Bhasi
) if he could help conduct the marriage of his son, who is a police inspector, with Sarala. Nair agrees to carry out the crooked plan.
The verdict of the court goes against Kaimal. But Prabhakaran hides this from his father. Prabhakaran does not allow Geetha to meet Kaimal and when Kadeeja come and raises voice for justice, Kaimal hits her. Murali attacks Kaimal and now all come to know that Kaimal is not blind. Prabhakaran comes to know about the crooked plan of his father. All the children turn against Kaimal. Unable to stand the setback and the thought that he had failed in his attempts to control his children with an iron hand he suffers a heart attack and dies.
and set to tune by Devarajan. S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
debuted in Malayalam with this film. It was R. K. Shekhar
who recommended S.P.B. to Devarajan. Coincidentally, S.P.B.'s most of the famous songs came when he associated with Shekhar's son A. R. Rahman
.
Malayalam language
Malayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...
film directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan
K. S. Sethumadhavan
K. S. Sethumadhavan is an Indian director of Malayalam films. He has also directed films in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Since the early 1960s he has directed over 60 movies...
. Sathyan
Sathyaneshan Nadar
Manuel Sathyaneshan Nadar commonly known by his stage name Sathyan, was an Indian film actor known for his work in Malayalam cinema. He has won the Kerala State Film Award twice and is renowned for his acting skills...
, Prem Nazir
Prem Nazir
Abdul Khader , better known by his stage name Prem Nazir , was an Indian film actor. He is considered one of the all time super stars in Malayalam cinema...
, Jayabharathi
Jayabharathi
Jayabharathi is a popular Malayalam film actress who started her career in late 1960s. She is a two-time winner of the Kerala State Film Award for best actress....
, Sheela
Sheela
Sheela ), is a Malayalam film actress from India. She, along with Prem Nazir, holds the world record for acting in the largest number of films together as heroine and hero. In 2005 she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Malayalam film Akale. She has also...
, Bahadoor
Bahadoor
Bahadoor , born P. K. Kunjalu, was a Malayalam film comedian who, along with Adoor Bhasi, redefined the way in which comedy and funny scenes were perceived in Malayalam cinema. They made a significant contribution toward establishing comedy as the predominant genre of Malayalam cinema...
and Adoor Bhasi
Adoor Bhasi
Adoor Bhasi was an Indian film actor and film director from Kerala. Adoor Bhasi was almost always cast as the man who stands next to the hero. His hilarious actions and roles became the cynosure of comic scenes in the Malayalam films of the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s. He is also famous for his...
star in the lead. The film is an adaptation of the very popular professional stage play of the same name authored by the renowned dramatist K. T. Mohammed. The film was critically well received and was a box office hit. It is probabily best remembered for the performance by Sathyan, who received the first ever State Award for his performance.
Plot
The story revolves round the family of Narayana Kaimal (SathyanSathyaneshan Nadar
Manuel Sathyaneshan Nadar commonly known by his stage name Sathyan, was an Indian film actor known for his work in Malayalam cinema. He has won the Kerala State Film Award twice and is renowned for his acting skills...
), a leading advocate who loses his eyesight. Kaimal is a strict disciplinarian and always tries to impose his thoughts and principles on his children and fellow beings. This creates a conflict with others. Kaimal's elder son Raghu (Sathyan) dislikes the obstinate nature of his father leading to constant conflicts between the two. Kaimal's younger son Prabhakaran (K. P. Ummer
K. P. Ummer
K. P. Ummer was a Malayalam cinema actor from Thekkepuram quarter of Kozhikode, Kerala, India. He was active in cinema from early sixties until late nineties. He was the most successful villains of his time. He played opposite Prem Nazir, who was the hero in many films, which the audience liked to...
) who is an advocate and daughter Geetha (Jayabharathi
Jayabharathi
Jayabharathi is a popular Malayalam film actress who started her career in late 1960s. She is a two-time winner of the Kerala State Film Award for best actress....
) try to obey their father, but at times they only pretend to obey him. Kaimal now sees the world through the eyes of his faithful servant Appu (Bahadur).
Prabhakaran is in love with Sarala (Sheela
Sheela
Sheela ), is a Malayalam film actress from India. She, along with Prem Nazir, holds the world record for acting in the largest number of films together as heroine and hero. In 2005 she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Malayalam film Akale. She has also...
), daughter of Kaimal's servant Sreedharan Pillai (Sankaradi
Sankaradi
Sankaradi was an Indian actor. He was a veteran Malayalam comedian and character artiste, who had over 700 Malayalam films to his credit....
). Geetha is in love with Murali (Prem Nazir
Prem Nazir
Abdul Khader , better known by his stage name Prem Nazir , was an Indian film actor. He is considered one of the all time super stars in Malayalam cinema...
), the adopted son of Kadeeja (Adoor Bhavani
Adoor Bhavani
Adoor Bhavani was an Indian actress in Malayalam movies, best-known for her appearance in the National Award-winning film Chemmeen , directed by Ramu Kariat. She had acted in about 450 films, including Mudiyanaya Puthran, Thulabharam, Kallichellamma, and Anubhavangal Paalichakal. Her last film...
), who lives in the neighbourhood. Appu is warned against telling anything about the love affairs to Kaimal. Raghu believes that they lost their mother at very young age only because of the arrogance of their father. Raghu is married to Prashanthi (Vijayachandrika) who was his father's choice.
Raghu shows his protest by his rude behaviour towards his wife. Kaimal demands to give back the tile factory which he had given to Raghu. But Raghu refuses to part with the factory. Kaimal files a court case against his son.
Geetha marries Murali and Raghu supports them. Kaimal regains his eyesight and is thunderstruck to know about the happenings that took place while he was blind. He decides to pretend to be blind so as to know more about his children. Only Appu is aware that Kaimal is now not blind. Kaimal plots to stop the marriage of Prabhakaran. He offers partnership of the factory to the manager Nanukuttan Nair (Adoor Bhasi
Adoor Bhasi
Adoor Bhasi was an Indian film actor and film director from Kerala. Adoor Bhasi was almost always cast as the man who stands next to the hero. His hilarious actions and roles became the cynosure of comic scenes in the Malayalam films of the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s. He is also famous for his...
) if he could help conduct the marriage of his son, who is a police inspector, with Sarala. Nair agrees to carry out the crooked plan.
The verdict of the court goes against Kaimal. But Prabhakaran hides this from his father. Prabhakaran does not allow Geetha to meet Kaimal and when Kadeeja come and raises voice for justice, Kaimal hits her. Murali attacks Kaimal and now all come to know that Kaimal is not blind. Prabhakaran comes to know about the crooked plan of his father. All the children turn against Kaimal. Unable to stand the setback and the thought that he had failed in his attempts to control his children with an iron hand he suffers a heart attack and dies.
Songs
The film had four songs penned by Vayalar RamavarmaVayalar Ramavarma
Vayalar Ramavarma , often known as Vayalar, was a modern Malayalam poet and lyricist. His famous works include Sargasangeetham, Mulankaadu, Padamudrakal, Aayisha, Oru Judas janikkunnu.-Biography:...
and set to tune by Devarajan. S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam is a multilingual Indian playback singer, actor, music director, voice actor and a film producer. He is referred to as S. P. B. or Balu by the media. He has won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer six times closely following K. J. Yesudas...
debuted in Malayalam with this film. It was R. K. Shekhar
R. K. Shekhar
Rajagopala Kulasekara Shekhar was a Tamil Indian music composer, who worked for Malayalam and Tamil movies. He composed music for 52 films, and was the music conductor for more than 100 films. He is best known as the father of music composer A. R. Rahman....
who recommended S.P.B. to Devarajan. Coincidentally, S.P.B.'s most of the famous songs came when he associated with Shekhar's son A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
.
- "Kasthoori Thailamittu" - P. MadhuriP. MadhuriP. Madhuri is a renowned South Indian playback singer. She has sung songs in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu. She has twice won Kerala State Film Award for best playback singer.-Early life:...
- "Ee Kadalum Marukadalum" - S. P. BalasubrahmanyamS. P. BalasubrahmanyamSripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam is a multilingual Indian playback singer, actor, music director, voice actor and a film producer. He is referred to as S. P. B. or Balu by the media. He has won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer six times closely following K. J. Yesudas...
- "Ujjayaniyile Gayika" - P. LeelaP. LeelaPorayathu Leela better known as P. Leela was a popular Indian playback singer. She was awarded Padma Bhushan posthumously in 2006.-Early life:...
- "Inney Poy Inney Poy" - B. Vasantha
Awards
1st Kerala State Film Awards- Best Dialogues: K. T. Mohammed
- Best Actor: Sathyan
- Best Music Director: Devarajan
- Best Lyrics: Vayalar Ramavarma
- Best Singer: P. Leela