Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair, popularly known as M.T., is an Indian author, screenplay writer and film director. He is a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and is one of the masters of post-Independence Indian literature. At the age of 20, as a chemistry undergraduate, he won the prize for the best short story in Malayalam at World Short Story Competition conducted by The New York Herald Tribune. His first major novel Naalukettu, written at the age of 23, won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1958. His other novels include Manju (Mist), Kaalam (Time), Asuravithu and Randamoozham. The deep emotional experiences of his early days have gone into the making of MT's novels. Most of his works are oriented towards the basic Malayalam family structure and culture and many of them were path-breaking in the history of Malayalam literature. His three seminal novels on life in the matriarchal family in Kerala are Naalukettu, Asuravithu, and Kaalam. Randamoozham, which retells the story of the Mahabharatha from the point of view of Bhimasena, is widely credited as his masterpiece.
Edappal Ponnamkuzhi Veettil Parameswaran Sukumaran Nair, known mononymously as Sukumaran, was an Indian actor and producer of Malayalam films. Sukumaran became a popular film star in Malayalam cinema during the 1970s. He was considered one of the superstar trios of Malayalam cinema during the late 1970s and early 1980s along with Soman and Jayan.
Hariharan is an Indian film director who has directed over 50 Malayalam films. His movies mainly revolve around the cultural and relational aspects of a typical Keralite society. His most notable works include Sharapancharam (1979), Panchagni (1986), Idavazhiyile Poocha Mindappoocha (1979), Amrutham Gamaya (1987), Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989), Sargam (1992), Parinayam (1994) and Pazhassi Raja (2009) which has won him wide critical acclaim. In 2019, he was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award, Kerala government's highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema.
Randamoozham is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language mythological drama novel written by the Indian author M. T. Vasudevan Nair, widely credited as his masterpiece. The work won the Vayalar Award, given for the best literary work in Malayalam, in 1985. It also won the Muttathu Varkey Award in 1994. The novel has been translated to multiple languages. It was translated into English as Second Turn by P. K. Ravindranath in 1997. Another English translation by Gita Krishnankutty published in 2013 is titled Bhima: Lone Warrior.
Indulekha is a Malayalam novel written by O. Chandu Menon. Published in 1889, it was the first major novel in the Malayalam language. It was a landmark in the history of Malayalam literature and initiated the novel as a new flourishing genre. The novel is about a beautiful, well-educated lady of a Nair tharavad.
Oru Cheru Punchiri is a 2000 Malayalam film written and directed by M. T. Vasudevan Nair. This is his sixth film as a director. The film stars Oduvil Unnikrishnan and Nirmala Sreenivasan in the lead roles. The film is based on Telugu writer Sriramana's short story Mithunam from the novel of the same title.
N. P. Mohammed, popularly known by his initials N. P., was an Indian novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Malayalam language. Along with his contemporaries like M. T. Vasudevan Nair, O. V. Vijayan, Kakkanadan, and Madhavikutty, he was known to have been one of the pioneers of modernist movement in Malayalam fiction. He was the president of Kerala Sahitya Akademi and a recipient of several awards including Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel, Lalithambika Antharjanam Award, Padmaprabha Literary Award and the Muttathu Varkey Award.
Nirmalyam is a 1973 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, and starring P. J. Antony, Sumithra and Ravi Menon. P. J. Antony won the National Film Award for Best Actor in 1974 for his performance as a velichappadu in this movie. The film received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film and Kerala State Film Award for Best Film in 1974. It is one of the classics in Malayalam cinema.
Oppol is a 1981 Malayalam-language drama film, produced by Rosamma George under the banner of JMJ Arts, directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair. The film stars Balan K. Nair, Menaka and Master Aravind in the lead roles. The film features original songs composed by M. B. Sreenivasan. The film was based on a short story of the same name written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair in 1975. The film revolves around Malu and her brother Appu. Malu gets married to Govindan and shifts to his house along with her brother. Appu however, gets jealous of Govindan when he starts thinking that he will isolate him from his sister. The rest of the film deals with how they mend their relationship.
Iruttinte Athmavu 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. 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. The film features music by M. S. Baburaj, cinematography by E. N. Balakrishnan and editing by G. Venkitaraman and Das.
Doore Doore Oru Koodu Koottam is a 1986 Indian Malayalam-language satirical comedy drama film directed by Sibi Malayil, written by Sreenivasan and produced by M. Mani. It stars Mohanlal, Menaka, Jagathy Sreekumar, Nedumudi Venu, Mamukkoya, Sukumari, Kunjandi, Sreenivasan, Sanath Mathur Innocent and K. P. A. C. Sunny in major roles. The film won the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues.
Asuravithu is a 1968 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by A. Vincent, starring Prem Nazir and Sharada. The film was scripted by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, based on his own novel Asuravithu. Set in a Kerala village in the 1960s, the political melodrama focuses on Hindu-Muslim unity. The film portrays the plight of the protagonist, the youngest son of a proud Nair tharavadu, as he is trapped between the social scenario, social injustice and his own inner consciousness. Prem Nazir's acting in the movie was well appreciated by the viewers.
Asuravithu may refer to these Indian media:
Naalukettu is a Malayalam novel written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair. Published in 1958, it was MT's first major novel. The title attributes to Nālukettu, a traditional ancestral home (Taravad) of a Nair joint family. Like many other novels written by MT, Naalukettu is also set against the backdrop of the crumbling matrilineal order of Kerala in a newly independent India.
Manju (Mist) is a novel by M. T. Vasudevan Nair published in 1964. With few conversations and minimal characters the novel narrates the story of a school teacher. The novel is set in the mountains and valleys of Nainital where Vimala Devi, a teacher in a boarding school, waits in hope for the winter of her discontent to vanish. Despite having a family comprising father, mother, sister and brother, Vimala is kept aloof from them. She hates the company of her family and enjoys solitude. The eco-feminist theme of patriarchal domination and exploitation gains more prominence in Manju, MT's only novel with a female protagonist. The novel stands apart as set in a milieu different from the usual one, the Valluvanadan village.
Manju is a 1983 Malayalam film based on the novel of the same name by M. T. Vasudevan Nair. The film was scripted and directed by M. T. Vasudevan Nair himself and stars Sangeeta Naik, Nanditha Bose, Indira, Sankar Mohan and Desh Maheshwari.
The Malayalam novel is an important part of Malayalam literature. This article focuses on novels, written in Malayalam language, a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the Indian state of Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands.
Devi Kanyakumari is a 1974 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed and produced by P. Subramaniam. The film stars Baby Vinodini, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair and Kedamangalam Sadanandan. It was released on 30 August 1974.
Naadan Premam is a Malayalam novel written by S. K. Pottekkatt in 1941. It is a short novel written when the author was in Bombay and tells the story of an innocent village belle jilted by a modern man-about-town. It is set entirely in Mukkam, a rustic village on the banks of Iruvanjippuzha, a major tributary of River Chaliyar. Written initially as a film treatment and later converted into a novel, it was serialised in Kerala Kaumudi newspaper and released as a book in August 1941. It was adapted into a film of the same name in 1972 but was not a success on the screen.
Arabi Ponnu is a Malayalam novel jointly written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and N. P. Mohammed. The theme is the smuggling of gold from Arab countries, especially Arab states of the Persian Gulf, in its early period.
