Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala | |
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Poster cover
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Directed by | Sreenivasan |
Produced by | Karunakaran |
Written by | Sreenivasan |
Starring |
Sangita Sreenivasan Thilakan Innocent Nedumudi Venu Sudheesh Siddique Mamukkoya |
Music by | Johnson |
Cinematography | S. Kumar |
Edited by | Sreekar Prasad |
Distributed by | Filimothsav |
Release date
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Running time
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158 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Malayalam |
Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala (English: Shyamala lost in thought) is a 1998 Malayalam black comedy film written and directed by Sreenivasan, starring Sangita, Sreenivasan, Thilakan, Innocent, Nedumudi Venu, Sudheesh, and Siddique.The film is about an irresponsible husband and his neglected family. It won the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues. The film is one of the classic family dramas in Malayalam.
The film was remade in Tamil as Chidambarathil Oru Appasamy and in Telugu as Aavide Shyamala.
Vijayan, the village school teacher, believes that his degree in economics is sufficient for him to succeed in the business ventures he undertakes. Taking long leaves of absence from work, he roams around with his schemes, all of which turn out to be downright failures.
The movie opens with a light portrayal of the misery of his wife Shyamala and their two daughters, with Vijayan away on his latest venture — an attempt to shoot a short ad film. It ends, predictably, with Vijayan taking to his heels when it is apparent that he has never seen a film being shot in his life before. Karunan "Mash," Vijayan's father, as a last resort to reform his son, suggests that Vijayan undertake the annual pilgrimage to the Hindu hilltop temple Sabarimala. Despite his initial protests, Vijayan undertakes his pilgrimage, by observing the customary 41-day fasting and abstinence.