Mathilukal (film)

Mathilukal
Poster designed by Gayathri Ashokan
Directed by	Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Produced by	Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Written by	Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Based on	Mathilukal by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer
Starring	Mammootty
Music by	Vijay Bhaskar
Cinematography	Mankada Ravi Varma
Edited by	M. Mani
Distributed by	Jubilee Productions
Release date	18 May 1990
Running time	120 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Mathilukal (English: Walls; Malayalam: മതിലുകള്‍) is a 1990 Indian feature film written, directed and produced by Adoor Gopalakrishnan based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. The film focusses on the prison life of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer and the love between him and Narayani, a female inmate of the prison, who remains unseen throughout the film.Mammootty plays the role of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer while K. P. A. C. Lalitha gives voice to Narayani. The film was well received upon screening at the Venice Film Festival, and won four awards at the National Film Awards in 1990.

On the centenary of Indian cinema in April 2013, Forbes included Mammootty's performance in the film on its list, "25 Greatest Acting Performances of Indian Cinema". About casting Mammootty as Basheer, Adoor says: "To play someone when he is living is no mean challenge, and the Malayalam star rose up to it".

Confined to the narrow space of a prison cell, Bashir falls in love with a woman in the neighbouring prison compound. They are separated by a high wall so that they never see each other and have to devise ingenious ways for communicating. Narayani, Bashir's love is presented as a female voice and never appears in person in the film.

The film has won the following awards since its release: