Utharam | |
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Directed by | V. K. Pavithran |
Produced by | Akbar |
Written by | M. T. Vasudevan Nair |
Based on | No Motive by Daphne du Maurier |
Starring |
Mammootty Suparna Sukumaran Parvathy |
Music by |
Johnson (background score) Vidhyadharan (songs) |
Cinematography | Ramachandra Babu |
Edited by | Ravi |
Distributed by | Srudhi Combines |
Release date
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Country | India |
Language | Malayalam |
Utharam (English: Answer) is a 1989 Malayalam mystery-thriller film starring Mammootty, Suparna, Sukumaran and Parvathy. It was written by acclaimed Malayalam writer M. T. Vasudevan Nair based on the short story No Motive by Daphne du Maurier. The film was a commercial success and also received critical acclaim.
Selina Joseph (Suparna) a budding poet leading a very happy family life, commits suicide on a very 'usual' day by shooting herself with her husband's gun. Upon request from Planter Mathew (Sukumaran), her husband, Balachandran Nair (Mammootty), his friend, a Delhi-based journalist, who was so close to both Selina and Joseph, decides to look into the reasons that led her to suicide.
Balu starts his investigation from Selina's past. He unfolds the truth behind Selina's death with the help of her childhood friend Prof.Shyamala Menon (Parvathy), who lost connection with Selina after she discontinued her grade 10 studies abruptly. In course of investigation, he discovers that Selina happened to become pregnant in her childhood following a gang rape and her father forcibly took her back from school after the school quietly dismissed her. But what makes the film different is that Selina is unaware of this incident. She did not accept the fact even after the birth of her baby. She considered herself as a virgin and called her son Immanuel meaning the son of Holy virgin Mary. Her child was moved to an orphanage by her father Antony (Karamana Janardanan Nair). She lost her memory after losing the child in an accident while trying to jump out of car. Seeing her son after a Decade as a Rag Picker, she is emotionally shocked and commits suicide. The film has a lot of memorable scenes including the climax, when Shyamala comes to know that she and Selina were raped while unconscious, after smoking bhang.