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Neelakuyil
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Wikipedia article
'Neelakuyil' (; ) is a 1954 Malayalam film jointly directed by P. Bhaskaran and Ramu Kariat. It is a neo-realistic melodrama and was based on a story written by Uroob who co-wrote the screenplay and dialogues along with P. Bhaskaran. It stars Sathyan, Miss Kumari, Prema, P. Bhaskaran and Master Vipin. The plot revolves around Neeli, a Dalit peasant girl, who falls in love with Sreedharan Nair (Sathyan), a high caste school teacher. However, things get complicated when Neeli gets pregnant and Sreedharan Nair refuses to marry her. Many of the actors debuted through this film. Acclaimed actor Paravoor Bharathan appears in a cameo role.
The film was written by acclaimed author Uroob and P. Bhaskaran, with encouragement from their friends. P. Bhaskaran wanted to make a film about social issues when he decided to make a film. His finished draft was greenlit immediately by T. K. Pareekutty. Since Satyan and Bhaskaran were close friends, he was asked to essay the role of Sridharan Nair. The film was a breakthrough for Sathyan, who went on to become a matinee idol in Kerala. It features an acclaimed cinematography by A. Vincent and a musical score by K. Raghavan.
'Neelakuyil' was released on 22 October 1954 to critical acclaim. The film was a major commercial success and went on to become the highest grossing Malayalam film at the time, a feat rare for a relatively unknown cast. The script was praised for its hard-hitting dialogues against social evils such as untouchability, feudalism and injustices towards women.The performance of the cast, who spoke in the regional dialect was also critically acclaimed. The narrative style was also acclaimed for diverging from the regular style of narration.
The film is often regarded by critics as a landmark film in Malayalam film history and also one of the greatest Malayalam films ever made. The film also became the first Malayalam film to gain national recognition as it became the first South Indian film to win the All India Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film and was the inaugural recipient of the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam.
Cast
* Sathyan as Sreedharan Nair
* Miss Kumari as Neeli
* Prema Menon as Nalini
* P. Bhaskaran as Shankaran Nair, the postmaster
* Ramankutty Menon as the feudal lord
* Manavalan Joseph
*Kochattil Balakrishna Menon
*JAR Anand
*Kochappan
*Kodungalloor Amminiyamma
*Ramankutty
* Paravoor Bharathan (cameo role)
Soundtrack
There are nine songs, scored by K. Raghavan and penned by P. Bhaskaran, in a soundtrack regarded as a milestone in Malayalam film music history. Before 'Neelakuyil', Malayalam film soundtracks only had Hindi and Tamil songs. Raghavan introduced Malayali folk music into films by including them in the soundtrack. The musical genres utilised included Mappilappattu (Islamic music), Koyithupattu (a form of harvest singing), traditional prayers, romantic melodies, all of which emanated from the folk traditions of Kerala. The songs were choreographed by Guru Gopalakrishnan Kodungallur.
The popular songs from the film are "Ellarum Chollanu Ellarum Chollanu" Janamma David, "Kayalarikaathu Vala Erinjappol" (K. Raghavan), "Unarunaroo Unnikanna" (Shantha P. Nair), "Kadalasu Vanchi Eri" (Kozhikode Pushpa) (Based on the Tyagaraja composition in Kapi Narayani) "Sarasa Sama Daana Bheda"), "Maanennum Vilikkilla" (Mehboob), "Kuyiline Thedi" (Janamma David) and "Engane Nee Marakkum Kuyile" (Kozhikode Abdul Kader).
The song "Kayalarikaathu Vala Erinjappol" was used in Deepan Sivaraman's stage adaptation of O V Vijayan's magnum opus, 'Khasakkinte Itihasam'.
Awards
* 1954 - All India Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film
* 1954 - President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Malayalam
Legacy
A landmark film in Malayalam cinema history that paved a new path for Malayalam cinema by breaking away from the earlier tradition of adapting plots from Hindi films for making Malayalam films, of which the story or the characters could never be identified with the culture of Kerala.[http://www.cinemaofmalayalam.net/neelakuyil.html "Neelakuyil - The Blue Cuckoo (1954)"]. Cinemaofmalayalam.net. Undated. Retrieved 2010-12-28. It won the All India Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film, and the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam, thus becoming the first nationally recognized Malayalam film.
References
Further reading
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101127063447/http://madhyamam.com/news/13568 ]
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