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Ayal Kadha Ezhuthukayanu
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Wikipedia article
'Ayal Kadha Ezhuthukayanu' is a 1998 Indian Malayalam-language comedy-drama film directed by Kamal and written by Sreenivasan based on a story by Siddique. The plot follows the travails of an eccentric and wasted pulp fiction writer, Sagar Kottapuram (Mohanlal), and his friend Ramakrishnan (Sreenivasan), who are dragged into a lawsuit by a vengeful Tahsildar, S. Priyadarshini (Nandini). The film features songs composed by Raveendran and background score by C. Rajamani.
Plot
Ramakrishnan, the newly appointed Tahsildar in the city, comes to take charge but he is blocked by the incumbent Tahsildar S. Priyadarshini. Priyadarshini is a strict and rude officer and is much hated by the staff and associates in the Taluk Office. So they readily offer to help Ramakrishnan and arrange a home next to Priyadarshini's house for him to stay during the interim. Meanwhile, Sagar Kottapuram, a friend of Ramakrishnan and a novelist, comes to stay with him. But he mistakenly enters Priyadarshini's house, completely drunk, and sleeps in her bed.
When Priyadarshini comes home she mistakes him to be a thief and calls the police, who arrest him. But the local Sub Inspector of Police, being a fan of Sagar's novels, lets him off his charges. That night Sagar gets into a fight with Priyadarshini and vows to get her off her Tahsildar post within 24 hours. The next day Ramakrishnan himself assumes charge as Tahsildar according to Sagar's instruction. When Priyadarshini comes and sees this, she locks him inside the office room. Sagar finds out when he calls Ramakrishnan. He informs the press about the Tahsildar being locked inside the room by the previous Tahsildar. The press rushes to the scene, the district collector arrives and suspends Priyadarshini. Ramakrishnan and Sagar celebrate their victory.
The next day Priyadarshini comes to their home and apologizes. She invites them for breakfast. During breakfast, Priyadarshini becomes hysterical and tries to kill herself by using the table knife. Sagar and Ramakrishnan try to hold her back, but her maid, Thresiamma mistakes them to be molesting Priyadarshini, screams and runs out of the house. They get arrested for rape attempt. Mammachen, the owner of the magazine "Manchadi" gets them out on bail.
Sagar wants to take revenge but is calmed down by Mammachen and Ramakrishnan. He decides to write a novel called "Oru Gazetted Yekshi" portraying the life of a corrupt and seditious Municipal Commissioner with an appearance matching Priyadarshini's to take vengeance against her. After many indirect abuses through the novel, the rape case is heard at the court where Priyadarshini's advocate, K.G. Nambiar reveals that Priyadarshini and Sagar were previously engaged but not married, and that Sagar tried to rape her in revenge for this. But neither knew the truth until then.
Sagar then writes his own story in the novel. Years back he had been working in United Arab Emirates and his marriage was arranged with a girl called Priya by his sister, Padmini. But he never gets to see her photograph. When he comes home for marriage, he hears that she has eloped with her lover the day before the marriage. This leaves Sagar heartbroken and he never returned for work and became an alcoholic. Jithu, the cousin of Priya, comes to see him, and he reveals that they studied together in a boarding school in Ootacamund. Once during their start of vacation, at the farewell party, Priya accidentally drinks liquor and gets unconscious on their way home. They leave the bus and at a hotel, he gets her a shower and removes her wet clothes while covering her with a blanket.
Priya, when woken, mistakenly thinks that Jithu has violated her and becomes mentally disturbed because of this. He also reveals that after she eloped before marriage, she came to him and tried to kill him and then got transferred to a mental asylum. Sagar tries to see Priyadarshini but finds out that she's been admitted to a mental asylum. Feeling guilty that he's responsible for her present situation, Sagar asks the doctor and her relatives permission to help her heal. They fake a wedding arrangement hoping that would bring her back to normal. On the day after the wedding, when Priya wakes, she still feels that her life is only haunted by her previous incident with Jithu. She finally accepts that the thoughts of her being violated was made out by her mind and acknowledges her love for Sagar.
Cast
* Mohanlal as Sagar Kottappuram / Vidyasagar
* Sreenivasan as Ramakrishnan
* Nandini as S. Priyadarshini / Priya Menon
* Innocent as Manchadi Mammachen
* Siddique as Adv. K. G. Nambiar
* Nedumudi Venu as Psychiatrist Dr. Subhash
* Srividya as Padmini, Sagar's sister
* Devan as Mohanan, Sagar's brother in law
* Jagadish as Sainuddin
* T. P. Madhavan as Police Sub Inspector
* Augustine as Manchadi magazine Editor Roy
* Sreejaya Nair as Shobha
* Kulappulli Leela as Thresiamma
* Latheef as Adv. Gopinathan
* Vijayan Peringode as uncle of Sagar
* Krishna as Jithu
* Samvrutha Sunil (Cameo appearance)
Soundtrack
The most critically acclaimed and popular songs of this film were written by Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri and composed by maestro Raveendran. The songs were on chart for weeks and the song 'Etho Nidrathan' by K.J. Yesudas become highly popular and won Kerala State Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer. Around two decades later, the songs are still popular among masses.
Release
The film released on 23 December 1998 and was a commercial success.
References
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