Chemmeen | |
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Poster | |
Directed by | Ramu Kariat |
Screenplay by | S. L. Puram Sadanandan |
Based on | Chemmeen by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai |
Produced by | Babu Ismail Sait (Kanmani Babu) |
Starring | Sathyan Sheela Madhu Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair |
Cinematography | Marcus Bartley U. Rajagopal |
Edited by | Hrishikesh Mukherjee K. D. George |
Music by | Salil Chowdhury |
Production company | Kanmani Films |
Release date |
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Country | India |
Language | Malayalam |
Budget | ₹8 lakhs[1] |
Box office | ₹40 lakhs [1] |
Chemmeen (lit. 'The Prawn') is a 1966 Indian Malayalam-language romance film, based on the novel of the same name by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. It was adapted into a screenplay by S. L. Puram Sadanandan, directed by Ramu Kariat, and produced by Babu Ismail Sait under the banner Kanmani Films. The film stars Sheela as Karuthamma, Sathyan as Palani, Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair as Chembankunju, and Madhu as Pareekutty. The film tells the story of a pre-marital and later extra-marital relationship between Karuthamma, the daughter of an ambitious fisherman, and Pareekutty, the son of an affluent trader.
The theme of the film is a popular legend among the fishermen communities along the coastal Kerala State in southern India regarding chastity. If a married fisher woman is faithless when her husband is out in the sea, the Sea Goddess (Kadalamma literally meaning the Mother Sea) would consume him. It has cinematography by Marcus Bartley and U. Rajagopal, and editing by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and K. D. George. The original score and songs were composed by Salil Chowdhury, with lyrics by Vayalar, and songs featuring the voices of K. J. Yesudas, P. Leela, Manna Dey and Santha P. Nair.
The film was sensored in late 1965 and got released on 19 August 1966. It received strongly positive critical reviews and was recognised as a technically and artistically brilliant film. This movie was a blockbuster and broke many records. It is usually cited as the first notable creative film in South India and is one of the popular cult classics in Malayalam cinema.[2][3] It was also the first South Indian film to win the Indian President's Gold Medal for the Best Film, which it did so in 1965. It was screened at various international film festivals and won awards at the Cannes and Chicago festivals. The film was included in the list of 100 greatest Indian films by IBN Live.[4] Chemmeen was dubbed and released in Hindi as Chemmeen Lahren and in English as The Anger of the Sea. A sequel, Thirakalkkappuram, was released in 1998.[5]
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