Adaminte Variyellu (1983)
“ Adam’s Rib” – (Lit. Translation)KG George’s two releases in 1983 had Bharat Gopy in leading roles – and would go on with significant appearances in three more of his movies, a collaboration that began with the seminal Yavanika in 1982. Mamachen Muthalali from Adaminte Variyellu undoubtedly stands among one of the finest portrayals of a manipulative, insensitive and yet cowardly mind on the Malayalam screen. Adaminte Variyellu went on to win the Second Best Film Award at the Kerala State film Awards for the year, in addition to the State Award for the Best Story and the Best Lyricist (ONV Kurup). Adaminte Variyellu was also an Indian Panorama Selection for 1983.
| Srividya |
| Bharat Gopy |
| Mammootty |
| Suhasini Maniratnam |
| Soorya |
| Venu Nagavally |
| Thilakan |
| Rugmini |
| PA Latheef |
| Gladys |
| KPAC Sunny |
| Mohan Jose, Lalithashree, Rajam K Nair, RK Nair, TM Abraham |
| CAMEOS : KG George, K Ramachandra Babu |
| Director | KG George |
| Producer | Vincent Chittilappally |
| Banner | St.Vincent Movies |
| Story | KG George |
| Screenplay | KG George, Kallikkadu Ramachandran |
| Dialogue | KG George, Kallikkadu Ramachandran |
| Lyrics | ONV Kurup |
| Music | MB Sreenivasan |
| Singers | Selma George |
| Cinematography | K Ramachandrababu |
| Editing | MN Appu |
| Sound Recording | Devadas |
| Art Direction | GO Sundaram |
| Costumes | Prabhakaran |
| Makeup | PN Mani |
| Design | SA Nair |
| Distribution | Gandhimathi Films |
Adaminte Variyellu employs three women-centric stories enmeshed in a single environment as the central premise and charts the “evolution” of all the three as they address the societal pressure and the meanings of their own existence in the context of their domestic framework. There is Alice and her husband Mamachen, safely ensconced in their luxurious lifestyle with their two children – only that Alice is used again and again, against her wishes, to aid her husband’s rise in his professional business domain.
In the same household lives Soorya, the youngest of their domestic helps and an orphan, whom Mamachan uses for his personal sexual outings and inevitably falls pregnant. Across the street is the young Vasanthy and her chronic alcoholic husband and an extended family, all of whom are taken care of by her, while balancing a clerical job to run the family.
A Video clipping from Adaminte Variyellu (1983)
Kanneeraattil mungi
Singer : Selma George | Lyrics : ONV Kurup | Music : MB Sreenivasan
Prema Manmadhan on KG George and his movies in The Hindu
`Adaminte Variyellu’ was a film that dealt with a novel form of narrative. Three women from three different rungs of society, all suffering in different ways from the deeds of their menfolk, was a cry for women’s liberation from the shackles of societal pressures.
Read the full interview here.
Courtesy : Biscoot Malayalam
Kerala State Film Awards – 1983
Second Best Film
Best Story
Best Lyricist
Indian Panorama Selection
Bharat Gopy as Mamachen Muthalali: An Overview
This excerpt from renowned journalist R Ayyappan’s tribute to Bharat Gopy should suffice.
Night. Bedroom. Mamachan’s wife Alice is in front of the dressing mirror, removing her jewellery. Mamachan walks in, cigarette in hand, and sits at the foot of the bed. He knows she was with her lover. He, in his usual stern manner, warns her that her activities are causing him embarrassment. She should at least be aware that the children are growing bigger, he tells her. The mention of children provokes a smile of contempt in Alice. She asks him whether he is sure they are his children. He responds like he is slapped, turns offensive. She reminds him that he had taken her to various places and offered her to a number of men to get things done. These children could have been sired by anyone of them, she says. Her voice cracks, wags her finger at him and asks him not to utter a single word any more. Mamachan sits tight, looking straight, away from his wife’s gaze. The face is stiff but the eyes look scared. He has no answers. Then, as though he cannot bear the weight of the torment any longer, his shoulders drop. The spine is still erect; there is some defiance left in him. Soon, that too crumbles. His torso sinks, slowly subtly, like a broken-down vehicle whose tyres suddenly deflate. Mamachan sits hunched at the edge of his bed. He knows there is no redemption.
Read the complete tribute here.
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