Ente Maamattikkuttiyammaykku (1983)
“For my Mamattykutty Amma” – (Lit. Translation)Fazil’s Ente Mamattykuttyammaykku was a watershed in Malayalam film history and the beginning of the phenomenon called “Baby Shalini.” With Sangeetha Naik of Nukkad fame and Bharat Gopy in lead roles, the feature produced by Navodaya Appachan (his fourth box-office scorcher in a row from Navodaya Studios) was critically acclaimed for its performances, especially that of its three-year old debutante Baby Shalini. Ente Maamattikkuttiyammaykku won the Kerala State Awards for the Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and the Best Child Artiste.
| Bharat Gopy |
| Sangeetha Naik |
| Baby Shalini |
| Mohanlal |
| Poornima Jayaram |
| Thilakan |
| Rajan P Dev |
| Director | Fazil |
| Producer | Appachan (Navodaya) |
| Banner | Navodaya |
| Story | Fazil |
| Screenplay | Fazil |
| Dialogue | Fazil |
| Lyrics | Bichu Thirumala |
| Music | Jerry Amaldev |
| Singers | KJ Yesudas, KS Chithra |
| Background Music | Guna Singh |
| Cinematography | Ashok Kumar |
| Editing | TR Sekhar |
| Design | SA Nair |
Vinod and Sethulekshmi’s blissful domestic life suddenly takes a turn into nightmare county with the passing away of their only child in a freak boating mishap. Devastated and worried about his wife’s sanity slowly falling apart, Vinod decides that they adopt a girl-child from the local orphanage. With the arrival of little Tintu (Baby Shalini), it is as if the heavens have opened up with an outpouring of happiness, compensating them for their overwhelming loss. The three are inseparable, and more so, the adopted daughter, who has by now become the focal point of their lives. But destiny has other plans in store.
Tintu’s biological(!) father appears at the orphanage one day, laying claim to his daughter, whom he wants to bring up on his own. For Vinod and Sethulekshmi, the nightmares have begun again.
A Clipping from Ente Maamattikkuttiyammaykku (1983)
Aalorungi arangorungi
Singer : KS Chithra | Lyrics : Bichu Thirumala | Music : Jerry Amaldev
Kannodu kannoram
Singer : KJ Yesudas | Lyrics : Bichu Thirumala | Music : Jerry Amaldev
Mounangale chaanchaduvan
Singer : KJ Yesudas | Lyrics : Bichu Thirumala | Music : Jerry Amaldev
Thaimanikkunju thennal
Singer : KS Chithra, Chorus | Lyrics : Bichu Thirumala | Music : Jerry Amaldev
Mathrubhumi News TV‘s tribute to Ente Maamattikkuttiyammaykku in its segment on 100 years of Indian Cinema.
Bharat Gopy as Vinod : An Overview
Bharat Gopy’s Vinod of Ente Maamattikkuttiyammaykku is clearly one of the best roles of his brilliant career as an actor onscreen, with his intense portrayal of a hapless father who had already lost his daughter and now stands to have his adopted daughter too wrenched away from his hands forever.
As Sathyan Anthikkad so rightly put it, “Who can ever forget the deliriously happy father in Mamattykkuttyammaykku, as he delightfully sings, prances and dances around with Baby Shalini in “Maammattikkuttiyamme Chorunnaan” – arguably one of the most endearing moments from Malayalam cinema for a Malayali film lover. Baby Shalini and her ‘adopted father’ will always be fresh in our memory.”
It would forever be.
What a movie! Though not regarded as one of his best performances, Bharat Gopy’s Vinod is unforgettable.
My favorite scene from this movie is when Mohanlal comes to meet Gopy at a construction site in Marine drive( Kochi), and asks him to return Shalini to her mother(Poornima). Gopy does not reveal his anger but makes it clear to Mohanlal through a single dialogue, after which Mohanlal quickly retreats fearing the worst…. I personally feel that Mohanlal was literally scared after witnessing the acting skills of the legend.