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{{Use Indian English|date=November 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Iruttinte Athmavu
| image = Iruttinte Athmavu2.jpg

| caption =
| director = [[P. Bhaskaran]]
| producer = P. I. Muhammed Kasim
| writer = [[M. T. Vasudevan Nair]]
| narrator =
| starring = [[Prem Nazir]], [[Sharada (actress)|Sharada]], [[Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair]], [[P. J. Antony]], Ushakumari/[[Vennira Aadai Nirmala]], [[Kozhikode Shantha Devi]], Baby Rajani
| music = [[Baburaj|M. S. Baburaj]]
| cinematography = E. N. Balakrishnan
| editing = G. Venkitaraman , Das
| studio = Sony Pictures
| distributor = Bharath Pictures
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|1967|3|2}}
| runtime =

| country = India
| language = Malayalam
| budget =
| gross =
}}

'''''Iruttinte Athmavu''''' ({{lang-ml|ഇരുട്ടിന്റെ ആത്മാവ്}}, {{lang-en|The soul of Darkness}}) is a 1967 Indian [[Malayalam]]-language film directed by [[P. Bhaskaran]] and written by [[M. T. Vasudevan Nair]] based on his own short story of the same name.<ref>{{cite book
|author=
|title=The Illustrated weekly of India
|volume= Volume 91
|issue= 4
|publisher=
|year=1970
|page=19
|isbn=
}}</ref> It stars [[Prem Nazir]], [[Sharada (actress)|Sharada]], [[Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair]], [[P. J. Antony]], Ushakumari, [[Kozhikode Shantha Devi]] and Baby Rajani in important roles, and features music by [[Baburaj|M. S. Baburaj]], cinematography by E. N. Balakrishnan and editing by G. Venkitaraman and Das.

The film is about a mentally retarded youth born into a matriarchal family who is forced to live as a mad man in chains and who is misunderstood and ill-treated by everyone except his uncle's daughter.<ref>{{cite book
|author=
|title=Indian review of books
|publisher=Acme Books
|year=1995
|page=30
|isbn=
}}</ref> Prem Nazir played the mentally challenged Bhranthan Velayudhan, widely accepted to be an extraordinary performance and one of the best in his career.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/01/16/stories/2009011650650100.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411071841/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/01/16/stories/2009011650650100.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 April 2009|title=The evergreen hero |author=P.K. Ajith Kumar|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=16 January 2009|access-date=27 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|author=
|title=Indian newsmagazine
|volume= Volume 14
|publisher=Link
|year=1972
|page=36
|isbn=
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cscsarchive.org:8081/MediaArchive/art.nsf/94ff8a4a35a9b8876525698d002642a9/9f435eb794024266652572bb003d3623/$FILE/A0190033.pdf|title=A stalwart on the Malayalam screen|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=5 February 1989|access-date=27 April 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725213455/http://www.cscsarchive.org:8081/MediaArchive/art.nsf/94ff8a4a35a9b8876525698d002642a9/9f435eb794024266652572bb003d3623/$FILE/A0190033.pdf|archive-date=25 July 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Nazir himself rated his role of Velayudhan in ''Iruttinte Athmavu'' and as the swashbuckling folk hero Thampan in ''[[Padayottam]]'' as his best.<ref>{{cite book
|author=
|title=India Today
|volume= Volume 14
|publisher=Living Media India Pvt. Ltd
|year=1989
|page=46
|isbn=
}}</ref> Also, its script is regarded as one of the finest by M. T. Vasudevan Nair. A major landmark in Malayalam cinema, the film provided Malayalam cinema with a new direction; that of the low-budget film. The film has earned a dedicated cult following. It won the [[National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues]].<ref>{{cite book
|author=T. M. Ramachandran
|title=Film world
|volume= 7
|publisher=
|year=1971
|page=106
|isbn=
}}</ref><ref name="kaleidoscope"/> It missed the [[National Film Award for Best Feature Film|Best Film]] and Best Actor (Prem Nazir) award only narrowly.<ref>{{cite book
|author=
|title=Malayalam literary survey
|volume=
|publisher=Kerala Sahitya Akademi
|year=1982
|page=121
|isbn=
}}</ref> Despite all the acclaim, the film was a box office failure.<ref>{{cite book
|author=Amaresh Datta
|title=The Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature
|volume=
|publisher=
|year=2006
|page=752
|isbn=
}}</ref>

The film was part of MT's trilogy of political melodramas – the other two being ''[[Murappennu]]'' (1965) and ''[[Asuravithu (1968 film)|Asuravithu]]'' (1968), both directed by [[A. Vincent]].<ref name=Asuravithu>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/asuravithu-1968/article4636834.ece|title=ASURAVITHU 1968|date=April 21, 2013|access-date=2017-12-12|author=B. Vijayakumar|newspaper=The Hindu}}</ref> Major indoor parts of the film were shot in Satya Studios in [[Chennai|Madras]] and outdoor parts from the premises of [[Bharathapuzha]] at [[Shoranur]].

==Plot==
Velayudan's existence posed a problem to all the members of the joint family. Velayudhan is a twenty-one-year-old man, but he has the intelligence of a child. The head of the joint family thinks Velayudan symbolizes the curse which hangs heavy over the house. To his mother, he is the source of constant sorrow. His uncle's daughter is his would-be bride. He is attached to her. She is very kind to him and refuses to treat him as a mad man. Velayudan triggers problems one after the other and every new lapse help only to put fresh chains. He refuses to feel he is mad. In the end, Ammukutty is given away in marriage to an old widower. Velayudhan surrenders himself and yells "Chain me, I am mad!"

==Cast==
{{colbegin}}
* [[Prem Nazir]] as Bhranthan Velayudhan
* [[Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair]] as Madhavan Nair (Karanavar)
* [[P. J. Antony]] as Gopalan Nair
* M. S. Nampoothiri as Muthachan (grandfather)<ref name="Review">{{cite book
|author=
|title=Indian newsmagazine
|volume= Volume 9
|publisher=Link
|year=1967
|page=38
|isbn=
}}</ref>
* [[T. S. Muthaiah]] as Rajan
* [[K. Balaji]] as Chandran
* [[Sankaradi]] as Achuthan Nair (house servant)<ref name="Review"/>
* [[Adoor Bhasi]] as Guru Kunhichathu
* [[Kaduvakulam Antony]] as Jyotsyan (astrologist)
* Baby Rajani as Unni
* [[Sharada (actress)|Sharada]] as Ammukutty<ref name="kaleidoscope">{{cite book
|author=Hameeduddin Mahmood
|title=The kaleidoscope of Indian cinema
|volume=
|publisher=Affiliated East-West Press
|year=1974
|pages=106, 146
|isbn=
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|author=
|title=India today
|volume= Volume 14
|issue= Issues 13–24
|publisher=Living Media India Pvt. Ltd
|year=1989
|page=82
|isbn=
}}</ref>
* Ushakumari/[[Vennira Aadai Nirmala]] as Prema
* [[Kozhikode Shantha Devi]] as Parukkutty Amma (Velayudhan's mother)<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20101123131718/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/06/08/stories/2007060852680300.htm "Natural actor"]. ''The Hindu''. 6 August 2007. Retrieved 27 December 2010.</ref>
* [[Philomina]] as Meenakshi Amma
* Padmini as Nani
* Shobha as Malini
* Seleena as Neeli
* Rugmini as Karthi
{{colend}}

==Soundtrack==
The music was composed by [[M. S. Baburaj]] and the lyrics were written by [[P. Bhaskaran]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.malayalachalachithram.com/movie.php?i=224|title=Iruttinte Aathmaavu|access-date=2014-10-14|publisher=www.malayalachalachithram.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://malayalasangeetham.info/m.php?3318|title=Iruttinte Aathmaavu|access-date=2014-10-14|publisher=malayalasangeetham.info}}</ref> All songs in the film were sung by [[S. Janaki]], which is a landmark.

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
! No. !! Song !! Singers !! Lyrics !! Length (m:ss)
|-
| 1 || "Ambaadikannanu Mampazham" || S. Janaki || P. Bhaskaran ||
|-
| 2 || "Eeranuduthukondambaram" || S. Janaki || P. Bhaskaran ||
|-
| 3 || "Irukanneerthullikal" || S. Janaki || P. Bhaskaran ||
|-
| 4 || "Vaakachaarthu Kazhinjoru" || S. Janaki || P. Bhaskaran ||
|}

==Writing==
The film is scripted by [[M. T. Vasudevan Nair]] based on his own a short story with the same name. The screenplay is regarded as one of the finest by the noted writer.<ref name="sixties">{{cite web|author=K.V.Ramankutty|url=http://www.keralahistory.ac.in/malayalacinema.htm|title=Collaborative Cinema of the Sixties|publisher=Keralahistory.ac.in|date=|access-date=6 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100711051935/http://www.keralahistory.ac.in/malayalacinema.htm|archive-date=11 July 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> One could see a lot of the pre-occupations of the scenarist, who carried the touches of human relationships through all of his subsequent films whether as screenplay writer or director.<ref name="sixties"/> A part of the screenplay of ''Iruttinte Athmavu'' is being taught in school classes while the complete screenplay is being taught at degree level.<ref>[http://cbse.nic.in/secondary%20vol%202%20(2010).pdf "Secondary Curriculam Initial Pages final"]. [[Central Board of Secondary Education]]. Retrieved 6 May 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.countrytravelmart.com/Finished%20Aquinas/oriental%20languages%20.pdf "The Department of Oriental Languages"]. Aquinas College, Edacochin. Retrieved 6 May 2011.</ref>

==Legacy==
The film provided Malayalam cinema with a new direction; that of the low-budget film.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prd.kerala.gov.in/sixties.htm|title=Sixties: Collective Cinema|publisher=Public Relation Department, [[Government of Kerala]]|access-date=27 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710131143/http://www.prd.kerala.gov.in/sixties.htm|archive-date=10 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> In spite of its large number of studio shots and overall theatricality, the film was so culturally rich that many of the episodes would become archetypes for future Malayalam film makers dealing with family drama.<ref name="sixties"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|0155763|Iruttinte Athmavu}}

[[Category:1960s Malayalam-language films]]
[[Category:Indian films]]
[[Category:Films based on short fiction]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by M. T. Vasudevan Nair]]
[[Category:Films directed by P. Bhaskaran]]

Iruttinte Athmavu - Revision history

>GreenC bot at 20:26, 21 April 2021