UpdateBot at 18:11, 9 May 2022

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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Layanam
| image = Layanam poster.jpg
| caption = Promotional poster designed by RK
| director = [[Thulasidas]]
| producer = [[R. B. Choudary]]
| writer = [[Bhaskaran]]
| starring = [[Silk Smitha]]<br />[[V. K. Sreeraman]]<br />Nandhu<br />Abhishek<br />Devishri
| music = [[Jerry Amaldev]]
| cinematography = Melly Dayalan
| editing = G. Murali
| distributor = [[Super Good Films]]
| released = {{film date|1989|12|22|df=y}}
| runtime = 110 minutes
| country = India
| language = Malayalam
| budget =
| gross =
}}

'''''Layanam''''' ({{Translation|Dissolution}}) is a 1989 Indian [[Malayalam]]-language [[Erotic film|erotic]] [[drama film]] directed by [[Thulasidas]] and produced by [[R. B. Choudary]].<ref name="enc">{{Cite book |last=Rajadhyaksha |first=Ashish |url=https://indiancine.ma/texts/indiancine.ma%3AEncyclopedia_of_Indian_Cinema/text.pdf |title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema |last2=Willemen |first2=Paul |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] and [[Oxford University Press]] |year=1998 |isbn=0-19-563579-5 |pages=518 |author-link=Ashish Rajadhyaksha |author-link2=Paul Willemen |orig-date=1994}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The film features prominent [[sexploitation]] actresses [[Silk Smitha]], [[Abhilasha (actress)|Abhilasha]], and [[Devishri]], as well as young [[Nandu (Hindi actor)|Nandu]]. It was one of the biggest hits in the South Indian soft-porn industry, and has earned a cult status.<ref name=ind /> The movie was later dubbed in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi.<ref name=enc /> It features the story of a young boy (Nandu) who became intimately related to three older women.<ref name=enc /><ref name="ind">{{Cite web |last=Mishra |first=Rashmi |title=Silk Smitha birthday: 5 things to know about the original 'Dirty Picture' girl |url=https://www.india.com/viral/silk-smitha-birthday-5-things-to-know-about-the-original-dirty-picture-girl-1687128/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309053658/https://www.india.com/viral/silk-smitha-birthday-5-things-to-know-about-the-original-dirty-picture-girl-1687128/ |archive-date=9 March 2022 |access-date=9 March 2022 |website=[[India.com]]}}</ref>

== Plot ==
Layanam is the story of the sexual relationship between a woman and a younger man. In the film, the character portrayed by Silk Smitha lives alone in a large house. She is constantly harassed by men in the locality. One day, Nandu's character, a boy on the run for no fault of his own hides in the back of Smitha's car, but is caught, but let off. They meet again, and upon learning that he is an orphan, Smitha employs him as a servant.

Nandu starts fantasizing about his employer, while rejecting sexual offers from others. Smitha's cousin Abilasha comes to stay in the house, and develops a crush for the boy, which Smitha disapproves. Smitha and Nandu slowly start to like each other and decide to get married. At the point, Smitha's long thought dead husband returns complicating the situation. In the end, the lovers commit suicide.

== Critique ==
''[[Tehelka]]'' wrote in 2011, "Layanam, a fetished cult hit, is a perfectly good soft porn movie that rather prematurely disintegrates into a real movie. Its scriptwriting intentions are noble, though. Silk Smitha's remarkably self-possessed performance shows us both her outer sexual confidence and her inner anxiety over being lonely."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rajaram |first=Poorva |date=10 December 2011 |title=The Silk Root |url=http://old.tehelka.com/the-silk-root/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123114727/http://old.tehelka.com/the-silk-root/ |archive-date=23 January 2021 |access-date=9 March 2022 |website=[[Tehelka]]}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
Two of the actors – Silk Smitha and Nandu – of the film later committed suicide, enhancing the film's status. ''[[OnManorama]]'' wrote in April 2016 that "some reports suggest that he went into depression after acting in a soft-porn movie (Layanam) and became a drug addict". Silk Smitha, known for her bold roles and alcoholism, also committed suicide, declaring a failed love affair to be the reason.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 April 2016 |title=Shocking suicides: Actors who stunned us with their sudden exits |url=https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/shocking-suicides-in-film-industry.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309053659/https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/shocking-suicides-in-film-industry.html |archive-date=9 March 2022 |access-date=9 March 2022 |website=[[OnManorama]]}}</ref>

12 years after its release it was remade in Hindi as ''Reshma Ki Jawani''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bhattacharya |first=Roshmila |date=2002-11-08 |title=SEX SELLS: Another chottisi prem kahani makes money |url=http://www.screenindia.com/old/fullstory.php?content_id=8 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090307115127/http://www.screenindia.com/old/fullstory.php?content_id=8 |archive-date=7 March 2009 |access-date=21 November 2017 |website=[[Screen (magazine)|Screen]]}}</ref><ref name=ind /> The uncensored movie was released in theaters in 1989 and the censored VCD version was released only in 2000 with many of its controversial scenes edited out.{{fact|date=May 2021}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|0353658}}

[[Category:1980s erotic drama films]]
[[Category:1980s Malayalam-language films]]
[[Category:1989 drama films]]
[[Category:1989 films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Thulasidas]]
[[Category:Indian erotic drama films]]
[[Category:Indian films]]

Layanam - Revision history

UpdateBot at 18:11, 9 May 2022