Utharam

Utharam is a 1989 crime thriller film directed by Pavithran and scripted by MT Vasudevan Nair and starring Mammootty, Sukumaran, Suparna, Parvathi and Sukumari. Journalist Balachandran (Mammootty)'s friend and mentor Mathew Joseph (Sukumaran)'s wife and poet Selena (Suparna)'s suicide suspect is being investigated. On his journey to find Balu's investigation / answer, he meets Shyamala Menon (Parvathi), Selena's childhood friend and teacher. Continuing the investigation from the information received from Shyamala, Balu arrives at that shocking answer. This film is one of the rare films that makes the audience want to watch it in one sitting.

It may look ordinary movie to anyone. But it stand out as one of the most unique feature malayalam movies at all time. Because it has the realistic approach and fine finishing. A wonderful movie to watch with family.

Balu (mammootty) a well known journalist who has no family of his own, recollects best memories of his best friend (sukumaran) and his wife (who balu considered as his own sister and friend),a well known poet (suparna). His best friend and wife are the only family he had. But Balu's life was shattered to pieces by his sister's death. It was more heart breaking news for Balu as he finds out that his sister committed suicide.

But Balu's best friend insists an answer (utharam) for his wife's death, thereby leading balu to set his journey to find out the root cause of his sister's death.

On his journey of deep search he meets his sister's friend (parwathy) who was her childhood friend. On further step, balu finds out the most shocking and haunting secret he ever faced that led his sister to death.

This 1989 movie in my native language Malayalam, which I first saw on TV at age 14 sometime in 1992-94, has always remained a haunting presence in my mental cinemascape. I saw it again on TV in 2001-03, and watched it again 16 years later just now -- like my all-time favourite film "Paleri Manikyam", another Mammootty movie, "Utharam" which means "the answer" is a journey to find "the truth" behind a woman's death.

As the bereaved protagonist interviews various people connected with the past life of the deceased woman, the sad truth is revealed in layers, with a typically excellent performance by the actors -- the child saying (that his name is) "Emmanuel Antony" is one of the most devastating scenes in Malayalam cinema. Poignant tragedy with an uplifting finish. Highly recommended for fans of Malayalam noir. However, I am not sure a version with subtitles exists for the rest of the world... Great film for sure!!

Utharam (The Answer) is a brilliantly made film. If you're in with a limited budget, and want to pull-off a classic with that, this one is a textbook for you. Realistic conversations, subtle acting, and elegant exchanges makes the film a worthwhile watch.

Plot synopsis:

A seemingly very normal day has Mathew Joseph (Sukumaran) devastated as he learns about the mysterious death of his wife, Seleena, a renowned poet. His best friend, investigative journalist P.B. Nair aka Balu (Mammooty) is equally haunted when he learns that it was a suicide. Unable to find any reasonable motive, Mathew asks Balu to probe the death of Selena from every angle. A disturbed, yet intrigued Balu sets out to uncover her enigmatic past, in hope of finding the answer (Utharam) of what lead to her suicide.

While certain aspects of the film might feel dated, Utharam - scripted by M.T Vasudevan Nair and directed by Pavithran, is a solid mystery drama that still sends shivers down my spine, especially with its climax twist. Stellar performances from the likes of Mammootty, Sukumaran, Sankaradi, and Parvathy are certainly amongst the film's positives.

Based on the short story No Motive by Daphne du Maurier, the film will be remembered for how well M.T Vasudevan Nair tweaks it almost flawlessly for Malayali audiences. It's an elaborately structured screenplay with every character having a significant role to play in unraveling layers of the dead woman's past. The background score by Johnson adds to the film's overall intrigue. The supposed "answer" (as the title suggests) leaves room for a few minor fallacies, but it's a well-grounded film overall.