Elippathayam
Encyclopedia
Elippathayam (1981) is an Malayalam Film written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan
. It is critically considered by many to be one of the most outstanding piece in Adoor Gopalakrishnan's filmography.
This film documents the feudal life in Kerala
at its twilight. The protagonist is trapped within himself and is unable to comprehend the changes taking place around him. The film won the British Film Institute
award for Most Original and Imaginative film shown at the National Film Theatre in 1982. The film was shown at a number of film festivals around the world, including the 1982 Cannes Film Festival
.
1982 British Film Institute
(UK)
1982 London Film Festival
(UK)
1982 National Film Awards
(India
)
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Moutatthu "Adoor" Gopalakrishnan Unnithan is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer. Adoor Gopalakrishnan had a major role in revolutionizing Malayalam cinema and is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of India.. Adoor's first film Swayamvaram pioneered the new wave cinema...
. It is critically considered by many to be one of the most outstanding piece in Adoor Gopalakrishnan's filmography.
This film documents the feudal life in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
at its twilight. The protagonist is trapped within himself and is unable to comprehend the changes taking place around him. The film won the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
award for Most Original and Imaginative film shown at the National Film Theatre in 1982. The film was shown at a number of film festivals around the world, including the 1982 Cannes Film Festival
1982 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Giorgio Strehler *Jean-Jacques Annaud *Suso Cecchi d'Amico *Geraldine Chaplin *Gabriel García Márquez *Florian Hopf *Sidney Lumet *Mrinal Sen...
.
Plot
The film revolves around a middle-aged man Unni and his three sisters; and their struggle to let go of Kerala's feudal system of life. His elder sister fights for her share of the property, whilst his obedient younger sister works for Unni like a slave. Eventually, succumbing to the adverse conditions surrounding him, he withdraws like a rat into a hole. The Rat Trap acts as a metaphor to understand how the women are placed within the feudal system of Kerala. Gopalakrishnan says in his interview that the movie was inspired by the feudal characteristics of his own family. Silence is a huge trope in the move, with large swathes of silence in dialogue, the way the camera lingers on the characters, follows them through the scene, almost unbearably patient. The sister Rajamma is destroyed by the silence of her brother, who does not support her when she wants to get married, keeps silent when she is ailing and dying. The patriarchal figure of the "little master" is completely incapable of facing any threat to his position, he cannot take care of himself without the women, cannot face the taunts and the threats of his extended family and the villagers. He needs to be propped up his sisters who cook for him, clean for him, while he oils himself when he is even incapable of negotiating the outer world which is changing the form of patriarchy- from feudal to nationalist. The Rat Trap is a metaphor to show how the women are trapped within the system- how they are locked into place. The women are represented by Rajamma who wears blue to show her gentleness- she is even incapable of imagining how to chart her life outside patriarchy but the revolt against it shows in her silence, in her suffering. Gopalakrishnan says he gave her blue to wear to show her gentlesness. The eldest sister wears green to show fruition- she has survived in patriarchy by marriage and bearing children but not quite- she still worries about wealth and how to feed her family, who uses her as a tool to get more money from her brother. The Most interesting character is Rajamma (who wears blue) to show how she suffers silently against the silence meted out to her by patriarchy when she asks for justice. She screams in the movie- "when will I get out of this hell-hole."This shows how patriarchy is slowly destroying the women, they revolt through their suffering. The film is beautiful because Rajamma doesn't revolt like the younger sister but utters her attenuated critiques through her silence- shows what a hypocritical, cowardly, weak and despicable her elder brother is. The younger sister, Sridevi wears red, which Gopalakrishnan says is to symbolize revolt. She runs away from the family, presumably with a lover. The feudal characteristics of the patriarchy is shown through the way Unni treats his servants, the various people who visit him and most importantly how he treats Rajamma, his sister who takes care of him with utter selflessness. A beautiful movie and a must watch because of the absolutely unsettling experience it is to understand the violence of patriarchy. The music is throbbing, incomplete throughout the movie to show the sense of sustained urgency, that the crippling patriarchal structure results in (symbolized by the crippling mansion which is infested with rats). The rats are caught by Sridevi and drowned just like the women who are destroyed within the trap of the feudal system.Cast
- Karamana Janardanan NairKaramana Janardanan NairKaramana Janardanan Nair was one of the most famous Malayalam film actors during the 80s and 90s. He won wide acclaim especially for the role of the protagonist in Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Elippathayam. He is best remembered for his roles in Agnidevan and in Sphadikam . His last role was as Fr....
as Unni - SharadaSharada (actress)Sharada is a three time national award winning South Indian actress and Indian Parliament member. She originally hails from Andhra Pradesh. She has achieved success through Malayalam movies. Initially she did many supporting roles in Telugu films and later on moved to Malayalam film industry and...
as Rajamma - JalajaJalajaJalaja is an actress in Malayalam film who was active during the 1970s and 1980s. She had won Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress and Filmfare Award for Best Actress in 1981 for the movie Venal directed by Lenin Rajendran....
as Sreedevi - Rajam K Nair as Janamma
Awards
The film has won the following awards since its release:1982 British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
(UK)
- Won - Most Original and Imaginative film shown at the National Film Theatre - Elippathayam - Adoor Gopalakrishnan
1982 London Film Festival
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...
(UK)
- Won - Sutherland TrophySutherland TrophyCreated in 1958, the Sutherland Trophy was awarded annually by the British Film Institute to "the maker of the most original and imaginative [first or second feature] film introduced at the National Film Theatre during the year"...
- Elippathayam - Adoor Gopalakrishnan
1982 National Film Awards
National Film Awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel...
(India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
)
- Won - Silver Lotus Award - Best AudiographyNational Film Award for Best AudiographyThe National Film Award for Best Audiography winners:...
- Won - Silver Lotus Award - Best Regional Film (Malayalam)National Film Award for Best Feature Film in MalayalamThe National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam winners:...
- Elippathayam - Adoor Gopalakrishnan