Nandanam (transl. Heavenly Garden) is a 2002 Indian Malayalam-language romantic film written, co-produced, and directed by Ranjith. Starring Navya Nair and Prithviraj Sukumaran with Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Revathi, Aravind Akash, Siddique and Sai Kumar in supporting roles. K. J. Yesudas and Sudheesh makes Cameo Appearance. The film won four Kerala State Film Awards and two Filmfare Awards South. The film also marks the debut for Prithiviraj Sukumaran.
Plot
Balamani is an orphan who works as a maid to Unniyamma, the aging matriarch of the Ambalapaattil family, and stays with her in the large mansion. Though an ardent devotee of Lord Guruvayurappan (Lord Krishna), Balamani never gets to go to the sacred temple and offer her prayers to the deity. However, she likes the company and the love of Unniyamma who treats her like a granddaughter, and the affections of Kesavan Nair who is a distant relative of hers and had brought her to Ambalapaattil when she was young.
One day, Unniyamma's grandson Manu reaches Ambalapaatil to spend time with his grandmother. Balamani recognizes him from a dream she had where she marries him in front of Guruvayur temple. Although Manu regards her initially as just a help, he begins to have affection towards Balamani which she reciprocates.
Cast
- Prithviraj Sukumaran as Manu Nandakumar
- Navya Nair as Balamani
- Aravind Akash as Unnikrishnan (voiced by Sudheesh)
- Kaviyoor Ponnamma as Ambalapatil Unni Amma, Manu's maternal grandmother
- Revathi as Thankam Nandakumar, Unni Amma's daughter and Manu's mother
- Siddique as Balachandran, Unni Amma's family friend
- Innocent as Kesavan Nair
- Jagathy Sreekumar as Kumbidi Swamy / Palarivattom Sasi
- Kalaranjini as Janaki, Unnikrishnan's Mother and Thankam's friend (voiced by Urvashi)
- Sai Kumar as Ramadasan, Unni Amma's second son and Thankam's elder brother
- Vijayakumari as Parootty Amma
- Subbalakshmi as Veshamani Ammal
- Meena Ganesh as Karthyayani Amma
- N. F. Varghese as Sreedharan, Unni Amma's nephew
- Jagannatha Varma as Ambalapatil Madhava Menon, Unniyamma's Relative
- Kozhikode Narayanan Nair as Shankarammavan, Unniyamma's Relative
- Sadiq as Vijayan, Unniyamma's Nephew
- Mala Aravindan as Sankaran Mushari
- Kalabhavan Mani as Mahadevan, son of Sankaran Moosari
- Jagadeesh as Elder son of Sankaran Moosari
- Augustine as Kunjiraman, the cook
- V. K. Sreeraman as Vishwanatha Menon, Unni Amma's eldest son and Nandhini's father
- Zeenath as Unni Amma's niece
- Subair as Venu Menon
- Jolly Easo as Sumam Venu, Thankam's friend
- Jyothirmayi as daughter of Venu Menon and Manu's fiancee (cameo)
- Bindu Ramakrishnan as Unni Amma's relative
- Ambika Mohan as Unni Amma's relative
- Nivia Rebin as Unni Amma's relative
- Gayathri as Sakundala, Janaki's maid
- Sudheesh as the real Unnikrishnan (cameo)
- K. J. Yesudas as himself (cameo)
- Sukumaran as Nandakumar, Manu's father (photo appearance)
Trivia
This movie was shot in Paliyam Kovilakam in Paravoor.
Dubbing
|Dubbed for - Aravind Akash |Character - Unnikrishnan |Dubbed Actor - Sudheesh
|Dubbed for - Kalaranjini |Character - Janaki |Dubbed Actor - Urvashi)
|Dubbed for - Revathy |Character - Thankam |Dubbing Artist - Bhagyalakshmi
Music
The most critically acclaimed and popular songs of this film were written by Gireesh Puthenchery and composed by Madhavan Raveendran. The songs were chart for weeks and the song Karmukil Varnante become highly popular and Girish Puthenchery and Raveendran won Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyricist and Best Music Director respectively and also K.S. Chithra won Kerala State Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer of the year 2004.
| Track | Song | Singer(s) | Raga |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Sreelavasantham" | Dr. K.J. Yesudas | Yamuna Kalyani |
| 2 | "Manassil" | M.G. Sreekumar, Radhika Thilak | Naatta |
| 3 | "Aarum" | P. Jayachandran, Sujatha | Shuddha Dhanyasi |
| 4 | "Mouliyil" | K. S. Chithra | Mohanam |
| 5 | "Gopike" | Dr. K.J. Yesudas | Megh |
| 6 | "Karmukil" | K.S. Chithra | Harikambhoji |
| 7 | "Aarum" | Sujatha | Shuddha Dhanyasi, Abhogi |
| 8 | "Manassil" | M.G. Sreekumar | Naatta |
Reception
Box office
The film was a commercial success at the box office.[1][2]
Accolades
- Filmfare Award for Best Film - Malayalam – Ranjith & Siddique
- Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Malayalam – Navya Nair
- Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress – Navya Nair[4]
- Best Female Playback Singer – K.S.Chitra
- Best Music Director –Raveendran
- Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyrics – Gireesh Puthenchery
Remakes
Ranjith worked on a Tamil remake of the film which was shelved after some pre-production complications,[5] and the movie was remade as Seedan by director Subramaniya Siva. It was also remade in Telugu as Maa Baapu Bommaki Pellanta by Raviraja Pinisetty and in Kannada as Gokula Krishna.
References
- ^ "A filmi shot in the arm". The Hindu. 15 February 2003. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016.
- ^ "Prithviraj's Birthday: Some Career-Defining Roles of the Actor [PHOTOS]". International Business Times. 16 October 2014.
- ^ "The Winner: 50th Manikchand Filmfare Awards 2002 - Filmfare - Indiatimes". filmfaremagazine.indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 28 August 2004. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "State film awards presented". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 4 December 2003. Archived from the original on 11 March 2004. Retrieved 26 May 2007.
- ^ Prema Manmadhan (9 January 2010). "Sitting Pretty". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011.
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