Underplayed Gems

Chemmeen (1965)

Chemmeen poster
Original title
ചെമ്മീൻ
Directed by
Ramu Kariat
Genre
romance, drama
Country
India
Runtime
2h 20m
Rated
U
Rating
6.6 of 10 from 13 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A fisherman's daughter falls in love with a wealthy trader's son, defying her ambitious father. The local legend warns that if a fisherman's wife is unfaithful, the sea will take her husband. The story follows the consequences of her secret relationship.

melancholictensetragicslow-burnvisually lushfolkloricromanticbleak

What happens

Chemmeen (transl. The Prawn) is a 1966 Indian Malayalam-language romance film, based on the novel of the same name by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. It was adapted into a screenplay by S. L. Puram Sadanandan, directed by Ramu Kariat, and produced by Babu Ismail Sait under the banner Kanmani Films. The film stars Sheela as Karuthamma, Sathyan as Palani, Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair as Chembankunju, and Madhu as Pareekutty. The film tells the story of a pre-marital and later extra-marital relationship between Karuthamma, the daughter of an ambitious fisherman, and Pareekutty, the son of an affluent trader. The theme of the film is a popular legend among the fishermen communities along the coastal Kerala State in southern India regarding chastity. The legend says that if a married fisherwoman is unfaithful when her husband is out at sea, the Sea Goddess (Kadalamma literally meaning the Mother Sea) would consume him. It has cinematography by Marcus Bartley and U. Rajagopal, and editing by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and K. D. George. The original score and songs were composed by Salil Chowdhury, with lyrics by Vayalar, and songs featuring the voices of K. J. Yesudas, P. Leela, Manna Dey and Santha P. Nair. The film was censored in late 1965 and released on 19 August 1966. It received strongly positive critical reviews and was recognised as a technically and artistically brilliant film. This movie was a blockbuster and broke many records. It is usually cited as the first notable creative film in South India and is one of the popular cult classics in Malayalam cinema. It was also the first South Indian film to win the Indian President's Gold Medal for the Best Feature Film, in 1965. It was screened at various international film festivals and won awards at the Cannes and Chicago festivals. The film was included in the list of 100 greatest Indian films by IBN Live. Chemmeen was dubbed and released in Hindi as Chemmeen Lahren and in English as The Anger of the Sea. A sequel, Thirakalkkappuram, was released in 1998. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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