Swathi Muthyam

Swathi Muthyam (transl. White pearl) is a 1986 Indian Telugu-language drama film written and directed by K. Viswanath and produced by Edida Nageswara Rao.^[1] The film stars Kamal Haasan and Raadhika, while Gollapudi Maruti Rao, J. V. Somayajulu, Nirmalamma, Sarath Babu, and Y. Vijaya play supporting roles. The soundtrack and background score were composed by Ilaiyaraaja.^[2] Swathi Muthyam depicts the plight of a young widow who is rescued by an autistic man.

Swathi Muthyam
Poster
Directed by	K. Viswanath
Written by	K. Viswanath
Dialogue by	Sainath Thotapalli Akella
Produced by	Edida Nageswara Rao
Starring	Kamal Haasan Raadhika
Cinematography	M. V. Raghu
Edited by	G. G. Krishna Rao
Music by	Ilaiyaraaja
Production company	Poornodaya Movie Creations
Distributed by	Sri Venkata Krishna Films Ramana Movies
Release date	13 March 1986 (1986-03-13)
Running time	161 minutes
Country	India
Language	Telugu

Swathi Muthyam was a box office success.^[3] The film was screened at the Moscow Film Festival, the Asian and African film festival in Tashkent, the 11th International Film Festival of India in the inaugural mainstream section.^[1][4][5] The film received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu, three Nandi Awards and the Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu. The film was selected by India as its entry for the Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards in 1986, but was not nominated.^[6][3]

The film was later dubbed into Tamil as Sippikkul Muthu, released on October 2, 1986. Upon its success, the film was later remade in Hindi as Eeshwar (1989) and in Kannada as Swathi Muthu (2003).^[7][8][9]

Plot

Shivaiah (Kamal Haasan) is an innocent orphan with a brain injury resulting in low intellectual function. He lives along with his grandmother (Nirmalamma) in a village. In that village, Lalitha (Raadhika), a young widow with a five-year-old son, lives along with her brother Chalapati's (Sarath Babu) family. She and her son often get abused by her sister-in-law (Y. Vijaya), but Lalitha, having nowhere to go, bears it all.

Shivaiah often encounters Lalitha and gets appalled by her condition. One day, during Sri Rama Navami festival, Shivaiah marries Lalitha, shocking all the villagers. His grandmother (Nirmalamma) approves of his marriage as she also has much sympathy and regard for Lalitha, but his uncle and Orthodox villagers oppose that marriage as they consider remarriage of a widow as a sin. In that brawl, Shivaiah's grandmother dies, leaving innocent Shivaiah in the hands of Lalitha. Lalitha moves in with her husband with the blessings of her brother.

Some of the villagers help them to build a new life. Gradually, Lalitha makes Shivaiah understand the household duties and responsibilities of a man. Shivaiah finds work and starts to support his wife and stepson. Later they have a son and live happily for a long time. Years pass, and Lalitha becomes ill and dies in her husband's arms. In the climax, Shivaiah walks out of his house surrounded by his children and grandchildren. He carries a tulsi plant, which was his memory of Lalitha's love.

Cast

• Kamal Haasan as Sivayya
• Raadhika as Lalitha
• Gollapudi Maruthi Rao as Landlord
• J. V. Somayajulu as Lalita's guru
• Nirmalamma as Sivayya's grandmother
• Master Karthik as Balasubrahmanyam, Lalita's first son, whom later adopted or accepted by Sivayya after their marriage
• Sarath Babu as Chalapati, Lalita's brother
• Y. Vijaya as Lalita's sister-in-law
• Allu Arjun (child artist) as Sivayya's grandson
• Niharika as Sivayya's granddaughter
• Major Sundarrajan
• Deepa
• Dubbing Janaki
• Mallikarjuna Rao
• Suthi Veerabhadra Rao
• Edida Sriram

Production

Arun Kumar and Venkatesh were the production designers for the film.^[7][10] The film was shot for nearly 70 days near the shores of Rajahmundry, Torredu, Tadikonda, Pattiseema, Chennai, and Mysore.^[7][10] Allu Arjun did a small role as one of the grandsons of Kamal Haasan.^[11]

The scene where Haasan dances like someone who cannot dance took so many days to get it "rightly wrong," as Haasan is a seasoned dancer.^[12]

Soundtrack

Swathi Muthyam
Soundtrack album by Ilaiyaraaja
Released	1986
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Language	Telugu
Producer	Ilaiyaraaja
External media Audio   Official Audio Jukebox on YouTube Video   Video Song Jukebox on YouTube

All music is composed by Ilaiyaraaja.

Track List^[13]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Suvvi Suvvi"	C. Narayana Reddy	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki	5:43
2.	"Vatapathra Saayiki"	C. Narayana Reddy	P. Susheela	4:33
3.	"Ramaa Kanavemiraa"	C. Narayana Reddy	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. P. Sailaja	6:54
4.	"Manasu Palike"	C. Narayana Reddy	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki	5:34
5.	"Chinnaari Ponnaari"	Acharya Aatreya	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki	4:45
6.	"Dharmam Saranam"	C. Narayana Reddy	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. P. Sailaja & Chorus	2:50
7.	"Pattu Cheera"	K. Vishwanath	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. P. Sailaja	1:19
8.	"Vatapathra Saayiki (Pathos)"	C. Narayana Reddy	P. Susheela	1:04
9.	"Laali Laali (Ending Song)"	Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. P. Sailaja	2:53
Total length:				33:35

Tamil Track List

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Kannodu Kannana"	Vairamuthu	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki	04:49
2.	"Dharmam Sharanam Gacchaami"	Vairamuthu	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. P. Sailaja	02:52
3.	"Varam Thantha Saamikku"	Vairamuthu	P. Susheela	04:38
4.	"Manasu Mayangum"	Vairamuthu	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki	05:23
5.	"Pattu Chelai"	Vairamuthu	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. P. Sailaja	01:22
6.	"Raman Kathai"	Vairamuthu	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S.P. Sailaja	06:22
7.	"Thulli Thulli!"	Vairamuthu	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki	05:38
8.	"Varam Thantha Saamikku (sad)"	Vairamuthu	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. P. Sailaja	03:02
Total length:				34:06

Reception

Baradwaj Rangan said in 2017, "K Viswanath, this year's recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, made three films with Kamal Haasan. Sagara Sangamam is the best, Subha Sankalpam the weakest – and between these two films, chronologically and quality-wise, lies Swathi Muthyam (White Pearl)."^[14]

Awards

Award / Film festival	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s) and nominee(s)	Result	Ref(s)
National Film Awards	September 1987	Best Feature Film in Telugu	Producer: Edida Nageswara Rao Director: K. Viswanath	Won	^[15]
Nandi Awards	1987	Best Feature Film - Gold	Producer: Edida Nageswara Rao	Won	^[16]
		Best Actor	Kamal Haasan	Won
		Best Director	K. Viswanath	Won
Filmfare Awards South	9 August 1987	Best Director	K. Viswanath	Won	^[17]^[18]
Cine Goer's Film Awards	19 September 1988	Best Film	Producer: Edida Nageswara Rao	Won	^[19]
		Best Actor	Kamal Haasan	Won
		Best Director	K. Viswanath	Won

Remakes

Year	Film	Language	Ref.
1989	Eeshwar	Hindi	^[20]
2003	Swathi Muthu	Kannada	^[21]

References

1. "Phalke nomination". The Hindu. 17 March 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
2. "30 Years: Swathi Muthyam...Priceless Pearl". Telugucinema.com. 13 March 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
3. "Frame by frame". The Hindu. 8 August 2009. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
4. "Festival of world cinema begins Bollywood style". The Hindu. 21 December 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
5. "Kamal Haasan". Bharatwaves.com. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
6. . The Times of India (Press release). 29 March 2012. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
7. Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (29 July 2012). "Poster boy". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
8. "They copied it from us : Kamal Haasan [Interview]". IndiaGlitz. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
9. Krishnamoorthy, Suresh (24 May 2015). "Kamal Haasan to act in a Telugu movie after 20 years". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
10. "Swati Mutyam: 30 Years & Still a Classic — Telugu360". 15 March 2016.
11. "Fans remember Bunny's 'Swathi Muthyam' stint". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
12. Shivakumar, S. (23 June 2016). "Playing the cold-hearted". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
13. "Swathimuthyam". indiancine.ma. from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
14. "Southern Lights: Two Shots, Two Songs - Film Companion". Film Companion. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
15. . International Film Festival of India. Archived from the original on 5 February 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
16. "నంది అవార్డు విజేతల పరంపర (1964–2008)" [A series of Nandi Award Winners (1964–2008)] (PDF) (in Telugu). Information & Public Relations of Andhra Pradesh. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
17. "34th Annual Filmfare Awards South Winners : Kumar : Free Download & S…". Archived from the original on 28 May 2017.
18. "Collections". 1991.
19. "Telugu 'cine goer's awards' presented". The Indian Express. 20 September 1988. p. 3.
20. Shiva Kumar, S. (16 May 2019). "Making, and remaking". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
21. "The curious case of Sudeep". Deccan Herald. 6 October 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2020.

External links

• Swathi Muthyam at IMDb