Chengathem

1983 160’ col Malayalam d Bhadran pc Divya lyr Puthyakam Murali c Vipin Das m Ravi lp Mammootty, Murali, Satyakala, Captain Raju

Early Mammootty crime movie. Telephone operator Anne marries rich criminal Tony (Mammootty), discovering his occupation only after their marriage. His illegal dealings are however presented as a consequence of his childhood experiences, when his mother was killed by villains and he was imprisoned. When Anne is raped by another man, Daniel, Tony kills Daniel and becomes a fugitive from justice, this time chased by sadistic cops not very different from the villains of his childhood. He is eventually caught. Although similar in many ways to Bachchan-type themes e.g. with Prakash Mehra, what is often noted with Mammootty is the extent to which corruption, crime and violence are treated as a fact of life and with remarkably little moral posturing. The violence of law enforcement agencies is, likewise, treated on a par with that of organised crime, distinguished only by the assumed goodness of the hero and those in his protection.

Film