Thanmathra


Thanmathra is a 2005 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Blessy, based on Padmarajan's short story "Orma". It portrays the effects of Alzheimer's disease on the life of Ramesan Nair and his family. The film collected three times its budget at the box-office and completed 150 days run. Thanmathra won five Kerala State Film Awards, which includes the Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and a Special Mention Award for the debutant actor Arjun Lal. It also won the Best Feature Film in Malayalam Award at the 53rd National Film Awards.

Plot

Ramesan Nair is a Kerala government secretariat employee, cocooned in his own small and happy world. An honest and sincere man, Ramesan's family consists of his loving wife Lekha, son Manu who is a plus-two student, and daughter Manju, a primary school student. His biggest ambition is to see that his son gets into the IAS, something he himself had failed to achieve despite being a brilliant student. Manu is a very loving son and an intelligent student who shares a strong emotional bond with his father.
Ramesan starts to develop problems with his memory. What starts as commonplace omissions and absentmindedness, quickly grows into handicapping cognitive and behavioral impairments.
The first time we notice this is when Ramesan misplaces a very important office file at his home, inside the refrigerator. One day he arrives in office after buying a bag of vegetables and starts behaving as if he had reached home after his office hours. He begins acting strangely in the office, as if he has lost his sense of time and place. He is taken to the doctor by his family and close friend, Joseph.
In the hospital, Ramesan is diagnosed with Familial Alzheimer's disease, a disease which causes a gradual loss of memory and cognitive abilities. The news comes as a grave shock for the happy family and turns their world upside down. The family is devastated by the sad news, but tries to adjust to the situation with a lot of determination underscored by strong emotional bonds. How they cope up with the trauma, insecurity and uncertainty caused by Ramesan's plight, forms the gist of the movie.

Cast

The music of this movie is composed by Mohan Sithara and the lyrics by Bharathiyar and Kaithapram. Song Mixing done by Renjith Viswanathan.
TrackSong TitleSingerOther Notes
1"Ithaloornnu"P. JayachandranRaga: Kalyani
2"Mindathedi"M. G. Sreekumar, Sruthi
3"Mele Vellithingal"KarthikRaga: Maand
4"Ithaloornnu"MohanlalRaga: Kalyani
5"Mindathedi"Sujatha
6"Mizhikalil"G. Venugopal, Sujatha
7"Kaatru Veliyidai"Vidhu Prathap, Sheela Mani, Dr. Unnikrishnan, SunilRaga: Valachi
This is a famous poem by Bharathiyar. The classical lyrics is by Kaithapram

Box office

The film was commercial success.

Awards

National Film Awards
Kerala State Film Awards
Filmfare Awards South
Asianet Film Awards
Vanitha Film Awards
Kerala Film Critics Awards
Amrita Film Awards
Mathrubhumi Film Awards
Kerala Film Audience Council Awards
J.C. Foundation Awards
Kala Keralam Award
National Film Academy Award