Padmini and Nadhiya in Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu (1984)

Posted by Richard S. on May 6, 2010
Posted in: Uncategorized. 8 Comments

Aw, isn’t this cute? I’m actually several parts into watching this Malayalam movie without subtitles and I haven’t tired of the experience yet. The whole movie is available on YouTube and I’m posting Part 5 below because it contains the clearest copy of the hit song “Aayiram Kannumaayi”… I get that the general plot revolves around a lot of sentimental scenes between a grandmother and a granddaughter, a goofy neighbor played by Mohanlal, and a few neighborhood brats… These are all fine performers, which is probably why I’m not tiring of the film yet (even though I can’t understand a word of it), though I keep hoping that Grandma will do a bharatanatyam dance. (If anyone out there has a detailed plot description or could offer some translations, please send along!)

8 comments on “Padmini and Nadhiya in Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu (1984)”

  1. Ohh Richard, this was one of the tearjerkers that made the director Fazil a household name in Kerala. it’s about a terminally ill grand daughter who comes to meet her cantankerous grandmother for the first time, as a breath of fresh air.

    Wonderful music by Jerry Amaldev.

    It was remade in Tamil as Poove Poochoodava, helping Tamil audiences weep as much as Malayalees did.

    Aayiram kannumayi kaathirunnu ninne njan
    Ennil ninnum parannagannoru painkili malar thenkili

    I waited for your arrival with a thousand eyes
    For you, the bird that flew far away from the nest

  3. Cram, many thanks for the description and the brief translation…

    I can see how this is quite a tear-jerker!

    And I agree, Jerry Amaldev’s music in this movie is very appealing.

    Thanks for posting the song from the Tamil version too.

  4. Ah..Tropicalised Catholic Church Music makes its presence felt in Malayalam Cinema:)))..Jerry Amaldev’s music was more like a pleasant nudge to the existing (mostly staid ) Malayalam film music of those times. Jerry’s later works proved he was a genius biding its time..As Cram said, it was Sobfest at the theaters. Trust Fazil with that..But he lost the plot somewhere along the way..Regardless an old favourite..Will help with your “detailed plot description” soon….:))

  5. Well, who doesn’t like Tropicalized Catholic Church Music? :)

    Definitely looking forward to the detailed plot description, thanks!

  6. Wow, I had to stare at my screen for a second before it registered that I was looking at Padmini! Fascinating- never seen any pictures of her in her older years. I like Mohanlal’s sweet, mischievous look here- he became so tired looking and chubby in his later films. :)

  7. Minai, she does look a bit different here from how we are used to seeing her, though she looks exactly the same around the eyes, especially when she takes those big glasses off. :) Plus, I think Padmini looked a little less, well, grandmotherly in real life, if you look at photos of her from this period and later; she really had to cultivate a certain look for this film. She’s also actually very clumsy in the film and can’t even walk if she’s wearing the wrong pair of shoes, though in real life, of course, even though she wasn’t dancing in films, she was teaching a classical dance school.

    By the way, as you probably know, I wouldn’t have gone back to look up this film again (and find the whole thing on YouTube) had it not been for your very nice Padmini post, in which you said that you were surprised she had tried some mother roles, prompting me to point out in comments that not only had she tried some mother roles, but she had been a grandmother in a movie too…

  8. Richard

    After this one, Padmini appeared in another Tamil film called Thaikku Oru Thalattu playing someone her age. It was directed by Balachandra Menon and starred Sivaji Ganesan as her husband.

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