malayalam film avalude raavugal

Raakenthu  kiranangal  oli veeshiyilla..... a  song  from the  film ,Avalude Raavugal ,  remembered as one  of the  first  Adults  only  film in malayalam mainstream cinema  .  I  can imagine  the  uproar  that must have  occured when this film was released  in the early 80s  when kerala soceity  was  much more conservative than the  present  . Its the  story  of  a  woman  (  actress  Seema  has  this role  )  who  is a  prostitute  and  the  many  characters  in her  life  ---her  brother  ,  her  lover  , her  clients etc and  her  relationships with them   .   Though  it was a film which became famous  for the "wrong" reasons  i   found the  film  interesting  on many counts  . 

For  once  it  had a  plot  which  many  films of 2000s  can only dream about  .  The  central character  played by  actress seema  does  great  justice to her  role  .  It  tells about  the  impact  various  incidents  has on her life  .  Though  it tells of  a  despicable profession  ,prostitution  the  movie  brings  out the human  being  behind  the  scene  with  all the emotions  be  it  the  intense  affection she has for her  brother  ,  her  romance  with  the person she loves and her  revenge ( mild spoiler ahead  )   .  In  one of the scenes  she  denies  one  of her  clients  access to her services  .  According to her  "  Irrespective  of  caste  ,creed  or  anything  for that  matter  i  give  my  services  to  anyone  .  But  i  am  denying  you  it  as  revenge  for what  you have  done  " .  Seemingly simple , that  shows  you  dont  have  to kill  or maim   for  exacting  a revenge  ....A  prostitutes  revenge  can  be  as  simple as denying access to her service  which  she  gives  to  the  worst wretch  . 

The  male  actors  are  overshadowed  by  the  powerful  role  of the woman protagonist  that  also  is  a  difference  from the bulk of male dominated films of  that  era    .  The  director was I. V .Sasi  .    The musical  score  raagenthukiranangal  was  also  unique in its tune and tempo  though  the  scene  depicted  for  the  music was  true  to its  "A"  rating  . 

This  film  is also  mentioned  in another movie  where  Sreenivasan visits  Seema   and  says  he has seen Avalude raavugal  many  times  .  This  indirectly  touches  on the  impact this  film  made  on the conservative mindset  of malayalis  .  But  for me  ,  this  film  stands for the strong story  and  the  great  acting  that  makes avalude raavugal a must watch  for any film critic  .