Daivathinte Naamathil

Daivanamathil

Aryadan Shoukath whose Padom Onnu Oru Vilapam won critical acclaim and a few national awards, has now scripted Daivathinte Namathil. This film is likely rake in some controversy as it examines the Muslim mind in Kerala in the aftermath of the demolition of the Babri Majid.

Shoukath, son of Congress leader Aryadan Mohammed has written the dialogues and is the producer of the film. He admits that his proximity to contemporary Kerala politics has enabled him to view society in a clearer perspective and he has been influenced by his father. Aryadan Mohammed is a Power Minister in the Oommen Chandy Government.

Says Shoukath: “This is not a political film. The protagonist of Daivathinte Namathil is played by Bhavana and it is through her that I have expressed my views. All the characters are drawn heavily from the teachings of Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad.

Jayaraj is the director and Prithviraj is also in the cast. “I am not concerned about the commercial success of the film. I have made an honest attempt to convey a message to the people of Kerala�.adds Shoukath.

Cast

Prithviraj, Bhavana, Radhika, Gopi, Zeenath

Synopsis

Samira

The Indian girl Samira comes from a traditional Muslim family, where the girl’s family chooses her husband. After her father dies, Samira is showered with love and attention from her enlightened grandfather who makes a stand against all-pervading and destructive religious extremism. Grandpa wants to provide Samira with a good education, to free her from this kind of society and open her eyes to the world. While the family tries to force her to marry someone suitable, it is eventually due to him that Samira ends up marrying her ideal…Today, when she recalls a moment of her short happiness, she asks herself the question: what kind of victory was it, not to succumb to the will of others? She won for herself the handsome, well educated, liberal Anwar, the grandson of a prominent politician and great freedom-fighter. Soon after the grand wedding ceremony, however, the bridegroom leaves to study in the north of India. Samira only receives her first letter from him several months later and she is shocked by the change in him.

About the director

Jayaraaj

Jayaraaj [also known as Jayaraaj Rajasekharan Nair] (b. 1960, Kottayam, Kerala, India) studied electronics and telecommunications in Trivandrum where he also entered the world of film as an assistant to director Bharathan. Since the 1980s he has been directing his own films, sucessful at both domestic and foreign festivals. He began winning awards with the film Journey to Wisdom (1996), also screened in competition at the Karlovy Vary IFF in 1997, and the subsequent films The Play of God (Kaliyattam, 1999) – Othello, as conceived by a local traditional theatre, Pathos (Karunam, 2000) and Tranquil (Shantham, 2001). He managed to make two films in 2005: To My Daughter (Makalkku) and In the Name of God (Daivanamathil).

* Director:  Jayaraaj
* Screenplay: Aryadan Shoukath
* Dir. of Photography: Sunny Joseph
* Music: Praveen Mani, Kaithapram Viswanathan
* Editor: Beena Poul, Vinod Sukumaran
* Producer: Aryadan Shoukath
* Production: Clear Image