Spadikam

Spadikam
DVD Poster
Directed by	Bhadran
Written by	Bhadran
Produced by	R. Mohan
Starring	Mohanlal, Thilakan, Urvashi, Spadikam George KPAC Lalitha, Silk Smitha, Nedumudi Venu, Chippy
Cinematography	J. Williams
Edited by	M. S. Mani
Music by	S. P. Venkatesh P. Bhaskaran (lyrics)
Distributed by	Goodknight Films
Release dates	24 March, 1995
Running time	150 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Spadikam (English: Prism) is a 1995 Malayalam film written and directed by Bhadran, starring Mohanlal in the role of a real life rowdy Thomas Chacko aka Aadu Thoma. The film was critically acclaimed, and was also a blockbuster and received cult-fan following. The film's name "Spadikam" means prism, which is a metaphor for the human nature. Just like how white light gets split into many colors by a prism, every human transforms themselves when faced with experiences in life.

Plot

Chacko Master (Thilakan) is a high-school headmaster who is a president's medal winner in Mathematics. He is a very strict teacher and emphasizes memorization and discipline at the expense of analysis and creativity in school. He punishes his students ruthlessly and gives no special treatment to his son Thomas, who is also a student in his class. Chacko always assumes that his son is behind every mischief in class, and punishes him until the actual culprit gives himself in.

Unlike his father, Thomas isn't too good in math (he cannot memorize the binomial theorem) but he is very creative and productive in designing mechanical and electronic gadgetry like a mechanical school bell which his father destroys later. For instance, he impresses his mother and sister by developing an AM radio receiver inside a soap-case at a time when phonographs were more prevalent in his village. When his father finds out about the receiver he throws it into flames and destroys it; he forces his son to focus on his studies instead of being an inventor. Thomas works hard, and he does well in his language paper, but his dad asks his language teacher to grade his paper with no leniency, so that he gets a low grade. When he finds out that even his most beloved language teacher was biased against him he becomes outraged. He runs away from home.

Fourteen years later, he returns to his village. Thomas, by now, had changed into a totally different person. He was no longer interested in clockwork and gadgetry; he owned a stone quarry and had become a well known rowdy wanted by the authorities as a prime suspect in many unsolved crimes. His father still hated him and never accepted him as family. But as the film progresses, both father and son regret what they had done to each other. In an interesting turn of events the father and the son reunite in a very emotional way, but only to find the evil forces chasing Thoma.The movie ends with Chacko master taking his last breath lying in Thoma's lap and police taking Thoma into custody.

Cast

• Mohanlal ... Aadu Thoma (Thomas Chacko)
• Thilakan ... Chacko Master
• Spadikam George ... Kuttikkadan
• Urvashi ... Thulasi
• Chippy ... Jansy Chacko
• K.P.A.C. Lalitha ... Mary
• Rajan P. Dev ... Manimala Vakkachan
• V.K. Sriraman ... Pookoya
• Silk Smitha ... Laila
• Nedumudi Venu ... Ravunni Master
• Ashokan ... Jerry
• Karamana Janardanan Nair ... Fr. Ottaplakkan
• N F Varghese ... Pachu Pillai
• Maniyanpilla Raju ... Kunju Mohammad
• Bahadur ... Kurup
• Johny ... Maniyan
• Bheeman Raghu ... Somasekharan Pillai
• Roopesh Peethambaran ... Young Aadu Thoma (Thomas Chacko)
• Indrans
• Paravoor Bharathan ... Joseph
• Kanakalatha ... Kuttikkadan's Wife
• Sankaradi ... Judge
• N.L. Balakrishnan

Crew

• Directed by: Bhadran
• Written by: Dr.C.G.Rajendra Babu
• Produced by: R. Mohan
• Music: S.P. Venkitesh
• Lyrics: P. Bhaskaran
• Cinematography: J. Williams
• Editing: M.S. Mani
• Costume Design: Indrans
• Assistant Director: Gandikuttan
• Stunts: B. Thyagarajan
• Stills: N.L. Balakrishnan
• Art Director: Valsan
• Singers: M. G. Sreekumar, K.S. Chitra, Mohanlal

Shooting Location

The film was entirely shot in the town of Changanassery and nearby places. The location substantiates the storyline by being home to the Catholic Archdiocese of Changanassery and an educated but traditional Indian middle class community. Most of the locations still look exactly as depicted in the film and some of the place names used in the story are also real.

Reception

Spadikam was a blockbuster movie in 1995 and made a second top grosser of the year followed by another blockbuster movie The King.

Remakes

The film was remade in telugu as Vajram with Nagarjuna, in tamil as Veerappu with Sundar C. and in kannada as Mr. Theertha with Sudeep.

External links

• Spadikam at IMDb