Udalaazham

Udalaazham (lit. Body Deep) is a 2018 Indian Paniya / Malayalam drama film written and directed by Unnikrishnan Avala. It features actors Mani, Remya Valsala, Anumol, Indrans, Sajitha Madathil, Joy Mathew and Nilambur Ayisha in the lead roles. Produced by Dr. Manoj K.T, Dr. Rajesh Kumar M.P and Dr. Sajish M under the banner of Doctors' Dilemma, it is Avala's debut feature.[1]

Udalaazham
Official poster
Directed byUnnikrishnan Avala
Produced by
  • Dr. Manoj K T
  • Dr. Rajesh Kumar M P
  • Dr. Sajish M
Screenplay byUnnikrishnan Avala
Starring
Music by
CinematographyMohamed A
Edited byAppu N. Bhattathiri
Production
company
Doctors' Dilemma
Distributed by72 Film Company
Release date
  • 20 October 2018 (2018-10-20) (MAMI)
  • 6 December 2019 (2019-12-06) (Kerala)
Running time
119 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguagePaniya, Malayalam

The film premiered at 20th Mumbai Film Festival on October 2018 before doing rounds at the festival circuit including the International Film Festival of Kerala and Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.[1][2] The film presented by Aashiq Abu is scheduled to release theatrically on 6 December 2019.[3]

Plot

Gulikan, a tribal transgender from the deep jungle settlement in Kerala was married in childhood to Maathi. Born and brought up as a boy, he has the soul of a girl. He is constantly being abused whenever he steps out of the forest looking for work. Two unfortunate love affairs culminates into destruction. Hounded by the society that wants to capture and kill, he is on the run.

Cast
  • Mani P.R as Gulikan
  • Remya Valsala as Maathi
  • Anumol as Dancer
  • Indrans as Moorthy
  • Joy Mathew as Rameshan
  • Sajitha Madathil as Vagabond
  • Vettilakolli Mathi as Mathiyamma
  • Abu Valayamkulam as Fishmonger
  • Rajeev Vellur as Deputy Ranger
  • Nilambur Ayisha as Housemaid
  • Suresh Thiruvali as Tea Vendor
  • Anil Kumar A.P as Cook
  • Suni RS as Kuttichoppan

Soundtrack
Udalaazham
Soundtrack album by
Sithara Krishnakumar, Mithun Jayaraj
Released23 February 2018 (2018-February-23)[4]
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length18:21
LabelMuzik 247

The soundtrack of the film was composed by Sithara Krishnakumar and Mithun Jayaraj. The album consists of 4 tracks featuring lyrics by Manu Manjith and Unnikrishnan Avala.[5] The background score is given by Bijibal.

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Medasooryante (Female Version)"Unnikrishnan AvalaSithara Krishnakumar4:31
2."Medasooryante (Male Version)"Unnikrishnan AvalaBijibal3:32
3."Puzhayil"Manu Manjith, Unnikrishnan AvalaSithara Krishnakumar, Mithun Jayaraj5:00
4."Poomathe Ponnamma"Unnikrishnan AvalaJyotsna Radhakrishnan, Pushpavathy5:08

Production

Development

Avala, when he began working as a teacher in Nilambur, travelled mostly in buses. He would observe a lot of tribal people during his journeys and began to study them. Their lives and stories which he found interesting led him to make a documentary called Last Page and Womenses. During that time Avala met Raju whom he says was "a woman inside and a man outside."[6] His experiences inspired Avala to write the story of Gulikan, a tribal transgender person whose life was a constant battle against humiliation and abuse by a parochial racist story. Raju was part of the initial discussions of the film and wished to be part of the project. However, he passed away due to chronic ailments before the film making began.[6][7][8]

Filming

For the lead role of Gulikan, Mani P.R was selected. Mani who had earlier won the 2006 Kerala State Film Award as a Child Actor in his debut feature Photographer,[9] was initially reluctant to take up the role having been disillusioned after facing rejections from the film industry and personal tragedies. It was only after his wife's intervention, he finally accepted the role. Grooming the actor for the role took six months. Mani also helped to translate the script to Paniya language as required by the story.[10]

Three doctors viz, Dr. Manoj K.T, Dr. Rajesh Kumar M.P and Dr. Sajish M because of their passion for cinema, came together and formed the banner Doctors' Dilemma to produce the film.[6] Remya Valsala, Anumol, Indrans, Joy Mathew and Sajitha Madathil were casted in key roles and principal photography began in 2017.[8]

Reception

International Film Festivals attended
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References
  1. "Body Deep / Udalaazham". IFFK.
  2. "All you need to know about the 20th Mami Mumbai Film Festival". Verve Magazine. 25 October 2018.
  3. "Aashiq Abu brings Udalaazham to big screen". New Indian Express. 15 November 2019.
  4. "Udalaazham (Original Motion Pictures Soundtrack)". iTunes.
  5. "Udalaazham (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes.
  6. "Unnikrishnan Avala's Udalaazham shows the trials of a tribal trans woman in Kerala". The News Minute.
  7. "Udalazham exporing the life and struggles of a tribal transgender". The Hindu. 25 September 2018.
  8. "Why it took 13 years for Mani, State Award winner from Kerala tribe, to return to films". The News Minute. 13 August 2019.
  9. "Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist", Wikipedia, 29 September 2019, retrieved 28 November 2019
  10. "In search of identity". Deccan Chronicle.
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