Sandesam

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}} {{Use Indian English|date=October 2015}} {{Infobox film | name = Sandesham | image = Sandhesam film poster.jpg | alt = | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = [[Sathyan Anthikad]] | producer = S. S. T. Subrahmaniam | writer = [[Sreenivasan]] | narrator = | starring = [[Thilakan]] [[Sreenivasan]] [[Jayaram]] [[Siddique (actor)|Siddique]] [[Kaviyoor Ponnamma]] [[Maathu]] [[Oduvil Unnikrishnan]] [[K. P. A. C. Lalitha]] [[Sankaradi]] | music = [[Johnson (composer)|Johnson]] | cinematography = [[Vipin Mohan]] | editing = K. Rajagopal | studio = Evershine Productions | distributor = Evershine Release | released = {{Film date|1991|10|30|India}} | runtime = 137 minutes | country = India | language = Malayalam }} '''''Sandesam''''' ({{Translation|Message}}) is a 1991 Indian [[Malayalam]]-language [[political satire]] [[black comedy]] film directed by [[Sathyan Anthikad]] and written by [[Sreenivasan]] starring [[Thilakan]], Sreenivasan, [[Jayaram]], [[Oduvil Unnikrishnan]], [[Siddique (actor)|Siddique]], [[Kaviyoor Ponnamma]] and [[Maathu]]. The film deals with political activism existing in [[Kerala]] and takes major digs on the political parties in the state. In the film, Raghavan, a retired railway employee, wishes to live the rest of his life with his family. However, he is forced to become a mediator and reconcile his two sons who feud over petty politics.

''Sandesam'' is often regarded as a classic in [[Malayalam cinema]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.deccanchronicle.com/tabloid/kochi/what-happens-next-486|title=What happens next?|first=Cris |last=Seetha |work=[[Deccan Chronicle]]|location=Kochi, India|date=20 June 2011|accessdate=7 July 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110620210307/http://www.deccanchronicle.com/tabloid/kochi/what-happens-next-486 |archive-date=June 20, 2011}}</ref> The film was included in [[IBN Live]]'s list of "100 Greatest Indian Films of All Time".<ref name=IBN1>{{cite web|url=http://ibnlive.in.com/photogallery/13200-83.html |title=100 Years of Indian Cinema: The 100 greatest Indian films of all time |date=April 17, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425235159/http://ibnlive.in.com/photogallery/13200-83.html |website=[[IBN Live]] |archive-date=25 April 2013 |access-date=24 May 2013}}</ref><ref name=IBN2>{{cite web|url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/mayabazar-is-indias-greatest-film-ever-ibnlive-poll/391184-8-66.html |title='Mayabazar' is India's greatest film ever: IBNLive poll |website=[[IBN Live]] |date=12 May 2013 |access-date=24 May 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130607012016/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/mayabazar-is-indias-greatest-film-ever-ibnlive-poll/391184-8-66.html |archive-date=June 7, 2013}}</ref><ref name=IBN3>{{cite web|url= http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ibnlive-poll-vote-for-indias-greatest-film-of-all-time/387871-8.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501074840/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ibnlive-poll-vote-for-indias-greatest-film-of-all-time/387871-8.html |title=IBNLive Poll: Vote for India's greatest film of all time|website=[[IBN Live]] |archive-date=May 1, 2013|date=26 April 2013|access-date=24 May 2013}}</ref> The film was remade in [[Tamil language|Tamil]] language as ''[[Veettai Paar Naattai Paar]]'' by director [[Thulasidas]] in 1994.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gulati |first1=Triya |title=Actor-writer Sreenivasan dies at 69. Malayalam cinema loses its sharpest satirist |url=https://theprint.in/feature/actor-writer-sreenivasan-malayalam-cinema/2809758/ |website=ThePrint |access-date=20 December 2025 |date=20 December 2025}}</ref>

== Plot == After retirement from [[Indian Railways]] as station master, Raghavan Nair is back home. His long cherished dream to spend his retirement with his family consisting of his wife, three sons and two daughters gets a blow after witnessing his two sons brawling with each other over their political differences and the debilitating effect this has on the family. Prabhakaran, the elder one is a staunch leftist and an active worker of the Revolutionary Democratic Party (RDP), which has just lost the Kerala state Assembly elections and relinquished office. Prakashan, popularly known as KRP, Prabhakaran's younger brother is involved with the Indian National Secular Party (INSP) which has now come to power. Though they are both educated, neither has any plans to earn a living on their own and are fully immersed in petty politics, sponging off their parents for their needs.

Raghavan Nair becomes deeply worried about their future, and tries to advise his sons, but his admonitions fall on deaf ears. Aanandan, his son-in-law is a police [[Sub Inspector|sub-inspector]], but on suspension. When RDP was in power, he had arrested and beaten up several of the opposition party workers on instruction from the ruling party officials. Now that the former opposition is in power, they exact their revenge; first by transferring him repeatedly to stations as remote as possible and then by suspending him.

As part of his retired life, Raghavan Nair decides to focus his attention on his agricultural activities and meets the new young agricultural officer Udayabhanu and with his wife's approval, wants their younger daughter Latika to marry him. But his elder sons oppose it for flimsy and petty reasons. Prakashan pulls some strings and gets him transferred immediately to a remote location in order to prevent the marriage, but Nair gets them married at the registrar's office.

In the meantime, Aanandan and his wife Lata (Raghavan Nair's oldest daughter) demand partition of the property and their share of the inheritance which Raghavan Nair objects to. The last straw is when their mother falls ill and is hospitalized and none of her children, especially the two older sons, show up at the hospital. Raghavan upon seeing all of them milling around his house on returning from the hospital, loses his temper. He kicks out all his children and orders them to never enter his house again. But to his surprise, he later finds both Prakashan and Prabhakaran at the gate, fully repenting after Achu informs him. He calls them in and they begin a new life. Some time later we see Prabhakaran who has started work as a lawyer and Prakashan going for a [[job interview]] as part of their efforts to change and gain employment. At the same time, it is also seen that Prasanthan, the school-going youngest son of Raghavan Nair, has decided to form a student political organisation to conduct a protest at his school. But both his brothers having learnt their lesson the hard way, scold him and break the flag and banners he made. The movie ends here with the message clearly being delivered.

== Cast == {{colbegin}} *[[Thilakan]] as Raghavan Nair (Retd. Station Master - [[Indian Railway]]), father of Prabhakaran, Prakashan, Latha, Lathika and Prashanthan *[[Sreenivasan]] as Prabhakaran Kottappalli {{a.k.a}} Sakhavu Kottappalli {{a.k.a}} Prabha, RDP member *[[Jayaram]] as Prakashan Kottappalli / KRP (Kottappalli Raghavan Nair Prakashan), INSP member *[[Oduvil Unnikrishnan]] as Achuthan Nair, Neighbour and friend of Raghavan Nair *[[Siddique (actor)|Siddique]] as Udayabhanu (Lathika's husband and Raghavan Nair's son-in-law), an Honest Agricultural officer *[[Kaviyoor Ponnamma]] as Bhanumathi, wife of Raghavan Nair and mother of Prabhakaran, Prakasan, Latha, Lathika and Prashanthan *[[Maathu]] as Lathika, Raghavan Nair's younger daughter, Udayabhanu's wife *[[Mamukkoya]] as Mandalam President K.G. Pothuval, local leader of INSP *[[Sankaradi]] as RDP Leader Sakhavu Kumara Pillai, the leftist ideologue *[[Mala Aravindan]] as [[Sub Inspector of Police#India|SI]] Aanandan, Lata's Husband, Raghavan Nair's oldest son-in-law. *[[K. P. A. C. Lalitha]] as Latha. Anandan's wife and Raghavan Nair's elder daughter *[[Innocent (actor)|Innocent]] as Yashwant Sahai, the All-India joint-secretary of INSP (Cameo) *[[Bobby Kottarakkara]] as Sakhavu Uthaman, RDP member *[[Biyon]] as Santhosh, S.I. Aanandan's Son *Ambili as Anu, S.I. Aanandan's Daughter *[[T. P. Madhavan]] as C.I. Kannan *Rahul Laxman as Prasanthan, Raghavan Nair's youngest son *[[James (Malayalam actor)|James]] as an INSP member *[[Kalabhavan Haneef]] as INSP Worker *[[Salim Kumar]] (uncredited role) {{colend}}

==Soundtrack== *"Thumbappoo Kodiyuduthu" - K S Chitra, G. Venugopal, chorus

==Legacy== ''Sandesam'' is considered one of the best [[satire]] movies in the film industry.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/filmyfriday-sandesham-a-meticulously-crafted-political-satire-with-a-sandesham-relevant-at-all-times/articleshow/87534275.cms |title= #FilmyFriday: Sandhesam: A meticulously crafted political satire, with a Sandhesam, relevant at all times! |date=November 4, 2021|work=Times of India |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211105071306/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/filmyfriday-sandesham-a-meticulously-crafted-political-satire-with-a-sandesham-relevant-at-all-times/articleshow/87534275.cms |archive-date=November 5, 2021}}</ref> Many of the dialogues still find their way into the daily conversation of Malayalees. The infamous ''pennukaanal'' scene and the ''Poland'' dialogue is still etched into the viewer's hearts. In 2013, in an online poll conducted by ''[[CNN-IBN]]'' on their website as part of the 100 years celebration of [[Indian cinema]], ''Sandesam'' was included in the poll for finding the "greatest Indian film ever".<ref name="IBN2" /> In 2024, a scene from ''Sandesam'' was recreated in an advertisement for an online mobile game; [[Dhyan Sreenivasan]] (son of Sreenivasan, who appeared as Prabhakaran in the film) acted in the advertisement, and Anoop Sathyan (son of Sathyan Anthikad, the director of the film) directed the advertisement.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timesnownews.com/entertainment-news/malayalam/dhyan-sreenivasan-recreates-his-fathers-iconic-scene-from-1991-film-sandesham-for-an-ad-article-111518199 |title=Dhyan Sreenivasan Recreates His Father's Iconic Scene From 1991 Film Sandesham For An Ad |date=5 July 2024 |publisher=Times Now}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

== External links == * {{IMDb title|0353975}} * [http://www.malayalasangeetham.info/m.php?3743 ''Sandesam''] at the Malayalam Movie Database

[[Category:1991 films]] [[Category:1991 black comedy films]] [[Category:1991 Malayalam-language films]] [[Category:Indian political satire films]] [[Category:Films scored by Johnson]] [[Category:Films shot in Kozhikode]] [[Category:Films with screenplays by Sreenivasan]] [[Category:Films directed by Sathyan Anthikad]] [[Category:Malayalam films remade in other languages]]