Ullozhhukku

Parvathy Thiruvothu is one of my favorite actresses and she seems to attract interesting scripts.  Growing up, actors had simple waspy names and movie titles were simple.  In a new world a lot of actors have convoluted names and titles are not so simple and there are other languages such as Maylalam that interesting plots can be expressed in.

Anju was forced to marry against her will and live with her mother in law, Leelamma.  She was Catholic whose parents were upset with a Hindu boyfriend.  After her marriage she had an affair with the old lover, Rajeev and got pregnant.  Her husband died and it soon came out that the baby was not his.  The mother's sister is a nun and tries to be understanding

Anju tries to explain how she loves Rajeev that she describes is unlike that of Leelamma's for her husband.  Leelamma tries to be understanding.  Anju is caught in the middle wanting to live with Rajeev while he feels she should have the house.  Leelamma agrees to let her and the baby live there.  Anju's parents have been told  and it comes out apparently her mother had been more anxious for the wedding, overlooking some significant information. 

A flood complicates making everyone wait for a funeral that many of those involved felt would help resolve the situation.  The word "ullozhukko" in Malayalam means "undercurrent" or "inner currents" reflecting the inner currents of the characters.

This is a delicate film requiring a delicate touch.  Here are some of the contributors.

 Christo Tomy was the director and writer.  He graduated from the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute.  He has 6 director credits and 4 for writing including "Curry & Cyanide:  The Jolly Joseph Case" (2023).  

Honey Trehen was one of the producers.  he has a lot of experience as a casting director including such films as "Omkara" (2006), "Talvar" (2015), "Udta Punjab" (2016) and "Raes" (2017) and he was a  director including "Raat Akeli Hai" (2020)..   See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/08/you-like-murder-mysteries-check-out.html

Abischek Chaubey was another producer.  He has 11 credits as a writer, 8 as a producer and 7 as a director including  "Omkara" (2006),  "Kaminey" (2009),  "Ishqiya' (2010), "Matru Ki Biljlee Ka Mandola" (2013), Udta Punjab (2016) and "Raat Akeli Hai:  The Bansal Murders"(2025).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/12/a-nawazuddin-siddiqu-sequel-is-very-good.html

Ronnie Screwvala was another producer that with Honey and Abischek teamed up for "Raat Akeli Hai:  The Bansal Murders" and he can be said to be the one who pulls the most strings.  He was born into a Parsi family in Mumbai. Many years ago he founded a toothbrush company and then was a cable television pioneer who expanded to a massive entertainment corporation.  He sold some of his entertainment complex to Walt Disney Pictures for $1.4 billion dollars and then set up a non profit entity called "Swades Foundation" to help boost rural Indians.  He has been recognized as an international entrepreneur.  Ronnie has 133 producer credits including a favorite "Swades" (2004), "The Namesake" (2007), "Udann" (2010), "No One Killed Jessica" (2011), "The Lunchbox" (2011),  "Uri:  The Surgical Strike" (2018), "The Sky  is Pink" (2019), "A Thursday" (2022) and many others that have been favorites of mine.  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2019/12/the-sky-is-pink-my-top-movie-for-2019.html

Sushin Shyam was the composer.  He has 30 composing credits and 12 for the music department including "Varathan" (2018), "Kumbalingi Nights" (2019), "Virus" (2019), "Kappela" (2020), "Kurup" (2021), "Minnal Murali" (2021) and "Declaration" (2022).

Shehnada Jalal was the cinematographer.  He had attended the Satyajit Ray Film and Televsion Institute.  He has 28 cinematographer credits and 1 for the camera and electrical department including "Curry & Cyanide" (2023).

Kiran Das was the editor.  He has 38 editor credits and 1 for directing including "Thondi Muthalum Driksakshiyum" (2017), "Joji" (2021), "Palthu Janwar" (2022) and "Sesham Mikeil Fathima" (2023).

Parvathy Thiruvothu played Anju.  She had training as a dancer and her career started as a television anchor.  Definitely has become a favorite of mine.  She has 42 acting credits including "Bangalore Days" (2014), "Take Off" (2017), "Qarib Qarib Single" (2017), "Uyare" (2019), "Virus" (2019), "Koode" (2018) and "Thangalaan" (2024)   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2019/08/uyare-unexpected-gem.html

Urvashi played Leelamma.  She has 280 acting credits including "Oh Baby" (2019),  "Varane Avashyamund" (2020) and "Soorarai Pottru" (2020).

Arjun Radhakrishnan played Rajeev.  He has 26 acting credits.

Veenah Naair played Rosamma, a Catholic nun and sister to Leelamma.  She has 25 acting credits including "She" and "Kaala Paani" (2023)

Available subtitled on Netflix.  Don't expect a romance, maybe best described as a drama with secrets and very well done.

As usual I have bolded the first mention of films I have seen.  They are not necessarily a recommendation, but generally these are among my favorites.  If you follow the links you should be able to determine if a particular film is worth following up.