Wikipedia
Chemmeen ( Translation: The Prawn) is a 1965 Malayalam romantic drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. It was adapted into a screenplay by S. L. Puram Sadanandan, directed by Ramu Kariat, and produced by Babu Ismail Sait.
The film tells the story of a pre-marital and later extra-marital relationship between Karuthamma, the daughter of an ambitious Hindu fisherman, and Pareekutty, the son of a Muslim trader. The theme of the film is a popular legend among the fishermen communities along the coastal Kerala State in southern India regarding chastity. If a married fisher woman was faithless when her husband was out in the sea, the Sea Goddess (Kadalamma literally meaning Mother Sea) would consume him. The film's cast includes Sheela as Karuthamma, Madhu as Pareekutty, Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair as Chembankunju, and Sathyan as Palani. Produced by Babu Ismail Sait under the banner of Kanmani Films, it features cinematography by Marcus Bartley and U. Rajagopal, and editing by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and K. D. George. The original score and songs were composed by Salil Chowdhury, with lyrics by Vayalar, and featuring the voices of K. J. Yesudas, P. Leela, Manna Dey and Santha P. Nair.
The film released on 19 August 1965. It received strongly positive critical reviews and was recognized as a technically and artistically brilliant film. It is usually cited as the first notable creative film in South India. It was also the first South Indian film to win the Indian President's Gold Medal for the Best Film, which it did so in 1965. It was screened at various international film festivals and won awards at the Cannes and Chicago festivals. The film was included in the list of 100 greatest Indian films by IBN Live. Chemmeen was dubbed and released in Hindi as Chemmeen Lahren and in English as The Anger of the Sea.
Chemmeen (, , lit. prawn) is a Malayalam novel written by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai in 1956. Chemmeen tells the story of the relationship between Karuthamma, the daughter of a Hindu fisherman, and Pareekutti, the son of a Muslim fish wholesaler. The theme of the novel is a myth among the fishermen communities along the coastal Kerala State in the Southern India. The myth is about chastity. If the married fisher woman was infidel when her husband was in the sea, the Sea Goddess (Kadalamma literally means Mother Sea) would consume him. It is to perpetuate this myth that Thakazhi wrote this beautiful novel. It was adapted into a film of same name, which won critical acclaim and commercial success.
Thakazhi made a departure from his a vowed commitment to realism as it appeared in his works till then he brought in a fresh breeze of lyricism and romanticism. The novel acquires the quality of a fable in which life in the fishermen’s community is depicted with great emotional detail. The customs, taboos, beliefs, rituals and the day-to-day business of living through the pain of stark existence come alive magically through Thakazhi’s pen.
Chemmeen won the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, India's second highest literary prize, in 1957.