What is "niram"

Niram ( English: Colour) is a 1999 Malayalam Romantic film directed by Kamal, starring Kunchacko Boban and Shalini in the lead roles. The film is about a special friendship between a boy and girl, Aby ( Kunchacko Boban) and Sona ( Shalini). The film's music was composed by Vidyasagar.

Niram was a commercial success, and brought back in a genre of college campus based films in Malayalam cinema. The film was remade in Telugu as Nuvve Kavali starring Tarun and Richa Pallod, in Tamil as Piriyadha Varam Vendum starring Prashanth and Shalini, in Kannada as Ninagagi with Vijay Raghavendra and in Hindi as Tujhe Meri Kasam starring Ritesh Deshmukh and Genelia D'souza.

Niram had a lasting effect in the youngsters of that generation who got influenced by the concept of friends being lovers which is a philosophy propagated in Shahrukh Khan's movies. It is this influence that has led several couples to acknowledge themselves as 'Da' and 'Di' which helped them form a unique bond of friendship. With more and more youngsters choosing their best friends as partners, this movement has had a significant impact in improving gender equality and strengthening family relationships in the state of Kerala.