Wikipedia
Peruvazhiyambalam is a 1979 Malayalam film directed by P. Padmarajan based on his novel of the same name. It marked Padmarajan's directorial debut and the acting debut for Ashokan who plays the central character Raman.
The film is an incisive examination of how violence or totalitarianism works in our society; it dealt with disturbing questions relating to masculinity and how people adore and dread it at the same time. The Hindu described this film as one of the finest films in Malayalam. It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam. The film was included in IBN Live's list of 100 greatest Indian films of all time.
Peruvazhiyambalam is a Malayalam novel written by Padmarajan. In 1978, it was adapted for a feature film also called Peruvazhiyambalam directed by Padmarajan. This novel is about teenager Raman who kills Prabhakaran Pillai, a local thug in self-defense. It describes his escape from the village by the help of Prabhakaran Pillai's enemies and how he comes in terms with the life at the shelter provided by them. This is a novel which looks at the teenage mind and its guilt towards crime and its aftermath.