Sphadikam
Encyclopedia
Spadikam is a 1995 Malayalam film written and directed by Bhadran, starring Mohanlal
in the role of a real life rowdy Thomas Chacko aka Aadu Thoma. The film was critically acclaimed, and was also a blockbuster
and received cult-fan following. The film's name "Spadikam" means prism, which is a metaphor
for the human nature. Just like how white light gets split into many colors by a prism, every human transforms themselves when faced with experiences in life.
) is a high-school headmaster who is a president's medal winner in Mathematics. He is a very strict teacher and emphasizes memorization and discipline at the expense of analysis and creativity in school. He punishes his students ruthlessly and gives no special treatment to his son Thomas, who is also a student in his class. Chacko always assumes that his son is behind every mischief in class, and punishes him until the actual culprit gives himself in.
Unlike his father, Thomas isn't too good in math (he cannot memorize the binomial theorem
) but he is very creative and productive in designing mechanical and electronic gadgetry like a mechanical school bell which his father destroys later. For instance, he impresses his mother and sister by developing an AM radio receiver inside a soap-case at a time when phonographs were more prevalent in his village. When his father finds out about the receiver he throws it into flames and destroys it; he forces his son to focus on his studies instead of being an inventor. Thomas works hard, and he does well in his language paper, but his dad asks his language teacher to grade his paper with no leniency, so that he gets a low grade. When he finds out that even his most beloved language teacher was biased against him he becomes outraged. He runs away from home.
Fourteen years later, he returns to his village. Thomas, by now, had changed into a totally different person. He was no longer interested in clockwork and gadgetry; he owned a stone quarry and had become a well known rowdy wanted by the authorities as a prime suspect in many unsolved crimes. His father still hated him and never accepted him as family.
But as the film progresses, both father and son regret what they had done to each other. In an interesting turn of events the father and the son reunite in a very emotional way, but only to find the evil forces chasing Thoma.The movie ends with Chacko master taking his last breath lying in Thoma's lap and police taking Thoma into custody.This film remake in telugu as vajram with nagarjuna.
and an educated but traditional Indian middle class community. Most of the locations still look exactly as depicted in the film and some of the place names used in the story are also real. Although the anjuvilakku, boat jetty, churches, chapels, and the old trade buildings in the market are all fictional.
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star...
in the role of a real life rowdy Thomas Chacko aka Aadu Thoma. The film was critically acclaimed, and was also a blockbuster
Blockbuster (entertainment)
Blockbuster, as applied to film or theatre, denotes a very popular or successful production. The entertainment industry use was originally theatrical slang referring to a particularly successful play but is now used primarily by the film industry...
and received cult-fan following. The film's name "Spadikam" means prism, which is a metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
for the human nature. Just like how white light gets split into many colors by a prism, every human transforms themselves when faced with experiences in life.
Plot
Chacko Master (ThilakanThilakan
Surendranatha Thilakan , known mononymously as Thilakan, is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam cinema and theatre. He was awarded Padma Shri on 25 January 2009.- Theatre:...
) is a high-school headmaster who is a president's medal winner in Mathematics. He is a very strict teacher and emphasizes memorization and discipline at the expense of analysis and creativity in school. He punishes his students ruthlessly and gives no special treatment to his son Thomas, who is also a student in his class. Chacko always assumes that his son is behind every mischief in class, and punishes him until the actual culprit gives himself in.
Unlike his father, Thomas isn't too good in math (he cannot memorize the binomial theorem
Binomial theorem
In elementary algebra, the binomial theorem describes the algebraic expansion of powers of a binomial. According to the theorem, it is possible to expand the power n into a sum involving terms of the form axbyc, where the exponents b and c are nonnegative integers with , and the coefficient a of...
) but he is very creative and productive in designing mechanical and electronic gadgetry like a mechanical school bell which his father destroys later. For instance, he impresses his mother and sister by developing an AM radio receiver inside a soap-case at a time when phonographs were more prevalent in his village. When his father finds out about the receiver he throws it into flames and destroys it; he forces his son to focus on his studies instead of being an inventor. Thomas works hard, and he does well in his language paper, but his dad asks his language teacher to grade his paper with no leniency, so that he gets a low grade. When he finds out that even his most beloved language teacher was biased against him he becomes outraged. He runs away from home.
Fourteen years later, he returns to his village. Thomas, by now, had changed into a totally different person. He was no longer interested in clockwork and gadgetry; he owned a stone quarry and had become a well known rowdy wanted by the authorities as a prime suspect in many unsolved crimes. His father still hated him and never accepted him as family.
But as the film progresses, both father and son regret what they had done to each other. In an interesting turn of events the father and the son reunite in a very emotional way, but only to find the evil forces chasing Thoma.The movie ends with Chacko master taking his last breath lying in Thoma's lap and police taking Thoma into custody.This film remake in telugu as vajram with nagarjuna.
Cast
- MohanlalMohanlalMohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star...
... Aadu Thoma (Thomas Chacko) - ThilakanThilakanSurendranatha Thilakan , known mononymously as Thilakan, is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam cinema and theatre. He was awarded Padma Shri on 25 January 2009.- Theatre:...
... Chacko Master - Spadikam GeorgeSpadikam GeorgeGeorge known as Spadikam George is an Indian actor, primarily concentrating in Malayalam films. He came to limelight with the 1995 released Malayalam blockbuster Spadikam. George's performance in that film won him good reviews as his villain role opposite Mohanlal was the highlight of that movie...
... Kuttikkadan - UrvashiUrvashi (actress)Kavitha Ranjini, better known by her stage name Urvashi , is an Indian film actress and producer. She was a prominent lead actress during the 1980s and 1990s in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu films. She has dubbed in her own voice in all these languages. And she produced the film Pidakkozhi...
... Thulasi - Chippy ... Jansy Chacko
- K.P.A.C. Lalitha ... Mary
- Rajan P. DevRajan P. DevRajan P Dev was an Indian film and stage actor. He was born in Cherthala in the Alappuzha district of the former state Thiru-Kochi . He had acted in over 140 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada language films. He was noted for his villain roles laced with a touch of humour...
... Manimala Vakkachan - V.K. Sriraman ... Pookoya
- Silk SmithaSilk SmithaSilk Smitha was an Indian film actress. She became a movie extra and subsequently the most wanted heroine of the early 80s. The sobriquet "Silk" came in 1979, with her first Tamil film Vandi Chakkaram, in which she played a bar girl named Silk...
... Laila - Nedumudi VenuNedumudi VenuNedumudi Venu is a popular Malayalam film actor from Kerala, India. He has also written screenplays and has directed one film.- Early life :...
... Ravunni Master - Ashokan ... Jerry
- Karamana Janardanan NairKaramana Janardanan NairKaramana Janardanan Nair was one of the most famous Malayalam film actors during the 80s and 90s. He won wide acclaim especially for the role of the protagonist in Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Elippathayam. He is best remembered for his roles in Agnidevan and in Sphadikam . His last role was as Fr....
... Fr. Ottaplakkan - N F Varghese ... Pachu Pillai
- Maniyanpilla Raju ... Kunju Mohammad
- BahadurBahadurBahadur * Banda Singh Bahadur , a Sikh warrior and martyr* Coote Bahadur was a name given the Irish soldier Sir Eyre Coote by his troops* Bahadoor , a comedic actor in Malayalam-language films...
... Kurup - Johny ... Maniyan
- Bheeman RaghuBheeman RaghuBheeman Reghu is a Malayalam actor best known for his portrayal of villains in Indian cinema.In a career spanning nearly three decades, he has appeared in more than 400 films in Malayalam, and has recently started doing comedy roles...
... Somasekharan Pillai - IndransIndransIndrans is a Malayalam film actor and costume designer. He acts mainly in comedy roles. He has acted in over 200 films.Indrans, a Tailor by profession, debuted in the film Choothattam as a costume designer. It was producer Charlie who offered him a chance to assist in costume designing...
- Paravoor Bharathan ... Joseph
- Kanakalatha ... Kuttikkadan's Wife
- SankaradiSankaradiSankaradi was an Indian actor. He was a veteran Malayalam comedian and character artiste, who had over 700 Malayalam films to his credit....
... Judge - N.L. Balakrishnan
Crew
- Directed by: Bhadran
- Written by: Dr.C.G.Rajendra Babu
- Produced by: R. Mohan
- Music: S.P. Venkitesh
- Lyrics: P. BhaskaranP. BhaskaranPulloottupadathu Bhaskara Menon , better known as P. Bhaskaran, was a famous Malayalam poet and lyricist of Malayalam film songs. He penned more than 3000 songs for about 250 films. He also directed 44 Malayalam feature films and 3 documentaries, produced 6 feature films and acted in several movies...
- Cinematography: J. Williams
- Editing: M.S. Mani
- Costume Design: IndransIndransIndrans is a Malayalam film actor and costume designer. He acts mainly in comedy roles. He has acted in over 200 films.Indrans, a Tailor by profession, debuted in the film Choothattam as a costume designer. It was producer Charlie who offered him a chance to assist in costume designing...
- Assistant Director: Gandikuttan
- Stunts: B. Thyagarajan
- Stills: N.L. Balakrishnan
- Singers: M. G. SreekumarM. G. SreekumarM. G. Sreekumar is a two-time National Award-winning Indian playback singer and music director who works in Malayalam cinema. With a career of over 25 years, he is one of the prominent male singers in the Malayalam film industry. He is known for matching voice with Malayalam actor Mohanlal. He has...
, K.S. Chitra, MohanlalMohanlalMohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star...
Shooting Location
The film was entirely shot in the town of Changanassery and nearby places. The location substantiates the storyline by being home to the Catholic Archdiocese of ChanganasseryArchdiocese of Changanassery
Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Changanassery is a Catholic Archdiocese in India, under the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. Currently, it is the largest Catholic Diocese in India...
and an educated but traditional Indian middle class community. Most of the locations still look exactly as depicted in the film and some of the place names used in the story are also real. Although the anjuvilakku, boat jetty, churches, chapels, and the old trade buildings in the market are all fictional.