Swathi Muthyam

Swathi Muthyam () is a 1986 Indian Telugu-language drama film written and directed by K. Viswanath and produced by Edida Nageswara Rao. The film stars Kamal Haasan and Raadhika, while Gollapudi Maruti Rao, J. V. Somayajulu, Nirmalamma, Sarath Babu, and Y. Vijaya play supporting roles. The soundtrack and background score were composed by Ilaiyaraaja. "Swathi Muthyam" depicts the plight of a young widow who is rescued by an autistic man.
"Swathi Muthyam" was a box office success. The film was screened at the Moscow Film Festival, the Asian and African film festival in Tashkent, the 11th International Film Festival of India in the inaugural mainstream section. The film received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu, the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film, and the Filmfare South Award for Best Direction. The film was selected by India as its entry for the Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards in 1986, but was not nominated.
The film was later dubbed into Tamil as "Sippikkul Muthu", released on October 2, 1986. Swathi Muthyam ran for 450 days at Pallavi Theatre in Bangalore. Upon its success, the film was later remade in Hindi as "Eeshwar" and in Kannada as "Swathi Muthu". The 2003 Hindi film "Koi... Mil Gaya" was inspired by "Swathi Muthyam".
Plot.
Shivaiah (Kamal Haasan), an innocent and autistic orphan, lives along with his grandmother (Nirmalamma) in a village. In that village, Lalitha (Raadhika), a young widow with a five-year-old son, lives along with her brother Chalapati's (Sarath Babu) family. She and her son often get abused by her sister-in-law (Y. Vijaya), but Lalitha, having nowhere to go, bears it all.
Shivaiah often encounters Lalitha and gets appalled by her condition. One day, during Sri Rama Navami festival, Shivaiah marries Lalitha, shocking all the villagers. His grandmother (Nirmalamma) approves of his marriage as she also has much sympathy and regard for Lalitha, but his uncle and Orthodox villagers oppose that marriage as they consider remarriage of a widow as a sin. In that brawl, Shivaiah's grandmother dies, leaving innocent Shivaiah in the hands of Lalitha. Lalitha moves in with her husband with the blessings of her brother.
Some of the villagers help them to build a new life. Gradually, Lalitha makes Shivaiah understand the household duties and responsibilities of a man. Shivaiah finds work and starts to support his wife and stepson. Later they have a son and live happily for a long time. Years pass, and Lalitha becomes ill and dies in her husband's arms. In the climax, Shivaiah walks out of his house surrounded by his children and grandchildren. He carries a tulsi plant, which was his memory of Lalitha's love.
Production.
Arun Kumar and Venkatesh were the production designers for the film.
The film was shot for nearly 70 days near the shores of Rajahmundry, Torredu, Tadikonda, Pattiseema, Chennai, and Mysore. Allu Arjun did a small role as one of the grandsons of Kamal Haasan.
The scene where Haasan pretended to dance like someone who does not know to dance took so many days to get it "rightly wrong," as Haasan is a seasoned dancer.
Reception.
Baradwaj Rangan said in 2017, "K Viswanath, this year's recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, made three films with Kamal Haasan. "Sagara Sangamam" is the best, "Subha Sankalpam" the weakest – and between these two films, chronologically and quality-wise, lies "Swathi Muthyam" (White Pearl)."