Thalakkulathu Velayudhan Chembaka Raman Thampi, popularly known as Veluthampi Dalawa, who was the ‘Dalawa’ (Prime Minister) of Travancore during the first decade of 19th century, was one of the first to rebel against the British East India Company’s supremacy. Films based on the lives of patriots who fought against the British rule were seldom made in India before Independence. Social films and even costume dramas that induced thoughts on freedom were banned by the British Government. K Subrahmaniam’s Tamil movie Thyagabhoomi (1939) and Debaki Bose’s Hindi film Apna Ghar (1942) are examples of films that faced ban and ‘censor cuts.’ After Independence, films were produced on the life of martyrs who fought against foreign rule in India. Veluthampi Dalawa , released on February 22, 1962, was one such.
Produced by P.K. Satyapal under the banner of Oriental Movies, the film was shot at Newton Studios and directed by G.Viswanath. Screenplay and dialogues were by Jagathi N.K. Achary, cinematography by P.K. Madhavan Nair, and dances were choreographed by Chinni and Sampath along with Kalamandalam Madhavan.
Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair, Thikkurissi Sukumaran Nair, Prem Nawaz, Adoor Bhasi, G.K. Pillai, Ragini, Ambika and Sukumari were cast in important roles.
The story begins during the tyrannical regime of Jayanthan Namboodiri (Thikkkurissi Sukumaran Nair), the ‘Dalawa’ of Travancore. The country was plagued by corruption and mismanagement at all levels. Veluthampi (Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair) who was in royal service succeeded in exposing the tyranny of Jayanthan Namboodiri and rose to the position of Dalawa. Jayanthan Namboodiri’s ears were cut as punishment and he was banished from Travancore.
Veluthampi resorted to harsh punishments in order to improve the law and order of the kingdom. His overbearing conduct created resentment among his colleagues. The corrupt revenue officer Mallan Pillai (Adoor Bhasi) was punished and terminated from service. The powerful cabinet official Kunju Neelan Pillai (G.K. Pillai) and his group were supporters of the British East India Company. They leaked the defence secrets of the country to the Resident British Officer Macaulay (Satyapal). Veluthampi was vigilant and in his landmark ‘Kundara Proclamation’ urged the people to fight against the British. This made him popular among the states of Cochin and Kozhikode and they offered their support to him in his fight against the British.
Jagadambika (Ragini) was in love with Veluthampi and supported him in his plans against the British. She entered Macaulay’s bungalow in disguise and managed to recover the defence files, but was shot dead. Before she died, Jagadambika handed over the files to Veluthampi. He took an oath to drive away the British from the country.
The British succeeded in invading and bringing under their control several towns and villages surrounding Thiruvananthapuram. Veluthampi requested the king to release more arms and ammunition including rifles to fight against the British. Kunju Neelan Pillai alleged that it was Veluthampi who provoked the British against Travancore. The king believes the allegation and Veluthampi quit his post as Dalawa. After conducting the marriage of his niece Seethalakshmi (Ambika) and Unni Namboodiri (Prem Nawaz), Veluthampi left to take refuge in the sanctum sanctorum of Mannadi Temple along with his brother Padmanabhan Thampi. The British surrounded the temple, but Veluthampi killed himself before they could enter; Padmanabhan decapitated Veluthampi.
Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair excelled in the lead role, supported by Ragini, Ambika, and Prem Nawaz.
Some of the songs, written by Abhayadev and tuned by V. Dakshinamoorthy and R Parthasarathy, became hits. ‘Innu nalla luckaa…’ (K.P. Udayabhanu-K.Rani), ‘Viral onnillenkilum…’ (Udayabhanu-A.P.Komala), ‘Poojari vannilley…’ ( Kumareshan-P.Leela), ‘Enthinu moham…’ and ‘Kaathu kolka njangale…’ (both by Leela) were popular during those times.
Will be remembered: As a good historical movie and for Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair’s powerful acting.
