Mathilukal (The Walls)
Malayalam Film with English Subtitles
(Col / 119 mins / 1989)
Based on an autobiographical novelette by the well-known Kerala writer Basheer, this is a love story, set in a prison cell the 40s, between the imprisoned Basheer (Mammootty) and a woman from the neighboring prison compound. They are separated by a high wall so that they never see each other and have to devise ingenious ways of communicating. Produced for TV, the story is played out in confined spaces with a sense of claustrophobia and suppressed violence which enhances the emotional impact of the moving love story.
Direction, Production& Screenplay: Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Production Co.: Doordarshan
Story: Vaikom Mohammed Basheer
Cast: Mammootty, Thilakan, Murali, Ravi Vallathol, Srinath & others