A prisoner falls in love with a voice he'll never see—walls can't cage this.
Mathilukal ('Walls') is a free adaptation of the novelette of the same name, written by the celebrated Malayalam writer, Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. Autobiographical in character, it is set against the background of India’s freedom struggle in the ’40s when he was serving a term of imprisonment in the Trivandrum Central Jail. When the film opens, we see Basheer in a police lock-up, quite at home in the company of a few petty criminals. He has been languishing there for more than a year now without a trial.
Acting
Mammootty carries entire scenes alone, talking to empty walls.
Direction
Adoor's radical choice: we never see the female lead.
Writing
Basheer's own words, sharpened by prison wit and longing.
Director
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Mammootty won the National Award for Best Actor despite having no co-star on screen—he performed opposite a disembodied voice recorded separately.
Basheer was Kerala's beloved 'Beypore Sultan,' and this film cemented Mammootty's reputation as the thinking person's superstar—art house darling AND box office king.
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