Ardhanaari
Ardhanaari (2012) is a Malayalam film about the life of transgender people in Kerala. The film is directed by Santhosh Souparnika and produced by M. G. Sreekumar under his production house MG Sound & Frames.[1][2]
| Ardhanaari | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Santhosh Souparnika |
| Written by | Santhosh Souparnika |
| Produced by | M. G. Sreekumar |
| Starring | Manoj K. Jayan Mahalakshmi Thilakan Sukumari Sai Kumar |
| Cinematography | Hemachandran |
| Edited by | Abhilash Viswanath |
| Music by | M. G. Sreekumar |
Production company | MG Sound & Frames Company |
| Distributed by | MG Sound & Frames Release |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
Manjula (Manoj K. Jayan), is a transgender with male physique and female behavioural traits, which leads to ridicule and snide remarks from her brother and others. The film brings out the rituals, customs, angst and preferences of transgenders. The title of the film alludes to the half male and half female Hindu god Ardhanarishvara. Also starring in the film are Mahalakshmi, Maniyanpilla Raju, Thilakan, Sukumari and Sai Kumar. It was one of the last films featuring veteran actor Thilakan who died from heart attack weeks before the release of the film.
The film opened to mixed critical reviews but the performance by Manoj K. Jayan as a transgender gained unanimous appreciation.[3][4]
Cast
- Manoj K. Jayan as Manjula / Vinayan
- Mahalakshmi as Kokila
- Thilakan as Nayak
- Maniyanpilla Raju as Jameela
- Sukumari as the priest
- Sai Kumar as Vinayan's Father
- Thesni Khan as Vinayan's sister
- Kochu Preman as the school teacher
- Irshad
- Jayakrishnan as Balu Menon
- Asha Sarath as Balu Menon's wife
Awards
- Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Malayalam - Manoj K. Jayan
- Nominated—SIIMA Award for Best Actor - Manoj K. Jayan