Chithramela (1967)

Interesting facts

Chithramela is a 1967 Indian Malayalam-language anthology film directed and produced by T. S. Muthaiah. It was Malayalam cinema's first anthology film. The cast includes Prem Nazir, Sharada, Sheela, K. P. Ummer, Kottayam Chellappan, S. P. Pillai, Adoor Bhasi, Bahadoor and Manavalan Joseph.

Production

Veteran actor T. S. Muthiah made his directorial debut with Chithramela. He also produced the film under the banner of Sree Movies. Director M. Krishnan Nair is credited for giving technical assistance in direction. The idea for the short film Penninte Prapancham was by film producer T. E. Vasudevan. He, in turn, was inspired by a Laurel and Hardy film.

Chithramela was the first anthology film (portmanteau film) in Malayalam. The Tamil film Sirikkathe (1939) was the first anthology film in India. The Malayalam film industry has produced only a handful of anthology films to date, which include Yauvanam/Vandikkari (1974), Naalu Pennungal (2007), Kerala Cafe (2009) and Oru Yathrayil (2013), among others.

The film's music was provided by G. Devarajan, assisted by R. K. Shekhar. There are eight songs in the film, all of them included in the third and longest segment Apaswarangal. The lyrics were penned by Sreekumaran Thampi, who also penned the script for Apaswarangal.

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