KOZHIKODE: On a cloudy day, the stars of Malayalam’s cultural arena from the past and present joined together to commemorate the 77th anniversary of Balan, the first talkie in the language, at Town Hall in Kozhikode .
The programme organised by the Malayalam Chalachitra Sauhrida Vedi also felicitated different personalities from the Malayalam silver screen.
During the function K.M Sukanya Devi, daughter of C.O Narayanan Nambiar-- who gave life to Barrister Prabhakara Menon , the main character in the film was felicitated.
Addressing the gathering, Sukanya Devi said that though her father had played a leading role in the movie, he was not recognized for his role by the Malayalam film community or society. She urged stakeholders to discuss the issue and decide whether he had received the deserved honour and place in Malayalam film history.
Kozhikode district panchayat president Kanathil Jameela inaugurated the function. Addressing the inaugural session, Kanathil Jameela said that celebrating the first talkie in
Malayalam was bringing back fond memories of the past and the kind of movies produced that time.
The programme felicitated film maker Swargachithra Appachan, artistes Mammu Koya, Kutyedathi Vilasini, Vijayan Karanthoor, Kalinga Sasi, Renuka and Appunni Sasi, screenplay writer Sathrughnan, musicians Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, Kaithapram Vishwanathan Namboothiri etc were felicitated.
The programme also honoured junior artistes from Kozhikode who excelled in various fields.
Devagiri College Arts and Music Club staged musical evening, classical dance and mimicry during the programme.
