Adoor: A Journey in Frames

Naalu Pennungal (transl. Four women) is a 2007 Malayalam language anthology film produced and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan based on four short stories written by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. The film stars Padmapriya, Geetu Mohandas, Manju Pillai and Nandita Das in the major roles and KPAC Lalitha, Mukesh, Manoj K. Jayan, Kavya Madhavan, Sreejith Ravi, Nandu, Remya Nabeeshan, and M. R. Gopakumar in supporting roles. The movie chronicles a journey of womanhood across assorted backdrops with a classic amalgamation of source matters and techniques that splendidly spans times and frames. The movie has four distinct parts, each adapted from separate short stories by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. The parts narrate the stories of women from different strata of the society. Though the stories are not explicitly connected in narration, a pattern emerges in the flow of the movie, both in the chronological setting and the stature of the women. For the film, Adoor Gopalakrishnan won Best Director and B. Ajithkumar for Best Editor at 55th National Film Awards.