Kaliyattam

Kaliyattam (English: The Play of God) is a 1997 Indian Malayalam-language tragedy film directed by Jayaraj. It stars Suresh Gopi, Lal (in his acting debut), Biju Menon and Manju Warrier. The film is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Othello, set against the backdrop of the Theyyam performance of Kerala. The screenplay is written by Balram Mattannur. Suresh Gopi plays Kannan Perumalayan, the equivalent to Othello, Lal plays Paniyan, the equivalent to Iago, Manju Warrier plays Thamara, the Desdemona version, and Biju Menon plays Kanthan, Cassio's role. Suresh Gopi's role as Kannan Perumalayan was critically acclaimed. In 1998, Suresh Gopi received the National Film Award for Best Actor and Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for his critically acclaimed performance. Jayaraj won the Best Director Award for Kaliyattam. The film was a critical and commercial success.