View source for Mathilukal

{{short description|Novel by Vaikkom Muhammed Basheer}}
{{For|the film based on the novel|Mathilukal (film){{!}}''Mathilukal'' (film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2018}}
{{Infobox book 
| name          = Mathilukal
| title_orig    = മതിലുകൾ
| translator    = 
| image         = mathilukalbook.jpg
| caption = The cover of ''Mathilukal''.
| author        = [[Vaikom Muhammad Basheer]]
| illustrator   = 
| cover_artist  = 
| country       = India
| language      = Malayalam
| genre         = [[Romance novel|Romance]], [[patriotic]]
| publisher     = [[DC Books]]<ref>[http://dcbookshop.net/php/bookSearchResult.php?val=Mathilukal&type=BUK "''Mathikal'' by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer"]. [[DC Books]]. Retrieved 2010-12-27</ref>
| release_date  = 1965<ref>R.E.Asher. 24 January 1998. [http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl1502/15020840.htm "Basheer and the freedom struggle"]. ''[[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]]''. ''[[The Hindu]]''. Retrieved 2010-12-27.</ref>
| english_release_date = 
| media_type    = 
| pages         = 
| isbn          = 
}}
'''''Mathilukal''''' ([[Malayalam]]: മതിലുകൾ, meaning ''Walls'') is a [[Malayalam]] novel written by [[Vaikom Muhammad Basheer]] in 1965.<ref name="Novel">P.K.Ajith Kumar. [https://web.archive.org/web/20121108145954/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2010/05/14/stories/2010051451370300.htm "Romantic interlude"]. ''The Hindu''. 14 May 2010.</ref>

==Theme==
The theme of the novel, focuses on the love between Basheer, a prisoner, and a female inmate of the prison, who remains unseen throughout the novel.<ref name="Play">K.Rajan. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080318181844/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2008/03/14/stories/2008031450120300.htm "Of human bondage"]. ''The Hindu''. 14 March 2008</ref> In ''Mathilukal'', though the broad frame is autobiographical and the narration is [[First-person narrative|first person]], the details
seem to contain sprinkles of fantasy.<ref>P.M.Girish. [http://www.languageinindia.com/march2008/pmgirishtextreading.pdf "A Brief Examination of Three Widely-Acclaimed Malayalam Novels"]. Languageinindia.com. 3 March 2008.</ref>

==Translations==
* ''Voices; The Walls''. Translated by V. Abdulla. [[Bombay]]: [[Orient Longman]]. 1976.
* ''Walls''. Translated by Nivedita Menon. [[New Delhi]]: ''Katha''. 1996. pp. 43–72.

==Film adaptation==
{{Main|Mathilukal (film)}}
In 1989, a film adaptation of the novel was released, starring [[Mammootty]] as [[Vaikom Muhammad Basheer]] and [[K.P.A.C Lalitha]] as Narayani (voice only), and directed by [[Adoor Gopalakrishnan]]. The film was a major critical success, and gained many awards at national and international levels. Mammootty won the [[National Film Award for Best Actor]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ingoodbooks.com/84/mathilukal-the-walls-by-vaikom-mohammad-basheer/ Book review by Susan Mathen of Ingoodbooks.com] ({{Rating|4.5|5}})

{{Basheer}}
{{Malayalam Literature |state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Novels by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer]]
[[Category:Indian autobiographical novels]]
[[Category:Indian romance novels]]
[[Category:Indian novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:Malayalam novels]]
[[Category:Novels set in India]]
[[Category:Novels set in the 1940s]]
[[Category:DC Books books]]
[[Category:1965 Indian novels]]


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