Uploaded December 2018 | Updated September 2026, 11 hours ago

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Artham (Malayalam: അര്‍ത്ഥം, English: The Meaning) is a 1989 Malayalam-language Indian crime drama film directed by Sathyan Anthikkad and written by Venu Nagavally. It stars Mammootty, Sreenivasan, Murali, Saranya, and Jayaram in the main roles along with Parvathy, Mamukkoya, Philomina, Mohan Raj, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, Sukumari, Jagannatha Varma, and Oduvil Unnikrishnan in other pivotal roles. The music was composed by Johnson.

The film is an adaptation of the Tamil detective novel Ethir Katru by Subha. The story revolves around a loner and award-winning novelist Ben Narendran (Mammootty) who seeks revenge against the forces who murdered his dear friend Janardanan (Jayaram). Joining in Narendran's aid are journalist Manasa (Saranya) and Advocate P. S. Nenmara (Sreenivasan). It was also later adapted in Tamil cinema as Ethir Kaatru (1990).

Directed : Sathyan Anthikkad
Produced : Suriya Chandralal
Screenplay : Venu Nagavally
Starring : Mammootty | Sreenivasan | Murali | Saranya | Jayaram | Parvathy
Music : Johnson