Hides and Strings

Vidhyarthikale Ithile Ithile is a 1972 Indian Malayalam film, directed by John Abraham and produced by Minnal. The film stars Madhu, Jayabharathi, Adoor Bhasi and Paul Vengola in lead roles. The film had musical score by MB Sreenivasan.

Student film by John Abraham

Diploma film by John Abraham

Purushan, a student on his way to Delhi, becomes obsessed with the tragic suicide of a young drummer. He collects many people to go with him to tell the boy’s mother.

The film depicts the life of a truck driver Sucha Singh and his wife Balo. Balo has to get Sucha Singh's food ready every day, walk a long distance through the fields and wait for him on the highway as he drives past the village. He leads an independent life, playing cards with his friends and spending time with his mistress, and comes home only once a week. However, he expects his wife to play the traditional role of a devoted wife. One day Balo gets late, trying to save her sister from the advances of a lecherous villager. Sucha Singh is angry, and drives away without his food. She decides to wait for him until nightfall.

A donkey strays into a village dominated by the upper caste Brahmins.

Cheriyachan, a landlord, feels threatened by industrialisation and leftist activities. But when he witnesses police atrocities on poor peasants, a feeling of guilt engulfs him and he feels responsible for the guilt of his entire class. He is last seen up a coconut tree trying to keep away from the police. The film is about a peasant's movement against the feudal system.