Thoovanathumbikal is a 1987 Malayalam romance film written and directed by P. Padmarajan, which is based on his own novel Udakappola. The film revolves around Jayakrishnan who falls in love with two women; Radha a distant relative of his and Clara an escort in town. The film has turned into a cult film with a large following and commands good viewership even till today. Polls conducted by several websites state the film to be one of the greatest Malayalam films of all time. The film was ranked #8 by IBN Live in its list of greatest Indian films of all time. Over the years, the film has been immensely praised for the rich film score and popular songs, cult dialogues and characters, detailed screenplay by Padmarajan and versatile acting by Mohanlal. Rain is a recurring theme and is portrayed almost as a character in the film.