Khaddama is a 2011 Malayalam drama film co–written and directed by Kamal. It stars Kavya Madhavan in the title role, with Sreenivasan, Biju Menon, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Sukumari, Suraj Venjaramood, Lena, Jaffer Idukki, Muralikrishnan and Manu Jose playing other pivotal roles. Produced by P. V. Pradeep under the banner of Anitha Productions, it features songs composed by Bennet Veetraag, background music by M. Jayachandran, cinematography by Manoj Pillai, and editing by K. Rajagopal.
The title of the film is a colloquial version of Arabic word for servant "Khadima" . The film narrates the story of the immigrants in the Gulf, through exploring the life of a housemaid in Saudi Arabia (Kavya Madhavan). It is scripted by K. Girishkumar and Kamal, based on a reportage by K. U. Iqbal. Iqbal's feature, published in Bhashaposhini, was inspired by real–life incidents of a Kerala–born housemaid. Principal photography of the film began in October 2010, and took place mainly in the Middle East. After a special screening for industry people in the last week of January, the film made its theatrical debut in Kerala on 4 February 2011. The film's release was banned across Middle East.
The film was well received by film critics, with most of them applauding it as a realistic film. The performance of Kavya Madhavan has been rated as one of the best in her career, while the film itself is regarded as the best one in Malayalam with a Gulf-centric theme.
