Picture Courtsey: www.indiamovieclub.com
When the names Mohanlal and Sreenivasan are spoken in unison, the first images that come to the mind of a Malayalam film lover are the scenes from the film “Nadodikattu”. In the genre of comedy films, no two characters have given us funnier moments than Ramdas and Vijayan.
Recently a few websites (like this one) claimed that Director Rosshan Andrews (of Udhayananu Tharam fame) had decided to direct the fourth part of this acclaimed series after initial rumors that the director duo Rafi-Mecartin had planned to do the same. But even in a recent interview by Rediff regarding his latest flick “Kadha Parayumbol”, scriptwriter Sreenivasan had denied any plans on making a fourth part.
“Nadodikattu”, the film released in 1987 was scripted by Sreenivasan and directed by Sathyan Anthikkad. It was succeeded by two sequels “Pattanapravesham” and “Akkare Akkare Akkare”. But it was Nadodikattu which gave life to the two characters and ensured a permanent place for them in the mind of the Malayalam film lovers.
Nadodikattu explored the trials and tribulations faced by two unemployed youths Ramdas and Vijayan and how fate finally reverses their fortunes through a series of humorous and bizarre incidents. The film has characters made memorable through actors like Thilakan (as Ananthan Nambiar) and Captain Raju (as the killer Pavanai). Though this film was a huge success, its sequels didn’t succeed commercially as much as the original. More than just highlighting the twist and turns in the life of two youths the film showcased the different shades of character in a Malayali living in Madras (now Chennai). The miserly business man Ananthan Nambiar, the taxi driver Balan (Innocent) struggling to meet his livelihood, the single woman living with her mother (Shobhana), the cunning politician (played by Janardhanan), the honest police officer are all testimony to this fact.
Of the two sequels, Pattanapravseham churned out better box office results compared to “Akkare..”. The reasons as to why the latter didn’t perform too well at the box office could be attributed to the following reasons:
- Released during the 2nd half of the golden era of Malayalam cinema (early 1990’s). Therefore was released during a period in which the quality of Malayalam films was so high that such films were hardly recognized. Removal of characters like Ananthan Nambiar and Gafoorka from the script, thus making the film devoid of some aspects critical to the success of its first two parts.
- Absence of the realistic factor by setting the story in a country like United States.
- The villain being an American instead of an Indian, thus limiting the comic situation with him, unlike the duels with the character “Prabhakaran” in Pattanapravesham.
- The very CID theme was made just to bring in the sequels, whereas, Nadodikattu was based on the difficulties faced by two unemployed graduates in managing their life. Therefore, the sympathy the viewers felt for the two characters in the first part was considerably reduced in the 2nd part and almost absent in the third part.
So, that brings us to some interesting questions:
· What story can we expect if Sreenivasan decides to pen the sequel?
One has to take into consideration that both Mohanlal and Sreeni are in their 50’s.
· Will we get any new characters like the ones played by Mukesh and Raju in the third part?
· Will the setting of the story again be in a foreign country, with the current trend in all films being so? (In the Orkut community of Dasan and Vijayan one member suggested that the title of the film should be kept as “Ikkare Ikkare Ikkare”)
Many people have stated in various internet forums that a fourth part should not be made since it could spoil the “brand value” of the two characters. I am not sure whether that statement is true, since, the quality of average present day Malayalam films being the way we know it is, the film would do really well at the box-office if it at least matches up to the levels of “Akkare..” That would be the consensus, I suspect, even with Sreenivasan.
Comedy films need to have more of situation comedy rather than pure slap-stick comedy. Pattanapravesham was also a film which took a dig at politicians and even other detective films through a few dialogues. But it was very neatly done rather than scenes being introduced just for the sake of it. As to who was the target of the jokes in those scenes is anyone’s guess ;-).
I, personally, don’t prefer to see a fourth part. Lal and Sreeni would find it a real challenge to recreate the magic of the first two parts and I would rather see Sreeni script a story like ‘Kadha Parayumbol’, than a half-baked sequel of the CID series. What do all of you feel? Would love to hear your comments!
Before I wind up, I am leaving behind some memorable (and humorous) dialogues from the three films.
V – Vijayan
D- Dasan
AN- Ananthan Nambiar
I- Inspector
P - Pavanai
Pr – Prabhakaran (AN’s ‘partner in crime’ and friend)
Nadodikattu
V: Aishwaryathinte siren muzhangunnnathu pole ondu
V: Pre-Degree athrakku moshamaya degree alla
AN: A.N. Traders avihitha margathil onnum sambhadikunnilla
D : Sir..Saare..Nammal company-ile employees-a
AN : Thalkalam employees-inte roopathil ennu parayam
V : Bavathilum anagane thanneya saar
I: Arengilum Jamyam tharathe ningale release cheyyan pattilla
V: Saar thanne nammale Jamyathil irakkikude
P: I am Pavanai
V: Daasa..ithu etha ee alavalathi?
V: Sasi sir ippo evide kaanum
Seema: Sasiyettan ippo Bharaniyila
V: Bharaniyilo ! ?
AN: Angane pavanai shavamayi..enthokke bahulyamayirunnu..malappuram katthi, machine gun, olakkeda moodu..
Pattanapravesham
Pr: ee kallakadothokke kazhinjittu venam onnu guruvayoor vare pokan
D: Ivide dummy onnum ille.
I : saar..ithu oru kutthu kondulla kolayalle..mukalil ninnu veenathalla
D: Enthengilum akatte..Oru dummy enthayalaum venam
Guess all of you would have understood which politician and actor were made fun of :-)
AN: Prabahakara..Kallakadatthum kolapathakam okke engane pokunnu?
AN: Prabhakara..nee enganeyenkilum oru kalla passport oppichu tha..njan evideyengilum poyi samadhanamayi kallakadathu cheythu jeevicholam.
I: Sir..Kola cheytha alude shirt-ile button kittiyitundu..athoru thumballe
D: Thumbano thumbiyano ennu namakku pinne nokkam
V: nalla ugran biriyani..nalla vishappu
D: athu puthiya sambhavan allallo
V: Daasa..ippo nallapole kazhichillangil vayasu kalathu diabetes varumbo dukhikendi varum
D: Ingane kazhichal vaikathe dukhikendi varum
Pr: Kolapathakam cheythavare kandupidiccho?
D: Manyathayude mughammoodi aninjirikunna palarum ithil pinnilanennu namakku manasilayi sir..avare vaikathe akathakkum
It was really amusing to see a scared Karamana Janardhanan’s expression in this scene and the CID’s not realising that they were actually talking to the culprit.
Akkare Akkare Akkare
Mukesh..Da Gopi..ini gopi varachha mathi
American villains: Tell me the truth ..Aren’t u the CID’s from India?
Raju : No..I am gopi from Sasthamangalam
Drug Dealers: Give us the heroin
V : Hair oil-o?
D: Nammale Krishnan nair saar-a ivide ayachathu
Nedumudi: Aaah..athinte phalam-a ayal avide anubhavikkunathu
Soman is shown being beaten up by the villains.
26 comments:
LOL, Dasanum , vijayanum .. what a movie "Nadodikattu" :) nice post !!
@deepti: Glad you liked it :-). I myself have forgotten how many times i have watched the first two parts!
just reading thiss post makes me laugh..after having watched these movies for umpteen times..but still never stops us from laughing..
like u said even i dont want to see a fourth part..am quite pessimistic about the quality of a fourth one..
Mathew - Yes, a fourth part at this stage may not be a good idea,but, Mohanalal who has had quite a few flops now might consider this as the last throw of the dice. :-)
i love these three films man...reading through these dialogues made me realize i know the dialogues in all three movies by heart!!! the 4th part should be done by prithviraj and vineeth sreenivasan...though i am under no illusion that they will match mohanlal and sreeni, they would definitely fare better than the lal and sreeni of today.
some more of my fave dialogues in the 3 movies.
Nadodikattu
D: Thaan aara?
P: Ningal kaaranam maanam poya oru paavam professional killer.
Pattanapravesham
- The look on mohanlal's face when he injects the syringe on the seat cushion
- The scene where ananthan nambiar and vijayan go on the cycle, and talk to each other with a changed voice
Akkare Akkare
At the house of the foreigner lady.
Mukesh: Enthuvaade ithe. Thallakke praanthaananne thonnunnu. Dehopadravam thudangunnathine mumbe valiyaam.
At the hospital:
Dasan: Aaha...neeyaanalle Paul Barber
Vijayan(wincing in pain): ninte achanaada paul barber.
Dasan: Aa commissionere paranjaal mathiyallo. Oru peera thuniyum thannitte paal baarbare kandupidikkaan vittekkunnu. ellaathinum porame eenambechikke marapettikootu pole oruthaneyum.
Vijayan: Daasa njan oru sathyam parayatte. Nammale konde barbare kandupidikkan pattilla kireedavum kandupidikkaan pattilla.
how many years since dialogues like this have come in malayalam, man. sorry for the long post. i lost all control...hehe!
Above it all, the timelessness of these characters are signified by that dialogue which malayalis still use to derive comfort.
"Daasa, ellaathinum athintethaaya oru samayam onde"
cheers to sreeni, sathyan, lal and priyan for giving us these 3 movies.
some trivia:
did you know story of nadodikattu was by siddique lal.
sreeni lost the script of akkare akkare at chennai airport. he rewrote the whole script from scratch in two days on the plane, while flying to the US!!!
@ Jiby: Yes, i know the first trivia point. The story idea was by Siddique_lal duo. In fact I had first mentioned that in my post and then removed it.
As to the second trivia, athoru puthiya ariva. thanx for mentioning it :-)
And no apologies for the long post please :-). You mention these movies to anyone and they have tales to tell. :-)
See , the problem is that we may get someone to play Mohanlal's role in the 4th part. But what about Sreenivasan? I have not seen Vineeth's histrionic skills. Probably you could be right.
nice post man... there is 1 dialogue in pattanapravesham where thilakan and sreenevasan are going on a bike and both have a false voice:
Thilakan: Ninte veedu evida..
Sreenivasan: Ambalappuzha
Thilakan: Aa pandu njan aavazhi okke vannitundu..
Sreeni: Chettante veedu evida?
Thi: Alappuzha
Sreeni: Aa ente achan pandu avide chaaya kada nadathirirunnu...
U wont get it initially, but the fact that they put this dialogue in a movie so long back when people were so uptight.. is really admirable...
karthik,
i am yet to watch cycle but ppl are saying that vineeth is a carbon copy of his dad...which is good news for us! hope he picks up his dad's writing ability too. i just read this sreeni interview...thought i'd share it with you.
http://www.deepika.com/feature/cinema2.asp
Binu: Hmm..Sreenivasan's scripts were really a treat for us film viewers. As you said subtle humour was one of the charecteristics in his scripts..In nadodikattu, when Sreeni gets paid a huge sum of money for the transistor, he immediately calls for a taxi. Hope we get to see scripts like this from Sreeni in the coming years too!
Jiby: Thanx for the link! :-). And yes, hope he gets to write good scripts like his father. Unlike Salim Kumar and Harishree Ashokan who depend on slapstick comedy, Sreeni had a gift for sarcastic and situation comedy.
Today I saw a portion of the Tamil remake. It's set in Ernakulam, not Chennai. Paavanaayi is Mayil Ravanan and his final battle is in a coconut grove, instead of the Anna tower. Didn't catch the screen names of Dasan and Vijayan. Dasan is B.Com first class, but shorter than Vijayan in Tamil -- blasphemy!
I would love to watch a fourth part. Has S N Swamy brought CIDs Dasan and Vijayan into his CBI series?
Ashok - The Tamil remake is pathetic. It had Pandiarajan in it..hehe..How would Kamal Hassan and Vivek have fitted into those roles? ;-)
S N Swamy has brought them into CBI series? That's news to me if it's true
:-)
Ashok chetta..fourth part veno? It's a risk..Anyway, even though i tell that, I would go watch it .:-)
Nice to read ur blog karthik..
as for y pattanapravesham was better than akkare lies in its director itself.. the former was satyan while the later was priyan.. there's a huge quality diffference between the directors wit former bein more of natural comedy and the later bein slapstik comedyy..
i hope the 4th part turns out well
and one thing i noted in ur blog was that mohallal is in his fifties.. no he's gonna turn 48 in may... born 1960.
@ram - Thanx for visiting, but err..which ram is this? Ram Kishan or Ram Mohan?
And as regards Lal'a age I stand corrected..Lets just say he's in the wrong side of 40's ;-)
i felt SO good reading this post. the nostalgia, u know. its been some time since i sawe these. however, my fav is akkare. possibly bcoz i havent managed to watch the first 2 till now fully. only in bits and pieces. sacrilege, wouldnt u say?
very nice post..i was just reading all the comments here..as karthik pointed out, kamal hasan was the best person to do the role of mohanlal in tamil! in my poinion is kamal is the best actor and best comedian in tamil. at the same time i feel he would be the best person to do sreeni's role also! and ram's gave the real explanation for the difference in the first two movies and akkare..sathyan anthikkadu is one of the classic director we have now..In pattana pravesam i just loved sreeni going as a servant at janardanan's house..janardanan also did a wonderful job and a ver different role from any other movie..as many of u mentioned, i dont know how successful it would be if a 4th part is taken with lal and sreeni..i liked vineeth's acting in cycle and he has some of sreeni's mannerisms..
@Amooma: Thanx for visting! Do watch the first two parts in full.
@Anon: I always feel that Lal's role could be done by anyone else. But it is Sreeni's role which would be difficult for someone to replicate.
wrong, both of the roles cannot be done by anybody else.....the way mohanlal depicts a educated yet silly CID is terrific....it takes more than a huge effort to bring smiles on the faces of the audience.
As is known, the most difficult act, is a comic act. Many can bring tears with emotional roles, but only the best actors, having a range of talent and perfect timing can bring to life any character on screen.
It's lal's effortless acting skills that makes the character looks so simple, yet captivating....
hats off to lal and srini....there will never be a pair as good as them.
- Jay.
I am not going to be original this time, so all I am going to say that your blog rocks, sad that I don't have suck a writing skills
i luv dis thanx a ton dude!!!!
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now. Keep it up!
And according to this article, I totally agree with your opinion, but only this time! :)
The first two were classics...the third one missed th boat as it was directed by priyadarshan who is more into slapstick comedy...
@jibi: u mentioned that the story was by "siddique-lal"...this is not completely true...a part of the story idea was taken from siddique lal...siddique lal had told a story to sathyan anthikkad long time back and it had a sequence where 2 people come to madras dressed as arabis...and this was added to the hole story to develop dasan and vijayan...the story as such is not siddique lal's...this idea of two people coming to madras dressed as arabis is given by siddique lal...even in the movie, the story idea is credited to "siddique lal" and not the story....all other creative work of the movie including the story, screenplay and dialogues r done by sreeni only...this has been mentioned by sathyan anthikkad himself in the interview
Hey, I am checking this blog using the phone and this appears to be kind of odd. Thought you'd wish to know. This is a great write-up nevertheless, did not mess that up.
- David
Guys atlast they are coming back!
DASAN & VIJAYAN.
script is done by young writer manaf
The news is from a believable film source. So i do think it will b a different experience.
His first penned movie ANGEL JOHN IS FLOP. but let us hope he may take more care in this subject.
Hahaha...Such a Refreshing Post..Brings back old memories.Though i dont reside in kerala..I jus love watching old malayalam Classics.
However i feel the nowadays standards of Malalayam Movies have really gone down
Thanks for posting all the witty dialouges
u forgot one" CID escapeeeeeeeeee"
Sri: Aduthe joli kitine vere vayu bhakshanum.
Lal: Ooh...Bhakshanum...bhakshanum!! Ee otte chindaye ollu?!
Sri: Inna namukh Sri Lanka kararne pattiyum, Saudia Arabia'ile kootakollaye patti samsarikam; enda?
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