| Udayananu Tharam | |
|---|---|
DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Rosshan Andrrews |
| Produced by | C. Karunakaran |
| Screenplay by | Sreenivasan |
| Story by | Sreenivasan Rosshan Andrrews |
| Starring | Mohanlal Sreenivasan Meena Jagathy Mukesh Salim Kumar |
| Music by | Songs: Deepak Dev Background Score: Ouseppachan |
| Cinematography | S. Kumar |
| Editing by | Ranjan Abraham |
| Studio | Perfect Group |
| Distributed by | Carlton Films |
| Release date(s) | January 21, 2005 (Kerala) |
| Running time | 162 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
Udayananu Tharam (English: Udayan Is the Star) is a 2005 Malayalam comedy film that presents the southern Indian film industry (especially Malayalam cinema) through a satirical viewpoint. It was written by Sreenivasan and directed by debutant Rosshan Andrrews. The film stars Mohanlal, Sreenivasan, Meena, Jagathy Sreekumar, and Mukesh in the lead roles. The financial and artistic crisis which plagued the once glittering Malayalam film industry at the turn of the 21st century lies at the center of the story.
Roshan Andrews changed his name to Rosshan Andrrews as per his astrologer's suggestion to ensure the success of the film.[1] The film was a blockbuster, and grossed 3.2 crores in two weeks from 41 screens in Kerala with a distributor's share of 1.38 crores. This was the biggest opening for any Malayalam film till then.[1]
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Udayananu Tharam is the story of Udayabhanu (Mohanlal), a worshipper of films and an immensely talented assistant film director, who yearns to write and direct his own movie at a time when the industry is filled with dubious filmmakers. Rajappan Thengummoodu (Sreenivasan) is a rather crooked friend of Udayabhanu and an aspiring and failed actor. As Udayabhanu finally prepares to shoot his first movie based on his own script, he discovers to his horror that Rajappan has stolen his manuscript, and shooting is underway with Rajappan playing the lead, which eventually propels him to stardom. Udhayabhanu soon finds himself faced with a career and personal crisis, with his faltering relations with his superstar wife Madhumati (Meena) contributing to the latter.
Later, with the help of producer Babykuttan (Mukesh), Udayabanu prepares to direct another film, but he is forced to cast Rajappan as the hero since he was the star with most screen value at that time. Rajappan takes up the offer but takes revenge on Udayabanu by giving maximum trouble. Towards the end of the shoot, Rajappan leaves the set leaving the movie unfinished with the hope that this will destroy Udayabanu's career for ever. But Udayabanu devices clever tactics and shoots the remaining scenes with Rajappan itself without him even aware of it. At the end Rajappan realises his mistakes and admits publicly that Udayabanu is the real star and not himself.
Scripted by Sreenivasan in his usual self-deprecating manner, the dialogue makes snide remarks about various aspects of contemporary film culture such as the business ventures of film stars, the inflow of third-rate film directors into Malayalam cinema and their tendency to depend solely on superstars to produce hits, the prevalence of "mimicry films", the gaudy "cooling glass" dress sense of actors, Meera Jasmine's infamous struggle with her parents, and even about "rascals stealing promising actresses from the film industry" - taking a shot at several prominent Malayalam film star marriages.
The film was released on 21 January 2005, at a time when Malayalam cinema was going through a general decline in production standards. The movie was directed by debutant Rosshan Andrrews, who was, till then, an unknown assistant director. The film turned out to be a blockbuster hit.
The songs were composed by Deepak Dev and lyrics by Kaithapram. The songs were on the top of chartbusters for months.
| Track | Song Title | Singer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parayaathe | Dr. K. J. Yesudas, K. S. Chithra |
| 2 | Karale Karalinte | Vineeth Sreenivasan, Rimi Tomy |
| 3 | Penne En Penne | Afsal, Shalini Singh |
| 4 | Parayaathe | Karthik |
| 5 | Penne En Penne (My Girl - Remix) | Afsal |
| 6 | Udayananu Tharam | Ranjith Govind, Deepak Dev |
A sequel is planned for the movie named Padmasree Bharat Dr. Saroj Kumar. Sreenivasan will be reprising the role of Sarojkumar with Vineeth Sreenivasan. Initial reports saying Mohanlal will not be the part of movie, which will be directed by debutante Sajin Raghavan[2]
| Year | Film | Language | Cast | Director | Box Office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Velli Thirai | Tamil | Prakash Raj, Prithviraj, Gopika, Charle, M. S. Baskar | Viji | Flop |
| 2009 | Shortkut | Hindi | Akshaye Khanna, Amrita Rao, Arshad Warsi, Chunky Pandey | Neeraj Vora | Flop |
In the Hindi version, neither the original Malayalam film nor the writer/director were credited. However, the film's story seems to have been adapted from a mix of scripts from the 1999 film Bowfinger and the 2002 american comedy, Big Fat Liar.