Chithram
| Chithram | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Priyadarshan |
| Produced by | P. K. R. Pillai |
| Screenplay by | Priyadarshan |
| Story by | Priyadarshan |
| Starring |
Mohanlal Ranjini Nedumudi Venu Poornam Vishwanathan Sreenivasan M. G. Soman Sukumari Lizy Maniyanpilla Raju |
| Music by |
Songs: Kannur Rajan Background Score: Johnson |
| Cinematography | S. Kumar |
| Edited by | N. Gopalakrishnan |
Production company |
Shirdi Sai Creations |
| Distributed by | Shirdi Sai Release |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 159 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
Chithram (English: Picture) is a 1988 Malayalam screwball comedy film written and directed by Priyadarshan. The film was produced by P. K. R. Pillai under the banner Shirdi Sai Creations. The film stars Mohanlal, Ranjini, Nedumudi Venu, Poornam Vishwanathan, Sreenivasan, Soman, Sukumari, Lizy, and Maniyanpilla Raju while Thikkurissy appears in a guest role. The musical songs were composed by Kannur Rajan and the background score was by Johnson.
The story revolves around Kalyani (Ranjini) who decides to marry her boyfriend against her father Ramachandra Menon's (Poornam Vishwanathan) wishes. But her boyfriend breaks up when he comes to know that she would be disinherited. Kalyani's father, who stays in the US, is unaware of the break up and comes to Kerala to spend time with his daughter and son-in-law. This prompts family friend advocate Kaimal (Nedumudi Venu) to hire Vishnu (Mohanlal) to play the role of Kalyani's husband during Menon's vacation stay.
The film was a phenomenal success at the Kerala box-office when released during 1988 Christmas weekend. It broke all existing records in Malayalam cinema at the time. It had a theatrical run of more than 366 days in some centres and is said to be one of the highest grossing films in Malayalam cinema.[1] It collected more than ₹ 6 crores from major centres.[2] It is the longest running Malayalam film in history.[3][4]
Plot
Kalyani (Ranjini) is the daughter of a wealthy NRI Ramachandra Menon (Poornam Vishwanathan) who resides in the United States. Kalyani, brought up in Chennai by her father's friend Kaimal (Nedumudi Venu), falls in love with another man and decides to marry against the wishes of her father. When her boyfriend finds out that she will be disinherited, he ditches her at the altar.
After a short while her father decides to retract his disapproval and spend a fortnight's vacation with his daughter and son-in-law in his estate near a tribal community where Menon is the chief. Because her father is already ill and because this may be his last vacation, Kalyani and Kaimal want to make it as happy for him as possible. They decide to conceal the fact that her boyfriend dumped her.
Kaimal hires Vishnu (Mohanlal) to play the part of the husband for a fortnight. Meanwhile, Kalyani's cousin Bhaskaran Nambiar (Sreenivasan) who is the caretaker of the estate was expected to inherit Menon's estate and property when Kalyani was disinherited, is determined not to let go without a fight. He knows that Vishnu is not Kalyani's boyfriend and makes various botched attempts to prove this.
Initially Vishnu and Kalyani do not get along and keep bickering. But as time passes, she develops an affection towards Vishnu and hopes to marry him for real. A couple of days after they have a mysterious visitor (Soman) who claims to be a relative of Vishnu.
Finally it is revealed that Vishnu is actually an escaped convict from jail who is sentenced to death and the visitor turns out to be the prison warden. Vishnu's past is shown in flashback and he was a freelance photographer who was married to a woman named Revathy (Lizy Priyadarshan), a mute dancer. They also had a child. Vishnu discovers that a man was visiting his wife when he was not around and begins to suspect her. Coming home one day he finds the man there and tries to attack him. Revathy dies in the scuffle, Vishnu discovers that the man is actually her brother who is a naxalite. He tells Kalyani that he escaped prison to make money for the surgery of his child.
On the last night of Vishnu's stay at the house, he asks Jail Warden, is it possible for him to live, as he started to like life again. The warden did not reply to his question as he is helpless regarding this. After a happy fortnight, Kalyani's father returns to the US. The final scene shows the warden taking Vishnu to jail, with Kalyani watching him leave, where his execution awaits him.
Cast
- Mohanlal as Vishnu
- Ranjini as Kalyani
- Nedumudi Venu as Kaimal as
- Poornam Vishwanathan as Ramachandra Menon (Voice-dub by Narendra Prasad)
- Lizy as Revathy
- Soman as Jail Superintendent
- Sreenivasan as Bhaskaran Nambiar
- Maniyanpilla Raju as Murugan
- Ganeshan as Revathy's brother
- Sukumari as Bhaskaran Nambiar's mother
- Jagadish as Vishnu's friend
- Unni Mary as sister of Bhaskaran Nambiar
- Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair as Revathy's father (Guest appearance)
- Shanavas as Ravi
- Soorya as Mooppan's daughter
- Bobby Kottarakkara as Broker
- Chandraji as Kattumooppan
Soundtrack
The film's music was composed by Kannur Rajan and penned lyrics by Shibu Chakravarthy. M. G. Sreekumar sang most of the songs in the film. Carnatic music singer Neyyattinkara Vasudevan was a guest singer. The classical Krithis like "Nagumo" and "Swaminatha" gained a mass popularity with this film. Playback singer Sujatha Mohan also sang in this movie, marking her return after years of sabbatical. Mohanlal sang two songs "Kaadumi Naadumellam" and "Aey Monnu".
| Track | Song Title | Singer(s) | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Eeran Megham" | M. G. Sreekumar | Raga: Madhyamavati |
| 2 | "Paadam Pootha Kaalam" | M. G. Sreekumar | |
| 3 | "Nagumo" | Neyyattinkara Vasudevan, M. G. Sreekumar | Traditional Keerthanam by Tyagaraja Raga: Abheri |
| 4 | "Doore Kizhakkudikkum" | M. G. Sreekumar, Sujatha | |
| 5 | "Aey Moonnu" | Mohanlal | Traditional Folk |
| 6 | "Paadam Koyyum Munpe" | Sujatha | |
| 7 | "Swaminaatha" | M. G. Sreekumar | Traditional Keerthanam by Muthuswami Dikshitar Raga: Nattai |
| 8 | "Kaadumi Naadumellam" | Mohanlal, Sujatha, Chorus | |
| 9 | "Paadam Pootha Kaalam (Sad)" | M. G. Sreekumar |
Trivia
- P. K. R. Pillai of Shirdi Sai Creations started 2 films together, Chithram and Nair Saab, but as he faced financial issues, he sold Nair Saab to Basheer of Liberty Productions and completed Chithram.
- The film ran for 405 days in theatres with 369 regular shows in three theatres in three districts and with 36 noon shows.
Remakes
| Year | Film | Language | Cast | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Alludugaru | Telugu | Mohan Babu, Shobana, Ramya Krishna, Kongara Jaggaiah | K. Raghavendra Rao |
| 1991 | Pyar Hua Chori Chori | Hindi | Mithun Chakraborty, Gouthami, Shikha Swaroop, Shafi Inamdar, Anupam Kher | K. Bapayya |
| 1993 | Rayaru Bandaru Mavana Manege | Kannada | Vishnuvardhan, Dolly, Bindiya, Vajramuni, C R Simha, Dwarakish, Sihi Kahi Chandru | B.S. Dwarakish |
| 1995 | Engirundho Vandhan | Tamil | Sathyaraj, Roja, Aamani | Santhana Bharathi |
References
- ↑ Shobha Warrior (3 September 2003). "25 years, 25 landmarks". Rediff. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
The Priyadarshan-Mohanlal team comes up with a comic tragedy, Chitram. The film runs for 366 days in Kerala.
- ↑ "6+ crore gross for chitram"
- ↑ "LONGEST RUNNING MALAYALAM MOVIES WITH PROOF".
- ↑ "Malayalam-DVD-Chithram-Mohanlal".
External links
- Chithram at the Internet Movie Database