NADODIKKATTU-PICTURES

DASANUM VIJAYANUM -IF THEY COME AGAIN?

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 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”)· Will a legendary comedian like Jagathy get a role in the film?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 – VijayanD- DasanAN- Ananthan NambiarI- InspectorP - PavanaiPr – Prabhakaran (AN’s ‘partner in crime’ and friend)NadodikattuV: Aishwaryathinte siren muzhangunnnathu pole onduV: Pre-Degree athrakku moshamaya degree allaAN: A.N. Traders avihitha margathil onnum sambhadikunnillaD : Sir..Saare..Nammal company-ile employees-aAN : Thalkalam employees-inte roopathil ennu parayamV : Bavathilum anagane thanneya saarI: Arengilum Jamyam tharathe ningale release cheyyan pattillaV: Saar thanne nammale Jamyathil irakkikudeP: I am PavanaiV: Daasa..ithu etha ee alavalathi?V: Sasi sir ippo evide kaanumSeema: Sasiyettan ippo BharaniyilaV: Bharaniyilo ! ?AN: Angane pavanai shavamayi..enthokke bahulyamayirunnu..malappuram katthi, machine gun, olakkeda moodu..PattanapraveshamPr: ee kallakadothokke kazhinjittu venam onnu guruvayoor vare pokanD: Ivide dummy onnum ille.I : saar..ithu oru kutthu kondulla kolayalle..mukalil ninnu veenathallaD: Enthengilum akatte..Oru dummy enthayalaum venamGuess 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 thumballeD: Thumbano thumbiyano ennu namakku pinne nokkamV: nalla ugran biriyani..nalla vishappuD: athu puthiya sambhavan allalloV: Daasa..ippo nallapole kazhichillangil vayasu kalathu diabetes varumbo dukhikendi varumD: Ingane kazhichal vaikathe dukhikendi varumPr: Kolapathakam cheythavare kandupidiccho?D: Manyathayude mughammoodi aninjirikunna palarum ithil pinnilanennu namakku manasilayi sir..avare vaikathe akathakkumIt 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 AkkareMukesh..Da Gopi..ini gopi varachha mathiAmerican villains: Tell me the truth ..Aren’t u the CID’s from India?Raju : No..I am gopi from SasthamangalamDrug Dealers: Give us the heroinV : Hair oil-o?D: Nammale Krishnan nair saar-a ivide ayachathuNedumudi: Aaah..athinte phalam-a ayal avide anubhavikkunathuSoman is shown being beaten up by the villains.

ABOUT NADODIKKATTU

Nadodikattu is a 1987 Malayalam movie starring Mohanlal, Sreenivasan and Shobhana. Scripted by Sreenivasan and directed by Sathyan Anthikkad, it represents popular Malayalam cinema at its best and established the Mohanlal-Sreenivasan combination as one of its most memorable and bankable cinematic pairs.
Nadodikattu drew upon relevant social factors affecting Kerala such as poverty and unemployment, which, along with excellent scripting and comic performances, contributed to its runaway success. It gave way to two sequels, Pattanapravesham and Akkare Akkare Akkare.

PLOT
Nadodikattu opens by introducing the two lead protagonists, Dasan and Vijayan, who are employed as ill-paid peons. A commerce graduate, and proud of that fact, Dasan frequently vents his frustration in having to serve lesser qualified superiors and having to settle with lesser than what he feels he deserves in life. Vijayan, his poorly-educated, comic sidekick, is also his roommate and sole friend. Their relationship is one full of tension, with Dasan taking adopting a superior stance on the account of his education and good looks, which fiercely rattles Vijayan. Several comic situations later in the film borrows from this aspect of their characters.
Misfortunes follow them one after other, as they lose their jobs and then fail in a business venture, when it becomes inevitable that they must escape to Dubai, which is often the favoured haven of Kerala's unemployed youth. They seek the services of a shady boatman, Gafoorkka, who promises to take them there. His boat, he claims, goes to California, which he is willing to divert through Dubai — for a decent sum of money. Dasan and Vijan finds themselves helpless once again, as they are offloaded, not in Dubai, but on the eastern side of the Indian coast — in the city of Chennai. What follows is the humorous and touching tale of how they struggle to earn a living, while battling their ever-present misfortunes.

Box office
The film was a huge box office grosser doing well not only in Kerala but other neighbouring states and the middle east as well. The film generated a total of Rs. 5.8 crores in the first week and went on to make about 45 crores worldwide.

Famous dialogs
Angane Pavanayi Shavamayi
Njaan B Com 1st class aanu....
Gafoor ka dosth
Dasa, ellathinum oru samayamundu
Innale, innale njangalilla sir
Oh my God, CIDs. escape..
Hello Mr. Pereirra
naalu perum koode engotta? (Meeting lal and sreeni with two cows)


Actor -Role
Mohanlal -Ramdas (aka Dasan)
Srinivasan -Vijayan
Shobana -Radhika
Thilakan -Ananthan Nambiar
Innocent -Driver Balagopalan / Balettan
Janardhanan -Kovai Venkatesan
Captain Raju -Pavanayi
Mamukkoya -Gafoor
Meena -Radhika's Mother
Sankaradi -Cow seller
Johny -Nambiar's goonda
Bobby Kottarakkara -broker in Madras
Seema -Guest role as herself
I.V. Sasi -Guest role as himself

M.G. Soman -Guest role as himself

ALL DETAILED REPORT ON NADODIKKATTU IS IN THE FOLLOWING LINK

Directed by Sathyan Anthikad. With Mohanlal, Sreenivasan, Thilakan. After loosing their jobs, Dasen and Vijayan don't see any chances to get work in Kerala.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0282778/ - 42k -