''Best Actor'' is a 2010
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
-language
comedy drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple co ...
film co-written and directed by
Martin Prakkat
Martin Prakkat is an Indian writer, director and film producer who works in the Malayalam film industry. Career
Martin started his career as a celebrity photographer and worked with Vanitha Magazine for 10 years. In 2010, Martin directed ''Be ...
. It stars
Mammootty
Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil l ...
,
Sruthi Ramakrishnan,
Nedumudi Venu
Kesavan Venugopal (22 May 1948 – 11 October 2021), better known by his stage name Nedumudi Venu, was an Indian actor and screenwriter from Kerala, who predominantly worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 500 films, primarily in Ma ...
,
Lal
Lal ( fa, لعل, hi, लाल, bn, লাল, ur, لال, ps, Lāl) is an Indo-Iranian surname and given name, which means "darling", "precious", or "beloved", from the Sanskrit ''lala'' ("cajoling").''Dictionary of American Family Names''F ...
,
Salim Kumar
Salim Kumar (born 10 October 1969) is an Indian actor, comedian, director and writer in Malayalam cinema. Mostly known for his comic and comedy roles, Salim Kumar is considered one of the best and most prominent comedians in the history of Mala ...
,
Vinayakan, Master Vivas,
Sreenivasan
Sreenivasan (born 6 April 1956) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, dubbing artist and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Sreenivasan has starred in over 225 films. Sreenivasan wrote the screenplays of films such as ' ...
,
K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Master Sreedharan Nampoothiri and
Sukumari
Sukumari Amma (6 October 1940 – 26 March 2013) was an Indian actress best known for her works in Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning more than five decades, She has appeared in more than 2500 films predominantly in Malayalam, Tam ...
. The film marks the debut of Prakatt as director. It was produced by Naushad under the banner of Big Screen. Several film directors made
cameo appearance
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
s in the film.
The film is all about the travails of a schoolteacher who dreams of being a film actor. It features cinematography by Ajayan Vincent, music by
Bijibal
Bijibal Maniyil is an Indian music composer and playback singer who works predominantly in Malayalam films, documentaries, short films and television commercials. He has composed for more than 150 feature films, several documentaries and televisi ...
and editing by Don Max.
Plot
Mohan is an upper primary school teacher who lives with his wife and their six-year-old son. He is actively involved in the cultural activities in his school and in his village too. His ambition is to act in films. Mohan is so besotted with his dream of becoming a star that he dresses and behaves like one. Although his colourful clothes and obsession with his looks invite the ridicule of his colleagues, his wife supports his aspirations. Then a film crew comes to the village for a shoot. Mohan makes several attempts to make his dream happen but certain incidents occur and the story takes a different turn.
On another occasion, Mohan meets a team of young filmmakers who ask him about his experience as an actor and inspire him by telling the story of
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
actor
Vivek Oberoi
Vivek Anand Oberoi (born 3 September 1976) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Hindi cinema, in addition to working in few Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil films.
Early life
Vivek Oberoi was born in Hyderabad, Telangana, to a Punjab ...
who disguised himself and lived in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
underworld slums to understand and learn the lifestyles of the actual gangsters. Inspired by this Mohan goes to
Fort Kochi
Fort Kochi, Fort Cochin in English, Cochim de Baixo ("Lower Kochi") in Cochin Portuguese creole, is a neighbourhood of Cochin (Kochi) city in Kerala, India. Fort Kochi takes its name from the Fort Manuel of Cochin, the first European fort ...
to learn about the underworld. Later he becomes a member of the gang led by Denver Aashan
Cast
*
Mammootty
Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil l ...
as Mohan, a UP school teacher who wants to be an actor / Bombay, a former
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
-based don, actually Mohan's dupe identity
*
Sruthi Ramakrishnan as Savithri, Mohan's wife and a music teacher by profession
*
Nedumudi Venu
Kesavan Venugopal (22 May 1948 – 11 October 2021), better known by his stage name Nedumudi Venu, was an Indian actor and screenwriter from Kerala, who predominantly worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 500 films, primarily in Ma ...
as Denver Aashan, the leader of a gang
*
Lal
Lal ( fa, لعل, hi, लाल, bn, লাল, ur, لال, ps, Lāl) is an Indo-Iranian surname and given name, which means "darling", "precious", or "beloved", from the Sanskrit ''lala'' ("cajoling").''Dictionary of American Family Names''F ...
as Vandippetta Shaji
*
Salim Kumar
Salim Kumar (born 10 October 1969) is an Indian actor, comedian, director and writer in Malayalam cinema. Mostly known for his comic and comedy roles, Salim Kumar is considered one of the best and most prominent comedians in the history of Mala ...
as Vadival Pranchi
*
Vinayakan as Pottan
*
Bijukuttan
Biju Kuttan (born 13 May 1976) is an Indian actor and comedian who appears in Malayalam films. As of June 2021, he has acted in more than 70 Malayalam films.
Biju Kuttan is born in North Paravur, Ernakulam . He completed most of his schooling ...
as Surendran
* Master Vivas as Unnikkuttan, Mohan's son
*
Sreenivasan
Sreenivasan (born 6 April 1956) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, dubbing artist and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Sreenivasan has starred in over 225 films. Sreenivasan wrote the screenplays of films such as ' ...
as Sreekumar, a renowned film director
*
K. P. A. C. Lalitha
*
Sukumari
Sukumari Amma (6 October 1940 – 26 March 2013) was an Indian actress best known for her works in Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning more than five decades, She has appeared in more than 2500 films predominantly in Malayalam, Tam ...
as Mother Superior
*
Manikandan Pattambi
Manikandan Pattambi ( ml, മണികണ്ഠൻ പട്ടാമ്പി) is an Indian television, stage, and film actor. He's best known for his roles in Malayalam television. He became famous for his character ''Sathyasheelan'' in the si ...
*
Joju George
Joseph George, better known as Joju George (born 22 October 1977) is an Indian actor, playback singer and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has acted in Malayalam films and worked on Tamil projects as well. In 2015, he won the ...
*
Baiju Santhosh
Baiju Santhosh Kumar, commonly referred to as Baiju, is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam films. He began his acting career in 1981, as a child artist in the film '' Maniyan Pilla Adhava Maniyan Pilla''. Since then he has acted in more tha ...
as police officer
*
Lal Jose
Lal Jose is an Indian director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Direc ...
as himself
*
Ranjith as himself
*
Blessy
Blessy Ipe Thomas is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Malayalam cinema. He has won one National Film Awards, National Film Award and six Kerala State Film Awards for his feature films ''Kaazhcha'' (2004), ''Thanmathra'' (20 ...
as himself
* Vipin Mohan as himself
* K. K. Rajeev as himself
* Mafia Sasi as himself
*
Sunil Sukhada
Sunil Sukhada is an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He debuted in a small role in the film '' Best Actor''. His first full length role was as the supermarket manager in '' Chappa Kurishu'' (2011). He won a special mention in the Kerala state ...
*Sreedharan Nampoothiri as a contestant
*
Jijoy Rajagopal
Jijoy P R ( ml, ജിജോയ് P R) is an Indian film and theatre actor. He is an associate professor at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune and is currently serving as the Dean of the Films Division too. He is an inter ...
as Assistant director
Production
The filming began on 6 June 2010 in
Ernakulam
Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...
. The first schedule was completed in various parts of
Amaravila
Amaravila is a village in Neyyattinkara town in Trivandrum district, Kerala State, India. Kerala's second largest checkpost after Walayar is situated in Amaravila. This village is situated in NH 47 on the way to Kanyakumari, on the Kerala-T ...
and
Thrippunithura
Thrippunithura or Tripunithura (), is a prominent historical and residential region in the City of Kochi in Kerala, India. Located about 7 km (4 mi) from the city centre, Tripunithura was the capital of the erstwhile Kingdom of Cochin ...
Boys High School. Second and last schedule was held at
Mattancherry
Mattancherry (), is a locality in the city of Kochi, India. It is about 9 km south-west from the city center. It is said that the name Mattancherry comes from "Ancherry Mattom", a ''Namboodiri illam'' which the foreign traders then pronounc ...
from 5 August onwards. The filming was completed on 9 September, with some post-production activities left. The movie was earlier titled ''Oru Cinemakkatha''.
The heroine of the film is Kannada actress Sruthi Krishnan. The film marks her debut in Malayalam cinema.
According to Martin Prakatt, "This is not a cinema-within-cinema format, but it shows the world of movies from the point of view of an outsider".
Release
A preview of the film was held at AVM preview theatre in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
. Those who watched the preview said that "it is a light hearted comedy entertainer". The film released on 9 December 2010, in 78 theatres in
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
and in another 12 theatres outside
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
.
[Best Actor Release On 9 December 2010](_blank)
Masti Movies. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
Reception
Critical response
Indiaglitz published a positive review saying "the movie really scores well with its fluid narratives and balancing of emotions. All in all, Mammootty and Martin Prakkat definitely have a winner in ''Best Actor''. The movie which is almost sure to work well with the family audiences and the fans is definitely a right start for a promising director." Paresh C Palicha of
Rediff
Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City.
, it had more than 300 e ...
rated the film 3 in a scale of 5 and commented that "the movie is watchable" and "has a very compelling feel good story." Nowrunning published an extreme positive review saying, "''Best Actor'' is more than reason for celebration for fans of Mammootty. For the rest of us who would like to have a bit more than star charisma from his films, Martin Prakkatt has plenty to offer as well." Metromatinee also published a positive review saying, "Through ''Best Actor'' Martin Prakatt has plenty to offer as well. In his directorial debut Martin tells a simple story in a surprisingly imposing manner that does make us sit up and take note of his promising entry into films."
Sify
Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...
gave the movie a verdict of Above Average saying that, "Best Actor may not stir you up but could be fine, if you are there at the cinemas without much expectation. The film has its moments, but gives the feeling that it could have worked even better, if it had a better script and was approached with more passion." Reviewscreen also published a positive review and rated the film 4 in a scale of 5. They said that "The movie is a clean family entertainer. A total fun-filled movie with all the ingredients audience demanded. It is going to be one of the best movies of 2010." Mammootty received the
Best Actor award from
Asianet Film Awards
The Asianet Film Awards is an award ceremony for films presented annually by Asianet, a Malayalam-language television network from the south-Indian state of Kerala. Asianet says that awards ceremony has been instituted to honour both artis ...
while Nedumudi Venu won the Best Supporting Actor- Male.
Box office
The film was commercial success.
Soundtrack
The film score and songs were composed by
Bijibal
Bijibal Maniyil is an Indian music composer and playback singer who works predominantly in Malayalam films, documentaries, short films and television commercials. He has composed for more than 150 feature films, several documentaries and televisi ...
, with lyrics penned by Santhosh Varma and Sreerekha. The audio, consisting of five songs, was released by
Manorama Music
Manorama Music is a music company based out in Kerala, India. It owns probably the largest music label in Kerala. The label has produced and distributed film soundtracks, poems, cartoon series, music albums etc. The company is owned by M.M. Pub ...
on 1 December 2010. The audio release function was held at Kadavu Resorts, Calicut and Mammootty presented the first copy to director
V. M. Vinu
V. M. Vinu is an Indian film director who works in Malayalam cinema.
Early life
V. M. Vinu was born in a middle-class family in Kozhikode, Kerala. His father, Vinayan is a novelist & playwright. While studying in school, Vinu acted in AIR D ...
.
References
External links
*
{{Ranjith
2010s Malayalam-language films
2010 films
Indian comedy films
Films shot in Kochi
Films directed by Martin Prakkat