''Chathikkatha Chanthu'' () is a 2004 Indian
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 film
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
written and directed by
Rafi Mecartin Rafi may refer to:
Places
* Rafi, Iran, a city in Khuzestan Province
* Rafi, Abadan, a village in Khuzestan Province
* Rafi, Nigeria, a Local Government Area of Niger State
Other uses
* Rafi (name), a name of Arabic origin
* Rafi (political party) ...
and produced by
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 ...
under the banner of
Lal Creations
M. P. Michael (born 2 December 1958), better known by his stage name Lal, is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, producer and distributor who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He has also appeared in Tamil films and in a few Telugu f ...
. It stars
Jayasurya
Jayasurya (born August 1978) is an Indian actor, distributor, Sponsor, Model, film producer, playback singer, and impressionist, who works in the Malayalam films. He has appeared in more than 100 films and has won several awards, including a N ...
in the title role, along with
Vineeth
Vineeth Radhakrishnan (born 23 August 1969) is an Indian actor, classical dancer, voice artist and choreographer who primarily works in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu language films. He has also starred in a few Kannada and Bollywood films. He h ...
,
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 ...
,
Navya Nair
Navya Nair is an Indian actress who has appeared predominantly in Malayalam films, along with others in Kannada and Tamil. She is the recipient of several awards.
Personal life
Nair married Santhosh Menon in 2010, and the couple have a son. ...
and
Bhavana
''Bhāvanā'' (Pali;Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 503, entry for "Bhāvanā," retrieved 9 December 2008 from "U. Chicago" a Sanskrit: भावना, also ''bhāvanā''Monier-Williams (1899), p. 755, see "Bhāvana" and "Bhāvanā", retriev ...
in other major roles. The film features original songs composed by
Alex Paul
Alex Paul is an Indian music director who works in Malayalam cinema.
Personal life
Alex is the son of A. M. Paul, a music artist who formed the first orchestra (in Malayalam: 'ganamela') troupe in Kochi & Philomina. He is the younger brother ...
, while
Berny-Ignatius did the scoring. The plot follows Chanthu, an aspiring scriptwriter. The film was released on 14 April 2004 and has a cult status in Malayalam cinema. It was remade in
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
as ''
Kal Manja
''Kal Manja'' is a 2011 India Kannada-language film starring Komal Kumar and Udhayathara in the lead roles alongside Aishwarya Nag. The film is a remake of the Malayalam hit '' Chathikkatha Chanthu''. The film has been directed and written by Ra ...
''.
Plot
A young script writer named Chanthu has a mother who works in a huge mansion owned by her master Thampuran, whose daughter Indira is in love with Chanthu. Eventually, Thampuran finds out about the relationship and forces Chanthu to end it by making him write letters describing his love with an imaginary woman named "Vasumathi" in a fictional "Thottakkattukara" village. However, unknown to everyone, there exists a real Vasumathi in a real
Thottakkattukara village, where she is about to commit suicide. Upon receiving the letters, Vasumathi begins to expect a savior by reading between the lines of it, and tells this case to her friend in hopes of getting the details of Chanthu. Through the direction of the letters, Vasumathi awaits for a departing Chanthu on a bus trip to
Madras
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 ...
, but not before Chanthu reveals the truth behind the letters to his old school friend Pappan.
At the bus station, Vasumathi explains the whole story to a choreographer named Krishnan and several others just before Chanthu arrives. During the journey, Vasumathi tries to impress Chanthu, but he doesn't realize who she really is. During the halt for dinner in a restaurant, Krishnan asks Chanthu about his journey, to which Chanthu explained the truth about his journey and tells Krishnan that even if the real Vasumathi were to turn up, he would not accept her because of his relationship with Indira. Hearing the story, Krishnan empathizes for Vasumathi by taking her and Chanthu with him to his shooting spot the next day, where his film crew are doing a shoot.
Krishnan introduces Chanthu before the crew's director, who allows Chanthu to unfurl his new script. Chanthu opens his own tale to the director and adds that Vasumathi comes out of the home believing those letters. But the director doesn't accept it, saying that no girl would trust such letters and flee from home like he said. Seeing the dilemma that Chanthu is facing, Vasumathi hinders him and reveals her own origins: she was born in a rich family and was the sole heir of the massive wealth passed down by her mother and grandparents. However, tragedy struck when Vasumathi's mother Ambika died falling into a well and Vasumathi's grandmother died in her sleep, and the fingers point out to Vasumathi as she was present during the incidents. That, along with her refusal to marry her greedy brother-in-law Aravindan, is what led Vasumathi to be tortured by a Hindu priest who practices false wizardry. The tortures inflicted on Vasumathi, along with her supposed guilt over her mother and grandmother's deaths, is what almost drove her to commit suicide until she received Chanthu's letters. Unknown to Vasumathi and the others, it turns out that her relatives (including Aravindan) from her father's family, led by her evil uncle Ramu, were jealous of her inheriting the wealth and plotted to have her murdered to take the wealth for themselves. It also turns out that Ramu was the one who murdered Ambika and Vasumathi's grandmother and framed Vasumathi for them, and that he and the relatives hired the priest to torture Vasumathi into committing suicide in exchange for a portion of the fortune. Vasumathi's grandfather is the only person in the family who sympathizes with Vasumathi's plight, but just like her, he too is unaware of the true circumstances as Ramu and the relatives easily manipulated him into believing that Vasumathi is being possessed by demons and that the tortures are justifiable.
When Vasumathi finishes her story, Krishnan tells the director that it was her own life story and they decide to make them join. The entire crew of the shooting place come together and enjoy that day with music and dance. Chanthu commences to nurture a stardust towards Vasumathi, who truly believes that Chanthu soon realize the veracity and they join. When Vasumathi brings in herself to show the letters to him, Indira arrives at the palace, having been informed by Pappan about what Thampuran did. But Chanthu holds his nerves and introduces Vasumathi as his lover. When Indira delves into Vasumathi, she denies it. A couple of days later, Aravindan reaches the cottage in search of Vasumathi to lure her back to Thottakkattukara (per Ramu's orders). In the absence of Krishnan, Vasumathi is compelled to go with Aravindan. When Krishnan returns home, he reveals the truth to Chanthu by showing him and Indira the letters which were left by Vasumathi, and that the film crew were arrested by the police regarding to Vasumathi's disappearance. Realizing that he was duped to leave Vasumathi at the hands of her merciless uncle and relatives, Chanthu tries to save her, but Aravindan manhandles and sends him back to Madras in disgrace. Around the same time, the film crew returned after enduring the torture from the police and blamed Chanthu for what happened.
Deciding to rectify his mistakes, Chanthu rewrites the script in order to save Vasumathi. As such, he and the film crew reach the home where Ramu and the relatives reside and begin the play using artificially-created horrific visual effects. They eventually locate the palace where Vasumathi is held captive. Upon reaching the palace and tending to Vasumathi, the crew simulated a drama of ghastliness and trepidation, using cinematic ghost characters and audio-visual sequence of events. Vasumathi, Chanthu and the film crew scared the arriving Ramu and his relatives, who called in the same priest to torture Vasumathi again. However, Vasumathi burns the priest's beard and lures him into the palace, where she, Chanthu and the film crew terrify him with their antics, driving him to leave and call off the deal with Ramu. Around the same time, a remorseful Thampuran arrives to the palace to make amends with Chanthu and Indira while learning that Vasumathi actually exists.
Eventually, Ramu and the relatives soon learn that the entire event was all staged to stop them from murdering Vasumathi for the family fortune. Ramu furiously orders the relatives and their thugs to murder Chanthu and the film crew while he confronts Vasumathi near the well where Ambika died. While Chanthu and the film crew were able to fight back against the relatives and the thugs, Ramu admitted to having murdered Ambika and Vasumathi's grandmother just as he intends to stab Vasumathi with a sword. However, Vasumathi's grandfather came to the rescue by fatally stabbing Ramu in the chest with another sword, having overheard everything what Ramu said. Vasumathi reconciles with her grandfather while Ramu dies succumbing to his wounds.
With the plot to murder Vasumathi and her family finally exposed, the relatives and their thugs are arrested for their crimes, but Vasumathi's grandfather too ends up being arrested for killing Ramu. However, the grandfather gratefully entrusts Chanthu and the film crew to take care of Vasumathi before he accepts his arrest. Vasumathi counsels Chanthu to go back to Indira if he chooses to. The film crew later made a movie based on the events, and it is revealed that Chanthu (now a successful script writer) has married Vasumathi while Indira is married to Krishnan.
Cast
*
Jayasurya
Jayasurya (born August 1978) is an Indian actor, distributor, Sponsor, Model, film producer, playback singer, and impressionist, who works in the Malayalam films. He has appeared in more than 100 films and has won several awards, including a N ...
as Chandu, an aspiring screenwriter and the main protagonist of the film
*
Navya Nair
Navya Nair is an Indian actress who has appeared predominantly in Malayalam films, along with others in Kannada and Tamil. She is the recipient of several awards.
Personal life
Nair married Santhosh Menon in 2010, and the couple have a son. ...
as Vasumathi, a traditional girl who believed Chandu's letters
** Nair also portrayed Ambika, Vasumathi's mother
*
Bhavana
''Bhāvanā'' (Pali;Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 503, entry for "Bhāvanā," retrieved 9 December 2008 from "U. Chicago" a Sanskrit: भावना, also ''bhāvanā''Monier-Williams (1899), p. 755, see "Bhāvana" and "Bhāvanā", retriev ...
as Indira, Chandu's cousin and his customary groom
*
Vineeth
Vineeth Radhakrishnan (born 23 August 1969) is an Indian actor, classical dancer, voice artist and choreographer who primarily works in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu language films. He has also starred in a few Kannada and Bollywood films. He h ...
as Krishnan a.k.a. Kichu, an assistant choreographer
*
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 Harikrishnan, the film director
*
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 Dance Master Vikram a.k.a. Michael alias Jackson alias Vikram alias, an overrated choreographer
*
Vinayakan
Vinayakan T. K. is an Indian actor, playback singer, and composer who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry. He has also appeared in some Tamil language films. He started his career with a cameo appearance in the 1995 film ''Maanth ...
as Romeo, a junior artist in the film industry
*
Cochin Haneefa
Muhammed Haneefa (22 April 1951 – 2 February 2010), better known by his stage name Cochin Haneefa, was an Indian actor, film director, and screenwriter. He started his career in the 1970s mainly portraying villainous roles, before going on to ...
as Karim, the cameraman
*
Siddique as Ramu, Vasumathi's murderous uncle, and the main antagonist of the film
*
Janardhanan as Thampuran, Indira's father
*
Kulappulli Leela
Kulappulli Leela (born 19 April 1954) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Malayalam cinema, Tamil cinema and television. She has mostly done comedic roles, and has appeared in over 350 films. She began her career acting through t ...
as Chandu's mother
*
Krishnakumar Krishna Kumar is the name of:
* Kumar Krishna (1928–2014), American entomologist
* C. P. Krishnakumar (born 1939), Indian Kannada writer
* P. R. Krishna Kumar (1951–2020), Indian physician
* V. P. Krishnakumar (born 1958), Indian sound recor ...
as Aravindan
*
Madhu
Madhu (Sanskrit: ) is a word used in several Indo-Aryan languages meaning ''honey'' or ''sweet''. It is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European ''*médʰu'', whence English '' mead''.
Metaphorical use
''Madhu'' has been used for millennia si ...
as Vasumathi's grandfather
*
Indrans
Indrans is an Indian actor and former costume designer, who appears in Malayalam films.His mentor was Shiyas M S, a law college student. He started his film career as a costume designer and actor in 1981 and got a breakthrough in 1994 with the ...
as Pappan, Chandu's closest friend
*
Jagathy Sreekumar
Sreekumar P. K. (born 5 January 1951), better known by his stage name Jagathy Sreekumar or simply Jagathy, is an Indian actor, director and playback singer, who has appeared in over 1500 Malayalam films in a career spanning almost four decad ...
as Manthravad
*
T. P. Madhavan
T. P. Madhavan (born 7 November 1935) is an Indian actor who appeared in Malayalam films. He started acting at the age of 40. He has acted in more than 600 films. He came into the film industry playing villain roles; later he started doing com ...
as Sathyan, one of Vasumathi's other uncles
*
Machan Varghese
M. L. Varghese (1960 – 3 February 2011), popularly known by stage name Machan Varghese, was a Malayalam film actor and mimicry artist. He started his career as a mimicry artist in Kalabhavan (house of arts) and debuted as an actor through ''K ...
as Salim, Assistant director
*
Kochu Preman
K. S. Premkumar (1 June 1955 – 3 December 2022), better known by his stage name Kochu Preman, was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry. He acted in more than 300 films, mainly in supporting comedy roles, an ...
as Balan, Palace secretary
*
Narayanankutty
Narayanan Kutty or Kalabhavan Narayanankutty is a Malayalam film actor. He has acted in more than 300 films. He handles mainly comedy roles.
Background
Narayanan Kutty was born Ernakulam. He started his career as a mimicry artist in Kalabhavan, ...
as Bharathan, bus conductor
*
Ramu
The Ramu River is a major river in northern Papua New Guinea. The headwaters of the river are formed in the Kratke Range from where it then travels about northwest to the Bismarck Sea.
Along the Ramu's course, it receives numerous tributaries ...
as Jagannathan, one of Vasumathi's other uncles
*
Mafia Sasi
Mafia Sasi, aka Sasidharan, is an Indian athlete and stuntman mainly in Malayalam movies. He has performed stunts in all South Indian languages for more than 1000 films. He performed stunts in the movie ''Mafia'', which became a super hit, and he ...
as stunt master
*
Captain Raju
Raju Daniel (27 June 1950 – 17 September 2018), better known by his stage name Captain Raju, was an Indian army officer and Indian actor. He acted in more than 600 films in various languages, including Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannad ...
as Kunjachan, film producer
* Bindu Ramakrishnan as Vasumathi's grandmother
*
Ponnamma Babu
Ponnamma Babu is an Indian actress best known for her work in Malayalam cinema. She has acted in more than 300 films, TV serials and Comedy shows . She made her debut in ''Padanayakan'' in 1996.
Personal life
Ponnamma was born to Mathai and ...
* Manka Mahesh
* Poornima Anand
* Deepika Mohan
* Beena Sabu
* Maya Viswanath
*
Nandana
Nandana or Nandna ( pnb, ) was a fort built at strategic location on a hilly range on the eastern flanks of the Salt Range in Punjab Pakistan. Its ruins, including those of a town and a temple, are present. It was ruled by the Hindu Shahi king ...
as Vandana, a Background dancer
*
Bindu Panicker
Bindu Panicker is an Indian actress who has more than 200 films to her credit. She has played both comedy and character roles in Malayalam cinema. She won the Kerala State Film Award for the best supporting actress in 2001 for Soothradharan. S ...
as Reshmi (Cameo Appearance)
Production
Casting
The initial script by Rafi–Mecartin followed a girl who mistakenly gets a love letter and goes out to find the man who sent her the letter. It was later that the character of Chandu who aspires to be a filmmaker was added in. The title of the film and the name of the protagonist is taken from the 1989 classic ''
Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha
''Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha'' () is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language epic historical drama film directed by Hariharan, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, and starring Mammootty, Suresh Gopi, Balan K. Nair, Captain Raju and Madhavi. The film won ...
,'' in which the character of Chanthu is known by the sobriquet of ''Chathiyan Chandu'' (literally 'Chandu the Betrayer')''.'' The role of Chanthu was first offered to Dileep, who initially accepted the role but later walked out of the project due to unknown reasons.
Filming
The first scene of the film was shot in
Varikkasseri Mana
Varikkasseri Mana (Malayalam: വരിക്കാശേരി മന), alternatively known as Varikkumanchery Mana, is one of the oldest traditional aristocratic Namboothiri family houses (illam) in Kerala. Built in Kerala architectural style ...
, a traditional aristocratic
Namboothiri
The Nambudiri (), also transliterated as Nampoothiri, Nambūdiri, Namboodiri, Nampoothiri, and Nampūtiri, are a Malayali Brahmin caste, native to what is now the state of Kerala, India, where they constituted part of the traditional feudal el ...
family house. According to Mecartin, the location was chosen because of its view and the nature that surrounds the place. The bus stand scene where Vasumathi waits for Chanthu is not a real bus stand and is a set made in the
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Despite most of the film taking place 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 ...
, most of the scenes were shot 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 ...
. Only a few scenes were shot in Chennai. The house in which Chandu lives is a old
Victorian styled house situated in Ernakulam. Some parts of the song ''Kakkothikkavile'' was filmed in front of this
Victorian house
In Great Britain and former British colonies, a Victorian house generally means any house built during the reign of Queen Victoria. During the Industrial Revolution, successive housing booms resulted in the building of many millions of Victorian ...
. The scenes which required the interior of the house was shot in
Navodaya Studio
Navodaya Studio is an Indian film studio headquartered at Kochi, Kerala. It is one of the earliest film studios in Kerala, established in 1976 by Navodaya Appachan. Navodaya is known for producing some of the landmark films in Indian cinema.
His ...
s. The song ''Hossaina Hossaina'' was also shot in Navodaya Studios. For the climax of the film the directors wanted an old palace. However, they could not get one. But, they managed to rent an abandoned building called Silversand, which used to be a hotel. The climax scenes featured a set that consisted of ghosts and supernatural entities. These ghost costumes were inspired by the
fancy dress competitions conducted at the
Cochin Carnival. The film was produced and distributed by
Lal Creations
M. P. Michael (born 2 December 1958), better known by his stage name Lal, is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, producer and distributor who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He has also appeared in Tamil films and in a few Telugu f ...
. The cinematography was done by
Saloo George
Saloo George is an Indian cinematographer in Malayalam cinema. Saloo George graduated in cinematography from M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute, Adyar Film Institute, Chennai, Tamilnadu.
Career
Saalu George graduated in c ...
, while editing was done by Harihara Puthran.
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack is composed by
Alex Paul
Alex Paul is an Indian music director who works in Malayalam cinema.
Personal life
Alex is the son of A. M. Paul, a music artist who formed the first orchestra (in Malayalam: 'ganamela') troupe in Kochi & Philomina. He is the younger brother ...
. Lyrics are penned by
Gireesh Puthenchery
Girish Puthenchery (1961–2010) was a noted Malayalam Lyricist, Poet, Scriptwriter and Screenwriter. He was always referred to as the aristocratic lyricist of Malayalam who had a distinctive writing style of his own. He also served as the direc ...
and Santhosh Varma.
Reception
Critical response
Upon release the film received mixed reviews. ''
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 film a "Disappointing" verdict and wrote: "The director duo of ''Chathikatha Chanthu'' seem to have run out of stock as the film leaves the audience confused." ''IndiaGlitz'' gave the film a rating of 2 out on 5 criticizing the screenplay and writing: "On the acting front, Jayasurya is honest and tries manfully in a heavy role. He is good. But alas, that is inadequate to carry off the film. Navya Nair is cute and her performance is also. Vineeth, in a small role, is impressive. The comedy track grates and the music (by Alex Paul) is just about average, Rafi-Mecartin, who has a flair for earthy comedy, is obviously not in their elements. They let the script flounder with some unimaginative handling." However modern reception is more often positive. The film has over the years attained a cult status in Kerala through internet trolls and memes. The character played by
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 ...
, Dance master Vikram has been subject to many memes over the years.
Box office
The film was a commercial success at the box office
and was declared a super hit at the box office. The film was the fifth highest grossing Malayalam film of the year.
References
External links
*
{{Rafi Mecartin
2004 films
2000s Malayalam-language films
Indian comedy-drama films
Malayalam films remade in other languages
Films shot at Varikkasseri Mana
Films shot in Ottapalam
Films shot in Kochi
Films shot in Chennai
Films directed by Rafi–Mecartin