''Chattambinaadu'' (
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
: ''The Rowdy Land'') is a
Malayalam-language
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 ...
action comedy film
Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre.
Film
The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of actio ...
released in 2009. The film was directed by
Shafi
The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
and written by
Benny P. Nayarambalam. The film was made under Mammootty's production company Play House which distributed it as well. The film 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 ...
,
Siddique,
Manoj K. Jayan,
Suraj Venjaramoodu
Suraj Vasudevan (born 30 June 1976), professionally credited as Suraj Venjaramoodu, is an Indian actor, comedian, impressionist, and television presenter, who appears in Malayalam films, television and stage plays. He has acted in more than 2 ...
,
Vinu Mohan
Vinu Mohan (born 12 May 1986) is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam cinema. He made his debut with the 2007 film '' Nivedyam'', directed by A. K. Lohithadas. He is the grandson of the actor Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair, son of actors K. M ...
and
Raai Laxmi
Raai is a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include:
*Raai Laxmi (born 1989), Indian film actress and model
*Seba Al-Raai
Seba Al-Raai (born 25 June 1982) is a Syrian road cyclist. In 2011, she represented her nation at the 2 ...
. The film's music was done 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 ...
.
[Entertainment One India Review](_blank)
Entertainment.oneindia.in (31 December 2009). Retrieved on 5 July 2014.
''Chattambinadu'' was released on December 24, 2009, on 80 screens in Kerala.
Despite getting mixed to negative reviews from critics the film was a commercial success. The character played by
Suraj Venjarammoodu
Suraj Vasudevan (born 30 June 1976), professionally credited as Suraj Venjaramoodu, is an Indian actor, comedian, impressionist, and television presenter, who appears in Malayalam films, television and stage plays. He has acted in more than 2 ...
, ''Dasamoolam Damu'', has over the years attained cult status and remains one of Suraj Venjaramoodu's most memorable roles''.''
Plot
The movie tells the story of a village called Chembattunadu in
Palakkad district
Palakkad District () is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It was carved out from the southeastern region of the former Malabar District on 1 January 1957. It is located at the centre of Kerala. It is the largest district i ...
of Kerala, which is popular as Chattambinadu for the presence of several goons and hooligans. According to retired goons Chenkeeri Madhavan and Vadival Vasu, it was the severe animosity between Mallanchira and Kattappilly families that has caused the arrival of several goons to the land, including them, which made Chattambinadu notorious. The film begins with Mallanchira Chandramohan's plan to sell off his mansion, to pay up his heavy debts. But Kattappilly Nagendran, the present leader of Kattappilly faction, plays all ways to stop the sale. The local police inspector informs Chandramohan about Virendra Mallaya, a popular and wealthy man with strong criminal background, who also has strong passion in real estate. Chandramohan approaches Mallayya, who refuses to take up the mansion in the beginning. But upon the request from Dr. Lakshmi, his friend, who also hails from Chattambinadu, he decides to buy the property, inviting strong opposition from Nagendran. Mallayya, who speaks Malayalam with strong
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 ...
accent, arrives at Chattambinadu along with Murukan, his secretary, who is also more like his brother. At Chattambinadu, he comes across Vadival Vasu and his family consisting of daughters Gowri and Meenakshi. To create a rift among the villagers and Mallaya, under the instruction, Dashamoolam Damu, a foolish assistant of Nagendran, on one night steals the lorry of Mallayya and drives it into the house of Vasu, demolishing it. However Mallayya promises to repair the house with his own money. Murugan, who within this time had developed a soft feeling towards Meenakshi, takes them along with Maakri Gopalan to Mallayya's house. Dr. Lakshmi on her day of arrival at Chattambinadu on vacation learns from her brother that Nagendran has decided to marry her, without the approval of her parents. Shocked Lakshmi even witnesses Nagendran violently thrashing her fiancé, making him flee. Lakshmi explains her condition to Mallayya, who promises her all help. Gowri, who witnesses their conversation mistakes them of being in love. She gets jealous as she had within this time fell in love with him. Chandramohan, on a casual talk, tells Mallayya, about Veeru, his servant boy, who had once attacked his father Mallanchira Unnithan and ran away with all his hard earned money. Chandramohan also adds that his only aim in life is to find out Veeru and avenge him by killing him for the crime done to his father. Veerendra Mallaya, on hearing this story is really shocked as he is none other than Veeru, who had once ran away. Chandramohan, on understanding the relation between Meenakshi and Murugan, approaches Mallayya to get them married. Also Vasu wants Mallayya to marry Gowri, his elder daughter. One night Mallayya reveals his story to Vasu, whom he had assaulted with sword in a bid to escape years back. Unnithan had got Veeru, a Kannadiga street urchin, who understood not a single world in
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 ...
. Unnithan and his family took care of him well and treated him as their own son. One day, in middle of a trip, Unnithan gets into an argument with Kattapilly Kuruppu, who tries to snatch the suitcase consisting of a huge amount of money. In an attempt to save Unnithan Veeru attacks Kuruppu and on the advice of Unnithan, runs away with the bag. But on hearing the cry of Unnithan, he comes back to see that Unnithan is severely wounded as attacked by Kattapilly Nagendran, son of Kuruppu. Kuruppu, then calls up people and tells them that it is Veeru who had killed Unithan, making him run for life. In an attempt to save himself, he assaults Vasu and jumps into river. The police inspector, who arrests him after a couple of days interrogates in
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 ...
, and Veeru, who knows not a single word in Malayalam is confused, where by accepts his charges. But on realising that he is framed, he escapes from police. He also adds that it is Kattappilly Kuruppu, who is behind the crime. Mallaya is also shocked to find Unnithan at the house of Chandramohan, who is alive, but now paralysed, who also had lost the ability to speak after the incident.
Nagendran, at the meantime, has gone forward with his plan to marry Lakshmi, but is saved by Mallaya, who gets her married to her fiancé. Mallaya is shocked to see the old police inspector, who is now the father of the husband of Laksmi. He shows his willingness to help Mallayya to reveal the truth to Chandramohan, but is killed by Nagendran on the same night. The people of Chattambinadu, within this time recognises who Mallayya is and is waiting for his arrival to get him killed. Nagendran expands his net and gets the crowd to gather at the spot where Mallayya arrives. The rest of the story is how Mallayya succeeds in proving his innocence and has Nagendran killed by the public.
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 Veerendra Mallayya
*
Siddique as Kattappilly Nagendran
*
Manoj K. Jayan as Mallanchira Chandramohan
*
Suraj Venjaramoodu
Suraj Vasudevan (born 30 June 1976), professionally credited as Suraj Venjaramoodu, is an Indian actor, comedian, impressionist, and television presenter, who appears in Malayalam films, television and stage plays. He has acted in more than 2 ...
as Dasamoolam Damu
*
Vinu Mohan
Vinu Mohan (born 12 May 1986) is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam cinema. He made his debut with the 2007 film '' Nivedyam'', directed by A. K. Lohithadas. He is the grandson of the actor Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair, son of actors K. M ...
as Murugan
*
Raai Laxmi
Raai is a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include:
*Raai Laxmi (born 1989), Indian film actress and model
*Seba Al-Raai
Seba Al-Raai (born 25 June 1982) is a Syrian road cyclist. In 2011, she represented her nation at the 2 ...
as Gauri
*
Meenakshi
Meenakshi (Sanskrit: ; Tamil: ; sometimes spelled as Minakshi; also known as , and ), is a Hindu goddess and tutelary deity of Madurai who is considered an avatar of the Goddess Parvati also referred to as Durga. She is the divine consort of ...
as Dr. Lakshmi
*
Mythili
Brighty Balachandran (born 24 March 1988), better known by her stage name Mythili, is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films. She made her debut in the 2009 Malayalam film '' Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha'' which ...
as Meenakshi
*
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 Maakri Gopalan
*
Janardanan
Janardhanan Nair (born 5 May 1946) is an Indian actor, producer and a former Indian Airforce personnel who predominantly acts in Malayalam films. He acted in his first feature film '' Adyathe Kadha'', directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan in 1971, h ...
as Vadival Vasu
*
Mohan Jose
Mohan Jose is an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He has acted more than 100 films. He came into movie industry portraying villains and later began acting in different comedy and character roles. He is the son of famous singer Pappukutty Bhag ...
as Panickar
*
Vijayaraghavan
Vijayaraghavan (born 20 December 1951) is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He is popular for his character roles. He is the son of popular drama and cinema artist N. N. Pillai. He got his break by playing the iconic ...
as Mallanchira Unnithan
*
Sai Kumar as Rtd. DYSP Krishnadas
*
Ambika Mohan
Ambika Mohan is an Indian actress known for her work in Malayalam cinema and television series mostly in supporting roles. She made her debut in the film, ''Meghamalhar
''Meghamalhar'' is a 2001 Indian Malayalam-language romance film writ ...
as Murukan's Mother
*
Spadikam George
George Antony, popularly credited as Spadikam George is an Indian actor and former Kerala state Police officer who primarily works in Malayalam films. He came to the limelight with the 1995 film ''Spadikam'', after which his name was preceded b ...
as CI Ayyappan, police officer
* Saju Kodiyan as Sugunan, police officer
*
V. K. Sreeraman as himself
*
Kalabhavan Navas
Kalabhavan Navas is an Indian stage, television, and film actor, singer, comedian, and mimicry artist.introduced to films by veteran director Balukiriyath in the film mimics action 500, along with 38 mimicry artists He is known for his roles i ...
*
T. G. Ravi
T. G. Ravindranathan (born 16 May 1944), popularly known as T. G. Ravi, is an Indian actor, mainly noted for his roles as a villain in Malayalam cinema. He along with Balan K. Nair played most of the negative roles in Malayalam cinema during t ...
as Chenkeeri Madhavan
*
Rony David
Dr.Rony David is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam cinema, mainly in supporting roles. He made his debut in the 2007 film ''Chocolate''. He is also a physician who practiced at KIMS Hospital
KIMS Hospital is the largest independent pr ...
as Rameshan, Lekshmi's Brother
*
Boban Alummoodan
Boban Alummoodan is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films and Television serials. He is the son of the late Malayalam actor Alummoodan. He is best known for his role as ''Prakash Mathew'' in the 1999 movie Niram. Boban played a lead ro ...
as Santhosh, Lekshmi's Fiancee
*
Balachandran Chullikadu
Balachandran Chullikkad (born 30 July 1957) is an Indian poet, orator, lyricist and actor in Malayalam-language.
Early life
Balachandran was born in Paravur, Ernakulam, Kerala, India. He completed his graduation in English literature from the ...
as Kattappilly Cheriya Kuruppu
*
Chembil Ashokan
Chembil Ashokan is an actor in the Malayalam film industry. He is from Chembu - Vaikom. He has played many notable characters in Malayalam cinema.
Filmography
Television
*Kadamattathu Kathanar (JaiHind TV)
*Bhasi Bahadoor (Mazhavil Manorama ...
as Kannappan, a villager
*
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 Paramu Pillai
*
Anu Mohan
Anu Mohan (born 24 August 1990) is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam films.
Career
He made his debut in the 2011 film, ''Orkut oru Ormakut''. He also played the antagonist in Roopesh Peethambaran's '' Theevram''. Anu Mohan is the young ...
as young Veeru
*
Kalasala Babu
Kalasala Babu (1950 14 May 2018) was an Indian actor who performed on stage, and in television serials and films.
On stage
Babu had been acting in radio plays while at college. Following his graduation in 1973, Babu acted in ''Paanchajanyam ...
as Kattapalli Kurup
*
Shobha Mohan
Shobha Mohan is an Indian actress known for her works, predominantly in Malayalam cinema along with few Tamil films.
Biography
Shobha Mohan was born to actor Kottarakara Sreedharan Nair and Vijayalakshmi at Kottarakkara in Kollam, Kerala. She ...
as Rukmini, Unnithan's wife and Mallayya's and Chandramohan's mother
*
Besant Ravi
Besant Ravi (born R. Ravi Kumar; 1 June 1970) is an Indian actor and stunt choreographer. He has played antagonistic supporting roles in Tamil, Hindi and several other Indian language films.
Early life
Besant Ravi, who was born and brought up ...
* Bindu Murali
Music
#"Chattambinaadu" -
Ramesh Babu
Ghattamaneni Ramesh Babu (13 October 1965 – 8 January 2022) was an Indian actor and film producer, who was known for his work in Telugu cinema. Babu made his on screen debut with the film '' Alluri Seetharama Raju'' in 1974. He acted in over ...
,
Reju Joseph,
Vidhu Prathap
Vidhu Prathap (born 1 September 1980) is an Indian playback singer. He has sung many songs in over 600 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu languages.
Career
Early life
Vidhu Prathap was born in 1980 in Kaithamukku in Trivandrum, K ...
#"Chenkadalikkumbilile" - Rimi Tomy
#"Mukkuttichaanthaniyunne" -
Manjari
#"Mukkuttichaanthaniyunne
- Manjari, Vidhu Prathap
#"Oru Kadha Parayaam -
C. J. Kuttappan
Reception
Critical Reception
''Chattambinadu'' received a rating of 2 out of 5 from the reviewers 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 ...
'' as well as at ''NowRunning''. ''IndiaGlitz'' criticised the movie's formulaic predictability.
Box office
''Chattambinadu'' released on December 24, 2009, in 80 screens in Kerala.
''
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 ...
'' reported that the film had taken a distributors share of around from releasing stations in the first five weeks. The film was box office success.
In Popular Culture
However despite its mixed to negative critical reception, the character ''Dashamoolam Damu'' played by Suraj Venjaramoodu has achieved a cult status and a huge fan following over the years, being one of Suraj's most well known roles. He has been subjected to a lot of memes since then and is among the one the most memorable and most favorite characters among Malayali moviegoers.
Spin Off
In 2019, the director of the movie announced he will make a spin off of the movie featuring ''Dashamoolam Damu'' as the main character. In an interview with Times Of India, director Shafi stated that trollers and netizens used to continuously bug him for a film that featured ''Dashamoolam Damu'' as the main character.
References
External links
*
*
* https://web.archive.org/web/20120407121357/http://popcorn.oneindia.in/title/4481/chattambinadu.html
{{Shafi
2009 films
2000s Malayalam-language films
Films shot in Palakkad
Films shot in Karnataka
Films scored by Alex Paul
Films directed by Shafi