''Mookilla Rajyathu'' () is a 1991 Indian
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
-language
slapstick comedy
Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...
film directed by the
Ashokan-
Thaha
Thaha is an Indian film director and writer, known primarily for his slapstick comedy movies.
Career
Earlier Thaha worked as an assistant director in films including ''Rajavinte Makan'', ''Bhoomiyile Rajakkanmar'', ''Kakkothikkavile Appooppa ...
duo and written by B. Jayachandran. It stars
Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It also means god of 3 worlds, heaven, hell & earth, which in turn represents Hindu god Shiva. It is commonly used as a male given name in India. Peopl ...
,
Thilakan
Palappurathu Kesavan Surendranatha Thilakan (15 July 1935 – 24 September 2012) was an Indian film and stage actor who appeared in over 200 Malayalam films. Thilakan was known for his elaborate method acting, realistic and spontaneous appearan ...
,
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 decades ...
,
Siddique, and
Vinaya Prasad
Vinaya Prakash ( Bhat), also credited as Vinaya Prasad, is an Indian actress who has primarily featured in Kannada, and Malayalam films and TV series besides acting in Telugu language films. She has won the State Best Actress Award for her pe ...
. The film features music composed by
Ouseppachan
Mechery Louis Ouseppachan (born 13 September 1955), known mononymously as Ouseppachan, is an Indian film composer and singer who primarily works in Malayalam films. He is a recipient of National Film Award, Filmfare Award and Kerala State ...
. The plot revolves around four patients escaped from a mental asylum and the troubles they cause in their attempts to start a new life in a sane society. Thilakan's performance was widely appreciated in the movie and it is considered one of his career best performances in a comical role.
The movie is widely regarded as a classic of the golden age of Malayalam comedy (the comedy era started around 1983-1985 and went into decline in the late 1990s).
Plot
The film starts by displaying an antic of Keshavan (Thilakan) who is an inmate of the
Kakkanad
Kakkanad is a major industrial and residential region in the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. It is situated in the eastern part of the city and houses the Cochin Special Economic Zone, Infopark, Smart City and KINFRA Export Promotion Industri ...
Mental Hospital. Two other inmates are Benny (Mukesh) and Krishnankutty (Jagathy Sreekumar). By profession Benny is an artist, Krishnankutty is an auto-mechanic and Keshavan has retired from military service. The trio chance to come across a newspaper report that the
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 ...
film star
Amitabh Bachchan is visiting
Ernakulam city for a film shooting, which is close to where they stay. They are soon joined by a new inmate Venu (Siddique), who takes him to the mental hospital. Venu is a good singer but suffers from a compulsive obsession to singing. All the four share a passion for Amitabh Bachchan.
Driven by a desire to see Amitabh Bachchan the four manage to escape from the mental hospital that night by outsmarting the cell warden Ameen (Mala Aravindan). They reach Ernakulam city in a bus but are disappointed to learn that Amitabh Bachchan had gone back after the film shooting which was a month ago and that they had in fact seen an old newspaper report. When they wake up the next morning, they find Venu missing. They go searching for him alone. Benny meets his former college mate and lover Leena (Vinaya Prasad) in the city. Keshavan goes to a politician's rally and undresses in support of the
Swadeshi movement
The Swadeshi movement was a self-sufficiency movement that was part of the Indian independence movement and contributed to the development of Indian nationalism. Before the BML Government's decision for the partition of Bengal was made public in ...
, only to be saved by Benny. Krishnankutty drinks at a bar, but finds that he does not have money to pay for it, and is assaulted. Finally, they find Venu having found employment as a singer, and he is chased by Balan, his older brother and Ameen. They decide to live by finding suitable employments. They find shelter in a rented house owned by a young dance teacher (Suchitra), whom Leena mistakes as Benny's new lover. Benny becomes a painter, Krishnankutty a mechanic, and Keshavan a security guard. Leena's father is unwilling to give his daughter in marriage to Benny because of his insanity, and even unsuccessfully hires a
goonda Bheem Singh (Krishnankutty Nair) to assault him.
Two conmen Vasu (Kuthiravattam Pappu) and Abdullah (Rajan P. Dev) who use the pseudonyms Sundaran Pillai and Gireesh Puri, are in the disguise of a TV serial producer and director, respectively. Their intention is to rob a bank near the house rented by the four by making a tunnel through their house while they are busy. They hire the four under the pretext of their TV serial and send them to learn various skills like
martial arts,
rock climbing,
tree climbing
Tree climbing is a recreational or functional activity consisting of ascending and moving around in the crowns of trees.
A rope, helmet, and harness can be used to increase the safety of the climber. Other equipment can also be used, depending ...
and
break dance
Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in t ...
among other things. They manage to keep them away from the house during daytime while the excavation is going on under the supervision of another gang member Bruno (Kunchan).
However, a police officer (Jagadish) is tracking their activities. In the end, their vicious scheme is busted up by the police officer, assisted by the four who wake up to the reality. The bank robbers end up in police custody.
Cast
Music
The soundtrack was composed by
Ouseppachan
Mechery Louis Ouseppachan (born 13 September 1955), known mononymously as Ouseppachan, is an Indian film composer and singer who primarily works in Malayalam films. He is a recipient of National Film Award, Filmfare Award and Kerala State ...
. It features three songs which were sung by
M. G. Sreekumar
Malabar Gopalan Sreekumar (born 25 May 1957), better known as M.G. Sreekumar is an Indian playback singer, composer, music producer, television presenter and film producer, who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. He has sung more than 2000 ...
and
K. S. Chithra. The lyrics were written by
Kaithapram Damodaran
Padma Shri Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, popularly known as Kaithapram, is a Malayalam lyricist, poet, music director, actor, singer, screenwriter, music therapist and performer of Carnatic music. He debuted with the movie Ennennum Kannet ...
and
Poovachal Khader.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mookilla Rajyathu (1991 Film)
1990s Malayalam-language films
1991 films
Films scored by Ouseppachan
Indian comedy films
Films about psychiatry
Films shot in Kochi
Malayalam films remade in other languages