''My Dear Kuttichathan'' () is a 1984 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
fantasy film
Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...
directed by
Jijo Punnoose
Jijo Punnoose is an Indian film director, producer and actor from Kerala. He is best known for directing the two landmark films in Malayalam cinema'' Padayottam'' (1982) and ''My Dear Kuttichathan'' (1984). He is the eldest son of producer ...
and produced by his father
Navodaya Appachan
Maliampurackal Chacko Punnoose, known as Navodaya Appachan (6 February 1924 – 23 April 2012) was an Indian film producer, director and entrepreneur. He is best known for his work in Malayalam cinema, especially as the founder of Navodaya ...
under
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 ...
. It was the first Indian film to be filmed in
3D format. With screenplay by
Raghunath Paleri
Raghunath Paleri (born 7 February 1954) is an Indian novelist, screenwriter, director and actor from Kerala.
Career
He has directed three films'' Onnu Muthal Poojyam Vare'' (1986), '' Vismayam'' (1998), and ''Kanneerinu Madhuram'' (unreleased); ...
, the story revolves around a mystical indigenous Genie called "
Kuttichathan" who is under the spell of an evil sorcerer, however it gets released by three children and then befriends them. The film's soundtrack was composed by
Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...
, while cinematography and editing was done by
Ashok Kumar
Kumudlal Ganguly (13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), better known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and also by Dadamoni, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family.
He ...
and T. R. Shekhar, respectively. It was the debut of actors
Jagadish
P. V. Jagadish Kumar (born 12 June 1955) known mononymously as Jagadish, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, television presenter and former politician. He has starred in over 375 Malayalam films and 2 Hindi films. He is best known for his comi ...
and
Zainuddin.
The film was well received and grossed over 2.5
crore
A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is e ...
from the box office.
Originally filmed in Malayalam, a re-edited version was re-released in 1997, which makes it the first DTS movie in Malayalam. It was dubbed in Hindi as ''Chhota Chetan'' in 1997, which was also a box office success grossing 1.30 crore. Scenes with
Urmila Matondkar
Urmila Matondkar (born 4 February 1974) is an Indian actress and politician. Known for her work primarily in Hindi films, in addition to Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Tamil films, she has received numerous accolades, including the Filmfar ...
were later added. In 2010, further scenes were added in
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
with
Prakash Raj
Prakash Raj (born Prakash Rai; 26 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director, producer, television presenter, and politician. Known for his works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam-language films, he is the recipient of several ...
and
Santhanam Santhanam or Santanam ( te, సంతానం) is an Indian name that may refer to:
People
* K. Santhanam (1895–1980), Indian politician
* Madabusi Santanam Raghunathan (born 1941), Indian mathematician
* Maharajapuram Santhanam (1928–1992) ...
and was released as ''Chutti Chathan''. A new re-mastered version with additional footage released on 25 August 2011.
Plot
The character "
Kuttichathan" is formed on the basis of the specialties of a deity popularly known as "Chathan" who is being worshiped mainly in the south Indian state, Kerala. There are cruel magicians everywhere in the world. One of them is Karimbhootham (black magician), who enslaved an invisible spirit with his magic spells, whom he calls "Kuttichathan" ("Little Ghost" in English and "Chhota Chetan" in Hindi). Two boys and a girl befriend Kuttichathan by accident and release him from the grip of the magician.
On the way Kuttichathan meets Ashish, a member of the police, who is after Karimbhootham.
They understand that this Chathan is friendly to kids and is a very good friend. Therefore, the girl promises to keep Kuttichathan in her house for two reasons: one, her father drinks too much, so she wants Chathan, who is a very good magician, to make him come to his senses, as after her mother died, there is no one to control him; second, Chathan, despite being a small boy, also drinks a lot. He could drink and finish off all that her father drinks, thereby changing her father's attitude.
At the same time, the cruel magician wants the Kuttichathan to lay his hands on a treasure. Even though the magician is the owner of the Kuttichathan, he is burnt and killed by the Chathan in the climax. Chathan then turns into a bat and flies away.
Cast
* M. P. Ramnath - Kuttichathan (voice of invisible Kuttichatan by
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 ...
)
*
Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair
N. Sreedharan Nair (11 September 1922 – 19 October 1986), popularly known as Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair or just Kottarakkara, was an Indian actor who appeared Malayalam movies. He hailed from Kottarakkara in Kollam district of Kerala.
Sre ...
– The Cruel Magician
*
Sonia
Sonia, Sonja or Sonya, a name of Greek origin meaning wisdom, may refer to:
People
* Sonia (name), a feminine given name (lists people named, Sonia, Sonja and Sonya)
:* Sonia (actress), Indian film actress in Malayalam and Tamil films
:* Sonia ...
– Laxmi
* Master Suresh/Suryakiran— Vijay
* Arvind — Vinod
*
Dalip Tahil
Dalip Tahil (born as Dalip Tahilramani; 30 October 1952) is an Indian film, television and theatre actor. He studied at Sherwood College in Nainital, India. After attending Aligarh Muslim University for a year, he graduated from St. Xavier's Co ...
– Laxmi's father
*
Alummoodan
Alummoodan (15 March 1933 3 May 1992) was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam films. He had acted in more than 100 films and mainly did comedy roles.
Background
Alummoodan was born to Alummoottil Joseph and Rosamma in Changanassery, Changa ...
* P. A. Latheef
* Aman M. A.
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
Sainuddin – Bartender
*
Rajan P. Dev
Rajan P. Dev (20 May 1951 – 29 July 2009) was an Indian film and stage actor. He was born in Cherthala in the Alappuzha district of the former state Thiru-Kochi (present day Kerala). He had acted in over 500 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu ...
– School Teacher
*
Jagadeesh
P. V. Jagadish Kumar (born 12 June 1955) known mononymously as Jagadish, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, television presenter and former politician. He has starred in over 375 Malayalam films and 2 Hindi films. He is best known for his comi ...
– Cabaret Announcer
*
Kalabhavan Mani
Kunnisseri Veettil Raman Mani (1 January 1971 – 6 March 2016), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Mani, was an Indian actor and singer. Mani started his career as a mimicry artist with the Kalabhavan comedy troupe. He had starred in ov ...
as Dakshinenthya Manthravaadhi (child artist)
*
Kallapetti Singaram — Rickshaw driver
;Hindi version
*
Urmila Matondkar
Urmila Matondkar (born 4 February 1974) is an Indian actress and politician. Known for her work primarily in Hindi films, in addition to Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Tamil films, she has received numerous accolades, including the Filmfar ...
– Miss Hawa Hawaii
*
Dalip Tahil
Dalip Tahil (born as Dalip Tahilramani; 30 October 1952) is an Indian film, television and theatre actor. He studied at Sherwood College in Nainital, India. After attending Aligarh Muslim University for a year, he graduated from St. Xavier's Co ...
– Laxmi's father
*
Satish Kaushik
Satish Chandra Kaushik (born 13 April 1956) is an Indian actor, director, producer, comedian and screenwriter.
Early life
Satish was born on 13 April 1956 in Mahendragarh, Haryana. He graduated from Kirori Mal College, Delhi in 1972. He is an ...
– Professor Chashmish
*
Shakti Kapoor
Shakti Kapoor (born Sunil Kapoor; 3 September 1952) is an Indian actor and comedian who appears in Bollywood films. Known for his villainous and comic roles in Hindi films, he has featured in over 600 films. In the 1980s and 1990s, Kapoor teame ...
– Baba Khondol, the cruel magician
*
Ravi Baswani
Ravi Baswani (29 September 1946 – 27 July 2010) was an Indian film actor, best known for his role in Sai Paranjpe's '' Chashme Buddoor'' (1981) and Kundan Shah's cult comedy '' Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro'' (1983), for which he won Filmfare Best Co ...
– Raja
*
Harish Kumar – Mr. Anthony Gonsalves
;Tamil version
*
Prakash Raj
Prakash Raj (born Prakash Rai; 26 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director, producer, television presenter, and politician. Known for his works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam-language films, he is the recipient of several ...
– The Cruel Magician
*
Santhanam Santhanam or Santanam ( te, సంతానం) is an Indian name that may refer to:
People
* K. Santhanam (1895–1980), Indian politician
* Madabusi Santanam Raghunathan (born 1941), Indian mathematician
* Maharajapuram Santhanam (1928–1992) ...
- Scientist
Production
Development
''My Dear Kuttichathan'' was the first Indian film to be filmed in 3D.
Jijo Punnoose
Jijo Punnoose is an Indian film director, producer and actor from Kerala. He is best known for directing the two landmark films in Malayalam cinema'' Padayottam'' (1982) and ''My Dear Kuttichathan'' (1984). He is the eldest son of producer ...
, son of Navodaya Appachan made his directorial debut with this film. After ''
Padayottam'' (1982), Jijo decided to direct a 3D film after getting inspired by an article in "American Cinematographer" shown to him by cinematographer Ramachandra Babu.
Technology
To understand the technology, Jijo travelled multiple trips to Burbank, California and bought sample reels of 3D films and held a preview in his studio.
Appachan who was thoroughly convinced decided to produce this film under the allocated budget of 40 lakhs.
David Schmier worked as the film's stereographer along with the film's cinematographer to ensure multiple images converge for 3D effect.
Jijo travelled to the US once again where he met Chris Condon, an expert in 3D technology. Jijo bought the special camera lens and after much discussion Chris agreed to assist Jijo in his film.
The required equipment needed for the film had to be imported from the US and Jijo managed to do this with the help of his friend, Thomas J Easaw.
Script
For the 3D film, the makers wanted a universal theme in order to appeal children. Jijo carried the idea of a friendly ghost for years, he sought the opinion of people such as Anant Pai and Padmarajan for the film's writing. Raghunath Paleri came on board as the film's writer, took all the inputs from the experts and created the plot of three kids and a ghost. Paleri cited he wrote the script in such a way "that would have worked even if it was 2D".
Casting
S. L. Puram Anand, who worked as an production executive for this film revealed that Jijo wanted to do this film with an entirely new cast. Anand suggested Dalip Tahil for the supporting role.
Sonia Bose and MD Ramnoth were cast as child artists. The latter portrayed the titular character.
Ashok Kumar handled cinematography for the film, thus making him the first cinematographer in India to have shot a 3D film. T. K. Rajeev Kumar, who went on to become a famous director, started his career as an assistant director with this film.
In the Hindi version shot in 1997,
Shakti Kapoor
Shakti Kapoor (born Sunil Kapoor; 3 September 1952) is an Indian actor and comedian who appears in Bollywood films. Known for his villainous and comic roles in Hindi films, he has featured in over 600 films. In the 1980s and 1990s, Kapoor teame ...
plays the part of a magician (originally played by Alummoodan) who tries to catch Chetan, but gets trapped in a mirror.
Prakash Raj
Prakash Raj (born Prakash Rai; 26 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director, producer, television presenter, and politician. Known for his works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam-language films, he is the recipient of several ...
did this role in its re-released Tamil version released in 2010.
Satish Kaushik
Satish Chandra Kaushik (born 13 April 1956) is an Indian actor, director, producer, comedian and screenwriter.
Early life
Satish was born on 13 April 1956 in Mahendragarh, Haryana. He graduated from Kirori Mal College, Delhi in 1972. He is an ...
plays the part of
Jagathi 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 ...
as a scientist who also tries to catch Chetan, but gets destroyed. This character was played as
Santhanam Santhanam or Santanam ( te, సంతానం) is an Indian name that may refer to:
People
* K. Santhanam (1895–1980), Indian politician
* Madabusi Santanam Raghunathan (born 1941), Indian mathematician
* Maharajapuram Santhanam (1928–1992) ...
in 2010 version.
Filming
Despite proper planning, the filming took around 90 days to complete, three times the schedule of a normal film.
The budget for the lighting was higher than a 2D film. The filming was held at Navodaya Studios and places around the Kakkanad area.
For the famous scene of walking on the wall, Paleri suggested the sequence to be converted into a song.
The song "Aalipazham Perukka" took 14 days to be completed.
K. Sheker and Jijo decided on a rectangular-shaped rotating room to suit the wider, landscape-like nature of the 3D frame. Jijo then entrusted SILK (Steel Industrial Kerala) with the task of constructing a steel structure on the room, made of timber. The octagonal structure, weighing 25 tonnes, was completed in a month's time. Six men on either side would rotate it to create the illusion that the kids were walking 360 degrees around the room.
The original Malayalam film was made at a cost of 35
lakh
A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For ex ...
.
Soundtrack
;1984 version
;2010 version
This version had new songs composed by
Sharreth
Sujith Vasudevan I (born 3 October 1969), professionally credited as Sharreth, is an Indian music director and singer. He predominantly composes film scores and songs for Malayalam films, but has gone on to compose for Tamil, Telugu and Hindi fil ...
including re-created version of "Chinna Kuzhandhaigale" (Aalipazham Perukka). The lyrics was written by Madhan Karky.
*Kuttichathan Vanthenda -
K. S. Chithra
Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963), always credited as K. S. Chithra or Chithra, is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning over four decades, she has recorded over 25,000 songs in various In ...
*Andhara Tharagai - Sajjla
*Boom Boom Chathan - Sharreth & Chorus
*Ulagame Odidaathe -
Srinivas Srinivasa (Sanskrit ) is a Hindus, Hindu name. The term Srinivasa is Vaishnavism, Vaishnava in origin, the combination of two Sanskrit words, ''Shri'' (श्री) and ''nivasa'' (निवास).
It is a name for males in India as well as a fa ...
Release
The film was released in 1984 along with dubbed versions in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.
The Telugu and Hindi versions were titled ''Chinnari Chethana'' and ''Chhota Chetan'' respectively. All the versions proved to be successful. For the watching experience, special lenses had to be attached to the projectors in theatres.
Navodaya distributed the film by themselves in Kerala. Popular director
K. R. distributed the Tamil version of the film. The Tamil version also became successful, surpassing bigger films.
The film's release also attracted rumours that the use of 3D glasses was spreading conjunctivitis, which was dubbed "Madras Eye". These rumours prompted the makers to add footage before the film began with prominent actors
Prem Nazir
Prem Nazir (born Abdul Khader; 7 April 1926 – 16 January 1989) was an Indian actor known as one of Malayalam cinema's definitive leading man, leading men of his generation. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential actors in the histo ...
,
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
,
Jeetendra
Ravi Kapoor ( ; born 7 April 1942), known mononymously by his screen name Jeetendra, is an Indian actor who is known for his work in Hindi cinema. He also serves as the chairman of the Balaji Telefilms and Balaji Motion Pictures.
Early life ...
,
Rajinikanth
Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...
,
Chiranjeevi
Chiranjeevi (born Konidela Sivasankara Varaprasad; 22 August 1955) is an Indian actor, film producer and former politician, who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. Chiranjeevi starred in over 150 feature films in Telugu language, Telugu, as ...
and others explaining that the glasses were sterilised after each use.
Box office
The film was commercial success and highest grossing Malayalam film at that time, which collected ₹ 2.5 crore from box office and it's Hindi dubbed version Chota Chetan also collected ₹ 1.3 crore from box office. The film ran over 365 days in Trivandrum, 250 days in both Chennai and Mumbai and 150 days in both Bengaluru and Hyderabad box office.
Re-releases
The film was re-released in 1997 which was also highly successful at the box office; it had earned 60 times its initial investment.
The Hindi version was re-released by Nitin Manmohan in 1997, with additional scenes which involved Urmila Matondkar and other Hindi actors. In 2010,
Sri Thenandal Films
Thenandal Studios Limited (TSL), formerly known as Sri Thenandal Films and Sri Thenandal Pictures, is an Indian film production and distribution studio in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded by director Rama Narayanan.
History
Rama Narayanan se ...
re-released the Tamil version, titled ''Chutti Chathan'' in 2010, with added scenes starring Santhanam and Prakash Raj.
Legacy
The film inspired similar kinds of films in India. The optical illusion house set used in the song "Aalipazham Perukkaan" was built in Kishkinta Theme Park.
References
External links
*
Technical presentation by Jijo on Gravity Illusion used in the film
{{National Film Award Best Children's Film
1984 films
1980s children's fantasy films
1980s Malayalam-language films
1984 3D films
Indian children's fantasy films
Indian 3D films
Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja
Films about magic and magicians
Best Children's Film National Film Award winners
Films produced by Navodaya Appachan
1984 directorial debut films