''Thachiledathu Chundan'' is a 1999 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

action drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-ge ...

film directed by

Shajoon Karyal Shajoon Kariyal is an Indian film director and producer working in Malayalam cinema. Life Shajoon started his film career in 1984, at the age of 21, as an assistant director to I. V. Sasi. He worked as the assistant or associate director ...

and written by Babu Janardhanan and produced by

Thampi Kannanthanam Thampi Kannanthanam (11 December 1953 – 2 October 2018) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor, who worked in Malayalam cinema. He has directed 16 films. Personal life Thampi was born on 11 December 1953 as the sixth son ...

under the banner of Jooliya Pictures. The film stars Mammootty in the lead role, along with

Nandini Nandini is a female given name. It is derived from the Sanskrit verbal root ''nand'', which means "to rejoice, delight". Literally, ''nandinī'' means a woman who brings joy. The name also specifically refers to a daughter, as a daughter brings ...

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 ...

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 ...

, Captain Raju and

Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri (hill), Karnataka, Brahmagiri range in th ...

in supporting roles. The film revolves a boatrace fantic, Kochu Kunju. The film features original songs composed by

Raveendran Madhavan Raveendran ( ml, മാധവൻ രവീന്ദ്രൻ ), (born Kulathupuzha, Kollam, 9 November 1943 – died Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 3 March 2005), fondly known as ''Raveendran Master'', was a popular South Indian music composer a ...

, with the background score done by

S. P. Venkatesh S. P. Venkatesh (also credited as Sangeetharajan; born 5 March 1955) is an Indian music director and composer who primarily works in Malayalam films. He was at his prime in the late 80s and 90s, being reputed for his background scores and songs ...

. The lyrics were written by Bichu Thirumala. The film was released on 1 April 1999 on the occasion of

Vishu Vishu (Malayalam: വിഷു), the traditional Malayali New Year, is a Hindu festival celebrated in the Indian state of Kerala, Tulu Nadu region of Karnataka, and Mahe district. The festival marks the first day of Medam, the first month of ...

. The film was major commercial success and went on to become the third highest grossing film of the year. The film was director Shajoon Karyal's breakthrough in Malayalam cinema.

Plot

The film is set in modern

Kuttanad Kuttanad ( ml, കുട്ടനാട്‌) is a region covering the Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta Districts, in the state of Kerala, India, well known for its vast paddy fields and geographical peculiarities. The region has the lo ...

, Kerala, and revolves around the lives of a Vallamkali (boatrace) fanatic named Kochu Kunju ( Mammootty) and his family. Kochu Kunju is a member of the most prominent family in the locality, is the kind who cares for no one. He becomes a terror in the locality and his family is forced to send him away, so that they can live in peace. He comes back to the village when he hears of the destruction of the Vallam (snakeboat), once the pride of the village, and vows not only to take revenge on the culprits, but also to rebuild the snakeboat in time for the next boat race season. On behalf of his family, Kochu Kunju challenges their rival family that they will buy a new boat for the upcoming Vallamkali. However, certain problems follows and Kochu Kunju is forced to marry a wealthy girl and forget his childhood girlfriend. After buying the boat, Kochu Kunju had to face further problems; his boatmen were attacked and he himself had to lead the boat. However, the ultimate success is for Kochu Kunju.

Cast

* Mammootty as Ashokan Nair/ Kochu Kunju *

as Usha *

as Vikraman Nair *

as Vasukutty *

Vani Viswanath Vani Viswanath (born 13 May 1971) is an Indian actress who predominantly appeared in Malayalam and Telugu films. In 2000, Vani won the Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress for her performance in '' Susanna'', directed by T. V. Chandr ...

as Ambika *

as Indu * Captain Raju as Velupillai * Vijayakumar as Murali *

Meghanathan Meghanathan is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam and Tamil films. The son of actor Balan K. Nair, he debuted in 1983 in the Malayalam film '' Asthram''. He has acted in more than 50 Malayalam films. Background Meghanathan was born as th ...

as Uthaman *

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North A ...

as Kamalahasan *

Kollam Thulasi Kollam Kanjaveli Kuttilazhikathu Thulasidharan Nair is an actor in Malayalam cinema, who is better known as Kollam Thulasi relating to the name of his birthplace Kollam to his first name as customary in some parts of Kerala. His first appearanc ...

as Advocate * Manka Mahesh *

Sadiq Sadiq is a male name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Ja'far al-Sadiq, the 8th-century Muslim scholar and scientist, considered as an Imam and founder of the Ja'fari school of jurisprudence by Twelver and Isma'ili Shi’as, and a major f ...

as Balachandran * Latha * V. K. Sriraman as Sekharan *

Sathaar Sathaar (25 May 1948 – 17 September 2019) was an Indian actor who primarily worked in Malayalam films. He made his acting debut with M. Krishnan Nair's ''Bharyaye Avashyamundu'' (1975). He became a hero in 1976 with '' Anaavaranam'', direct ...

as Geevarghese * Azeez as Balachandran * Jagannathan as Raghavan Nair *

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 Bha ...

as Chenkeeri *

Kundara Johny Johny Joseph with the stage name Kundara Johny is an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He has acted in more than 100 films. He has also done Tamil films like ''Vaazhkai Chakram'' and ''Nadigan ''Nadigan'' () is a 1990 Indian Tamil-languag ...

as Thankayya Mooppan * Alphonse as Dancer *Anish paul as CI Balan pillai (police)

Soundtrack

The film includes songs composed by

, with lyrics by Bichu Thirumala. The background score was composed by

Reception

The year 1999 was a turbulent year for Malayalam cinema, with an all-time low production of 60 films, which is low compared to films produced in 1997, which had more than a 100 films. In 1999, 45 films of the 60 films bombed at the box office, with approximately only 10 films reaping good profits. ''Thachiledathu Chundan'' was one of the few films that was successful at the box office. The film was the third highest grossing film of the year, earning 7 crore from the box office in its final run. The film was only surpassed by '' Friends'' and ''

Pathram ''Pathram'' () is a 1999 Indian Malayalam-language political thriller film written by Renji Panicker and directed by Joshi, starring Suresh Gopi, Manju Warrier, Murali, N. F. Varghese, Biju Menon, Abhirami. Plot Nandagopal, an associate e ...

.''

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0252056
''Thachiledathu Chundan''
at the Malayalam Movie Database 1990s Malayalam-language films 1999 drama films 1999 films Films directed by Shajoon Kariyal Films scored by Raveendran