''Varavelpu'' () is a 1989 Indian
Malayalam-language
black comedy film directed by
Sathyan Anthikad and written by
Sreenivasan, starring
Mohanlal,
Revathi, Sreenivasan,
Thilakan,
Murali,
Innocent, and
Jagadish. The film was produced by K. Rajagopal. The film depicted trade union problems plaguing
Kerala in a satirical dark comedy.
The film was based on a real-life incident in Sreenivasan's father's life. The film was an average grosser at box office but later created a
cult
In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
status and following. The movie was remade in
Hindi as ''
Chal Chala Chal
''Chal Chala Chal'' is a 2009 Hindi-language family satire film with Govinda in the lead role. The film is a remake of the 1989 Malayalam-language Indian film ''Varavelpu'' starring Mohanlal and many scenes from another Malayalam film ''Ee Para ...
''.
Plot
Murali returns to his home town after spending 7 long years hardworking in gulf with an intention to settle down peacefully in his hometown. Much against the greedy wishes of his family members, he decides to buy a second hand bus that comes along with a route permit. This is when he faces a lot of hardships. Starting from an accident because of the inefficient driver, a cheating conductor, to a cunning union leader, Murali's life is taken for a toss with ever growing challenges one after the other. Then he gets an offer from a labour officer but he turns down saying that he has already lost this game and he tends to move for a better job. At last it is depicted as he leaves to
Bombay.
Cast
*
Mohanlal as Murali
*
Revathi as Rema
*
Sreenivasan as a vehicle inspector
*
Murali as Prabhakaran
*
Jagadish as Valsan
*
Thilakan as Ramakrishnan
*
Innocent as Chathukutty
*
Janardhanan as Kumaran
*
Oduvil Unnikrishnan as Narayanan
*
Mamukkoya as Hamsa
*
Sankaradi
Chandrashekaran Menon, better known by his screen name Sankaradi (14 July 1924 – 8 October 2001), was an Indian actor. He was a veteran Malayalam comedian and character artist, who had over 700 Malayalam films to his credit. He dominated the ...
as Murali's uncle
*
K. P. A. C. Lalitha
Maheshwari Amma, better known by her stage name K. P. A. C. Lalitha, was an Indian film and stage actress who worked primarily in Malyalam. She started her acting career with K. P. A. C., a theatre collective in Kayamkulam, Kerala. In a caree ...
as Santha
*
Meena as Rukmini
*
Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair as Govindan Nair
*
Bobby Kottarakkara as Pappan
*
Krishnan Kutty Nair as Rema's father
*Praseetha Menon
*Sindhu Varma
Production
The film was based on a real-life incident in
Sreenivasan's father's life.
Sathyan Anthikkad got the story idea while listening to Sreenivasan when he recalled how his family ended in financial debt as his
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
father was labeled a
capitalist after he bought a bus.
Soundtrack
Reception
In 2003, the then Indian
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...
mentioned the film and Mohanlal in his inaugural speech at the Global Investor Meet held in
Kerala. He said: "I am told that there is a Malayalam movie called ''Varavelppu'' in which your famous actor Mohanlal acts as a
Gulf-returned
Keralite. He invests his savings in a small business venture with high hopes. But in the end, he is forced to close it down after going through many unpleasant experiences. Therefore, this conference should serve as an occasion for introspection".
References
External links
*
{{Sathyan Anthikad
1989 films
1980s Malayalam-language films
Films with screenplays by Sreenivasan
Films directed by Sathyan Anthikad
1980s black comedy films
Films shot in Ottapalam
Films shot in Palakkad
Films shot in Thrissur
Malayalam films remade in other languages
1989 comedy films
Indian black comedy films
Films scored by Johnson
Indian business films
Malayalam film score composers