''Ee Parakkum Thalika'' () is a 2001 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 wa ...

-language

slapstick 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 ...

comedy drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film starring

Dileep Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan Pillai, better known by his stage name Dileep, is an Indian actor, producer, and businessman who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry. He has acted in more than 150 films and has won several awards, inc ...

Harisree Asokan Harisree Ashokan is an Indian actor and director who is known for his comedy roles in Malayalam films. Ashokan has acted in more than 200 Malayalam films. He started his career as a mimicry artist in the troupe Harisree and then worked in Kal ...

Nithya Das Nithya Das is an Indian actress who works prominently in Malayalam cinema along with Malayalam and Tamil Television series. Career Das was active in the film industry during the early-2000s. She started her career with the 2001 film '' Ee Par ...

and

Cochin Haneefa Muhammed Haneefa (22 April 1951 – 2 February 2010), better known by his stage name Cochin Haneefa, was an Indian actor, film director, and screenwriter. He started his career in the 1970s mainly portraying villainous roles, before going on t ...

. It was

directed Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

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 ...

and written by V. R. Gopalakrishnan, seems to have been inspired by

Mouse Hunt ''Mouse Hunt'' is a 1997 American slapstick black comedy film written by Adam Rifkin and directed by Gore Verbinski in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Nathan Lane, Lee Evans, Maury Chaykin, and Christopher Walken. The film follow ...

. The film was also the debut film of actress Nithya Das. The story follows bus owner Unnikrishnan and his assistant Sundareshan who live and sleep in their bus. It is considered one of the best slapstick comedy movies in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, '' Elippathaya ...

and was one of the highest grossing Malayalam movie in 2001. The bus known as ''Thamarakshan Pilla,'' which is a central figure in the movie eventually developed into 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. Thi ...

figure in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

Plot

Unnikrishnan owns an old bus, received as compensation for his father Thamarakshan Pillai's road accident, which killed Pillai, who was a

chenda The Chenda ( ml, ചെണ്ട, ) is a cylindrical percussion instrument originating in the state of Kerala and widely used in Tulu Nadu of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in India. In Tulu Nadu (Coastal Karnataka), it is known as ''chende ...

master. Now, Unni faces consequences due to the pathetic condition of the bus, named after his father. He sold many valuable things to maintain this bus. His friend and distant relative Sundareshan is his only companion and the bus's cleaner. A mouse had eaten Sundareshan's passport and spoiled his chances of going abroad. Some part of the film's comedy involves Sundareshan running behind the mouse for revenge. A live TV show in which Unni badmouths Circle-Inspector Veerappan Kurup lands him in more trouble when the former commands Unni to leave the city with the bus. Sreedhara Kaimal, an advocate and well-wisher, tries to help Unni with a bank loan to run a mobile kitchen (''Thattukada'') from his bus. The plot takes a turn when a girl named Basanthi enters the bus as a nomad, but she is actually Gayathri, the daughter of an influential and politically powerful minister R. K. Santhanam in Puducherry. Santhanam forced Gayathri to join politics, which made her leave home. Initially, Gayathri refuses to leave the bus, despite Unni's and Sundareshan's constant efforts. The police trace her and takes her back to Santhanam's custody. Santhanam is making arrangements for her marriage with someone else. Meanwhile, Unni realizes that he could not live without Gayathri. He and Sundareshan secretly enter her house. Unni and his friends plans to take Gayathri, but Santhanam find them inside the almirah. The men of Santhanam starts beating up Unni despite the requests of Gayathri. Terribly wounded Unni refuses to let go of Gayathri and Santhanam realises their true love,letting his daughter go with Unni in his bus.

Cast

Reception

The film received a mostly positive critical reception and was a commercial success. It was the second-highest-grossing Malayalam film of 2001, after ''

Ravanaprabhu ''Raavanaprabhu'' () is a 2001 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller drama film written and directed by Ranjith in his directorial debut. It is a sequel to the 1993 film ''Devaasuram'' written by Ranjith, directed by I.V. Sasi. The film st ...

''.

Soundtrack

Remakes

The film was remade as ''

Sundara Travels ''Sundara Travels'' is a 2002 Tamil-language comedy film directed by Asokan. The film stars Murali, Radha, and Vadivelu. Vasu, Sabitha Anand, and Vinu Chakravarthy appear in supporting roles. Written by Govind Padman and Mahesh Mithra, it is ...

'' in Tamil, as ''

Aaduthu Paaduthu ''Aaduthu Paaduthu'' () is a 2002 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film directed by Devi Prasad. The film stars Srikanth, Sunil and Gayatri. The film was a box office success. It is a remake of the Malayalam film '' Ee Parakkum Thalika' ...

'' in Telugu and as ''

Dakota Express ''Dakota Express'' () is a 2002 Kannada-language comedy film, a remake of the 2001 Malayalam film ''Ee Parakkum Thalika''. It was produced by Rockline Venkatesh and directed by M. S. Rajashekar. The film stars Rockline Venkatesh and Om Prakash ...

'' in Kannada. Many scenes from the movie were used in the Hindi movie '' Chal Chala Chal''.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0319337, Ee Parakkum Thalika 2001 films 2001 romantic comedy-drama films 2000s Malayalam-language films Films shot in Kerala Films shot in Kochi Malayalam films remade in other languages Films scored by Ouseppachan Indian romantic comedy-drama films