''No.20 Madras Mail'' is a 1990 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

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

film directed by

Joshiy Joshiy (born 18 July 1952) is an Indian film director and producer from Varkala in Kerala who works predominantly in the Malayalam film industry. He made his debut with ''Tiger Salim'' (1978) and has directed over 80 films. He has also direct ...

and written by

Dennis Joseph Dennis Joseph (20 October 1957 – 10 May 2021) was an Indian scriptwriter and director known for his work in Malayalam films. He was active during the 1980s and early 1990s. He frequently collaborated with directors Joshi and Thambi Kannanthan ...

from a story by Harikumar. The film stars

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically app ...

in lead role and

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 com ...

Maniyanpilla Raju Sudheer Kumar (born 20 April 1955), better known by his stage name Maniyanpilla Raju (Malayalam:മണിയൻപിള്ള രാജു), is an Indian actor and producer who works in Malayalam film industry.M. G. Soman M. G. Soman (28 September 1941 – 12 December 1997) was an Indian actor and former Indian Air Force officer who appeared in Malayalam films. He was one among the leading star actors doing hero roles in Malayalam Cinema during the late 1970s an ...

, Ashokan, and

Suchitra Murali Suchitra Murali, commonly known by her stage name Suchitra, is an Indian actress. Debuting in a lead role with the 1990 film '' No.20 Madras Mail'' at the age of 14, she has appeared mostly in Malayalam films as well as a few films in Tamil. P ...

in supporting roles, while

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, H ...

appears in an extended cameo as himself. The

background score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

was composed by S. P. Venkatesh while the song was composed by Ouseppachan. The plot follows three youngsters who are embroiled in the murder mystery of a young woman in a train journey from

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. ''No.20 Madras Mail'' was released on 16 February 1990 and received positive reviews. Almost half of the film was shot inside a train. Four years later, the film was remade in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

as '' Teesra Kaun'' by Partho Ghosh.

Plot

The train No.20 Madras Mail to

starts from

Trivandrum Central railway station Thiruvananthapuram Central, formerly Trivandrum Central (also known as Thampanoor railway station) (station code: TVC), is a major railway station which serves the city of Thiruvananthapuram (formerly Trivandrum), capital of Kerala state, In ...

. R. K. Nair, a

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city ...

-based businessman takes the first class coach to Madras with his wife Geetha and daughter Devi from

Kollam Junction Kollam Junction railway station (station code: QLN) is a junction station situated in the city of Kollam in Kerala, India. It is the second largest railway station in Kerala in terms of area and largest in terms of number of tracks and one of ...

. Tony Kurishingal, along with his friends Hitchcock Kanjikkuzhi and Kumbalam Hari boards the same coach from

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south ...

. Tony is the son of a wealthy businessman, Kurishinkal Kariyachan, Kanjikuzhi is a

detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as spe ...

ist and Hari is a young politician. The three of them are going to Madras to see a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

match, a

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...

, and to make attempts to make Kanjikuzhi's novel ''Vaazhikuzhiyile Kolapathakam'' a movie. All three are drunk. After seeing Devi, Tony and friends make several attempts in getting a seat for Tony in the same coach of Devi, with the help of ticket inspector Nadar, but with little success. While doing so, Tony gets into heated arguments with Nair and Sunil, who shares the same coach. Film actor Mammootty boards the train from

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

and gets into the same coach. Nadar leaves the train at

Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated munici ...

after giving company with Tony and gang and the new TTE Chokalingam / Choki assumes duty. Tony and his friends visit Mammootty and become friends with him. Meanwhile, Tony tries to flirt with Devi while she returns from the toilet, which causes Tony to land in trouble with Nair, but on Mammootty's intervention the matter is settled. In the morning, as the train reaches

, Devi is found murdered in the toilet. Suspicion lands on Tony and friends and they run away from the spot in fear. The investigation is carried out by police officer DySP Murthy who learns from Chokalingam that Mammootty had taken photos of Tony and friends while in the train. He gets the photo from him and are publicly displayed. Mammootty helps Tony and friends to return to Kerala secretly as he believes they are innocent. Back in Kerala, they are confronted by Sunil. Sunil sneaks upon Tony holding a

switchblade A switchblade (aka switch knife, automatic knife, pushbutton knife, ejector knife, flick knife, Stiletto, flick blade, or spring knife (Sprenger,Benson, Ragnar (1989). ''Switchblade: The Ace of Blades''. Paladin Press. pp. 1–14. . The sw ...

at the lake where Tony, Kumbalam and Kanjikkuzhi were bathing. Sunil attempts to murder Tony, Kumbalam and Kanjikkuzhi. Tony defeats and subdue Sunil in the fight that ensued. Tony orders Sunil to spill information about Devi's killer. Actually the lover of Devi, both had planned to elope from the train at

Erode Erode () is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Erode is the seventh largest urban agglomeration in the state, after Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, Tiruppur and Salem. It is also the administrative headquarters of the ...

, but failed as Sunil could not get out off the train in time during the halt. Devi, with the help of the station master takes a taxi to the next station, Salem, and get back to train. Sunil makes amends with Tony, Kumbalam and Kanjikkuzhi and now all four of them are friends. Also, from Sunil, they learn about Sr. Gloria, who tells that Devi gave her a

diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...

before leaving for Madras. After acquiring the diary from the convent, they come to know that Nair is not Devi's father, but only a stepfather and that he killed her father in her childhood. On learning that Nair might be the murderer, Tony calls Nair by phone impersonating Mammootty's voice and says that he has got the diary and blackmails him to give ₹20 lakh in return for the diary. Tony informs Mammootty and convinces him to proceed with the play. Mammootty and Nair meets and agree to fix the deal on the same train on a Wednesday. Mammootty boards the train at

on which Nair has already booked an entire bogie. He informs that the diary is not present with him and would hand it over at Salem when Tony joins the train. Nair leaves the train at

Erode Junction Erode Junction railway station (Station Code: ED) is the main railway junction serving the city of Erode, Tamil Nadu. Erode Junction is one of the major railway Junction in Southern Railway and is located 3 km away from Erode Central Bus ...

railway station and goes to Salem station via taxi to find Tony, but Tony enters the train in between, he along with Mammootty overpower Nair's henchmen. Meanwhile, Nair reenters the train at Salem Jn. and finds that Tony has already entered. Tony attacks Nair and make him confess the truth. Nair reveals that he killed Devi after she caught up the train at Salem, fearing that Devi would inform the police about her father's murder. The next morning, when the train arrives Madras, DySP Murthy, who had already been informed of everything by Kumbalam and Kanjikkuzhi, arrests Nair. Tony, Kumbalam, and Kanjikkuzhi has proved their innocence. On another day, while boarding the No.19 Trivandrum Mail to return home, they find Mammootty again in the same train, who tries to leave the train after seeing them, but only to be stopped by Tony and friends who promises a happy and safe journey back home.

Cast

as Tony Kurishingal * Jagadeesh as Kumbalam Hari *

M. G. Soman M. G. Soman (28 September 1941 – 12 December 1997) was an Indian actor and former Indian Air Force officer who appeared in Malayalam films. He was one among the leading star actors doing hero roles in Malayalam Cinema during the late 1970s an ...

as R. K. Nair, Devi's stepfather * Siddique as Tony's Friend *

Suchitra Suchitra Ramadurai, known by the mononym Suchitra, is an Indian radio jockey, popular playback singer, songwriter, composer, voice artist, dubbing artist and film actress. She has sung in multiple languages including Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada ...

as Devi *

Sumalatha Sumalatha (born 27 August 1963) is an Indian actress, politician who is the current Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Mandya, Karnataka. She has acted in more than 220 films in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Hindi. She gained ...

as Sister Gloria * V. K. Sreeraman as Murthy (Deputy Superintendent of Police) *

Jayabharathi Jayabharathi is an Indian actress. She is a two-time recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for best actress. Jayabharathi's first leading role was given by director P. Bhaskaran for his movie Kattukurangu in 1969. Later she became one of ...

as Geetha (Devi's Mother) * Innocent as Nadar (TTE) *

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 ...

as Chokkalingam/Chokki (TTE) * Janardhanan as Adv. Thomas Matthew *

Janakaraj Janagaraj is an Indian actor who has appeared in over 200 films predominantly in Tamil cinema as a comedian or in supporting roles. He also starred in few Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi films. Early life Janagaraj was born to Vadivelu and Muthu ...

as Murukesan *

Jagannatha Varma K. N. Jagannatha Varma (1 May 1939 – 20 December 2016) was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam film and television industry. He was also a Kathakali artist. His son Manu Varma is also an artist and his son-in-law Viji Thampi is a film dire ...

as Kurishingal Kariachan, Tony's Father *

Valsala Menon Valsala Menon (born 1945) is an Indian actress who works in Malayalam films. She has acted in over 200+ films. Currently she is active in Malayalam television serials. Early life Valsala Menon was born in 1945 to Raman Menon and Devakiyamma in ...

as Tony's Stepmother *

Santha Devi Damayanthi (1927 – 20 November 2010), better known by her stage name Kozhikode Santha Devi, was an Indian Malayalam film and stage actress. In a career spanning about sixty years, she acted in more than 1000 plays and about 480 films. Biog ...

as Mother Superior of the convent * K. P. A. C. Sunny as Sreedhara Menon *

KPAC Azeez Azeez (27 November 1934 – 16 July 2003) was an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 100 films. He came into the movie industry as a villain, later he started doing character roles, such as police officer, jailer, and ministe ...

as Station Master * Ajith Kollam as Goon *

Thalapathi Dinesh Thalapathy Dinesh (also spelled Thalapathi Dinesh) is an Indian action choreographer who works mainly in Tamil cinema. He started his career in the cinema as an extra fighter in '' Naan Sigappu Manithan'' and later he became as a stunt master and ...

as Goon ;Cameo appearances *

as Himself *

Thiagarajan Thiagarajan Sivanandam (born 21 June 1946) is an Indian actor, director and producer in Tamil cinema. Beside Tamil, he has also acted in several Malayalam and Kannada films and a few Telugu films. He is the father of Tamil actor Prashanth and ...

as Himself *

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 ...

as Himself *

Captain Raju Raju Daniel (27 June 1950 – 17 September 2018), better known by his stage name Captain Raju, was an Indian army officer and Indian actor. He acted in more than 600 films in various languages, including Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kanna ...

as Himself *

Priyadarshan Priyadarshan (born 30 January 1957) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works predominantly in Malayalam and Hindi films, while also having done six films in Tamil and two films in Telugu. He has done about 31 films in H ...

as Himself *

Rajeev Nath Rajeevnath is a National Award-winning Malayalam film director. Career Rajeevnath ventured into filmmaking with a short film shot in 16mm camera after finishing his university course. He debuted as a director of feature films with ''Thanal'' (1 ...

as Himself *

G. Suresh Kumar G. Suresh Kumar is an Indian film producer and actor known for Poochakkoru Mookkuthi, Poochakkoru Mookuthi and Aaraam Thampuran, Araam Thamburan. He produces films under the banner Revathy Kalamandhir an Indian film production company based in ...

as Himself *

as Suresh (crew of

film)

Production

got the plot idea from a friend of his named Harikumar, who is also actor Ashokan's brother. Initially,

and Joseph thought about casting newcomers in the principal roles. However, Joshiy later decided it to be a

-starrer. Subsequently, the age of the characters were increased to make them youngsters rather than teenagers;

and

Maniyanpilla Raju Sudheer Kumar (born 20 April 1955), better known by his stage name Maniyanpilla Raju (Malayalam:മണിയൻപിള്ള രാജു), is an Indian actor and producer who works in Malayalam film industry.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 ...

was fixed in the role of the actor the youngsters meet on their train journey. But a day before the filming began, Mohanlal suggested to cast

in the actor's role and to swap Sreekumar to one of the TTE's roles. Joseph and Joshiy liked the idea but was skeptical whether Mammootty would agree to do a supporting role in a film with Mohanlal in the leading role, since mid-1980s both the actors have attained stardom and have been appearing only in equally important roles or otherwise cameos, nevertheless, Joseph asked Mammootty who immediately agreed without hesitation. The interior scenes of the train was shot inside an original moving train to avoid artificial feeling of using sets. For that, they bought a Nilambur–Shoranur route train for rent and drove it to places to and fro for filming.

Music

The film score was composed by S. P. Venkatesh. The single song "Pichakappoonkaavukal" featured in the film was composed by Ouseppachan and 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 ...

, lyrics were by

Shibu Chakravarthy Shibu Chakravarthy is an Indian lyricist, screenwriter, and poster designer who works in Malayalam cinema. His ancestors were the rulers of Kurukkanmoola Dynasty, hence the name ''Chakravarthy'' (). His birthname was Shibu Rajav, later change ...

. This song was later reused in the film ''

Husbands in Goa ''Husbands in Goa'' is a 2012 Malayalam comedy film directed by Saji Surendran and written by Krishna Poojapura, starring Jayasurya, Indrajith, Asif Ali, Lal, Rima Kallingal, Bhama, Remya Nambeesan and Praveena. The film follows the journe ...

'' (2012).

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...

who was then yet to debut as a film composer, did the keyboard and synth programming whereas

Vidyasagar Vidyasagar or Vidya Sagar may refer to: People *Acharya Vidyasagar (born 1946), prominent Digambar Jain Acharya (1946-) * Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820–1891), Bengali scholar *Vidyasagar (composer) (born 1963), South Indian music director * ...

assisted Ouseppachan in the recording of the song "Pichakappoonkaavukal". The chorus portions of the song were done by the above three along with the singer

Release and reception

The film was a commercial success, it ran for over 125 days. Tony Kurishangal, the character played by Mohanlal in the film is one of the most celebrated ones.

Trivia

* Dennis Joseph had to abandon writing '' Anjali'' for ''No. 20 Madras Mail''

References

External links

* {{Dennis Joseph 1990 films Films shot in Thiruvananthapuram Films shot in Kollam 1990s Malayalam-language films 1990s crime comedy films Indian crime comedy films 1990s comedy mystery films 1990s mystery thriller films Films scored by Ouseppachan Films set on trains Malayalam films remade in other languages Indian comedy mystery films Indian mystery thriller films Films with screenplays by Dennis Joseph 1990 comedy films Films directed by Joshiy