Mindless mayhem, yet it worked 25 years later

Senseless comedies, which normally make a poor impression about the taste levels of the audience from where it sustains itself are freak hits at the box office every now and then. Malayalam cinema, which has often had serious films being highlighted as the industry's USP, with socially relevant issues being analysed threadbare have such quirks.

The 1986 release, its title itself being a tongue-twisting, mouth-filling one – Mazha Peyyunnu Maddalam Kottunnu – was remade in Telugu in 2010 as ' Saradaga Kasepu'. The original had an ensemble cast with the heavyweight heroes like Mohanlal, Mukesh and Sreenivasan essaying prominent roles. The additional attraction was that it had Mammootty appearing in a guest role.

In Telugu, the film was headed by Allari Naresh, a hero with a flair for comedy accompanied by Avasarala Srinivas. Music was by Chakri and the directorial responsibilities were handled by Vamsy. The helmsman by then had directed more than 20 films and was at the fag end of his career which ended with his 2017 release ' Fashion Designer S/O Ladies Tailor', a sequel to his 1986 popular film ' Ladies Tailor'.

The Kerala film which had Priyadarshan commanding the plotline as its director relied heavily on the comic timing of its lead stars who carried it off effortlessly to make it one of the biggest hits of the industry. The story, (which was all about mistaken identities and how a poor guy disguises himself as rich and vice versa) with its scope for introducing sitcom misunderstandings and twists also was a fertile ground for ticklish, slapstick comedy. And it worked to a reasonable level in the reprised version also.

'Allari' Naresh, who was by then in the best phase of his career with nearly 20 films released between 2008-2011, had seven films to his account in 2010. This film is considered one of the super hits in his tenure at the film industry. As a hero, he has always enjoyed a niche which he exploited reasonably well for the first decade of his career, in comparison to his other hero brother Rajesh. Yet, it has been a bumpy, downhill ride for him since the last decade with his last films released in 2021 doing reasonable business.