Theetta Rappai (20 April 1939 – 9 December 2006) was an Indian competitive eater who used to eat enormous quantities of food. Rappai used to eat 75 idli for breakfast, buckets of

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

and curries for lunch, and 60

chapati Chapati (alternatively spelled chapathi; pronounced as IAST: ), also known as ''roti'', ''rooti'', ''rotee'', ''rotli'', '' rotta'', ''safati'', ''shabaati'', ''phulka'', ''chapo'' (in East Africa), ''sada roti'' (in the Caribbean), ''poli'' (i ...

s for dinner. He is known to have eaten 250 idlis and 1.5 kg of

pudding Pudding is a type of food which can either be a dessert served after the main meal or a Savoury (dish), savoury (salty or sweet, and spicy) dish, served as part of the main meal. In the United States, ''pudding'' means a sweet, milk-based des ...

and halwa in one sitting. On a different occasion, he is known to have consumed 75 idlis, 2.5 kg

appam An appam or vellayappam is a type of thin pancake originating from South India. It is made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk, traditionally cooked in an ''appachatti'', a deep pan similar in shape to a wok. It's a popular dish in Indi ...

, and buckets of payasam. Rappai had won several eating competitions in and outside Kerala. His name had been included in the Limca Book of World Records

Early life

Rappai was born on 20 April 1939 in

Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, 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 List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...

city, as the eldest among the seven children of the late Kuriappan and the late Thandamma. He shot to fame after he challenged a

restaurant that offered an all-you-can-eat buffet. He polished off three bucketfuls of rice, one bucket of fish curry, and 10 kg cooked meat. At the end of it, he quipped that he was still hungry. Finally, the restaurant staff had to call the police. Doctors ascribed his insatiable appetite to a

hypothalamus The hypothalamus (: hypothalami; ) is a small part of the vertebrate brain that contains a number of nucleus (neuroanatomy), nuclei with a variety of functions. One of the most important functions is to link the nervous system to the endocrin ...

dysfunction in the

brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

. This meant that he did not get the sensation to stop eating. In July 2006, Rappai's huge appetite had to be curtailed because he developed a severe stomach ache and

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

. Due to these problems, he retired from eating enormous quantities and relied to normal eating.

Death

Theetta Rappai died in Jubilee Mission Hospital in

city at 4:30 AM (IST) on 9 December 2006, aged 67. He was a bachelor. He had retired from eating competitions earlier that year, after he was diagnosed with diabetes and

hypertension Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a Chronic condition, long-term Disease, medical condition in which the blood pressure in the artery, arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms i ...

. He was 120 kg when he died and his family had to build a special

coffin A coffin or casket is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, for burial, entombment or cremation. Coffins are sometimes referred to as caskets, particularly in American English. A distinction is commonly drawn between "coffins" a ...

for him. He was buried at Lourdes Church, Thrissur. At the time of his death, he was survived by his mother and siblings.

Film

Director Winu Ramakrishnan filmed the story of Theetta Rappai as a Malayalam movie in 2018 titled "Theetta Rappai".

Kalabhavan Mani Kunnisseri Veettil Raman Mani (1 January 1971 – 6 March 2016), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Mani, was an Indian actor and singer. Mani started his career as a Impersonator, mimicry artist with the Kalabhavan comedy troupe. He had ...

's brother RLV Ramakrishnan played the title role of Theetta Rappai in this film.

References

Indian competitive eaters People from Thrissur 1939 births 2006 deaths {{India-bio-stub