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''Kakkakuyil'' () is a 2001 Indian
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
-language heist
comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
written and directed by
Priyadarshan Priyadarshan Soman Nair (born 30 January 1957) is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He has worked primarily in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam and Hindi cinema, Hindi cinema since 1982, directing over 90 films in multiple Indian languages, ...
and produced by Lissy. It stars
Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...
and
Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It is commonly used as a male given name in India. People with the name Mukesh include: * Mukesh (singer) (1923–1976), Indian playback singer from ...
. The film features songs composed by M.G Sreekumar (credited as Deepan Chatterji) and background score by S. P. Venkatesh. Kakkakuyil was released on 14 April 2001. It was remade in Telugu as '' Tappu Chesi Pappu Koodu'' (2002) and in
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
as ''
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
'' (2005). The plot of the movie is based on the 1988 English movie ''
A Fish Called Wanda ''A Fish Called Wanda'' is a 1988 heist comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and written by Crichton and John Cleese. It stars Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Michael Palin. The film follows a gang of diamond thieves who double- ...
'' with the added subplot of the two lead actors seeking shelter in the house of an old blind couple while pretending to be a single person having been borrowed from the Marathi play ''Ghar Ghar''.


Plot

An unemployed man named Sivaraman comes to
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
to find a job. Unfortunately, he loses all his certificates and money, but happens to find Govindan Kutty, an old buddy from his native place in
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...
, who is also jobless and wandering in Mumbai. They try to get a visa from a travel agency, but find no way to gather the large sums demanded for a visa. Govindan Kutty persuades Sivaraman to participate in a bank robbery planned by Thomas Mathews and his gang, including his stammering brother Tyootty and lover Elina. They join the gang, but the plan puts them in more trouble as the robbery ends in vain when they hit Pothuval. Elina secretly informs the police about the robbery and also that the entire plan was carried out by Thomas, so that she could steal the entire share of the money for herself. However, before getting arrested, Thomas hides the money, and the place is kept secret except to his lawyer Nambeeshan. Elina pretends to be in love with Nambeeshan to find the place where the money is hidden. Meanwhile, to find a safe cover, Sivaraman and Govindan Kutty plan to impersonate Kunjunni, the grandson of a rich but blind elderly couple, Thampuran and Sethu. They haven't seen their grandchild since his childhood as he currently resides in the United States, and the couple have an estranged relation with their relatives who do not live with them. Sivaraman and Govindan Kutty end up disguising with the body of Govindan Kutty and the voice of Sivaraman to make up for Kunjunni in front of the blind couple. Pothuval, who knows Govindan Kutty before and who served as a former servant and house-caretaker to the blind couple, makes several attempts to make Thampuran learn the truth, but all of them fail knowingly or unknowingly, much to the luck of Sivaraman and Govindan Kutty. While successfully carrying on, they are interrupted by Radhika Menon, who disguises herself as the lover of Kunjunni. She calls on all the estranged relatives of the couple by mocking them. The relatives arrive in the absence of Sivaraman. Finding no way-out, Govindan Kutty pretends to have fainted unconscious and is hospitalised. Sivaraman comes to his rescue and says that he is Dr. Gopalakrishnan, a friend of Kunjunni from the United States. Sivaraman and Govindan Kutty get angry at Radhika and they insult her in a comical argument. After many successful and comical escapades during their drama, Govindan Kutty tries to steal the
Lord Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is wi ...
statue so that he can fetch a huge amount of money by selling it, for which he places a teapoy in the staircase to injure the blind elderly lady which keeps all others out of the house for sometime. Sivaraman engages in a fight with Govindan Kutty when he tries to leave with the statue he had stolen. Thampuran accuses his relatives for the accident and asks all his relatives to leave immediately after learning that they were greedy for his wealth. While Thampuran was reprimanding the relatives, Sivaraman and Govindan Kutty learn that the elderly couple had become blind in a car accident decades ago, in which their son and daughter-in-law (Kunjunni's parents) had died. Sivaraman and Govindan Kutty become desperate as the date for the visa payment nears. Radhika gives them the money for the visa and asks them to leave the house. Sivaraman and Govindan Kutty accept the money and leave the house. Upon leaving, they discover that the visa agency was a fake. Having lost all their resources, Govindan Kutty plans to start a new business with the money they have. Feeling remorseful for cheating off Thampuran and Sethu, Sivaraman disagrees to take the money, which drove an angry Govindan Kutty to leave him while taking the money. Meanwhile, a sorrowful Pothuval and Radkiha informed Thampuran that the actual Kunjunni tragically died in a construction-site accident in America. Radhika also revealed to Thampuran that she is Kunjunni's actual lover Revathy, and that she came to initially inform the truth, but joined in with Sivaraman and Govindan Kutty after seeing that their drama has kept Thampuran and Sethu happy and cheerful. Upon hearing the truth, Sivaraman returns to confesses all his actions to Thampuran, who asks him to continue the drama in front of Sethu, as Thampuran fears that she will die in shock if she learns the tragic truth. Sethu comes and calls Kunjunni, but she gets no replies, though she finally meets up with Govindan Kutty, who has returned in remorse. Thampuran then forgives both Sivaraman and Govindan Kutty by hugging them. And, while going back, Radhika promises Thampuran that she will return again. Thampuran, Sivaraman, and Govindan Kutty have a funny moment together. In the closing scene it is shown that Thomas and Tyootty have started a new humbug. Nambeeshan has gone back to his native place and has started farming and his ex-wife marries a younger man. Pothuval starts an anti-alcohol society, and the future plans of Elina remain unknown.


Cast

*
Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...
as Sivaraman / Kunjunni's sound (Fake) *
Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It is commonly used as a male given name in India. People with the name Mukesh include: * Mukesh (singer) (1923–1976), Indian playback singer from ...
as Govindan Kutty / Kunjunni's body (Fake) *
Nedumudi Venu Kesavan Venugopal (22 May 1948 – 11 October 2021), better known by his stage name Nedumudi Venu, was an Indian actor and screenwriter from Kerala, who predominantly worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 500 films, primarily in M ...
as 'Thampuran', Kunjunni's blind grandfather * Innocent as Pothuval *
Jagathy Sreekumar Sreekumar Achary (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 deca ...
as Advocate Nambeeshan *
Cochin Haneefa Cochin Haneefa (22 April 1951 – 2 February 2010) was an Indian actor, film director, and screenwriter. He started his career in the 1970s mainly portraying villainous roles, before going on to become one of the most popular comedians of Malay ...
as Thomas Mathews *
Jagadish P. V. Jagadish Kumar, Born On (12 June 1955) mononymously as Jagadish, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, and television presenter. He has starred in over 400 Malayalam films and two Hindi films. He is best known for his comic and character rol ...
as Tyootty Mathews *
Kaviyoor Ponnamma Kaviyoor Ponnamma (10 September 1945 – 20 September 2024) was an Indian actress who appeared in Malayalam films and television. She began her career performing in theatre dramas before foraying into cinema. She also acted in TV serials and c ...
as Sethulakshmi Bai 'Thampuratti', Kunjunni's blind grandmother * Arzoo Govitrikar as Radhika Menon / Revathy, Kunjunni's lover * Sucheta Khanna as Elina *
Sukumari Sukumari Amma (6 October 1940 – 26 March 2013) was an Indian actress best known for her works in Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning more than five decades, She has appeared in more than 2500 films predominantly in Malayalam, T ...
as Savitri, Nambeeshan's wife * Shalu Menon as Shalini, Devooty's daughter *
Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...
as Rama Varma, Kunjunni's uncle * Poornima Anand as Thampuran's and Thampuratti's daughter *
Suchitra Murali Suchitra Murali, commonly known by her stage name Suchitra, is an Indian actress. Debuting in the lead role with the 1990 film ''No.20 Madras Mail'' at the age of 14, she has appeared mostly in Cinema of Kerala, Malayalam films as well as a fe ...
as Madhavan's daughter * Manka Mahesh as Devooty, Thampuran's and Thampuratti's daughter *
T. P. Madhavan T. P. Madhavan (7 November 1935 – 9 October 2024) was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. He began acting at age 40 and appeared in over 600 films. Initially known for playing antagonistic roles, he transitioned t ...
as D.Y.S.P Madhava Varma, Thampuran's younger brother * James Stalin as Ramettan, Devooty's husband * Ajayan Adoor as Doctor Rajan * Ambalapuzha Raju (Sarathchandra Babu) as Shop Owner * Vallathol Unnikrishnan as Thampuran's son-in-law * Yamuna Rani as Sivaraman's mother *
Shanoor Sana Shanoor Sana Begum, known mononymously as Sana, is an Indian actress, television personality, and former model who primarily works in Telugu cinema. She has also appeared in a few Kannada cinema, Kannada and Tamil cinema, Tamil films. Known for ...
as Sivaraman's sister * Suniel Shetty as Kunjunni, cameo in the song "Aararum Kandillenno" * Shweta Menon as Dancer in the song ''Alare Govinda'' *
Ramya Krishnan Ramya Krishnan (born 15 September 1970), also credited as Ramya Krishna, is an Indian actress predominantly known for her work in Telugu and Tamil films, along with appearances in Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi films. Early life Ramya was born ...
as Dancer in the song ''Megharagam Nerukil''


Production

Jyothika Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress and producer who primarily works in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She has received several accolades including a National Film Award, five Filmfare Awards South, four Tamil N ...
was selected as lead actress but was later replaced due to further commitments.


Soundtrack

The hit songs in the film were composed by M G Sreekumar (credited in the movie as Deepan Chatterjee) with lyrics by
Gireesh Puthenchery Girish Puthenchery was a noted Malayalam lyricist, poet, scriptwriter and screenwriter, esteemed for his pivotal role as a lyricist in Malayalam cinema. He was often hailed as the aristocratic lyricist of Malayalam and was admired for his uniqu ...
. S. P. Venkatesh composed the background music. The soundtrack album was released on 1 January 2001 by East Coast Audio Entertainments.


References


External links

* {{Priyadarshan 2001 films 2000s Malayalam-language films Malayalam films remade in other languages Films shot in Mumbai Films shot at Ramoji Film City Films directed by Priyadarshan