''Ramji Rao Speaking'' is a 1989 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 comedy-thriller film written and directed by the duo Siddique–Lal (in their directorial debut) and produced by Fazil,

Swargachitra Appachan Pinakkatt D. Abraham, better known as Swargachitra Appachan is an Indian film producer, distributor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of production and distribution company Swargachitra, best known for producing '' Godfather''. Career Among ...

, and Ousepachan Vaalakuzhy. It stars Sai Kumar,

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 ...

, Innocent, Vijayaraghavan, Devan,

Rekha Bhanurekha Ganesan (; born 10 October 1954), better known by her mononymous stage name Rekha, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi films. Acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema, she has starred in mo ...

, with

Sankaradi Paravoor memana Kanakku Chembakaraman Parameswaran Chandrashekara Menon, better known by his screen name Sankaradi (14 July 1924 – 8 October 2001), was an Indian actor. He was a veteran Malayalam comedian and character artist, who had over 70 ...

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 ...

, Kunchan and

Mamukkoya Mamukkoya (5 July 1946 – 26 April 2023) was an Indian actor known for his work predominately in Malayalam cinema. He mostly appeared in comedic roles. His unique usage of Kozhikode dialect and style marked his presence in the industry. In a c ...

in other supporting roles. The film deals with social factors affecting

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 ...

including unemployment during the 1980s, and went on to achieve a

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...

status. ''Ramji Rao Speaking'' marked the debut of director duo Siddique and Lal, actors Sai Kumar (first appearance in a notable role), Rekha, N. F. Varghese and Harishree Ashokan (both in minor roles), and music director S. Balakrishnan. '' Mannar Mathai Speaking'' (1995) and '' Mannar Mathai Speaking 2'' (2014) are the sequels to the film. The core plot of the movie was inspired by the 1971 American Broadcasting Company TV film ''See The Man Run'' directed by Corey Allen and written by Mann Rubin. Fazil remade this film 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 '' Arangetra Velai'' (1990), with

, Sukumari and Vijayaraghavan reprising their role and the character of Gopalakrishnan being replaced by a female.

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, ...

remade the film in Hindi, titled '' Hera Pheri'' (2000). It was also remade in Telugu as '' Dhanalakshmi, I Love You'' (2002), in Odia as ''Wrong Number'' (2002), in Kannada as ''Trin Trin'' (2004), in Bengali as ''Hera Pheri'' (2016) and Punjabi as '' Gol Gappe'' (2023).

Plot

The story revolves around three unemployed people (the third is a middle aged unsuccessful theatre owner). The story opens with the arrival of Balakrishnan in

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

to dispute the denial of his company job which he was supposed to receive several years ago. Several candidates overtook his chance and the last one was Rani who pretends to be an influential figure, the daughter of Shivashankaran Panicker. Rani threatens Balakrishnan to continue her work despite his efforts to overthrow her. The company manager knows about her family situation and helps her keep the job. Balakrishnan is determined to stay in the town until he succeeds in getting the job. During his stay, Balakrishnan finds a temporary lodging in 'Urvasi Theatre', owned by

Mannar Mannar may refer to the following places: India * Mannar, Alappuzha, a town in Chengannur Taluk, Kerala Sri Lanka * Mannar District, one of 25 districts in Sri Lanka ** Mannar Island, an island within the district ** Mannar Bridge, a bridge conne ...

Mathai, with another tenant Gopalakrishnan, both unemployed and with insignificant earnings. Mathai is constantly pestered by calls intended for Urumees Thampan, a rich businessman, and vice versa. Initially, Gopalakrishnan does not like the new tenant because of a misunderstanding made by Balakrishnan that Gopalakrishnan is a

pickpocket Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for Misdirection (magic ...

at the market, in vain. Gopalakrishnan is tricky and cunning, who lies to his mother by telling her that he works in a large company in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

and that he is building a new house in Kochi. Balakrishnan discovers the truth and mistakes Gopalakrishnan as a fraud. Gopalakrishnan makes Balakrishnan to sign a white paper and betrays him by writing a no-objection letter to Rani, thus giving her the job. Gopalakrishnan brings Balakrishnan's friend Hamzukkoya who is desperately searching for him to the house. Hamzukkoya threatens to commit

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

if he does not repay the debt of Rs. 35,000 he took for his sister's wedding, which Hamzukkoya wants to use for his daughter's wedding as fast as possible. He demands the money from Rani, but what shocks Balakrishnan most was the realisation of Rani's family dire situation, having a blind son who needs a surgery worth rupees 50,000, which she had earlier demanded from Balakrishnan in return for the job. Balakrishnan gets drunk at night and reveals the fraud play Gopalakrishnan has done to his own mother, which Gopalakrishnan justifies as comforting his mother who has had health issues because Gopalakrishnan did not get a job months after passing out of college. The truth melts the hearts of both Balakrishnan and Mannar Mathai, they all become friends enjoy the night despite their unending problems and celebrates the night. Early in dawn, Balakrishnan wakes up to a ringing telephone. A gang leader named Ramji Rao has kidnapped Nisha, Urumees's daughter and is asking for a ransom of Rs. 1

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. F ...

. The three unemployed have no relation with Urumees; Ramji Rao had apparently dialled the wrong number. Panicking, the trio tries to find the number of Urumees from a phone directory, only to find out that the numbers of Urvasi Theaters and Urumees were mistakenly interchanged in the printed directory. Gopalakrishnan comes up with an idea and asks Balakrishnan to act as a dealer between Ramji Rao with Urumees, without letting them know about each other, and demand a ransom of four lakh to Urumees, instead of one lakh, get Nisha from Ramji Rao, and take the remaining three lakh for themselves. They narrowly escape Hamzukkoya who tries to assault Balakrishnan, who has not paid for the wedding. They find it difficult as the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

suspect them and they find it hard to keep Urumees and Ramji Rao anonymous to each other. Finally, after a struggle, the trio rescues Nisha from the gang leader and hands her over to Urumees. Ramji Rao is arrested, and they confess the truth to him after a police encounter. Gopalakrishnan gives Hamzukkoya his money, but is arrested along with Balakrishnan and Mannar Mathai soon after he reaches home. Urumees forgives them and is thankful for returning his daughter, and offers them the three lakh rupees as a reward, telling them that they do not have to stay at the police station for more than an hour. The film ends with Nisha calling Urumees, mocking Ramji Rao.

Cast

* Sai Kumar as Balakrishnan *

as Gopalakrishnan * Innocent as Mannar Mathai * Vijayaraghavan as Ramji Rao * Devan as Urumees Thampan *

as Rani *

as Hindustan Chemicals Manager *

as Hamzakkoya *

as Saraswati * Kunchan as Mathai *

Alleppey Ashraf Alleppey Ashraf is an Indian film director, producer and distributor working mainly in Cinema of Kerala, Malayalam cinema. He started his career as an Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist and later a Dubbing (filmmaking), dubbing artis ...

as Chemmeen Varghese * N. F. Varghese as a Hindustan Chemicals staff member * Harisree Asokan as a Sandhyav * Amritam Gopinath as Matron * M. L. Augustine as office peon * Anjana as Nisha, Urumees Thampan's daughter * P. C. George as the

circle inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

* Shiyas Basheer as Unni, Rani's brother

Production

The movie was directed by Siddique–Lal duo, who were assistants of Fazil. The film was also produced by Fazil. Sai Kumar made his acting debut with this film.

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack contains 4 songs, all composed by S. Balakrishnan in his debut, with the lyrics by

Bichu Thirumala Bhaskaran Sivasankaran Nair, popularly known as Bichu Thirumala (13 February 1942 – 26 November 2021), was an Indian lyricist and poet. He is known for creating the style of arranging beautiful words in Malayalam film songs. In Malayalam cinem ...

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...

programmed the song "Kalikalam".

Reception

The film became a commercial success. In 1989, ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'' wrote, "Siddique and Lal have to be complimented on their brilliant maiden venture, a rollicking comedy." '' Kalakaumudi'' wrote: "Sai Kumar makes an impressive debut...However it is Innocent who is the showstealer."

Remakes

Legacy

Mukesh's mother's warden's dialogue in the film "Kambilipothappu (woollen blankets)" became a catchphrase.

References

External links

* {{Fazil (director) 1980s Malayalam-language films 1989 comedy films 1989 directorial debut films 1989 films Fiction about unemployment Fictional portrayals of the Kerala Police Films about businesspeople Films about dramatists and playwrights Films about fraud Films about kidnapping in India Films about landlords Films about poverty in India Films about social issues in India Films about telephony Films about theatre Films based on television plays Films directed by Siddique–Lal Films set in Kerala Films set in the 1980s Films shot in Alappuzha Films shot in Kochi History of Kerala on film Indian buddy comedy-drama films Indian comedy thriller films Indian comedy-drama films Indian film series Indian remakes of American films Indian screwball comedy films Indian slapstick comedy films Speaking1 Malayalam films remade in other languages Termination of employment in popular culture Indian gangster films Mafia comedy films Films about organised crime in India Indian action comedy-drama films