It’s interesting to observe that all of the worst 5 (and more!) of MohanLal were raleased during 2002-’03. These two are the years that spoiled the reputation of MohanLal, for no big fault of his. Though he recovered in the subsequent years remarkably, the damage was already done. The only fault we can find with the greatest of actors is his not being selective. But we also know that he is a person who trusts his directors and does not intrude in their freedom.
For all the good work he has been doing over these years, spanning over two decades and 250-odd films, both the media and people behaved in the most thankless and ruthless manner. Even a portion of those who claimed to be his fans also brutally turned against him, when he needed their support. Well, I’m not delving into those details, for our topic is his worst films. My list is given below..
1 - Vamanapuram bus route
2 - Mr. Brahmachari
3 - Thandavam
4 - Onnaman
5 - Chathurangam
VAMANAPURAM BUS ROUTE - Directed by the relatively newcomer Sonu Sisupal, this movie is an absolute trash with no sense at all. It beats me why MohanLal agreed to do it in the first place. The film do not deserve even a criticism and I strongly warn any person from watching it, even if it is at free of cost. Really horrible, I had a feeling of embarassment while watching it in theatre.
Mr.BRAHMACHARI - MohanLal accepted this offer from director Tulaseedas, after experienced hit-makers like Shaji Kailas, Tampy Kannanthanam and K Madhu disappointed him and his viewers alike with the 3 films we are discussing later in this review. His experiment with a ’small’ director too failed miserably, as we can see in Brahmachari. Surprisingly the movie fared somewhat well at the box office. It shudn’t have.. It was also an attempt by MohanLal to revive his larger than life image with comedy.
THANDAVAM - Since this film was released before the two films above, it shocked me the most. I was not prepared to accept such a bad film featuring MohanLal. It was quite surprising, considering Shaji’s previous films like Aaram Thampuran, Commissioner, Ekalavyan, Narasimham etc. It proved that the director is a zero without powerful script writers like Renji Panicker or Ranjith. Even the technical gimmics he was famous for, were lacking in the film. The dialogues and picturisation of songs turned vulgar and made an adverse impact on family audiences.
ONNAMAN - Unlike the other movies in this list, Onnaman started quite nicely. The first half an hour is certainly different from the routine movies. Only if the director hadn’t spoiled the good opening afterwards.. MohanLal’s son is playing the hero’s childhood and is impressive. And the transition of the lead character from the childhood to grown-up man is picturised well. After that the director (who also handles the script) lost his way. This was also the film which started off a series of bad runs in MohanLal’s career, which continued till Mr Brahmachari.
CHATHURANGAM - If Onnaman started well and then crashed, it was just the opposite with Chathurangam. After a disgusting first half, the movie is watchable towards the later half. K Madhu who had directed films like Irupatham Noottandu, Adhipan, Crime File and the CBI series, looked totally out of touch in this flick without his comrade SN Swamy. Technically too this has been his worst film.
I chose to write review on Lalettan’s worst films because there are only a few in number, and it’s easy to spot them. You can contact me for any information about any of his films. I have watched repeatedly and analysed almost the whole list of movies in which he appeared, and I have a good collection of many of them. Feel free to express your remarks, criticisms etc.
sincerely, sanjay.7@sify.com