Hey boby..saw your request on the net and here is my opinion of some good mallu comedies. Most of them have been remade in Hindi but then having seen both versions I feel that the original is far better than the hindi ones. And since the Hindi ones have raked in moolah at the BO you can understand how good the originals must be. Most of the good comedies are made in the late 80’s with just a few classic ones in the 90’s. Anywhos here comes the list for your ready reference
1) Sanmannsu ullavarku Sammathaanam : (Hindi version - Yeh Thera Ghar Yeh Mera Ghar.)
Cast : Mohanlal, srinivasan and team
Director : Priyadarshan
Story line is the same as the ones in Hindi but then mohanlals acting is really something you dont want to miss. If you havent seen the hindi movie yet then the story line goes like this : Mohanlal is trying to evict his tenants so that he can get the house back in time to avert a family tragedy. And the story carries on how goes about it, shifting into the house and creating a general nuisance in the hope that they will leave quietly. Dont miss a song sequence of srinivasan in this movie.
2) Vellanakalude naadu : (Not yet remade in Hindi but a definite contender.)
Cast : Mohanlal, Shobhana, Raju etc
Director : Priyadarshan ( I think)
Story Line: Mohanlal is a small time road contractor who wants to make it big in the business. He bags a small time road repair contract. Shobana is the district collector(or asst collector or someone like that with a big post).
Mohanlal ends up making a mess out of it and locks horns with shobana with whom he has a history in college. His brother in law is a big time crooked contractor and always looks for ways to insult ML in his house. Againa a laff a minute caper with a beautiful story line.
3) Naadodikaatu ; Again not yet remade in Hindi.
Cast: Mohanlal, Srinivasan, Thilakan and many others
Director - Forgot but that doesnt really matter does it?
Story line : Mohanlal and Srinivasan are out of their jobs because of a goof up (really good one too). And how they unwittingly get caught up in Thilakans smuggling business and in the end crack a notorious smuggling racket is what the story line is all about.
Thilakans reaction on seeing mohanlal and srinivasan is really hilarious. and also Captain Rajus role as ’’Pavanazhi’’ is A++.
Dont miss out on this movie and also you can give the second part a look into. Its called Pattana Pravesham
4) Ramji Rao Speaking : Hindi Version - Hera Pheri
Cast : Mukesh, SaiKumar, Innocent and host of others
Director : Siddique Lal
Story line : Innocent is a Drama Troupe owner who rents out his house to Mukesh and Saikumar., from the start of the movie both mukesh and sai kumar get into a misunderstanding about each other and this carries into their personal and professioanl lives with both trying to pull a fast one on the other.
The basic story line is that the telephone number of the drama company is mixed up with a business mans, and when his daughter is kidnapped the villain ends up calling these comedians for the ransom. in need of money they decide to play along and muddles it up.
5) Godfather : Remade in Hindi - Hulchul
Cast : Mukesh, Innocent, Jagdeesh, Kanaka, Siddique and many others.
Director : Siddique Lal
Story line : The fued between two families.First family is father and 4 sons. He does not allow his sons to marry and no ladies are allowed to enter the house or the compound. The second family is ruled by a mother and children (sons are married).
The hindi movie is a word to word remake but then the dialogue delivery and comic timing is much better in the mallu one as people are down to earth and not the high class, glossy characters in Hindi.
How the families interact and how one guy from first family falls in love with the lass of the second and how they eventually get married is the theme. I know it sounds kind of outdated and corny but then do give it a shot. The way it has been handled it too good to miss
Since you have asked for only 5 movies I have written reviews for only those. But here are a few more you should not miss.
6) Poochekku oru mookuthi - Hungama
Cast : Mohanlal, Shankar, Menaka
Diro - Priyadarshan
7) Maanarmathai Speaking : Ramji Rao speaking part II
Cast and Diro is the same with a good continuation
8) Boeing Boeing : Hindi remake is Garam Masala
Mohanlal and team.
As you can see most of the comedies have been remade in Hindi. So better be quick before the rest also come out. All these movies except for 4, 5 and 7 are mohanlal capers made in the 80, s. Thats when the comedy was best and mohanlal was not yet a superhero so played a common man trying to eke out a living and in the process do all the things that made the movies a hit.
So thats that. Dont know if these movies are available on the net but then get the VCD and wishing you a happy viewing and a happy new year.
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