For most movie lovers , their favorite Malayalam comedy movie would be one of the Priyadarshan, Sathyan Anthikad or Siddique Lal movies in 80’s or 90’s. I am also a big fan of these movies but for me ,Nadodikkattu stands above the rest for its sheer simplicity and for producing some of our all time best characters and dialogues.
I wonder if there has been any other Malayalam movie whose almost every other dialogue has grown to a classic one-liner.
“Entha vijaya namuku ee budhi nerathe thonnathirunne” is immediately followed by ” Ellathinum athintethaaya samayamundu daasa” .
“Dasaa ethaa ee alavalaathi” by “Look man, I am not an alavalaathi, I am Pavanaazhi”.
“Avasanam pavanaazhi shavamaayi” by “Ninnodu njan chaya chodichoda kunjiraama”.
“Hello Mr. Perera” by “CIDs escape” …
“Baaki undaayirunna pinnaku njaneduthu kazhichu” by ” Athaa njan nokkiyappo kanaanjathu”
The list goes on and on… Whether its my college days or even years after ,today , no other movie’s lines pop up in conversations among friends like Nadodikattu’s dialogues do.
Thilakan made Ananthan Nambiar one of our most memorable villains. The way he trembled each time someone knocked at his door – we cannot help but burst out loud. It’s characters like these which would make us miss the legendary actor in years to come. What amazes me even more is how the makers could even develop the smaller characters so perfectly . Mamukkoya’s ‘Gafoorka’ and Captain Raju’s ‘Pavanaazhi’ only had limited screen time but that did not stop them for gaining iconic status.
Choosing the best scenes from a movie which is so consistently brilliant throughout is a difficult task but my favorite moments are the ones where Mohanlal and Sreenivasan confront their new boss in disguise, where they dream and plan their future soon after buying the cows, where they put their demands on the rented house they are looking for and the one where Mohanlal keeps coming back to Shobana’s house asking for more items- His expressions when he tries to hide his uneasiness is priceless !
Sreenivasan is such a fine film-maker that I have wondered often why he has not directed more than 2 movies. His screenplays for Sathyan Anthikad though have paved way for more classics.Sreenivasan has never hesitated to present social problems in a satirical manner .In Nadodikkattu ,along with poverty which is a prevailing factor in almost all his screenplays, he also dealt with unemployment and youth seeking job opportunities in Middle East. Sathyan Anthikkad added his trademark simplicity to the proceedings and as always makes you feel like you are watching the story of someone next door.
Nadodikkattu made such a huge impact back in 1987 that Mohanlal and Sreenivasan returned to reprise their roles in two sequels – PattanaPravesham and Akkare Akkare Akkare. These movies ,though far better than many comedies releasing today, never could replicate the cult status of Nadodikkattu. Still we all love Dasan and Vijayan so much that we really wished that they did team up for many more sequels.
