Mannar Mathai Speaking
Mannar Mathai Speaking (Malayalam: മന്നാർ മത്തായി സംസാരിക്കുന്നു) is a 1995 Indian Malayalam-language comedy-thriller film produced and directed by Mani C. Kappan and written by Siddique-Lal. The stars Mukesh, Sai Kumar, Innocent, Vani Viswanath, Biju Menon, Geetha Vijayan, K. P. Ummer, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Janardhanan, Indrans, Vijayaraghavan, Sukumari, Harisree Ashokan and Cochin Haneefa.[1] It is a sequel to the 1989 film Ramji Rao Speaking, and is followed by Mannar Mathai Speaking 2 (2014). Vani Viswanath made her debut in this film as a leading actress.[2]
Mannar Mathai Speaking | |
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Directed by | Mani C. Kappan |
Written by | Siddique-Lal |
Produced by | Mani C. Kappan |
Starring | Mukesh Sai Kumar Innocent Vani Viswanath Biju Menon |
Cinematography | Anandakuttan |
Edited by | K. R. Gaurishankar S. Parivallal |
Music by | S. P. Venkatesh |
Production company | O.K. Productions |
Distributed by | O.K. Pictures |
Release date |
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Country | India |
Language | Malayalam |
The film was a commercial success at the box office. The movie is loosely based on the 1958 movie Vertigo.[3] Priyadarshan adapted certain subplots of the film for his Hindi film, Bhagam Bhag (2006), which went on to be remade in Telugu as Brahmanandam Drama Company.[4][5] Writer Siddique later reused the story and tweaked it for his Tamil movie Sadhu Miranda (2008) and Telugu movie Maaro (2011).[6]
Plot
Mannar Mathai (Innocent) is now running a drama group under Urvashi Theatres. The lead actors in this troupe, Gopalakrishnan (Mukesh) and Balakrishnan (Sai Kumar), always fight with each other for the lead role in the drama. During Urvashi Theatre's first stage show, Gopalakrishnan was supposed to act slapping the heroine, but he ends up slapping her hard. The hurt heroine leaves the troupe accepting her invitation to act in a movie.
The drama troupe soon faces trouble without a lead actress. Since Gopalakrishnan created all the trouble, he had to take up the responsibility to find an actress. All his efforts to find a lead actress go in vain. During the course of his search, while he was travelling in a taxi, a girl named "Meera" (Vani Viswanath) jumps in front of the car to commit suicide. Gopalakrishnan rescues her and brings her to the drama camp. When she regains consciousness, they make her the lead actress of the troupe. To get the role of the hero, Gopalakrishnan mocks her as his cousin, and she will only act if they make him the hero. Balakrishnan, however, does not readily believe in this and he brings Gopalakrishnan's mother (Sukumari) to the camp to clarify. When the truth was about to come out, Gopalakrishnan tells his mother that he told everyone that she is his cousin because he is in love with her, and she asks him to marry her. With no way out, they marry in front of all.
After the marriage, Meera tries to commit suicide again by jumping into the well. She suffers an electric shock and loses consciousness. They all take her to the doctor where she regains consciousness. She then says that she does not remember anyone from the troupe and she is the wife of a wealthy businessman called Mahendra Varma (Biju Menon). They inform this news to Mahendra Varma, and he takes her to his house. Later she calls Gopalakrishnan and says that she is going to commit suicide, and they all rush to Mahendra Varma's house. By the time they reach, she had lit herself, and they all could only watch her die.
After three months, when the troupe was in Mangalore, Balakrishnan happens to see Meera on the roadside. They are almost assaulted by Muslim fanatics, and she reappears in their house, Mathai believing she is a ghost, later and tells them the truth. She said that her real name is Stella, and Meera was the name of Mahendra Varma's real wife played by Geetha Vijayan. It turns out it was his real wife who died that day, and he had hired an actress to act that she was Meera and to provide proof that she had suicidal tendencies. They tried to take revenge against Mahendra Varma and put him behind bars.
Mahendra Varma kidnaps Gopalakrishnan's mother and bargains with Gopalakrishnan to bring Stella to them. In the meantime, Ramji Rao (Vijayaraghavan) also surfaces. He kidnaps Meera and bargains money. Now Gopalakrishnan is trapped in between two kidnappers, and he has to rescue both his mom and his wife. In the hilarious situations, Mathai getting a suitcase of money drinking alcohol between the fight, using their clever tactics, Gopalakrishnan and his gang rescue them both. Mahendra Varma falls off from the top of the building and everyone thinks he is dead, while his body falls on the truck driven by Ramji Rao, and he drives off.
Cast
- Mukesh as Gopalakrishnan
- Sai Kumar as Balakrishnan
- Innocent as Mannar Mathai
- Vani Viswanath as Meera Varma / Stella Fernandez
- Biju Menon as Mahendra Varma
- Vijayaraghavan as Ramji Rao (Guest Appearance)
- Janardhanan as Garvasees Aasan
- Cochin Haneefa as Eldho
- Sukumari as Gopalakrishnan's Mother
- K. P. Ummer as Prathapa Varma
- Kaviyoor Ponnamma as Meera's Mother
- Indrans as Driver Ponnappan
- Harisree Ashokan as Sandhyavu
- Prathapachandran as Doctor Unnithan
- Geetha Vijayan as Meera Varma
- Machan Varghese as Eldho's Friend
- Priyanka Anoop as Shakunthala
- Kaduvakulam Antony as Booking Agent
- Kuttyedathi Vilasini as Sakunthala's Mother
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack contains 8 songs, all composed by S. P. Venkatesh, with lyrics by Bichu Thirumala.
# | Title | Singer(s) |
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1 | "Aattirambil" | K. S. Chitra |
2 | "Aattirambil" (M) | K. J. Yesudas |
3 | "Machane Va" | Malgudi Subha |
4 | "Olakkayyil Neeraadi" | K. J. Yesudas, K. S. Chitra |
5 | "Paal Saranikalil" | K. J. Yesudas, K. S. Chitra, Chorus |
6 | "Paal Saranikalil" (M) | K. J. Yesudas |
References
- "Mannar Mathai Speaking". Oneindia. 21 July 2012. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012.
- "In Focus interview - Vani Viswanath". Mathrubhumi. Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
- "Best Sequels of Malayalam Cinema, Ranked: From Kireedam to Oru CBI Diary Kurippu". 17 February 2021.
- "Bhagam Bhag pay royalty to Malyalam film maker". Realbollywood.com. 13 December 2006. Archived from the original on 4 April 2009.
- "Malayalam films remade in Hindi". The Times of India. 29 July 2015.
- "Movie Review : Sadhu Miranda". Sify. Archived from the original on 10 February 2008. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
- "Malayalam films which led to sequels". The Times of India. 2 January 2014.
- "Meleparambil Aanveedu Mannar Mathai Speaking sequels". The Times of India. 13 September 2011.