Thirty years and counting! Kottayam Kunjachan's charm is still intact

It was the year 1990! The busy Kottayam market was startled when a man, wearing a white kurta and folded mundu and his trademark ‘Rayban’ glasses, appeared to claim his position as the ‘number one rowdy’. Not many knew that his nickname was KD (ruffian). When he lamented in his quintessential Kottayam slang, “Oh God! why wouldn’t you allow me to reform”, the theatres erupted with loud cheers and applauds. ‘Kottayam Kunjachan’ had not only impressed Kottayam town but captured the hearts of millions of moviegoers too.

The movie which is hailed as a cult classic boasted of a foolproof screenplay by hitmaker Dennis Joseph. Mammootty lit the screens as the vivacious Kunjachan who feared nothing. Even three decades after its release, ‘Kottayam Kunjachan’ continues to charm audiences of all ages. Even though Malayalam cinema has seen many onscreen ‘Achayan’ avatars, no one could beat Mammooty’s swag and his perfect portrayal of Kottayam Kunjachan.

Kunjachan aka ‘pro’ Kunjachan took pride in taking a stroll through Kottayam town, wearing his glasses and his head held high. He, however, struggled a bit to make the local goons understand that ‘pro’ denoted ‘proprietor’ and not ‘professor’.

Mega star Mammootty held the hands of filmmaker TS Suresh Babu who was reeling under the pressure of back-to-back flops and walked to Dennis Joseph for a script that could revive their careers. Meanwhile, Dennis Joseph had by then become one of the most sought-after screenwriters after the scintillating success of ‘Sangham’. He was roped in by big shot directors like Joshiy and Thampi Kannanthanam to write scripts for their movies. But, he didn’t abandon Suresh Babu who came with Mammootty’s special recommendation.

Dennis adopted the character called Kunjachan in Muttathu Varkey’s noted novel ‘Veli’ and turned him into Kottayam Kunjachan. He even made Uppukandam Kora from the same novel a major character in the film. The screenwriter then added some mass masala elements to make ‘Kottayam Kunjachan’ one of the biggest hits of the year.

The movie is filled with iconic dialogues that are still celebrated by the old and the young in Kerala. Meanwhile, Mammootty made the character more realistic by adding unique mannerisms. Innocent’s Mikhael, KPAC Lalitha’s Eliyamma and Ranjini’s Mollykutty are still etched in the minds of the audience.

Meanwhile, Sukumaran delivered a power-packed performance as Uppukandam Kora. Baiju’s Bosco and Prathapachandran’s Kanjirapally Pappan too were well received by Keralites. ‘Kottayam Kunjachan’ with it's mass dialogues, action, emotions and comedy in the right doses offered the perfect formula for a commercial blockbuster. Interestingly, Mammootty himself had essayed many ‘achayan’ roles in his career. However, no other character could win him the praise and popularity that Kottayam Kunjachan had earned him.

The movie amazingly depicted the various slangs that are spoken in different areas in Kottayam like Pala, Kanjirappally and Thiruvalla. Interestingly, the movie was shot extensively in Amburi in Thiruvananthapuram district even though the story takes place in a village in Kottayam. The first preview of the movie was three hours and ten minutes long. The producer, who watched the movie before the background score was added, vowed that the film would tank at the box office. However, Dennis Joseph wasn’t disheartened. He took up the initiative to arrange a special preview for Thampi Kannanthanam and Hariharan. While Kannanthanam said that the movie would be a superhit, Hariharan was sure that it would become a trendsetter.

The producer, meanwhile, entered into a contract with the theater owners to exhibit the movie for just two weeks before the release of other Vishu films. Believing that the movie would be a flop, the producer allowed the theater owners to change the film after two weeks to make way for other movies. However, things changed as soon as the first show was over. ‘House Full’ boards hung in front of all the major theatres in Kerala. The theatre owners tore up the contracts and vied to exhibit the movie for a hundred days. When the film became a blockbuster, the producer who had believed that it would crash, gave hefty sums to the director and the screenwriter as remuneration.

Mammootty’s incredible performance, a strong script that combines mass and comedy in equal doses and sequences where all the characters scored with their amazing dialogue deliveries had helped the movie. The comedy scene in which Kunjachan brings Pachakulam Vasu instead of super star Mohanlal for an inauguration and his iconic dialogue ‘Joshiy chathichashane’ (Joshiy betrayed us) is still considered one of the best scenes. Just like Kunjachan and his mannerisms, his glasses and attire are still trendsetters.

The Malayali movie lovers never get tired of watching ‘Kottayam Kunjachan’ even thirty years after it was released. Even though many actors tried their hands in portraying ‘achayan’ roles, Kottayam Kunjachan had outshined all of them. Mammootty’s unforgettable performance as Kunjachan, Dennis Joseph’s incredible screenplay and Suresh Babu’s perfect direction had created one of the biggest commercial hits that Malayalam cinema has ever seen.