My Dear Kuttichathan

My Dear Kuttichathan
Directed by Jijo Punnoose
Produced by Navodaya Appachan
Jose Punnoose
Written by Raghunath Paleri
Starring Dalip Tahil
Sonia
Master Aravind
Master Mukesh
Surya Kiran
Rajan P. Dev
Jagathi Sreekumar
Jagadish
Nedumudi Venu
Music by Ilaiyaraaja
Cinematography Ashok Kumar
Edited by T. R. Sekar
Production
company
Navodaya Studios
Release date
  • 24 August 1984 (1984-08-24)
Country India
Language Malayalam

My Dear Kuttichathan (English: My Dear Little Ghost) is a 1984 Indian Malayalam fantasy film directed by Jijo Punnoose.[1] The film was produced by his father Navodaya Appachan under Navodaya studio in Kerala. This was the first Indian film to be filmed in 3D. The film revolves around a little ghost who is under the spell of an evil sorcerer, however it gets released by three children and then befriends them. The film's script was written by Raghunath Paleri and T. K. Rajeevkumar. The film's soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The film's cinematography and editing was done by Ashok Kumar and T. R. Sekar respectively.

Originally filmed in Malayalam, a re-edited version was released in 1997, which makes it the first DTS movie in Malayalam. It was also dubbed in Hindi as Chhota Chetan in 1997 and became a big box office hit. Scenes with Urmila Matondkar were later added. In 2010, further scenes were added in Tamil with Prakash Raj and Santhanam and was released as Chutti Chathan. A new re-mastered version with additional footage released on 25 August 2011.

My Dear Kuttichathan went on to become the Highest Grossing Malayalam Film as well as the highest grossing South Indian movie of all time at the time of release and also became the first Non Bollywood movie movie to gross more than INR 10 crores from Indian Box Office. It is still the highest grossing Malayalam movie of all time grossing more than INR 200 crores at box office (adjusted to inflation) and also holds the record for the biggest footfalls for any movie in the history of Kerala Box Office. It was also the highest-grossing movie of the year 1984 in South Indian box office.

Plot

The 'Kuttichathan'(A Hindu God)in this film is formed on the basis of the specialties of a deity popularly known as 'Chathan' who is being worshiped mainly in the south Indian state, Kerala. The God kuttichathan has got so many temples mainly in Kerala.[2] There are cruel magicians everywhere in the world. One of them is Karimbhootham (black magician), who enslaved an invisible spirit with his magic spells, whom he calls Kuttichathan ("Little Ghost" in English and "Chhota Chetan" in Hindi). Two boys and a girl befriend Kuttichathan by accident and release him from the grip of the magician.

On the way Kuttichathan meets Ashish, a member of the police, who is after Karimbhootham.

They understand that this Chathan is friendly to kids and is a very good friend. Therefore, the girl promises to keep Kuttichathan in her house for two reasons: one, her father drinks too much, so she wants Chathan, who is a very good magician, to make him come to his senses, as after her mother died, there is no one to control him; second, Chathan, despite being a small boy, also drinks a lot. He could drink and finish off all that her father drinks, thereby changing her father's attitude.

At the same time, the cruel magician wants the Kuttichathan to lay hands on a treasure. Even though the magician is the owner of the Kuttichathan, he is burnt and killed by the Chathan in the climax. Chathan then turns into a bat and flies away.

Cast

Production

My Dear Kuttichathan was the first Indian film to be filmed in 3D.[3] Jijo Punnoose, son of Navodaya Appachan made his directorial debut with this film. Jijo decided to direct a 3D film after getting inspired by an article in "American Cinematographer" shown to him by Ramchandra Babu.[4] Ashok Kumar handled cinematography for the film thus making him the first cinematographer in India for having shot a 3D film.[5][6] T. K. Rajeev Kumar who went on to become a famous director started his career as an assistant director with this film.[7]

Soundtrack

My Dear Kuttichathan
Soundtrack album by Ilaiyaraaja
Released 1984
Genre Feature film soundtrack

Malayalam version

#TitleSinger(s)
1 "Aalippazham perukkaan" S. Janaki, S. P. Sailaja
2 "Minnaaminungum" K. J. Yesudas & Chorus

Tamil version (Dubbed)

#TitleSinger(s)
1 "Chinnakuzhandhaigale" Vani Jayaram
2 "Poovaadai Kaatru" K. J. Yesudas & Chorus

Release and Legacy

The film was released in 1984 along with dubbed versions in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. Telugu and Hindi versions were titled Chinnari Chethana and Chhota Chetan respectively. All the versions proved to be successful.[8][9]

The film was re released in 1997 which was also highly successful at box office, had earned 60 times its initial investments.[10] Hindi version was re-released by Nitin Manmohan in 1997, with additional scenes which involved Urmila Matondkar and other Hindi actors.[11] In 2010, Sri Thenandal Films re-released Tamil version titled Chutti Chathan in 2010 with added scenes starring Santhanam and Prakash Raj.

The film became a trendsetter and remains a cult classic in Malayalam cinema. The optical illusion in house set used in the song "Aalipazham Perukkaan" was built in Kishkinta Theme Park. My Dear Kuttichathan went on to become the Highest Grossing Malayalam Film as well as the highest grossing South Indian movie of all time at the time of release and also became the first Non Bollywood movie movie to gross more than INR 10cr from Indian Box Office. It is still the highest grossing Malayalam movie of all time grossing more than INR 200 crores at box office (adjusted to inflation) and also holds the record for the biggest footfalls for any movie in the history of Kerala Box Office. It was also the highest-grossing movie of the year 1984 in South Indian box office. [12]


References

  1. ↑ "Casting a Magic spell". The Hindu (15 May 2003)
  2. ↑ "Kuttichathan temple in kerala". KanadikavuKuttichathan Temple.
  3. ↑ 3D fad back with a vengeance. The Hindu (24 March 2003). Retrieved on 2017-10-20.
  4. ↑ Cinematography students told to observe life – KERALA. The Hindu. Retrieved on 20 October 2017.
  5. ↑ Rediff On The NeT, Movies: A chat with director Ashok Kumar. In.rediff.com (25 March 1999). Retrieved on 2017-10-20.
  6. ↑ He created magic with movie camera – KERALA. The Hindu. Retrieved on 20 October 2017.
  7. ↑ rediff.com, Movies: The Rajeev Kumar interview. Rediff.com (12 May 2000). Retrieved on 2017-10-20.
  8. ↑ "'Chota' dose of fun". The Hindu. 8 May 2000.
  9. ↑ "My Dear Kuttichathan". BollywoodLife. 12 December 1997.
  10. ↑ "Cinema's born-again avatar". Business Today. 21 August 2011.
  11. ↑ 'Chota' dose of fun. The Hindu (8 May 2000). Retrieved on 2017-10-20.
  12. ↑ Life Chennai : Now defy gravity, visit Kishkinta. The Hindu (6 May 2005). Retrieved on 2017-10-20.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.