When sequels are slated for release, there is always a tinge of anticipation about getting to see your favourite bunch of Malayalam cinema characters returning to amuse you. Yes, we totally loved seeing Dasan and Vijayan in Pattanapravesham and Akkare Akkare Akkare, Mangalassery Neelakandan in Ravanaprabhu and Sethuramaiyar in all the movies that came under the CBI franchise. But what’s more thrilling is when you spot a movie character out of the blue, making a comeback through a non-sequel movie. Or a spin-off, for that matter. Today, we take a look at 8 such characters who popped up in non-sequel movies.
Advocate Mukundan Unni
“Kaanan oru look illenne ollu, bhayangara buddhiya”
Who can forget this lawyer who dumbfounded Eapan Paapachi with his oratory skills and bailed Madhavan out of the police station in the blockbuster movie Meesa Madhavan? We were caught by surprise when Salim Kumar donned the lawyer’s coat once again as Advocate Mukundan Unni in Queen and took court-room drama to another level.
Ambujakshan
“Avidey kalyanam, ivide paalu kaachal”
This tailor, Ambujakshan who was portrayed by Sreenivasan, once had us in splits while he narrated his autobiographical novel “Chirakodinja Kinavukal” to Shankar Das, the rich Bombaykaaran that Mammooty played in the 1996 movie Azhakiya Ravanan. It was a treat to see Ambujakshan return as the same ambitious novelist in the laugh riot of a movie, Chirakodinja Kinavukal, twenty one years later.
Dr. Mathai
“Avalk paranj vechekunnath oru love marriage aa”
Of course, we remember Mathai, the doctor cum scientist who is our protagonist Pooja’s doting and progressive dad in the 2014 movie Ohm Shanthi Oshana. Dr. Mathai’s cameo in Jude Anthony’s 2016 movie Oru Muthassi Gadha came as a pleasant surprise when the two feisty grannies fell super ill after drinking it up the previous day, leaving them no option but to get to the doc’s.
Ramji Rao
“Ramji Rao speaking”
The irreformable don whose voice echoed peril as he said “Ramji Rao speaking” over the phone to a terribly sloshed Balakrishnan is one of the few villains in Malayalam cinema who have stood the test of time. The 2019 movie MASK (Muhammadum Albiyum Shathrukkalaya Kadha), revisited Vijaya Raghavan’s Ramji Rao, as we see him picking up his mobile phone and mouthing his famous dialogue from yesteryear.
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Ramanan
“Mothalaali, chanka chaka chaka”
Harisree Ashokan’s character “Ramanan” is surely one that holds a cult status among movie lovers. As much as he made us laugh out loud in Punjabi House, it was quite a bittersweet experience watching Ramanan returning to the big screen without his “Mothalaali”, played by Cochin Haneefa. In the movie Role Models, which was released in 2017, we see Ramanan conversing with Gautham (Fahadh Faasil), recounting tales of how he thought his Mothalaali was a scoundrel only to realise his greatness after his demise. Sed aaki kalanju, Ramana!
Gafoor
“Assalamu Alekum. Vaa Alekum Assalam”
I’m sure a lot of you were waiting for this name! One of the most iconic characters of Malayalam cinema is Maamukoya’s Gafoorka, who plants NRI dreams into the minds of Dasan and Vijayan. We fondly remember him as Gafoorka who nonchalantly claims to illegally transport people to the Gulf by equipping them with basic Arabic skills, which did not go beyond the greeting. Probably because Malayalis couldn’t get enough of this character, we see him make a comeback through Kilukkam Kilukilukkam and much later in the climax of Biju Menon’s Marubhoomiyile Aana.
Manavalan
“Panam enik oru prashname alla”
What can I say about this man? The poster child of Malayalam memes, Manavalan first entertained us through the 2003 movie Pulival Kalyanam where he played a rich NRI wearing dark glasses and smoking a tobacco pipe. We still remember him throwing us into fits of laughter with the gibberish he confidently blurted out, “As well as the reason as possible” in the midst of a sentence. Years later, Manavalan returned to the big screen through Oru Adaar Love as Jr. Manavalan’s dad who comes to stand by his son when he is told off by the school’s Principal.
The Hotel Manager
“Edo, ivark muzhutha vatta”
Remember Narayanankutty, the poor hotel manager in Kilukkam who had his hotel premises devastated by the tantrum-throwing, supposedly mad Nandini Thamburatty? The reason I remember his name to this day is only because of the sheer number of times Mohanlal pleads to him in the most dayaneeya tone ever saying, “Narayanankutty…”. So, this person can be spotted as a hotel manager in the movie Vettam, which is also a movie directed by Priyadarshan, where he is seen hurriedly moving around the reception area reassuring the stranded guests and arranging room keys to be delivered to them.
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Did we miss out on your favourite Malayalam cinema characters? Tell us in the comments section below!
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