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Magic of Michael Madhana Kama Rajan
The year was 1991
Kamal hassan had gone on to give Thamizh film world two gems, “Nayagan” in 1987 and “Apoorva Sagodharargal” in 1989. 80’s were gone and 90’s needed a new look and new performances. With the above mentioned movies, he had effortlessly moved into 1990’s like a skilled driver changing to the 5th gear in a desolate highway. 89 also had witnessed the hugely successful “Indhrudu Chandrudu” where he played dual role with totally different shades as only he could do. In a state like Thamizh Nadu where actors are absolutely adored, his string of brilliant performances raised the curiousity levels to dizzying heights.
Sure of himself that makkal is ready to lap up something different from him, Kamal decided to take the biggest gamble as an actor - playing quadarplets separated at birth looking alike and coming together in hilarious circumstances. For this he has inspirations from his guru and the legendary Shivaji Ganeshan’s memorable Navarathiri(where Sivaji plays 9 roles) and Bale Pandiya in which both Sivaji and MR.Radha play dual roles to dazzle the thamizh makkal. So the team of Singeetham, Kamal and Crazy mohan go about creating the most delightful comedy of the 90’s. They create what we adore today as Michael Madhana Kama Rajan.
The screenplay written by Kamal is the real winner in the movie, for it sets up the right situation in which the best actors of South India, Nagesh, Urvasi, Manorama and Nasser revel , not to mention Kamal who delights with four varied roles, varied in their background and hence in their mannerisms, voice and body language. To sample the beauty of the screenplay, lets take the introduction of Raju(kamal), michael(kamal) and Kameshwaran( Kamal). The whole sequence is seamless and the continuity of comedy is incessant and thereby it works like magic.
Begin with Michael and David, counterfeiters fleeing police and ram into a transformer in a hotel garage parking . Fire begins out of the short circuit and burns a whole floor of artwork display, and the firebrigade comes in. The lead fireman is Raju (kamal). He extinguishes the fire, falls in love(at first sight) with the painter Shalini (kushboo) and sings a duet in dream only to be awakened by a money lendor asking him payback. Raju comically offers dried fish, which the money lendor throws out of the window, that falls into the pocket of Kameshwaran, a palghat brahmin cook. All of this in a screen span of 20 mins (with a delightful Rum bum bum song by SPB and Chitra scored by the brilliant maestro laid neatly in between) culminating in another 20 mins of laugh riot of “fish in sambhar sequence” which introduces us to two more delightful characters of “Thirupu” (Urvashi) and Paatti (S.N.Lakshmi), not to forget Mani Iyer (Delhi Ganesh - who played Iyer in Nayagan).
Kamal once remarked while making Mumbai Express that the difference between a suspense thriller and comedy is superficial. While the suspense thriller shows all characters without letting the audience know what is happening or what each character knows, a comedy lets the audience know everything without letting the characters know the whole truth. It is more like a practical joke played on the characters by the director. This is exactly what he has done to the characters in MMKR and the result is a 2 and a half hours of delightful joy ride where you are not given even a second to contemplate whys and wherefores.
All this screenplay gimmickry still would not have been sufficient if the dialogues weren’t funny or the artistes substandard. The greatest asset for this film is its dialogues and thankfully all of crazy’s comedy team with the exception of Madhu, Cheenu and Mythili are brought in to great effect. Watch out specially for the scene where the henchmen of Ramgopal (nasser) while following Madhan(Kamal) miss him in a traffic signal and end up following Kameshwaran(Kamal). Particularly the reference to AK-47 is bound to make you fall from chair laughing.
The climax mayhem in the desolate and teethering wooden house on the hilltop and the tribute to Charlie Chaplin’s “The Gold Rush” is totally hilarious with crazy’s dialogues and great acting by the entire cast for another non stop fun filled 20 mins. The film shot nicely by B.C.Gowrishankar (where is he now?) and the music is memorable with its tunes still popular all over thamizh nadu. The background music is perfectly suited and watch out for the subtle changes in the BGM for every Kamal (the one of Kameshwaran and a diametrically different piece for Michael take the cake IMO).
Special mention must be made of Urvashi , who incidentally was reintroduced to thamizh films by Kamal(she was busy doing amazing films in Malayalam) . She made “Thirupu” the best female comic role of nineties. Every gesture and dialogue of hers invited hilarious responses from the audience and the comic chemistry she shared with Kamal adequately spills on to the memorable Thamizh-Mallu song “Sundhari -Neeyum” where Raja mixes, carnatic, soft rock and waltz to deliriously addictive results. One song that stays with you forever.
After enjoying the movie, if one goes into the making, one would accept the fact that making comedy movie is the damn’d most serious job on planet earth apart from launching rockets. NASA guys would say rocket launching is pretty easy in cmparison.
19 Responses to “Magic of Michael Madhana Kama Rajan”
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This ranks in my list of Top 10 Indian films of all time, across all genres. Arguably one of Kamalahaasan’s finest performances, and the jokes simply never get stale. The Kameshwaran character is not just a riot, he has become a legend. Every kid in Tamil Nadu can say his lines on cue. Absolutely brilliant film from a brilliant team. “I mean what I mean”.
This is hands down the greatest comedy ever made in Indian cinema, and one among the greatest Indian films when it puts it hands up! (On an across-all-genres platform, that is.) The sheer magnificence of the canvass in which the film was conceived and filmed amazes me more and more each day.
The year was 1990.
B. C. Gowri Shankar passed away three years ago.
Zero!!
Thanks for that update on BCG.
Yelu suthina kote has some good songs . I have heard many a kannadiga film fan talk good things about it. The magic of MMKR is that it is an arresting watch - no long pauses (pun intended). Just a torrent of unending waves of laughter sweeping you away every frame. I felt as if Crazy and Kamal put each and every one of their humorous nerve to the maximum stretch in this movie. It is an abject lesson in film making worthy of being studied and lectured upon. For a fan like me, the most delightful one to recount. I haven’t even mentioned how certain scenes were staged technically. Particularly the song where three Kamals go around in the same park ending in a scene where Michael (Kamal) hits Raju(kamal) and there is no trick shot line to be seen as is usual in films where double roles hand shake with each other. Trick shots in the movie done by Kabirlal form Mumbai. He deservedly gets a special mention in the title cards. Kabirlal has done many more trick shots (Kamal starrers Thoongaadhe thambi thoongaadhe and rajini starrer Padikaadhavan). I believe this was the last thamizh film he worked on.
and now the man is comin back with a film where he plays 10 characters !!!!
well he keeps raising the bar !!!
cant wait to see “dasa”.
[...] LINK The year was 1991 [...]
Great post man… I remember almost all the dialogues!! Two artistes who stood out(of course, apart from Kamal and Urvashi) were Delhi Ganesh and S.N.Lakshmi. For that matter, I think after Sholay, this is one film where there are so many charecters but each one of them is memorable. Santhanabarathi, Sudharshan, Vennira Aadai Moorthy, Bheem Boy!!! Landmark film!
sundari neenum sundaraN nyan um…..
road le poravaN illam tirupu tipuru nu kupadra……
illam double la iruku…..kapi pudi…oru kilo plus rendu kilo….stay….fr….eee….enna idu…
varadu kutti…
pati
for me MMKR is all about KAMESHWARAN, TIRUPURASUNDARI, PATTI, DELHI GANESH AND VARADU KUTTI
“This is hands down the greatest comedy ever made in Indian cinema, and one among the greatest Indian films when it puts it hands up! ”
Nothing more to add to this. I would also rate the ensemble of four distinct performances as one of the best(if not the best in “comedy”).
Bheem boy Bheem boy, andha locker lendhu aaru latchathai eduthu indha Avinashi naayin moonjiyil vitteri!
HAHAHA! Crazy Mohan was really Crazy! This is the most memorable dialogue from the movie!
Recently some producers got the print of this movie to Mumbai and they were trying for Salman to play the 4 roles…Don’t know what happened to it though…
Talking about Apoorva Sahodarargal (Vichitra Sodarulu-Telugu), the two awesome boombastic characters were Janagraj and RS Shivaji with his long nose! Saar, Neenga engoo poitinga!! HAHA!! RS Shivaji is one guy who acted in many movies and has been working as an Associate Director for decades!
The interludes in “per vechalum” song is a sheer delight! Ilaiyaraja’s work is unparalleled again..
why we dont have such good comedies anymore…even in malayalam good comedies are not made anymore…MMKR is one of the most delightful comedies I have seen…good post…another great comedies - Avvai Shanmughi and Tenali…but somehow in terms of freshness and pure laughriot i believe MMKR scores over these two…
RS Shivaji gets good one lines in Kamal movies.
In MMKR his famous dialogue “Sir andha sothai pallan kittendhu eppidi sir thappicheenga”
In Anbe Sivam - “Two to Two to Two Two”.
Offcourse quintesssential “Sir neenga engeyo..” from Apoorva sagodharargal.
In addition to all this , MMKR was the first Thamizh movie (Indian movie?) to show the laptop!!!
Bheem boy bheem boy .. :d
amazing screenplay for this movie. Even the way the movie starts with singeetham carrying a bio scope and singing that ’story’ song.
Singeetham was one genius of a director.
he did a similar confused twins story ’sommokadidhi sokokadidhi’ with kamal way back in early 80s.
2-2-2-2-2-2 was awesome…that was typical word play by Kamal. All his films have this and then like Priyadarshan….all his films end with all the chars. chasing each other…..WHY WHY WHY??
MMKR
Mumbai Express
Avai Shanmughi/Chachi 420
Pammal K Sambhandam
Panchatataram
Tennali
Vasan,
The ensemble of characters from different setups(Palakad iyer to Madurai thug) in the final act of “chasing each other” is a metaphor, and a motif. Although in some cases, like “Avvai shanmughi”, it’s quite different. Like a husband chasing his wife in an assumed identity. In MMKR, it’s four quadrapulets who are “brought up” in different setups, and that’s a commentary at how ‘ethnicity’ or ‘bloodline’ has nothing to do with a human psyche, be it Cook or a thug or a firefighter or a hippie. That seems to be the implication. Moreover the chase in “Mumbai express”, it’s a ‘dumb’ stuntman with an ex-disc dancer (and her kid), a rich chettiar with a retired undercover cop, the ‘masterminded’ threesome, and another group of police headed by another corrupt official. The
I am a diehard Rajini fan and most people who know me here will probably know that too. But this movie will be mentioned in my top 5 list whenever and where ever you ask me. And pleasssssseeeee, Priyadarshan’s recent comedies sprinkled with liberal references to “sandaas” and what not DO not come close at all!
Back to MMKR. Awesome movie. Very under-rated (at least outside TN).
Whenever I meet up with a group of friends and we need to laugh, this is the movie we watch. And most of us can recite the lines by heart.
Brilliant in its simplicity. A couple of threads go nowhere (like the fish in the sambhar), but all that can be ignored in the light of the laughs.
And yes, the real star (apart from the movie) is actually Crazy Mohan’s dialoques.
The interactions between Madan and Raju are a delight. But the thing to really watch out for, if you are a film-maker is really how Kameshwaran’s character is etched out. Maybe it was a conscious decision by Kamal and Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, but the parochial nature of the character is treated quite differently.
Essentially the character is very similar in background to the “south indian brahmin” characters that we have seen in Bollywood movies, but here is the laughs are not (only) because Kameshwaran talks a certain way, but because of the way he thinks and the way he reacts to the ways of society. There are no “ayyos” or shaven heads here to laugh at, i.e., its not physical.
Watch out of the scene where Khusboo’s character jumps on the bed and cries out “take me!” and the scene where he thinks someone is throwing cut vegetables at him :)
I could go on and on. I wrote about this movie some years ago and was wondering just last week if I should repost it here to get out of Oz’s slammer :d.
But, Jaiganesh, you beat me to the finish line.
The chase can be construed as symbolic - however looking at it from a ayman’s POV, the chase is inevitable as the characters at one point of the time or other have been concealing their identities and once the cover is blown, there is bound to be a chase - it is inevitable logic of the plot itself. One also recalls the hilarious climax chase that K.B. inserted into the script of Golmaal when it was remade into “Thillumullu”. Now that ramachandran knows that Indran and chandran are the same, the chase that ensues is inevitable. However the chase scenes in Avvai Shanmugi and Sathi leelavathi are forced for that extra “zing” to the crazy mood. Even the underrated office comedy “Magalir Mattum” had a chase in the end. Therefore I feel that vasan’s question is all the more pertinent. Probably it is something in the psyche of Kamal, that he feels that his actions films end in a mayhem, while his comedies end in a chase.
I think Kamal’s obsession with the chase sequence endings in his comedies might be an homage to a chase sequence from Chaplin’s “The Circus”, an underrated comedy from all accounts I’ve heard.