Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1991
Godfather (1991 film)
Buy Godfather (1991 film) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name = Godfather
| image = Godfather Malayalam.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Siddique-Lal
| producer = Appachan
| writer = Siddique-Lal
| narrator =
| starring =
| music =
| cinematography = Venu
| editing =
| studio = Swargachithra Films
| distributor = Swargachithra Release
| released =
| runtime = 150 minutes
| country = India
| language = Malayalam
| budget = lakh
| gross = crores
}}
'Godfather' is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language action comedy drama film written and directed by SiddiqueLal. It is produced by Appachan under the banner of Swargachithra. The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of N. N. Pillai, Mukesh, Philomina, Thilakan, Kanaka, Innocent, Siddique, Bheeman Raghu and K. P. A. C. Lalitha. Showcased for 417 days, Godfather was a blockbuster and is the longest running Malayalam movie in theatres till the date.[2]Godfatherwon theKerala State Film Award for Best Popular Film.
Plot
Anjooran, and his four sons Balaraman, Swaminathan, Premachandran and Ramabhadran are in severe enmity with the Anappara family. Anjooran's bitter hatred toward Anappara Achamma stems from events in the past, when the men of Anappara abducted Balaraman's fiance and forced her to marry the eldest son of Achamma. The resulting series of events saw Anjooran's wife being killed, and him being sent to jail for avenging her by murdering Achamma's husband. Consequently, he develops a hatred toward all women, and their entry into his home is prohibited from then on.
Anjooran's youngest son Ramabhadran is a law student. At college, he and his friend Mayin Kutty try all means to humiliate their classmate Malu, who is the granddaughter of Achamma. Malu gets engaged to Shyam Prasad, a young state minister, but the minister withdraws from the relation as Anjooran intervenes and threatens him of political consequences. Incensed, Achamma hatches a plan to divide Anjooran's family by having Malu seduce Ramabhadran and making him turn against his father. When Malu expresses her feelings to Ramabhadran, as per the advice of her grandmother, Mayin Kutty ideates that Ramabhadran could divide the Anappara family by seducing Malu and turning her against them. On his advice, Ramabhadran too acts as if he is in love with her. The facade soon falls and they really fall in love with each other. While wondering about ways to get his family to support this relationship, he gets to know that Swaminathan is leading a secret double life as Ramanathan, with a wife Kochammini and two children. When confronted with this information, Swaminathan promises to help unite him and Malu.
Through a turn of events, Anjooran learns of Ramabhadran's love affair and Swaminathan's deceitfulness. Consequently, they're both ostracised from the family. Over at Anappara, Achamma is shocked to know that Malu's love is not a mere act. She and her sons decide to get her married to the family's advocate's son. However, she still tries to bring her plans to fruition by sending out signals that the house is divided over the issue. To this end, she sends her sons to beg for Anjooran's help in preventing Ramabhadran from marrying Malu (a request that Anjooran approves), and approaches Ramabhadran himself assuring him of all help in doing so.
However, Achamma does not know that her youngest son Veerabhadran is sympathetic to the lovers' cause and has revealed her plan to Ramabhadran. With his help, Ramabhadran sneaks in to the marriage hall and almost marries Malu. Enraged, Achamma curses Anjooran for not being vigilant enough, exposing her duplicity. Ramabhadran then admits that he sneaked in not to marry Malu, but to foil Achamma's plan and save his father's honour. A regretful Anjooran allows the wedding of Ramabhadran and Malu to take place and welcomes both him, Swaminathan and their families back into the fold, thereby paving the way for the entry of women into his house once again.
Cast
* Mukesh as Ramabhadran, Anjooran's youngest son
* N. N. Pillai as Anjooran
* Philomina as Aanappara Achamma
* Kanaka as Malu, Achamma's granddaughter and Parasuraman's daughter
* Thilakan as Balaraman, Anjooran's eldest son
* Innocent as Swaminathan / E. K. Ramanathan, Anjooran's second son
* Bheeman Raghu as Premachandran, Anjooran's third son
* Jagadish as Mayin Kutty, Ramabhadran's Friend
* Siddique as Veerabhadran, Achamma's youngest son
* Paravoor Bharathan as Parasuraman, Achamma's eldest son / Achamma's husband (Double Role)
* Janardhanan as Bhoominathan, Achamma's second son
* Kundara Johny as Hemachandran, Achamma's third son
* K. P. A. C. Lalitha as Kochammini Teacher, Swaminathan's wife
* Sankaradi as Achamma's advocate
* Kollam Thulasi as Anjooran's advocate
* Harisree Ashokan as Anjooran's houseboy
* Unni Mary as Omana, Hemachandran's wife
* Thodupuzha Vasanthi as Bhoominathan's wife
* Thesni Khan as Mercy, Malu's friend
* Beena Antony as Beena, Malu's friend
* Ravi Vallathol as Dr. Balakrishnan, Son of Achamma's advocate and Malu's fiance
* Thrissur Elsy as Hostel warden
* Zeenath as Kadappuram Karthyayani
* Vinod Kozhikode as Achamma's henchman
Music
{{Infobox album
| name = Godfather
| type = soundtrack
| artist = S. Balakrishnan
| cover =
| alt =
| released = 15 November 1991
| recorded = 1991
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Feature film soundtrack
| length = 18:46
| label = Nisari Music
| language = Malayalam
| producer = Appachan
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title =
| next_year =
| misc =
}}
Box office
The film was a huge commercial success, becoming one among the biggest blockbusters ever in Malayalam film industry. It ran for 417 days at Sreekumar Theatre in Thiruvananthapuram alone, which still remains an unbeaten record in Malayalam film history.
Remake
The film was remade into Telugu as 'Peddarikam' (1992). In 1993 producer N. Chandra and director Purshottam Berde remade into Marathi as 'Ghayaal'. In 2004, Priyadarshan remade the film in Hindi as 'Hulchul'. It was also remade in Kannada as 'Pandavaru' (2006) and in Odia as 'Love Dot Com'.
Legacy
The film ran for more than 400 days in movie theatres in Kerala. Especially the film ran for 417 days in Sree Kumar Theatre in Thiruvananthapuram.
Awards
* Kerala Film Critics Award for Best Second Actress - Philomina
Impact
Film Companion called it a retelling of William Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'.
References
Buy Godfather (1991 film) now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 1991