| Kilukkam | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Priyadarshan |
| Screenplay by | Venu Nagavalli |
| Story by | Priyadarshan |
| Based on | Roman Holiday byWilliam Wyler |
| Produced by | R. Mohan |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | S. Kumar |
| Edited by | N. Gopalakrishnan |
| Music by | S. P. Venkatesh |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Manorajyam Release |
Release date |
|
Running time | 156 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Budget | ₹60 lakh (US$71,000)[1] |
| Box office | ₹5 crore (US$590,000)[1][2] |
Kilukkam (transl. Jingle) is a 1991 IndianMalayalam-languagecomedy drama film directed byPriyadarshan and written byVenu Nagavalli. The story set inOoty revolves around tourist guide Joji (Mohanlal) and photographer Nishchal (Jagathy Sreekumar). They happen to meet a lavish tourist Nandini (Revathi), whom they bet their fortunes on. It also starsThilakan,Innocent,K. B. Ganesh Kumar,Sukumari, andSharat Saxena, withMurali andJagadish making cameo appearances. The music was composed byS. P. Venkatesh.Kilukkam was released on 15 August 1991. The film was the highest-grossing Malayalam film at that time and ran for more than 365 days in theaters.Kilukkam won fiveKerala State Film Awards, includingBest Actor for Mohanlal,Second Best Actor for Jagathy Sreekumar,Best Editor for N. Gopalakrishnan andBest Cinematographer forS. Kumar. The film is regarded as one of the best comedy films of Malayalam cinema. It was remade inTelugu asAllari Pilla and inHindi asMuskurahat by Priyadarshan himself.[3] Later, the film had a sequelKilukkam Kilukilukkam (2006). The movie was reported to have been inspired by the 1953 American movieRoman Holiday.[4]
Joji is a down-on-his-lucktourist guide inOotacamund. Nandini, a tourist, who is mentally challenged, and a series of events make her presence intertwined with the lives of Joji and his friend Nischal. In the early part of the movie, hilarity ensues in their misguided attempts in getting rid of Nandini. However, they find out that she is an escaped mental patient who has a bounty on her safe return. When they find that the bounty has been increasing for a while, they decide to hide her for a while and claim the bounty when it gets big enough. They change her appearance by cutting her long tresses short. In time, they realize that things are not as they seem, and more complications are unraveled.
The initial plan for the film was set when Priyadarshan met "Goodknight" Mohan in an airport. The story was developed by Priyadarshan from a thought which came to his mind, about a mentally-ill mischievous girl who is saved by a poor guy. Priyadarshan employedVenu Nagavally for screenwriting the film.[5] The film's title was chosen asKilukkam, since the character of Nandini is introduced in the film with the clink of heranglets when she jump off a train and she is all perky like a kilukkampetti (a toy box that makes clinking sound).[6] The story of a girl who has to face some miseries in her life—it was the idea Priyadarshan initially intended for the film. While working on the story he met directorFazil and discussed the idea. Fazil at the time was directingEnte Sooryaputhrikku (1991). He told Priyadarshan to "reverse think" the story ofEnte Sooryaputhrikku, which was about a girl trying to find her mother. And inKilukkam it became, a girl trying to find her father.[7]
Mohanlal, who is the usual choice of Priyadarshan was the protagonist in mind from the initial stage itself.Amala who was acting in Priyadarshan'sTelugu filmNirnayam at the time, was signed for the role of Nandini. She gave dates from 3 March 1991 to 4 April.[8] Priyadarshan's initial chose for Nischal wasSreenivasan, but he was unavailable during his scheduled date due to another commitment. Hence, Priyadarshan opted forJagathy Sreekumar, to whom he asked 30 days continuous dates. Sreekumar, at the time, busy acting in multiple films at a time, gave his continuous dates for a long period for the first time. The film'spooja function was held at Kothandapani Studio in Madras (nowChennai). The recording of songs started at the same day in the studio byS. P. Venkatesh.[5] By the time of commencement of filming, Amala got married and had to opt out from the film as her father-in-lawAkkineni Nageswara Rao announced her retirement soon after that.[8] She was replaced byRevathi.Jagadish played a pivotal character in the film as astill photographer, the professional rivalry of Nischal, but in the final cut of the film, his portions were cut short to a minor role for reducing the running time.[5]
Principal photography began on 5 March 1991 inOoty, which was the main location where the film is set.[9] In Ooty,The Fernhills Palace was the central location, which was shot as the bungalow of Justice Pillai, played byThilakan.[5] The mist is utilised in the film to the maximum. The major part of the filming took place early in the morning because the mist lasted for a couple of hours only and the makers wanted to capitalise the mist-covered location. One of the initial scenes in the film, where Mohanlal and Thilakan takes morning walks, are shot in a secluded location in Ooty that was accidentally discovered by the team. They wanted the place to look classy and so the lamp post, a couple of chairs and all those fallen leaves. They painted leaves were brought to the location in a lorry and were scattered to resemble natural foliage.[10]
While filming the song "Ootyppattanam", Mohanlal escaped from what would have been a fatal injury. A sequence in the song was shot over the top of a moving train, where Mohanlal was standing opposite Jagathi and Revathy. There was a leaning electric line over the train passage, which the production team did not notice. While performing, all of a sudden, Sreekumar instructed Mohanlal to lie low, which he immediately obeyed without questioning. The line just touched his hair.[11] In a later interview, Priyadarshan said that, he never laughed while filmingKilukkam, he believed that if they laugh in the sets, the audience will not get that laugh in theatres. Several unscripted dialogues were used by Mohanlal and Revathi in their combination scenes.[7]
Kilukkam was released on 15 August 1991, in 32 centers in Kerala. Within 50 days, it grossed₹0.23crore from the releasing centers.[5] The film grossed₹1.59 crores from theatricals and became the first Malayalam film to gross more than₹1 crore from theatricals alone.Kilukkam went on to become the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year 1991 and was for a time the highest grossing Malayalam film of all time.[12][13][14]
In a later interview, Priyadarshan said that he exploited the Mohanlal – Sreekumar chemistry to the maximum and incorporated certain elements of emotions in the film unlike in his earlier comedy filmsAram + Aram = Kinnaram (1985) andBoeing Boeing (1985), which was one of the reasons the film was a huge success at the box office.[7]
The producer, Goodknight Mohan, in an interview withSafari TV in 2021 revealed that the budget ofKilukkam was around₹0.60 crore at that time when Malayalam films were usually made with a cost of₹0.02 to₹0.03 crore. He expressed his concerns with Priyadarshan about whether the film would be a success or not. But the film went on to become the highest grossing Malayalam film at that time with a total gross of₹5 crore.[1][15] The film ran for over a year in 2 release theaters.Kilukkam has over the years attained acult status.[16][17] The film is often regarded as a classic, it is considered one of the best comedy films ever made in Malayalam cinema. The film receives regular re-runs on television and is the most telecasted film in Malayalam film history.[13][18][19]
| Kilukkam | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 15 March 1991 (1991-03-15) | |||
| Recorded | March 1991 | |||
| Studio | Kothandapani Studio,Madras | |||
| Length | 18:17 | |||
| Language | Malayalam | |||
| Label | Millennium Audios | |||
| Producer | R. Mohan | |||
| S. P. Venkatesh chronology | ||||
| ||||
All lyrics are written byBichu Thirumala; all music is composed byS. P. Venkatesh.
| No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Kilukil Pamparam" | M. G. Sreekumar | 04:41 |
| 2. | "Ootypattanam" | S. P. Balasubrahmaniam,M. G. Sreekumar,K. S. Chithra | 04:46 |
| 3. | "Meena Venalil" | M. G. Sreekumar,K. S. Chithra | 04:28 |
| 4. | "Panineer Chandrike" | M. G. Sreekumar | 05:02 |
| Total length: | 18:17 | ||
In 2012, the executives of Ultra Rays 3D Technologies Private Ltd inKochi approached Priyadarshan and Ram Mohan for talks for the 3D conversion ofKilukkam.[25] In that case,Kilukkam would become the first Malayalam film to be converted into 3D.[26] Priyadarshan confirmed the news that the company approached him but the final call should be made by the producer Ram Mohan. In theTimes of India report in late 2012, Mohan said that nothing has been finalised, discussions are going on.[27]