Mollywood to tollywood : Of family feuds and misunderstandings between lovers

Cherry– picking hit films from other languages is the first major step taken for reprising them in the native tongue. More often than not, despite a 'transmission loss' which occurs during the remake phase, the impact at the BO is not usually lost for the newly-minted version. Unless the terrible handling of the original hit reaches unwatchable levels, the chances of recouping the investment are bright for the 'remakers' so to speak!

The film in question this week is the all-time grosser of Malayalam cinema in 2003- 'Chronic Bachelor'- headed by Mammootty with stars like Mukesh, Rambha, Indraja and Bhavana giving him adequate support. Belonging to the action-comedy genre, which is staple diet in a way for Malayalam cinema, the film was remade in two fellow southern languages – 'Kushi Kushiga' in Telugu and ' Engal Anna' in Tamil.

The Telugu version was centred on the able shoulders of Jagapathi Babu and Venu Thottempudi, both of whom enjoyed a niche presence among the audience and were favoured for their abilities to play to their strengths. Ramya Krishnan, Sangeetha, Nikitha Thukral etc were the other known faces who moved in and out of the frames in the 148- minute drama released in 2004.

Directed by G Ram Prasad, who had Venu for company in many of his films in that period, the film was produced by Aditya Ram who is known for his state-of-the- art studio in Chennai where many big budget Tamil film productions have been canned over the years. Incidentally, out of the four films that Aditya Ram produced between 2002-09, three were featuring Jagapathi Babu. He is also responsible for launching Kangana Ranaut in Telugu with her flop film ' Ek Niranjan' directed by Puri Jagannadh which had Prabhas in the lead. Kangana did not appear in any southern film after that till 'Thalaivi' released in 2021.

Taking up a much- exposed theme of inter-generational rivalry between two families and how misunderstandings keep lovers and siblings away, using a blend of comedy, melodrama and action in manageable proportions the narrative keeps moving with its predictable twists and turns. What makes 'Kushi Kushiga' tolerable is the pacey treatment which makes it a time-pass, the standard entertainment template for watchers of masala movies in India.

The music score was by S A Rajkumar, who had a commendable following all across southern film industries, with he having composed music for nearly 50-odd films in Telugu between 1997 and 2013. Known for his appealing melodies in many top star movies, this film was his 40th in Tollywood.

Film: Kushi Kushiga (2004)

Star cast: Jagapathi Babu, Venu Thottempudi, Ramya Krishna, Sangeetha

Remade from: Chronic Bachelor (2003)