SadguruCaterer at 11:07, 5 April 2026

2026-04-05T11:07:26Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Gajakesariyogam
| image = Gajakesariyogam.jpg
| caption = Poster
| director = [[P. G. Viswambharan]]
| producer =
| writer = Babu. G. Nair (Story)
[[Kaloor Dennis]] (Screenplay)
| starring = {{plainlist|
* [[Innocent (actor)|Innocent]]
* [[Mukesh (actor)|Mukesh]]
}}
| music = [[Johnson (composer)|Johnson]]
| cinematography = Saroj Padi
| editing = G.Murali
| studio =
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|1990|11|7|df=y|ref1=<ref>{{Cite web |title=ഗജകേസരിയോഗം (1990) |url=https://www.malayalasangeetham.info/m.php?2272 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415163146/https://www.malayalasangeetham.info/m.php?2272 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |access-date=15 April 2022 |website=malayalasangeetham.info |language=ml}}</ref>}}
| country = India
| language = Malayalam
}}
'''''Gajakesariyogam''''' ({{translation|A good period of time<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 January 2019 |title=Malayalam films which had animals as pivotal characters |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/malayalam-films-which-had-animals-as-pivotal-characters/photostory/67771137.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406071029/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/malayalam-films-which-had-animals-as-pivotal-characters/photostory/67771137.cms |archive-date=6 April 2022 |access-date=14 April 2022 |website=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref> / The fate of owning an elephant<ref name=toi />}}) is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by [[P. G. Viswambharan]] and stars [[Innocent (actor)|Innocent]] and [[Mukesh (actor)|Mukesh]]. The film is about the struggles faced by Ayyappan Nair after purchasing an elephant named Sreevidya from a North Indian circus company that only knows Hindi.<ref>{{Cite web |last=BR |first=Rohith |date=20 April 2018 |title=Jharkhand mahouts to get Kannada lessons, jumbos to learn Hindi |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/jharkhand-mahouts-to-get-kannada-lessons-jumbos-to-learn-hindi/articleshow/63836669.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929065522/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/jharkhand-mahouts-to-get-kannada-lessons-jumbos-to-learn-hindi/articleshow/63836669.cms |archive-date=29 September 2019 |access-date=14 April 2022 |website=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mukherjee B. |first=Saswati |date=10 June 2014 |title=This jumbo needs to unlearn Marathi, learn Kannada |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/this-jumbo-needs-to-unlearn-marathi-learn-kannada/articleshow/36316734.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415040128/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/this-jumbo-needs-to-unlearn-marathi-learn-kannada/articleshow/36316734.cms |archive-date=15 April 2022 |access-date=14 April 2022 |website=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref> It was one of the many films in which Innocent and K.P.A.C Lalitha play an on-screen couple. The film became a box office success.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180312204919/http://www.sify.com/entertainment/movies/malayalam/fullstory.php?id=14945617 Veteran Malayalam director P G Viswambharan dead] - ''Sify,'' Wednesday, 16 June, 2010, 17:17</ref>

==Plot==
Ayyappan Nair, a mahout, wants to own an elephant. He takes a loan to buy an elephant, however, trouble brews when he is unable to repay it.

== Cast ==
{{Colbegin}}
* [[Innocent (actor)|Innocent]] as Ayyappan Nair<ref name=toi />
* [[Mukesh (actor)|Mukesh]] as Vinayachandran aka Vinayan<ref name=toi />
* [[Jagadish]] as Parasuraman<ref name=toi />
* [[Sunitha (actress)|Sunita]] as Karthika<ref name=toi />
* [[K. P. A. C. Lalitha]] as Madhavi<ref name=toi />
* [[Mamukkoya]] as Raghavan Nair<ref name=toi />
* [[K. B. Ganesh Kumar]] as Vasu<ref name=toi />
* [[Paravoor Bharathan]] as Khader<ref name=toi />
* [[Thesni Khan]] as Suhara, Khader's daughter and Karthika's friend<ref name=toi />
* [[Baiju Santhosh|Baiju]] as Gireesh, Thahasildhar's brother
* [[Siddique (actor)|Siddique]] as Collector
* [[Oduvil Unnikrishnan]] as Thahasildhar
* [[Philomina]] as Thahasildhar's mother
* [[Sukumaran]] as Sethu
* [[Kunchan (actor)|Kunchan]] as Ajayan
* [[Balan K Nair]] as Nambiar
* [[Zainuddin (actor)|Sainuddin]] as Minister Veera Raghava Pillai
{{Colend}}

== Production ==
K. P. A. C. Lalitha shot for this film in [[Shoranur]] along with another film by her husband [[Bharathan]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=[[Kaloor Dennis]] |date=22 February 2022 |title=KPAC Lalitha was a terrible actor in real life |url=https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/2022/02/23/kpac-lalitha-terrible-actor-real-life.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415040128/https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/2022/02/23/kpac-lalitha-terrible-actor-real-life.html |archive-date=15 April 2022 |access-date=14 April 2022 |website=[[Malayala Manorama|Manorama Online]]}}</ref>

== Themes and influences ==
Innocent plays a Malayali man who learns Hindi in this film. Innocent went on to play a Hindi-speaking politician in ''[[Sandesham]]'' (1991).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rajendran |first=Soumya |date=17 September 2019 |title='Ek gaon mein ek kisan raghu thatha': Bhagyaraj on why he wrote the Hindi-fail scene |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/ek-gaon-mein-ek-kisan-raghu-thatha-bhagyaraj-why-he-wrote-hindi-fail-scene-109030 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190930171035/https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/ek-gaon-mein-ek-kisan-raghu-thatha-bhagyaraj-why-he-wrote-hindi-fail-scene-109030 |archive-date=30 September 2019 |access-date=14 April 2022 |website=[[The News Minute]]}}</ref> The film explores the bond between a man and an elephant. This bond is seen in other films, such as ''[[Aanachandam]]'' (2006).<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 September 2021 |title=From Kumki to 777 Charlie: Six moving films that explore the human-animal bond |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/kumki-777-charlie-six-moving-films-explore-human-animal-bond-155531 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410054109/https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/kumki-777-charlie-six-moving-films-explore-human-animal-bond-155531 |archive-date=10 April 2022 |access-date=14 April 2022 |website=[[The News Minute]]}}</ref> A scene in the film was based on an incident in the unreleased Malayalam film ''Chottanikkara Bhagawathi''. The incident revolved around an art director who was scared of the elephant and started moving after the director called action although the elephant and the mahout did not move.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sebastian |first=Shevlin |date=6 December 2017 |title=Location Diaries: A leaping lion |url=https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/columns/2017/dec/06/location-diaries-a-leaping-lion-3428.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512174527/https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/columns/2017/dec/06/location-diaries-a-leaping-lion-3428.html |archive-date=12 May 2021 |access-date=14 April 2022 |website=[[Cinema Express]]}}</ref>

== Soundtrack ==
The soundtrack of the film was composed by [[Johnson (composer)|Johnson]] and the lyrics were written by [[Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri]]. The film features two songs and one of which is "Aanachantham" with Innocent and the elephant. It is one of the "cutest songs of Mollywood" according to the ''New Indian Express''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=S. |first=Bechu |date=15 August 2021 |title=Stealing the show with sniffs and trumpets: Malayalam cinema's favourite animals |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/malayalam/2021/aug/15/stealing-the-show-with-sniffs-and-trumpets-malayalam-cinemas-favourite-animals-2344668.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216183334/https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/malayalam/2021/aug/15/stealing-the-show-with-sniffs-and-trumpets-malayalam-cinemas-favourite-animals-2344668.html |archive-date=16 December 2021 |access-date=14 April 2022 |website=[[The New Indian Express]]}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable" width="60%"
! Song title !! Singer(s)
|-
| "Aanachandam" || [[Innocent (actor)| Innocent]]
|-
| "Niramaalakkaavil" || [[Unni Menon]], [[Sujatha Mohan]], Chorus
|}

== Reception and legacy ==
In a review of the film in December 2021, Silpa Rajan of ''[[The Times of India]]'' opined that "The movie is absolutely engaging, entertaining, and heartwarming and also lays out the problems faced by naïve and gold-hearted people who {{sic|step foot}} into the uncharted waters of business".<ref name="toi">{{Cite web |last=Rajan |first=Silpa |date=10 December 2021 |title=#FilmyFriday: Gajakesariyogam: An elephant starrer headlined by Innocent |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/filmyfriday-gajakesariyogam-an-elephant-starrer-headlined-by-innocent/articleshow/88200844.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406071024/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/filmyfriday-gajakesariyogam-an-elephant-starrer-headlined-by-innocent/articleshow/88200844.cms |archive-date=6 April 2022 |access-date=14 April 2022 |website=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref>

The scenes where Mukesh's character teaches Innocent's character Hindi became famous.<ref>{{Cite web |title='എനിക്ക് ഹിന്ദി അറിഞ്ഞൂടാന്ന് ഈ മറുതായോടൊന്ന് പറഞ്ഞ് കൊടുക്കെടാ' മലയാളി പൊട്ടിച്ചിരിച്ച 10 രംഗങ്ങൾ |trans-title='If I know Hindi, please do not tell me this': 10 scenes where a Malayalee bursts out laughing |url=https://malayalam.news18.com/news/film/movies-how-malayalam-cinema-celebrated-hindi-dialogues-update-mm-157735.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415040131/https://malayalam.news18.com/news/film/movies-how-malayalam-cinema-celebrated-hindi-dialogues-update-mm-157735.html |archive-date=15 April 2022 |access-date=14 April 2022 |website=[[News18]] |language=ml}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|tt0279090}}

[[Category:Films directed by P. G. Viswambharan]]
[[Category:Films about elephants]]
[[Category:Films shot in Palakkad]]
[[Category:1990 Indian films]]
[[Category:1990 Malayalam-language films]]

Gajakesariyogam - Revision history

SadguruCaterer at 11:07, 5 April 2026