| File:Gajakesariyogam.jpg
| |
| Directed by | P. G. Viswambharan |
|---|---|
| Written by | Babu. G. Nair (Story)
Kaloor Dennis (Screenplay)
|
| Starring | Template:Plainlist |
| Cinematography | Saroj Padi |
| Edited by | G.Murali |
| Music by | Johnson
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam
|
Gajakesariyogam (Template:Translation) is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by P. G. Viswambharan and stars Innocent and 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.[1][2] 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.[3]
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
- Innocent as Ayyappan Nair[4]
- Mukesh as Vinayachandran aka Vinayan[4]
- Jagadish as Parasuraman[4]
- Sunita as Karthika[4]
- K. P. A. C. Lalitha as Madhavi[4]
- Mamukkoya as Raghavan Nair[4]
- K. B. Ganesh Kumar as Vasu[4]
- Paravoor Bharathan as Khader[4]
- Thesni Khan as Suhara, Khader's daughter and Karthika's friend[4]
- Baiju as Gireesh, Thahasildhar's brother
- Siddique as Collector
- Oduvil Unnikrishnan as Thahasildhar
- Philomina as Thahasildhar's mother
- Sukumaran as Sethu
- Kunchan as Ajayan
- Balan K Nair as Nambiar
- Sainuddin as Minister Veera Raghava Pillai
Production
K. P. A. C. Lalitha shot for this film in Shoranur along with another film by her husband Bharathan.[5]
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).[6] The film explores the bond between a man and an elephant. This bond is seen in other films, such as Aanachandam (2006).[7] 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.[8]
Soundtrack
The soundtrack of the film was composed by 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.[9]
| Song title | Singer(s) |
|---|---|
| "Aanachandam" | 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 Template:Sic into the uncharted waters of business".[4]
The scenes where Mukesh's character teaches Innocent's character Hindi became famous.[10]
References
- ↑ Jharkhand mahouts to get Kannada lessons, jumbos to learn Hindi, BR, Rohith. The Times of India(20 April 2018). Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ↑ This jumbo needs to unlearn Marathi, learn Kannada, Mukherjee B., Saswati. The Times of India(10 June 2014). Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ↑ Veteran Malayalam director P G Viswambharan dead - Sify, Wednesday, 16 June, 2010, 17:17
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 #FilmyFriday: Gajakesariyogam: An elephant starrer headlined by Innocent, Rajan, Silpa. The Times of India(10 December 2021). Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ↑ KPAC Lalitha was a terrible actor in real life, Kaloor Dennis. Manorama Online(22 February 2022). Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ↑ 'Ek gaon mein ek kisan raghu thatha': Bhagyaraj on why he wrote the Hindi-fail scene, Rajendran, Soumya. The News Minute(17 September 2019). Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ↑ From Kumki to 777 Charlie: Six moving films that explore the human-animal bond. The News Minute(20 September 2021). Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ↑ Location Diaries: A leaping lion, Sebastian, Shevlin. Cinema Express(6 December 2017). Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ↑ Stealing the show with sniffs and trumpets: Malayalam cinema's favourite animals, S., Bechu. The New Indian Express(15 August 2021). Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ↑ 'എനിക്ക് ഹിന്ദി അറിഞ്ഞൂടാന്ന് ഈ മറുതായോടൊന്ന് പറഞ്ഞ് കൊടുക്കെടാ' മലയാളി പൊട്ടിച്ചിരിച്ച 10 രംഗങ്ങൾ. News18. Retrieved 14 April 2022.