1. My Dear Kuttichathan Child Actors Names
  2. My Dear Kuttichathan Movie Child Actors Name
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Telugu Padmavathi Kalyanam (1990) Indra Bhavanam (1991). Actor Sonia at the screening of My Dear Kuttichathan during the International children's film festival in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. My Dear Kuttichathan, a technically brilliant 3D film, was produced by Navodaya Appachan and Jose Punnooseunder the banner Navodaya Studios. The film had Dalip Tahil, Sonia, Master Aravind, Master Mukesh, Surya Kiran, Rajan P Dev, Jagathi Sreekumarand Jagadish in the star cast.

My Dear Kuttichathan
Directed byJijo Punnoose
Produced byNavodaya Appachan
Jose Punnoose
Written byRaghunath Paleri
(Malayalam dialogue)
Ikram Akhtar
(Hindi dialogue)
Madhan Karky
(Tamil dialogue)
StarringDalip Tahil
Sonia
Master Aravind
Master Mukesh
Surya Kiran
Rajan P. Dev
Jagathi Sreekumar
Jagadish
Nedumudi Venu
Music byIlaiyaraaja
(Malayalam/Tamil versions)
Anu Malik
(Hindi version)
CinematographyAshok Kumar
Edited byT. R. Sekar
Navodaya Studios
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam
Budget35 lakh[1]
Box office2.5 crore[2]

My Dear Kuttichathan (lit. My dear little ghost) is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language fantasy film directed by Jijo Punnoose and produced by his father Navodaya Appachan under Navodaya Studio.[3] It was the first Indian film to be filmed in 3D format. The screenplay was written by Raghunath Paleri, the story revolves around a mystical Indian ghost called 'Kuttichathan' who is confined under the spell of an evil sorcerer, however it gets released by three children and then befriends them. The film's soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, cinematography and editing was done by Ashok Kumar and T. R. Shekhar, respectively.

Jun 19, 2016 Hello Kuttichathan Serial is a newly started serial, the serial started from the 2 nd May 2016. You can watch it on Asianet Plus from Monday to Friday at 5 PM. Thara Kalyan (Malayalam: താര കല്യാണ്‍) is an Indian classical dancer and an Indian movie and television actor in Malayalam language. She has acted in mainstream Malayalam films, telefilms and television serials. She is also a professional dancer in Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam, and Kuchipudi.Currently she is playing lead role in Malayalam Soap opera Karuthamuthu and she.

The film was well received and grossed over 2.5 crore from the box office.[2] Originally filmed in Malayalam, a re-edited version was re-released in 1997, which makes it the first DTS movie in Malayalam. It was also dubbed in Hindi as Chhota Chetan in 1997, which was also a box office success grossing 1.30 crore.[4] Scenes with Urmila Matondkar were later added. In 2010, further scenes were added in Tamil with Prakash Raj and Santhanam and was released as Chutti Chathan. A new re-mastered version with additional footage released on 25 August 2011.

  • 3Production
    • 3.1Development
  • 5Release

Plot[edit]

The character 'Kuttichathan' is formed on the basis of the specialties of a deity popularly known as 'Chathan' who is being worshiped mainly in the south Indian state, Kerala. There are cruel magicians everywhere in the world. One of them is Karimbhootham (black magician), who enslaved an invisible spirit with his magic spells, whom he calls 'Kuttichathan' ('Little Ghost' in English and 'Chhota Chetan' in Hindi). Two boys and a girl befriend Kuttichathan by accident and release him from the grip of the magician.

On the way Kuttichathan meets Ashish, a member of the police, who is after Karimbhootham.

They understand that this Chathan is friendly to kids and is a very good friend. Therefore, the girl promises to keep Kuttichathan in her house for two reasons: one, her father drinks too much, so she wants Chathan, who is a very good magician, to make him come to his senses, as after her mother died, there is no one to control him; second, Chathan, despite being a small boy, also drinks a lot. He could drink and finish off all that her father drinks, thereby changing her father's attitude.

At the same time, the cruel magician wants the Kuttichathan to lay his hands on a treasure. Even though the magician is the owner of the Kuttichathan, he is burnt and killed by the Chathan in the climax. Chathan then turns into a bat and flies away.

Cast[edit]

Poster of the Hindi version of the film, Chhota Chetan
Malayalam version
Names
  • Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair – The Cruel Magician
  • Kuttichathan — Master Aravind/M. P. Ramnath
  • Nedumudi Venu – voice of invisible Kuttichatan
  • Sonia – Laxmi
  • Master Suresh/Suryakiran— Vijay
  • Arvind — Vinod
  • Dalip Tahil – Laxmi's father
  • P. A. Latheef
  • Aman M. A.
  • Jagathy Sreekumar – Scientist
  • Sainuddin – Bartender
  • Rajan P. Dev – School Teacher
  • Jagadeesh – Cabaret Announcer
  • Kalabhavan Mani – Magician
  • Kallapetti Singaram — Rickshaw driver
  • Indrans - Traffic policeman
  • Salim Kumar - Musician
  • Nadirshah - Musician
Hindi version
My Dear Kuttichathan Child Actors Name
  • Urmila Matondkar – Miss Hawa Hawai
  • Dalip Tahil – Laxmi's father
  • Satish Kaushik – Professor Chashmish
  • Shakti Kapoor – Baba Khondol, the cruel magician
  • Ravi Baswani – Raja
  • Harish Kumar – Mr. Anthony Gonsalve
Tamil version
  • Prakash Raj – The Cruel Magician

Production[edit]

Development[edit]

My Dear Kuttichathan was the first Indian film to be filmed in 3D.[5]Jijo Punnoose, son of Navodaya Appachan made his directorial debut with this film. After Padayottam (1982), Jijo decided to direct a 3D film after getting inspired by an article in 'American Cinematographer' shown to him by cinematographer Ramachandra Babu.[6][7]

Technology[edit]

To understand the technology, Jijo travelled multiple trips to Burbank, California and bought sample reels of 3D films and held a preview in his studio.[2] Appachan who was thoroughly convinced decided to produce this film under the allocated budget of 40 lakhs.[7] David Schmier worked as the film's stereographer along with the film's cinematographer to ensure multiple images converge for 3D effect.[7]

Jijo travelled to the US once again where he met Chris Condon, an expert in 3D technology. Jijo bought the special camera lens and after much discussion Chris agreed to assist Jijo in his film.[2] The required equipment needed for the film had to be imported from the US and Jijo managed to do this with the help of his friend, Thomas J Easho.[2]

Script[edit]

For the 3D film, the makers wanted a universal theme in order to appeal children. Jijo carried the idea of a friendly ghost for years, he sought the opinion of people such as Anant Pai and Padmarajan for the film's writing. Raghunath Paleri came on board as the film's writer, took all the inputs from the experts and created the plot of three kids and a ghost. Paleri cited he wrote the script in such a way 'that would have worked even if it was 2D'.[7]

Casting[edit]

S. L. Puram Anand, who worked as an production executive for this film revealed that Jijo wanted to do this film with an entirely new cast. Anand suggested Dalip Tahil for the supporting role.[2] Sonia Bose and MD Ramnoth were cast as child artists.[8] The latter portrayed the titular character.[9]

Ashok Kumar handled cinematography for the film, thus making him the first cinematographer in India to have shot a 3D film.[10][11] T. K. Rajeev Kumar, who went on to become a famous director, started his career as an assistant director with this film.[12]

In the Hindi version shot in 1997, Shakti Kapoor plays the part of a magician (originally played by Alummoodan) who tries to catch Chetan, but gets trapped in a mirror. Prakash Raj did this role in its re-released Tamil version released in 2010. Satish Kaushik plays the part of Jagathi Sreekumar as a scientist who also tries to catch Chetan, but gets destroyed.

Filming[edit]

Adobe photoshop 7.0 free download for android apk. Despite proper planning, the filming took around 90 days to complete, three times the schedule of a normal film.[7] The budget for the lighting was higher than a 2D film. The filming was held at Navodaya Studios and places around the Kakkanad area.[2] For the infamous scene of walking on the wall, Paleri suggested the sequence to be converted into a song.[7] The song 'Aalipazham Perukka' took 14 days to be completed.[7]

K. Shekar and Jijo decided on a rectangular-shaped rotating room to suit the wider, landscape-like nature of the 3D frame. Jijo then entrusted SILK (Steel Industrial Kerala) with the task of constructing a steel structure on the room, made of timber. The octagonal structure, weighing 25 tonnes, was completed in a month's time. Six men on either side would rotate it to create the illusion that the kids were walking 360 degrees around the room.[7] The original Malayalam film was made at a cost of 35 lakh.[1]

Soundtrack[edit]

My Dear Kuttichathan [Malayalam]
Soundtrack album by
Released1984
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LabelJS Audio
Chhota Chetan [Hindi]
Soundtrack album by
Released1998
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Chutti Chathan [Tamil]
Soundtrack album by
Released2010
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Malayalam version[13]
#TitleSinger(s)Lyricist
1'Aalippazham Perukkaan'S. Janaki, S. P. SailajaBichu Thirumala
2'Minnaaminungum'K. J. Yesudas & ChorusBichu Thirumala
Hindi version
1997 version
  1. 'Chhota Chetan' - K. S. Chithra
  2. 'Ek Jaadu Hone Wala Hai' - Shankar Mahadevan
  3. 'Jo Tum Kaho' - Anuradha Sriram, Srinivas
  4. 'Jo Tum Kaho' (II) - Aditya Narayan, Anmol Malik, Dominique Cerejo
  5. 'Ringa Ringa Ro' - Shankar Mahadevan
  6. 'Parody Song' - Shabbir Kumar, Anuradha Paudwal
  7. 'Billi Boli Miyaoon' - Shabbir Kumar, Anuradha Paudwal
  8. 'Bombai Ban Gayi Mumbai' - Aditya Narayan
Tamil version[14]
#TitleSinger(s)
1'Chinnakuzhandhaigale'Vani Jayaram, Sujatha Mohan
2'Poovaadai Kaatru'K. J. Yesudas & Chorus

Release[edit]

The film was released in 1984 along with dubbed versions in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.[2] The Telugu and Hindi versions were titled Chinnari Chethana and Chhota Chetan respectively. All the versions proved to be successful.[15][16] For the watching experience, special lenses had to be attached to the projectors in theatres.[7]

Navodaya distributed the film by themselves in Kerala. Popular director K. R. distributed the Tamil version of the film. The Tamil version also became successful, surpassing bigger films.[7] The film's release also attracted criticism that the public blamed the film for conjunctivitis which prompted the makers to add a footage before the beginning of the film with all the actors explaining the use of 3D glasses.[7]

Re-releases[edit]

The film was re-released in 1997 which was also highly successful at the box office; it had earned 60 times its initial investment.[2][17] The Hindi version was re-released by Nitin Manmohan in 1997, with additional scenes which involved Urmila Matondkar and other Hindi actors.[18] In 2010, Sri Thenandal Films re-released the Tamil version, titled Chutti Chathan in 2010, with added scenes starring Santhanam and Prakash Raj.

Legacy[edit]

The film became a trendsetter and remains a cult classic in Malayalam cinema inspiring similar kinds of films in India. The optical illusion in the house set used in the song 'Aalipazham Perukkaan' was built in Kishkinta Theme Park.[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ abPillai, Sreedhar (28 February 1985). 'Producer Appachen creates Indian motion picture history with My Dear Kuttichathen'. India Today. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  2. ^ abcdefghiChelangad, Saju (2 April 2018). 'Jijo and his 3D dream that resulted in 'My Dear Kuttichathan''. The Hindu. ISSN0971-751X. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.Cite uses deprecated parameter dead-url= (help)
  3. ^'Casting a Magic spell'. The Hindu. 15 May 2003. Archived from the original on 4 November 2003. Retrieved 14 November 2018.Cite uses deprecated parameter dead-url= (help)
  4. ^Jha, Lata (14 November 2016). 'Children's Day: 10 memorable Bollywood films'. Mint. Archived from the original on 17 November 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.Cite uses deprecated parameter dead-url= (help)
  5. ^'3D fad back with a vengeance'. The Hindu. 24 March 2003. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2017.Cite uses deprecated parameter dead-url= (help)
  6. ^'Cinematography students told to observe life'. The Hindu. 10 June 2017. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2017.Cite uses deprecated parameter dead-url= (help)
  7. ^ abcdefghijkMenon, Vishal (12 November 2018). 'My Dear Kuttichathan: The Unforgettable Story of India's First 3D Film'. Film Companion. Archived from the original on 13 November 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.Cite uses deprecated parameter dead-url= (help)
  8. ^'Children's day out with cast of Kuttichathan'. Deccan Chronicle. 20 May 2018. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.Cite uses deprecated parameter dead-url= (help)
  9. ^Prakash, Asha (8 November 2017). ''My dear Kuttichathan' leads a quiet life now'. The Times of India. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.Cite uses deprecated parameter dead-url= (help)
  10. ^Warrier, Shobha (25 March 1999). ''Alas, realistic movies are dead''. Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2017.Cite uses deprecated parameter dead-url= (help)
  11. ^'He created magic with movie camera'. The Hindu. 20 October 2017. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2018.Cite uses deprecated parameter dead-url= (help)
  12. ^Warrier, Shobha (12 May 2000). ''I had no plans to direct a Hindi film''. Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.Cite uses deprecated parameter dead-url= (help)
  13. ^'My Dear Kuttichathan songs'. Gaana.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.Italic or bold markup not allowed in: website= (help)
  14. ^'My Dear Kuttichathan (1984) Tamil Movie Songs'. starmusiq.fun. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  15. ^''Chota' dose of fun'. The Hindu. 8 May 2000. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.Cite uses deprecated parameter dead-url= (help)
  16. ^'My Dear Kuttichathan'. Bollywood Life. 12 December 1997. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2018.Cite uses deprecated parameter dead-url= (help)
  17. ^'Cinema's born-again avatar'. Business Today. 21 August 2011. Archived from the original on 10 July 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.Cite uses deprecated parameter dead-url= (help)
  18. ^''Chota' dose of fun'. The Hindu. 8 May 2000. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2017.Cite uses deprecated parameter dead-url= (help)
  19. ^Ashok Kumar, S. R. (6 May 2005). 'Now defy gravity, visit Kishkinta'. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2017.Cite uses deprecated parameter dead-url= (help)

Malayalam Serial Hello Kuttichathan Cast Members

External links[edit]

  • My Dear Kuttichathan on IMDb
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=My_Dear_Kuttichathan&oldid=913937657'
Shane in 2018
Born
NationalityIndian
OccupationFilm actor, dancer
Years active2007–2010
2013–present
Parent(s)Kalabhavan Abi (father)
Sunila (mother)

Shane Nigam is an Indian film actor who appears in Malayalam films. He made his lead role debut through the film Kismath (2016) and was a well known child artist in television series. He is the son of actor and comedian Kalabhavan Abi.

  • 2Career

Personal life[edit]

Shane was born as eldest among three children, to Abi and Sunila, at Elamakkara, Kochi, Kerala. He did his schooling from Bhavans Vidya Mandir, Elamakkara. He is pursuing engineering at Rajagiri School of Engineering & Technology, Kochi. He has two younger sisters, Ahana and Aleena.[1] Shane's father Abi[2][3] was an actor and popular mimicry artist.

Career[edit]

Film career[edit]

He made his acting debut with the film Annayum Rasoolum, portraying the role of Anna’s (Andrea Jeremiah) brother.[4] Later Rajeev Ravi offered him the lead role in Njan Steve Lopez but didn't take up the role.

He made his debut as a lead actor in 2016 film, Kismath opposite to Shruthy Menon. Producer of the film Rajeev Ravi offered him the lead role, his character won praise among the Malayali audience and the movie was a commercial success.[5] In 2017, he played a central character alongside veteran actors Amala and Manju Warrier in the film C/O Saira Banu. In 2018, he appeared in the romantic film Eeda which was also praised by critics. Nigam got more successes in 2019, with the films Kumbalangi Nights and Ishq. The films were major successes of the year and Nigam's performance won praise from critics and audiences alike.[6]

Filmography[edit]

Key
Denotes films that have not yet been released
NameYearRoleDirectorNotesRef.
Thanthonni2010Childhood of KochukunjuGeorge VargheseChild artist
Anwar2010Boy in boothAmal Neerad
Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi2013ShyamSameer Thahir
Annayum Rasoolum2013Kunjumon (Anna's Brother)Rajeev Ravi
Balyakalasakhi2014Majeed (Childhood)Pramod Payyannur
Kammatipaadam2016SunnyRajeev Ravi
Kismath2016IrfanShanavas K BavakkuttyLead Role
C/O Saira Banu2017Joshua PeterAntony sony
Parava2017ShaneSoubin Shahir
Eeda2018AnandB. Ajithkumar
Kumbalangi Nights2019BobbyMadhu C Narayan
Ishq2019SachiAnuraj Manohar
Oolu2019VasuShaji N. KarunPost Production
Valiya Perunnal2019akkarDimal DenniesPost production[7]
Ullasam2019TBAJeevan JojoFilming

Television[edit]

YearProgramChannelRoleNotes
2005Bullet BavaSurya TVUncredited role
Gulumal BhaiKairali TV
2007Super Dancer JuniorAmrita TVContestant
2008–2009Hello KuttichathanAsianetVivek Vishwanathan a.k.a. ViviDubbed to Tamil as Hello Kuttichathan(Vijay TV)
2010Hello Kuttichathan 2AsianetVivek Vishwanathan a.k.a. Vivi

Awards[edit]

YearAwardCategoryFilmResult
2016Asiavision AwardsNew Sensation in acting (Male)KismathWon
2017South Indian International Movie AwardsBest Debut Actor – Malayalam
Minnale Film & Television AwardsBest New Hero
Yuva AwardsRising Star (Male)Parava
2018South Indian International Movie AwardsBest Supporting Actor – Malayalam
2019Asianet Film AwardsBest Star Pair(along with Nimisha Sajayan)Eeda

References[edit]

  1. ^നടനും മിമിക്രി താരവുമായ അബി അന്തരിച്ചു. Manorama Online (30 November 2017).
  2. ^Sreenivasan, Deepthi (16 July 2016) 'Playing the rebellious lover: Shane Nigam'. Deccan Chronicle.
  3. ^'Shane Nigam is the son of veteran comedian Aby!'Times of India. 31 July 2016
  4. ^'The Actor's Qissa'. Newindianexpress.com (1 August 2016). Retrieved on 2019-09-04.
  5. ^'Kismath' movie review: Live audience updates of Shane Nigam, Shruthy Menon-starrer. Ibtimes.co.in (29 July 2016). Retrieved on 2019-09-04.
  6. ^Neelima Menon (11 July 2019). 'Kumbalangi Nights, Unda, Virus, Ishq: Best Malayalam films of 2019 so far have celebrated big and small stars'. Firstpost. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  7. ^Madhu, Vignesh (11 March 2019). 'Valiya Perunnal: Joju, Soubin and Shane Nigam in Anwar Rasheed's next production'. onlookersmedia. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shane_Nigam&oldid=914042687'

The director of the film, Jijo Punnose, made two landmark films – ‘Padayottam’ and ‘My Dear Kuttichathan’ – and then whoosh, disappeared for long years.

Image courtesy - all images from Jijo Punnoose's blog
FlixFlix FlashbackTuesday, September 29, 2020 - 19:39

This is going to be a strange story on what’s been dubbed over and over again as an epic Indian film of all times. There is no specific occasion to write about My Dear Kuttichathan now, 36 years after its release, except that you don’t really need one. The film’s achieved so much. It’s the first stereoscopic three dimensional film in India. It has stunned everyone, young and old, who saw it. It has worked for generation after generation. What more reason do you need to write about it on a random Tuesday?

Not that we woke up thinking of writing about Kuttichathan 36 years and one month after its release. An article was floating about the internet on the actor who played the title role, now working as a leading advocate in Kochi. He was a child in ’84.

The film’s never been forgotten about. But writing about it with memories of the team that made it would be so refreshing, we thought.

An enigma called Jijo

Here comes the strange part of the story. Quite a few people who worked for the film did not wish to talk about it unless its director, Jijo Punnoose, spoke first. Jijo is, if you have bothered searching about him, an enigma himself. He made two landmark films – no exaggeration here – in the gap of two years and then whoosh, disappeared. Both films were made by the Navodaya Studio and Appachan – Jijo’s dad – was the producer. In 2001 he made a brief return to cinema with Magic Magic, another 3D film. And now he is coming back again with a script for the first film that Mohanlal will direct, Barroz.


Poster of Padayottam

Padayottam, his first film was arguably the first 70 mm film in India (Sholay came seven years before but the post production work was done abroad). And then he made a 3D film, having ice cream cones and menacing daggers pop out of the screen, scaring the lives out of the audience wearing those strange dark goggles for the first time. He had children walk up the walls, objects moving in thin air and a driverless rickshaw go madly about the road.

Gist of Kuttichathan

The film centres around children – Lakshmi (Sonia) and two neighbourhood boys Vijay and Vinod played by Suresh and Mukesh. They face the usual hardships of school life – a bully at school, another rich boy who splashes water on them as he passes in his Benz while they are in a cycle rickshaw. There is the strict Math sir (Rajan P Dev) with his overalls and the drunkard artist dad of Lakshmi (Dalip Tahil) messing up life.

That’s when they accidentally release the Kuttichathan – goblin – from a jar in which an evil sorcerer (Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair) has trapped him to help hunt for treasure.

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Kuttichathan appears in the form of a boy (Aravind) as the children desire, in a white dhoti. He is invisible to everyone else but the three kids. The movie is short, so the magical journey they have begins right away – the earlier mentioned stunts, and certain bar scenes that are especially funny. Most of the humour comes from the stunned reactions of the adults who cannot understand what’s going on – a glass of whiskey moving away (Kuttichathan loves his drink), another drained out of the last drop, a door opening on its own. The drunks at the bar brush most of it away as their drunken stupor until they see a little girl single-handedly raise her grownup dad from the floor and walk away (they don’t see Kuttichathan lifting him from the other end).

My Dear Kuttichathan Child Actors Names


Scene of the driverless rickshaw

Yes, yes, you might raise a brow and muse what the big deal is, you see that all the time – now. But this was 1984, when a phone was an object with a long twirling cable fixed to a spot and computers were funny looking little boxes in another country.

‘Jijo first’

It would be great to speak to Jijo about all of it. But he has sadly been unavailable through days, without any response to the messages or calls. And beyond a point, you have to respect a person’s space and assume that they wouldn’t be interested in a story.

But without Jijo’s comments, neither his producer brother Jose (he and Appachan were producers of Kuttichathan), nor his then Assistant Director TK Rajeev Kumar – who is now a respected filmmaker, would talk. There seems to be an unwritten protocol among all those who worked in that magical team – writer Raghunath Paleri, art director Sheker, all pointed to the director.


Team behind Kuttichathan (captioned within the picture)

‘I remember everything’: Sonia

Only Sonia, one of the lead child actors of the movie, spoke. She was too little then and I thought she’d hardly remember any of it. But like Old Rose would surprise her young audience in the movie Titanic, remembering an old, old tale, Sonia tells you as many details as a seven-year-old would have grasped back then.

“Maybe because my life is so interconnected to it or maybe because people kept talking about the film all these years, I remember everything about it,” Sonia says on a call from Chennai.

Kuttichathan was the first film where she played a prominent role – till then it was as one among the kids in a movie. “I was also the only female actor, the only other woman character – my mother – was a painting on the wall! I remember being treated like a princess.”

The 30 days they had planned for became 75 days. That much work had gone into perfecting the shots. The 3D lens was brought from the US by David uncle and Deborah aunty, Sonia says. That’s the stereographer of the film David Schmier. “I have no idea how I did it but I spoke to them for long hours in whatever English I knew back then. I was also very comfortable with Dalip Tahil, the Bollywood actor who played my dad,' she says.


Mothers of the four children watching anxiously from outside the set

There were many misadventures on the set, Sonia says. She had lost her milk teeth at the time and was wearing an artificial set, which went missing one day. There was panic in the sets when everyone thought she swallowed it and she was taken for an X-Ray. Luckily the teeth were unswallowed and the shooting resumed after she got a new set.

She also remembers shopping across Ernakulam when the baby pink dress and cap she wears for the main song sequence faded and they needed an exact replacement. Another time she held helium balloons in her hand and lost her grip on the ground.

How the famous ‘Aalippazham’ song got shot

But the best of all was the song sequence – the most popular ‘Aalippazham’ song from Kuttichathan. TK Rajeev Kumar still has that song as his caller tune.

Watch: The Aalippazham song

Sonia remembers the shooting with the excitement of a child. “The walls would rotate! One side wall would fall to the ground and then the ceiling and then the other side wall. All through this you have to keep your balance. It was scary because only the children could be inside this room at the time! No adults! Mukesh, the youngest, was so scared that he stayed away from most of the ‘wall climbing’ and stuck to a swing and a chair on the ground!” Sonia says.

Luckily, Jijo has written extensively about this most alluring song sequence on a blog – from the rotating rig that was constructed exclusively for this purpose to the many technical challenges to the beats of the song charmingly composed by Ilaiyaraaja.

It’s funny as it is informative. He writes, “One of the nightmares for a film director in the 1980s was his audience deciding to take toilet beaks during song sequences and walking out in droves from the cinema hall! Songs which couldn't hold the audience's attention were ill-timed, ill-conceived and poorly picturised, so they walked out. The only people happy with such songs were the canteen contractors in the theaters. (We are talking of those times when inside the auditorium popcorn was not delivered, …. one couldn't text messages on their phones or surf sites on their iPads).”

He worried about the monotony of a room being shot for an entire song and the scenes before and after. “Now, imagine my plight…I had to picturise an entire song within a rigidly confined space 30ft by 14ft by 9ft!”

Sonia remembers that the ‘operating cameraman’ was tied up in one corner of this room and he would turn upside down, in tune with the rotation.

My Dear Kuttichathan Movie Child Actors Name

Watch: Short clipping on reality versus illusion of the song

This was Soman, who pointed out to Jijo that the camera can’t be left alone and the frame needs ‘constant recomposing when the subject within it moves’. Jijo describes the ‘tied-up cameraman’ thus: “It was Soman, harnessed to the rotating set, who went around head over heels operating the camera. He took up this additional responsibility of filming some of the crucial shots. One may note that in recent years such camera operations are done through gimbal mounted remote camera jibs.”

Brilliant ideas, sleepless nights

Among the brilliant ideas that popped up during the shooting, one had to do with the position of the children when they sat on the blades of the ceiling fan. There were four kids and only three blades. While Jijo thought of getting a fan with four blades, Rajeev Kumar went and stood on the centre hub, mimicking the Kuttichathan with ‘hands on his hips, eyes rolling and swaying to the melody’. That image remained etched in his mind, Jijo writes in his 2017 blog.


The ceiling fan scene / Caption by Jijo

It was also Rajeev Kumar who thought of bringing a baby elephant in the trumpet sequence of another song.

Another shock was when the chief carpenter of the team that constructed this room suddenly disappeared after the work. With a few ‘nearly disastrous’ incidents following this, Jijo was not sure if he ‘would have been under severe strain (and severely doubtful of the outcome) in executing this unconventional set, and hence sought the maximum distance between his handiwork and himself at the earliest.’

Jijo hardly slept those nights – his sleeping hours were reduced to four, he writes. He dreamt of disoriented landscapes even in his dreams. Several of the crew would be similarly disoriented, forgetting which is the ceiling and which is the floor when everything kept changing. He narrates an incident of cinematographer Ashok who fretted over a missing ‘junior light’ until his assistant Vijayalakshmy pointed upwards.

But all the sleeplessness paid off when he saw the result. He was one of the first to shout when the rush prints came and they watched with their 3D glasses. “Even with so much responsibility weighing on my conscience (I usually delegate away tasks as much as possible) I enjoyed a surprisingly blissful confidence.”

(All images from Jijo's blog)

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