Latest news with #AnwarRasheed
New Indian Express
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
'Chotta Mumbai' back with a 'bada' bang, stirs nostalgic frenzy
When a mass entertainer starring Malayalam cinema's finest hits the big screen, it's no surprise to see long queues winding outside theatres, shows going housefull, and fans turning screenings into full-blown celebrations. Think spontaneous dancing in the aisles and ticket stubs tossed into the air like confetti. This kind of frenzy is usually reserved for a much-anticipated new release, probably on the first day — but right now, Kerala's theatres are reliving that exact euphoria for a film that first hit screens 18 years ago. Yes, of course, we are talking about Chotta Mumbai. Though several yesteryear hits have been re-released in recent times, the nostalgia wave has never been this electric. Directed by Anwar Rasheed and headlined by Mohanlal, alongside a beloved ensemble cast including Siddique, Jagathy Sreekumar, Bhavana, Kalabhavan Mani, and Rajan P Dev, the film has etched its characters — 'Thala' Vasco da Gama, 'Mullan' Chandran, 'Padakkam' Basheer, 'Parakkum' Latha, 'Paambu' Chacko, 'Phylwan' Michael aasan, and Inspector Nadeshan — deep into the memories of those who grew up in the 2000s. Dancing to the cult anthem Vasco da Gama went to the drama, and shouting out iconic one-liners in perfect sync, the audience has proved that some movies never lose their magic.
Pink Villa
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Box Office: After Empuraan and Thudarum, Mohanlal's THIS 18 year old film's re-release is shattering records; Read on
The re-release fever of Indian movies in theatres is at an all time high with audiences making big plans to celebrate the films that shaped their childhood or films that take them back to a simpler time, with their friends and family. One such re-release of last week is Mohanlal 's Chotta Mumbai directed by Anwar Rasheed, which was among the highest grossing Mollywood movies of all time at the time of its release in 2007. After the historic theatrical success of Empuraan and Thudarum, Mohanlal fans are certainly on cloud 9. The last few years have not been too easy for them with a flow of back to back duds barring Neru, which gave glimpses of what a decent word of mouth Mohanlal movie can do at the box office. After Thudarum's bumper digital reception, fans of Mohanlal turned up to theatres again, this time to celebrate Chotta Mumbai. Chotta Mumbai, in its re-release, grossed Rs 1.65 crore over the 3 day weekend in Kerala and the hold on first Monday is mind-boggling with it managing around Rs 35 lakh, to take the 4 day cume to around Rs 2 crore. The movie seems unstoppable, with more special fan shows being planned in other states. To note, around Rs 25 lakh has come from the rest of India, and the overseas markets in the first 4 days already. The collections of Chotta Mumbai compare well with the last week's new releases in Kerala. Asif Ali's Abhyanthara Kuttavali collected in the vicinity of Rs 2.70 crore after 4 days while Kamal Haasan's Thug Life in 5 days could manage a little under Rs 2.50 crore. What's interesting is that Chotta Mumbai's Monday collections are higher than both the competing films. It will be no surprise if Chotta Mumbai ends up with a higher gross collection than the abovementioned films, that too in its re-release. Mohanlal has proven that his stardom knows no bounds. With the right film, he can created unprecedented euphoria across the world. When a re-release can do this kind of business from a small state, it is safe to say that you are dearly loved. To all the Mohanlal fans, have you been able to watch the movie in theatres yet?
Time of India
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Benny P Nayarambalam on Chotta Mumbai, which is set for re-release:' Rather than heroism, we focused on fun'
Mohanlal's Chotta Mumbai , directed by Anwar Rasheed , has earned a cult classic status since its release in 2007, especially for its humour and presentation. The film took an unconventional path and presented a slightly silly, lazy hero who doesn't work and lands in trouble often. With the film set for a re-release soon, its writer, Benny P Nayarambalam , talks to us about the work that went behind the film, the expectations it had and his thoughts on the kind of content that works for the modern Malayali audience. Operation Sindoor 'Our job is to hit target, not to count body bags': Air Marshal Bharti on Op Sindoor Precautionary blackout imposed across parts of Rajasthan, Punjab 'Indian Navy was in position to strike Karachi': Vice Admiral on Operation Sindoor Excerpts: 'It was a new-gen commercial film back then' "Right from the beginning, Chotta Mumbai was to be a Mohanlal project. We planned it as a comedy film from the start even thought it was a time when Mohanlal was in his mass-hero phase with films like Aaram Thampuran and Narasimham. We decided that his role wouldn't be overpowerful, and would be grounded with more fun elements. The main characters were a group of people who were not doing anything even past the age of securing a job. Rather than heroism, we focused on fun! The Fort Kochi region and carnival are very familiar to us, and there are some troublemakers around the region, too. But instead of exploring it at a higher level of crime, we decided to cut down on violence and turned up the entertainment quotient. The film had a story that develops through incidents rather than a deep exploration of emotions. The interpersonal interactions also have underlying humour in them despite the premise being that of a warring son and father and that of a brother and sister. It was a new-generation commercial film at that time." 'Thala' was inspired from Ajith ' Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Want Lower Bills Without Changing a Thing? elecTrick - Save upto 80% on Power Bill Learn More Undo "In the film, Mohanlal's gang has people of different ages and that was intentional because if they were in the same age range, it would have become a bit more serious and the gang would have come across as too strong. The youngsters in the gang can't call the leader by name and we didn't want to use the clichéd names. So, we came up with Thala (head). When his gang calls Mohanlal Thala, it expresses both respect and friendship. And Ajith being called Thala was an inspiration, too. We named Mohanlal's character Vasco da Gama because of the Kochi connect. We named the other characters quirkily, too. For example, Mullan Chandrappan. Mullan, as in spiky, because his hair is spiky, and his name is the local, commonly used Chandrappan." 'Anwar Rasheed came up with the title' "The film's name itself was subject to discussion for a while. Anwar came up with this title. I had some doubts about it as I felt it might give the impression that this would be a serious gangster film. Anwar and I discussed the possibility of over-expectation about the character played by Mohanlal. To handle this, he told me we could use a quirky colourful font and make it look a little funny. It worked. Anwar was always very clear on what needed to be there. If we didn't need something, he'd clearly say so. Still, when the film was released, there were people who weren't very happy with the characterisation. Some had walked in expecting to see another Aaram Thampuran and got disappointed, but the film gained acceptance after that." 'An auto-driving heroine was a representative of the modern woman' "A heroine (played by Bhavana ) who was in love with someone else at the beginning of the story, one who drives an auto — something unconventional at that time — was one of the highlights of the film. She was a representative of the modern woman. How we pace a character from the beginning makes a world of difference in how the audience accepts them. We portrayed characters that were not very serious." 'People still wish for such films filled with humour' We hope the new generation that speaks about the film will watch it again (in theatre) and enjoy it. Many ask us if there will be a second part, and wonder if there will be a film like this one again! There are people who still wish for this sort of film with a lot of humour in it. 'Audiences want different content, not repetitive patterns' "One of the reasons the recent Thudarum worked well is because Mohanlal is portrayed as an ordinary man. There are characters who stand on earth... grounded, rooted. We've lacked those for a while. That drove some families away from cinemas. While some films worked well with youngsters, films that work in a common space — for everyone — didn't happen for a while. Believable, relatable characters and feel are important in any movie. Cinema will keep moving like a flowing river, and there will be shifts, changes, etc... We sh ould always think differently. No matter which type, if we repeat it, it grows boring. Now, many films may follow Thudarum pattern, which will just be redundant, just like how we will get bored if we eat biryani every day." Check out our list of the latest Hindi , English , Tamil , Telugu , Malayalam , and Kannada movies . And don't miss our picks for the best Hindi movies , best Tamil movies, and best Telugu films .
