Katha Parayumpol
Encyclopedia
Katha Parayumpol (English
: As the Story is Told) is a 2007 Malayalam film directed by M. Mohanan, co-produced and written by Sreenivasan, and starring Sreenivasan, Meena, and Mammootty
. It was one of the biggest hits of the year . As the protagonist, Sreenivasan plays the role of a financially poor barber Balan, Meena plays his wife Sridevi, and Mammootty plays film star Ashok Raj.
The film was remade into Tamil in 2008 in the name Kuselan
and into Hindi
in 2009 by the title Billu.
named Balan in a small village called Melukavu in Kerala
. The barber is financially constrained and has to raise a family with three children. His wife Sridevi is beautiful and belongs to a high caste who had eloped with him. He is not able to cope with the competition from a new air-conditioned beauty salon/parlor opened by Sarasan (played by Jagadeesh), opposite his shop. He does not get a license or a loan for the salon. He is in debt and is ridiculed by everyone in the village. Life is tough for him – he does not have money for a full square meal, leave alone for his children's school fees
One day the village wakes up to the news that a Malayalam movie is going to be shot there, with superstar Ashok Raj (Mammotty) as the hero. News spread that Ashok Raj is coming to the village for the ten-day shoot. The whole village is excited preparing for the superstar's arrival. Slowly, a word spread around that Balan and Ashok Raj are childhood friends. Balan, who was a laughing stock, suddenly becomes the center of attention. Everyone goes out of their way to help and please Balan, so that they can get a chance to meet and get various favors from his superstar friend. Balan gets under immense pressure because of this attitude of the villagers. Even his family starts asking him to meet and renew the friendship with Ashok Raj. Balan tries his best to approach the superstar, but his honesty and status of barber does not allow him to pass through the heavy security. When the villagers know that Balan is not able to help them, they start thinking that he was lying about his friendship with Ashok Raj and took back their support, abusing and making even more fun of him. Balan, depressed and sad, goes back to his old self.
Ashok Raj is invited to a function in the local school where he gives a ceremonial speech. He talks about the present day life, modernization, the state of good people etc., opening the eyes of everyone to the sad truth of people's behavior. During the speech, he reveals the fact that Balan was his best friend who was the first person to realize the acting talent in him and tearing up in front of the audience, saying that he has been missing Balan all this while. That evening, Ashok Raj meets his long-lost friend Balan at his house, and Balan becomes an overnight hero in the eyes of his village.
.
and Telugu as Kathanayakudu
. Sreenivasan's role was played by Pasupathi and Mammootty's role was played by Rajnikanth
in Tamil and Jagapati Babu
in Telugu. But both these versions strayed from the original with many extra characters and changes in the storyline resulting in dismal failures .
Noted Director Priyadarshan
was highly impressed with the film that he immediately bought rights for the Hindi remake of the film. Priyadarshan had screened the film to noted actor, Shah Rukh Khan, who was highly impressed with the film that he signed onto the Hindi remake, Billu as well as producing it under his Red Chillies Entertainment. Khan suggested that Priyan should stick to the original script sans any alterations. Also, 3 item numbers by Kareena Kapoor
, Deepika Padukone
and Priyanka Chopra
are to be added into the film's promotion.Movie completed 130 days in theatres
Recently, noted Kannada actor/director, Ramesh Aravind
has announced the remake in Kannada as well. The film will be directed by him and will contain no alterations to the story. Actor Komal will play the barber role while emerging star Ganesh will don the Superstar role.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: As the Story is Told) is a 2007 Malayalam film directed by M. Mohanan, co-produced and written by Sreenivasan, and starring Sreenivasan, Meena, and Mammootty
Mammootty
Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
. It was one of the biggest hits of the year . As the protagonist, Sreenivasan plays the role of a financially poor barber Balan, Meena plays his wife Sridevi, and Mammootty plays film star Ashok Raj.
The film was remade into Tamil in 2008 in the name Kuselan
Kuselan
Kuselan is a 2008 Tamil drama film directed by P. Vasu, which was simultaneously made in Telugu as Kathanayakudu . Both remake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol, the film is directed by P. Vasu and produced by Pushpa Kandaswamy, Aswani Dutt and G. P. Vijayakumar in two languages...
and into Hindi
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
in 2009 by the title Billu.
Plot summary
The story revolves around the life of a barberBarber
A barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop....
named Balan in a small village called Melukavu in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
. The barber is financially constrained and has to raise a family with three children. His wife Sridevi is beautiful and belongs to a high caste who had eloped with him. He is not able to cope with the competition from a new air-conditioned beauty salon/parlor opened by Sarasan (played by Jagadeesh), opposite his shop. He does not get a license or a loan for the salon. He is in debt and is ridiculed by everyone in the village. Life is tough for him – he does not have money for a full square meal, leave alone for his children's school fees
One day the village wakes up to the news that a Malayalam movie is going to be shot there, with superstar Ashok Raj (Mammotty) as the hero. News spread that Ashok Raj is coming to the village for the ten-day shoot. The whole village is excited preparing for the superstar's arrival. Slowly, a word spread around that Balan and Ashok Raj are childhood friends. Balan, who was a laughing stock, suddenly becomes the center of attention. Everyone goes out of their way to help and please Balan, so that they can get a chance to meet and get various favors from his superstar friend. Balan gets under immense pressure because of this attitude of the villagers. Even his family starts asking him to meet and renew the friendship with Ashok Raj. Balan tries his best to approach the superstar, but his honesty and status of barber does not allow him to pass through the heavy security. When the villagers know that Balan is not able to help them, they start thinking that he was lying about his friendship with Ashok Raj and took back their support, abusing and making even more fun of him. Balan, depressed and sad, goes back to his old self.
Ashok Raj is invited to a function in the local school where he gives a ceremonial speech. He talks about the present day life, modernization, the state of good people etc., opening the eyes of everyone to the sad truth of people's behavior. During the speech, he reveals the fact that Balan was his best friend who was the first person to realize the acting talent in him and tearing up in front of the audience, saying that he has been missing Balan all this while. That evening, Ashok Raj meets his long-lost friend Balan at his house, and Balan becomes an overnight hero in the eyes of his village.
Cast
- Sreenivasan as E.P. Balan
- MammoottyMammoottyMammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
as Superstar Ashok Raj - Meena as Sridevi
- MukeshMukesh (actor)Mukesh , born Mukesh Babu, is an Indian film actor and producer known for his work in Malayalam cinema.- Personal Life :...
as Venu - Innocent as Eappachan Muthalali
- Jagadeesh as Sarasan
- ShafnaShafnaShafna, is an Indian film actress, who appears in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. She made her acting debut as a child artist in Malayalam with Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala .- Film career :...
as Sona - Salim Kumar as Das Vadakkemuri
- KPAC Lalitha as School Principal
- Jagathy SreekumarJagathy SreekumarSreekumar Achary, better known by his stage name Jagathy Sreekumar, is an Indian film actor who has performed in more than 1,000 Malayalam films. He has also directed two films and has written screenplays for two films...
as Government Officer - Kottayam Nazir as Idikkatta Varkey
- Suraj VenjaramoodSuraj VenjaramoodSuraj Venjaramood is a Malayalam film actor and mimicry artist. He mainly plays comic roles, though he has played some lead roles as well.-Life:...
as Pappan Kudamaloor - MamukkoyaMamukkoyaMamukkoya is a popular Malayalam comedian actor. His unique usage of Mappila dialect and style marks his presence in the industry. He has acted in more than 450 Malayalam films and is the first winner of State award for Best Comedian in malayalam films, the category introduced in 2009- Career...
as Devasya - Jasveer Kaur as Dancer in the song Maambulli
- Augustine as Scariah Thomas
- Sadiq
- Vettukili Prakash
Reception
The film was released without much hype, but did extremely well in the box office and was declared as one of the biggest hits of 2007. It is the third biggest grosser of 2007 after Hello and Mayavi.Soundtrack
The film featured a successful soundtrack composed by M. JayachandranM. Jayachandran
M. Jayachandran is a film score composer, singer and musician in the Malayalam film industry. He has won Kerala State Film Awards for best music director in 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2010, maximum awards won by any music director. He also won the state award for best male singer in 2005...
.
- Maambulli - Swetha, Vineeth SreenivasanVineeth SreenivasanVineeth Sreenivasan is an Indian playback singer, film actor, director, and screenwriter. He is the son of actor Sreenivasan. He made his debut as a director with his film Malarvaadi Arts Club .- Biography :...
- Vethyasthanam - Pradeep PalluruthyPradeep PalluruthyPradeep Palluruthy is a noted Malayalam singer. He is from Cochin and is a bit hit in the Malayalam film industry.-References:...
Remakes
Following the extraordinary success it enjoyed in Malayalam, the film was remade in Tamil as KuselanKuselan
Kuselan is a 2008 Tamil drama film directed by P. Vasu, which was simultaneously made in Telugu as Kathanayakudu . Both remake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol, the film is directed by P. Vasu and produced by Pushpa Kandaswamy, Aswani Dutt and G. P. Vijayakumar in two languages...
and Telugu as Kathanayakudu
Kathanayakudu
-Cast:* N. T. Rama Rao* Jayalalitha* Dhulipala* B. Padmanabham* Raja Babu* T. G. Kamala Devi-Songs:* "Intenaya TelusukOvaya EelOkam Intenaya"...
. Sreenivasan's role was played by Pasupathi and Mammootty's role was played by Rajnikanth
Rajnikanth
Rajinikanth is an Indian film actor, media personality, and cultural icon. He made his debut as an actor in the National Film Award-winning motion picture Apoorva Raagangal , directed by K. Balachander, whom the actor considers his mentor....
in Tamil and Jagapati Babu
Jagapati Babu
Jagapathi Babu is an Indian top actor in the Telugu film industry. He is the son of veteran producer-director V.B. Rajendra Prasad.He is named as manly star in telugu film circuit and is one among top stars of likes like chiranjeevi,bala krishna,nagarjuna,venkatesh.-Career:Jagapathi Babu made...
in Telugu. But both these versions strayed from the original with many extra characters and changes in the storyline resulting in dismal failures .
Noted Director Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter. In a career spanning over two decades, Priyadarshan has directed over 80 films in several Indian languages including Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu...
was highly impressed with the film that he immediately bought rights for the Hindi remake of the film. Priyadarshan had screened the film to noted actor, Shah Rukh Khan, who was highly impressed with the film that he signed onto the Hindi remake, Billu as well as producing it under his Red Chillies Entertainment. Khan suggested that Priyan should stick to the original script sans any alterations. Also, 3 item numbers by Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor , often informally referred to as Bebo, is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. During her career, Kapoor has received six Filmfare Awards, among nine nominations, and has been noted for her performances in a range of film genres; these include her work from contemporary...
, Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone is an Indian actress and a former model. She appears mostly in Hindi as well as Tamil and Kannada language films. Born to Badminton player Prakash Padukone, she chose to become an actress and not pursue a career in sports.Padukone made her acting debut in the 2006 Kannada film...
and Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra is an Indian actress and former Miss World. Before starting her acting career, she worked as a model and gained fame after winning the Miss World title in 2000. She is often referred to by the nickname "Piggy Chops", which was given to her by co-stars on the set of the film...
are to be added into the film's promotion.Movie completed 130 days in theatres
Recently, noted Kannada actor/director, Ramesh Aravind
Ramesh Aravind
Ramesh Aravind or Ramesh is a popular Kannada, Tamil and Telugu movie actor. He is considered one of the most versatile actors in Indian cinema.-Early days:...
has announced the remake in Kannada as well. The film will be directed by him and will contain no alterations to the story. Actor Komal will play the barber role while emerging star Ganesh will don the Superstar role.