Panchathantiram
Encyclopedia
Panchathantiram is a 2002 Tamil
comedy film
directed by K. S. Ravikumar
and written by Crazy Mohan
. The film features Kamal Haasan
, Simran and Ramya Krishnan
in the lead roles, with a large supporting cast including Jayaram
, Ramesh Aravind
and Nagesh
The film opened to positive reviews from critics, and made profits at the box office.
) is a pilot based in Canada and an irredeemable skirt-chaser. In course of a midair hijack situation, he meets Mythili (Simran). Mythiil and Ram are involved in a hijack mission, and with the help of Mr.Terris, they escape.
They fall in love and get married. Ram's four closest buddies Nair (Jayaram
), Iyer (Yugi Sethu
), Hegde (Ramesh Aravind
) and Reddy (Sriman
) are present at the wedding — minus their wives. One day, when Ram helps a damsel in distress, Mythili misinterprets and presumes that he is two-timing her, and flies off to India to her parents' home. And Ram goes chasing after. Further misunderstanding occurs when he goes to meet Mythilli, drunk and in the middle of the night.
To take his mind off Mythili for a while, his four friends drive him down to Bangalore and fix him up in a room, complete with call girl Maragadavalli alias Maggi (Ramya Krishnan
). Ram won't have any of it. He gets into a fight with Maggi, then dashes over to his friends' room. To salvage the situation, Iyer hurries off to Ram's room and finds Maggi dead. Panicking, Nair, Iyer, Hegde and Reddy decide to get rid of the body in spite of Ram’s pleas to call the police. They manage to roll the dead body in a blanket and carry it over to their car. A mysterious ‘Sardar’ (Ramesh Khanna
) watches over this. The friends dispose of the body in a river and drive over to Chennai to lead their normal lives.
Ram discovers a cache of diamonds inside the dead girl's cell phone and spoils the plans of the Sardar to steal them. Meanwhile, Mythili is goaded by her parents to give Ram one more chance and she arrives at Ram’s house. In the tussle with the Sardar, Ram removes the Sardars hat and mythili mistakes the Sardars long hair for a girl and leaves Ram once again. The Sardar manages to escape.
The friends get very nervous when they learn of a news article regarding the discovery of a dead body in the same area that they disposed off their dead body. A traditional festival has the wives of the four friends plan a party. While planning, Mythili overhears a conversation among them regarding their husband’s friends Ram’s fight with a Sardar and how his wife thought that it was a girl he was having an affair with. Mythili reveals her identity to the wives and gets invited to the party to be rejoined with Ram.
As everyone is present in the party, a twist comes when the supposedly 'dead Maggi' lands up, demanding her diamonds back. She then reveals the truth. The diamonds belongs to her diamond smuggling boss (Manivannan
) and she had stolen it from him. She saw an opportunity to make everyone believe she is dead when Ram’s friend mistakes ketchup to be blood and thinks that she was dead. The dead body belonged is of her boss's girlfriend that she killed and managed to get into the blanket when the friends weren’t looking.
Ram with help from his friends, and the Sardar, who happens to be an undercover police officer trying to find the diamonds, saves everyone from Maggi and her boss. Mythilli, promises to change her over suspicious ways and both get back together. The movie ends with Ram asking if he could get the same attention his son is getting.
was supposed to essay the role later played by Yuhi Sethu, but dropped out. Sethu signed on revealing that Kamal Haasan had approached him to be a part of his two previous films, Thenali
and Pammal K. Sambandam
too, which he did not take up. Sriman was signed after appearing alongside Kamal Haasan in Pammal K. Sambandam, with which the latter was impressed.
The film started shoot in February 2002 and shot in Canada for seventeen days. In April 2002, Kamal Haasan was prevented from boarding a Los Angeles
-bound flight in Toronto
during the making of the film, with the security preventing him from passing due to his Islamic-sounding surname. The period of shoot also coincided with the death of Simran's cousin Monal, with Simran choosing to remain on sets in Canada rather than fly back to be with her family. In June 2002, the five friends in the film along with Deva
took part in a promotional tour to publicise the soundtrack in Bangalore
. The film faced trouble during censorship and parts of a song featuring Ramya Krishnan
were subsequently cut, giving the film a U/A (Parental Guidance) rating. Hence the film was delayed for two weeks after an original planned release date of June 14, 2002.
citing that Crazy Mohan
's dialogue was "the mainstay", describing the film as "completely entertaining". The reviewer also praised the film's performances claiming that "with suitable slapstick, apt body language and timing and modulation that tickle, the veteran (Kamal Haasan) makes a mark yet again." Similarly, another critic claimed that "Crazy Mohan steals the scenes most of the time with his rib-tickling comedies, one-liners, and sensible timings", giving the film a positive review. Furthermore, reviewers from The Screen dubbed the film as a "clean comic-entertainer", adding that "director KS Ravikumar deserves a pat for weaving out a good screenplay based on Kamal Haasan’s story idea and creating a laugh riot".
The film was met with an above average response at the box office, making profits for the producers. Kamal Haasan had distributed the film in the Karnataka region. A sequel to the film was planned and Ravikumar had hoped to film scenes on a cruise liner, but the project failed to take off, although Ravikumar did use the planned elements in the 2010 romantic comedy Manmadhan Ambu
which also starred Kamal Hassan.
Tamil cinema
Tamil cinema is the film industry based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to the production of films in the Tamil language. It is based in Chennai's Kodambakkam district, where several South Indian film production companies are headquartered...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by K. S. Ravikumar
K. S. Ravikumar
K. S. Ravikumar is an Indian film director and actor, primarily working in Tamil cinema. He has directed numerous films ranging from comedy and drama to action thrillers. His film Dasavathaaram went on to gross $16 million worldwide in the first four weeks and eventually became one of the...
and written by Crazy Mohan
Crazy Mohan
"Crazy" Mohan is a popular Tamil comedy actor, script writer and playwright.He was a student at the College of Engineering, Guindy, where he graduated as a Mechanical Engineer in 1973. He wrote his first drama at College of Engineering, Guindy, when he was in the 4th year in 1972. His guide was...
. The film features Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan is an Indian film actor, screenwriter and director, considered to be one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema. He is widely acclaimed as an actor and is well known for his versatility in acting...
, Simran and Ramya Krishnan
Ramya Krishnan
Ramya Krishnan is an actress who performs in Indian cinema. She has acted in over 200 films in five languages; Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi.-Early life and background:...
in the lead roles, with a large supporting cast including Jayaram
Jayaram
Jayaram is an Indian film actor who mainly acts in Malayalam and Tamil films. He is also a chenda percussionist and mimic artist. In 2011, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for his contribution towards the arts.-Early life:...
, 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:...
and Nagesh
Nagesh (actor)
Nagesh , was a Tamil film actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian during the 1960s. He is regarded as one of the most prolific comedians in Tamil cinema....
The film opened to positive reviews from critics, and made profits at the box office.
Plot
Ram (Kamal HaasanKamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan is an Indian film actor, screenwriter and director, considered to be one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema. He is widely acclaimed as an actor and is well known for his versatility in acting...
) is a pilot based in Canada and an irredeemable skirt-chaser. In course of a midair hijack situation, he meets Mythili (Simran). Mythiil and Ram are involved in a hijack mission, and with the help of Mr.Terris, they escape.
They fall in love and get married. Ram's four closest buddies Nair (Jayaram
Jayaram
Jayaram is an Indian film actor who mainly acts in Malayalam and Tamil films. He is also a chenda percussionist and mimic artist. In 2011, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for his contribution towards the arts.-Early life:...
), Iyer (Yugi Sethu
Yugi Sethu
Yuhi Sethu is a Tamil actor, director and screenwriter. He has appeared in a few films in main and supporting roles and has contributed to films as a screenwriter. Yuhi Sethu had written and directed a less known movie named "Maathangal Aezhu" in Tamil with actors Nassar and Ramya Krishnan, and...
), Hegde (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:...
) and Reddy (Sriman
Sriman (actor)
Sriman is a character artist who appears in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada language films. He is primarily known for his prominent roles in Aayutha Ezhuthu, Panchathanthiram, Pokkiri and Aegan. He is the son of noted producer, Prakash Reddy.- Early life :Sriman was born in Rajamundry, Andhra Pradesh...
) are present at the wedding — minus their wives. One day, when Ram helps a damsel in distress, Mythili misinterprets and presumes that he is two-timing her, and flies off to India to her parents' home. And Ram goes chasing after. Further misunderstanding occurs when he goes to meet Mythilli, drunk and in the middle of the night.
To take his mind off Mythili for a while, his four friends drive him down to Bangalore and fix him up in a room, complete with call girl Maragadavalli alias Maggi (Ramya Krishnan
Ramya Krishnan
Ramya Krishnan is an actress who performs in Indian cinema. She has acted in over 200 films in five languages; Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi.-Early life and background:...
). Ram won't have any of it. He gets into a fight with Maggi, then dashes over to his friends' room. To salvage the situation, Iyer hurries off to Ram's room and finds Maggi dead. Panicking, Nair, Iyer, Hegde and Reddy decide to get rid of the body in spite of Ram’s pleas to call the police. They manage to roll the dead body in a blanket and carry it over to their car. A mysterious ‘Sardar’ (Ramesh Khanna
Ramesh Khanna
Ramesh Kanna is a Tamil film actor and acts in supporting roles and comedian roles.Ramesh Khanna was born in Coimbatore and third child to the family. Ramesh Khanna arrived in Chennai in the late 1980s to have a career as an actor...
) watches over this. The friends dispose of the body in a river and drive over to Chennai to lead their normal lives.
Ram discovers a cache of diamonds inside the dead girl's cell phone and spoils the plans of the Sardar to steal them. Meanwhile, Mythili is goaded by her parents to give Ram one more chance and she arrives at Ram’s house. In the tussle with the Sardar, Ram removes the Sardars hat and mythili mistakes the Sardars long hair for a girl and leaves Ram once again. The Sardar manages to escape.
The friends get very nervous when they learn of a news article regarding the discovery of a dead body in the same area that they disposed off their dead body. A traditional festival has the wives of the four friends plan a party. While planning, Mythili overhears a conversation among them regarding their husband’s friends Ram’s fight with a Sardar and how his wife thought that it was a girl he was having an affair with. Mythili reveals her identity to the wives and gets invited to the party to be rejoined with Ram.
As everyone is present in the party, a twist comes when the supposedly 'dead Maggi' lands up, demanding her diamonds back. She then reveals the truth. The diamonds belongs to her diamond smuggling boss (Manivannan
Manivannan
Manivannan is a popular Tamil actor and director. With over 400 films to his name, Manivannan is one of the most experienced actors in the field. He normally plays the role of a dad or a senior comedian.- Background :...
) and she had stolen it from him. She saw an opportunity to make everyone believe she is dead when Ram’s friend mistakes ketchup to be blood and thinks that she was dead. The dead body belonged is of her boss's girlfriend that she killed and managed to get into the blanket when the friends weren’t looking.
Ram with help from his friends, and the Sardar, who happens to be an undercover police officer trying to find the diamonds, saves everyone from Maggi and her boss. Mythilli, promises to change her over suspicious ways and both get back together. The movie ends with Ram asking if he could get the same attention his son is getting.
Cast
- Kamal HaasanKamal HaasanKamal Haasan is an Indian film actor, screenwriter and director, considered to be one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema. He is widely acclaimed as an actor and is well known for his versatility in acting...
as Ramachandramurthy (Ram) - Simran BaggaSimran BaggaRishibala Naval , better known by her Industry name Simran, is an Indian actress who has predominantly appeared in Tamil and Telugu films. She debuted in Bollywood and acted in several Hindi films, before starring in her first Tamil film V.I.P and her first Telugu film Abbai Gari Pelli in 1997...
as Mythili - Ramya KrishnanRamya KrishnanRamya Krishnan is an actress who performs in Indian cinema. She has acted in over 200 films in five languages; Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi.-Early life and background:...
as Maragathavalli (Maggie) - JayaramJayaramJayaram is an Indian film actor who mainly acts in Malayalam and Tamil films. He is also a chenda percussionist and mimic artist. In 2011, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for his contribution towards the arts.-Early life:...
as Iyappan Nair - Ramesh AravindRamesh AravindRamesh 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:...
as Hegde - SrimanSriman (actor)Sriman is a character artist who appears in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada language films. He is primarily known for his prominent roles in Aayutha Ezhuthu, Panchathanthiram, Pokkiri and Aegan. He is the son of noted producer, Prakash Reddy.- Early life :Sriman was born in Rajamundry, Andhra Pradesh...
as Hanumanth Reddy - Yugi SethuYugi SethuYuhi Sethu is a Tamil actor, director and screenwriter. He has appeared in a few films in main and supporting roles and has contributed to films as a screenwriter. Yuhi Sethu had written and directed a less known movie named "Maathangal Aezhu" in Tamil with actors Nassar and Ramya Krishnan, and...
as Vedhantham - UrvashiUrvashi (actress)Kavitha Ranjini, better known by her stage name Urvashi , is an Indian film actress and producer. She was a prominent lead actress during the 1980s and 1990s in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu films. She has dubbed in her own voice in all these languages. And she produced the film Pidakkozhi...
as Ammini - SanghaviSanghaviSanghavi is an Indian film actress and model. She has appeared in over 95 Tamil, Kannada and Telugu-language films. Her father was a doctor - Early life :...
as Chamundi - Aishwarya as Mrs. Vedhantham
- Vidhya Venkatesh
- NageshNageshNagesh , was a Tamil film actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian during the 1960s. He is regarded as one of the most prolific comedians in Tamil cinema....
as Parthasarathy - VijayakumarVijayakumarVijayakumar is a Tamil actor and politician. Along with predominant work in Tamil cinema since 1973, he has acted in a few Hindi and Telugu movies. As of 2009, he is acting in the television serial, Thangam, aired on Sun TV.-Early life:...
- ManivannanManivannanManivannan is a popular Tamil actor and director. With over 400 films to his name, Manivannan is one of the most experienced actors in the field. He normally plays the role of a dad or a senior comedian.- Background :...
- Ramesh KhannaRamesh KhannaRamesh Kanna is a Tamil film actor and acts in supporting roles and comedian roles.Ramesh Khanna was born in Coimbatore and third child to the family. Ramesh Khanna arrived in Chennai in the late 1980s to have a career as an actor...
- Devayani as Nirmala
- Alphonsa
- K. S. RavikumarK. S. RavikumarK. S. Ravikumar is an Indian film director and actor, primarily working in Tamil cinema. He has directed numerous films ranging from comedy and drama to action thrillers. His film Dasavathaaram went on to gross $16 million worldwide in the first four weeks and eventually became one of the...
Production
Originally Krishnamachari SrikkanthKrishnamachari Srikkanth
Krishnamachari Srikkanth is a former captain of the Indian cricket team and the current chairman of the selection committee...
was supposed to essay the role later played by Yuhi Sethu, but dropped out. Sethu signed on revealing that Kamal Haasan had approached him to be a part of his two previous films, Thenali
Thenali
Thenali is a 2000 Tamil feature film directed and produced by K. S. Ravikumar and written by Crazy Mohan. The film featured Kamal Haasan playing the title role, and also starred Jayaram, Devayani and Jyothika. The film's music was composed by A. R. Rahman, whilst cinematography was handled by Priyan...
and Pammal K. Sambandam
Pammal K. Sambandam
Pammal K. Sambandam is a 2002 Tamil comedy film directed by Moulee and scripted by Crazy Mohan. The film features Kamal Haasan in the title role alongside Simran with Abbas and Sneha in primary supporting roles. The film was produced by P. L. Thenappan under Media Dreams, while Deva composed the...
too, which he did not take up. Sriman was signed after appearing alongside Kamal Haasan in Pammal K. Sambandam, with which the latter was impressed.
The film started shoot in February 2002 and shot in Canada for seventeen days. In April 2002, Kamal Haasan was prevented from boarding a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-bound flight in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
during the making of the film, with the security preventing him from passing due to his Islamic-sounding surname. The period of shoot also coincided with the death of Simran's cousin Monal, with Simran choosing to remain on sets in Canada rather than fly back to be with her family. In June 2002, the five friends in the film along with Deva
Deva (music director)
Deva is an Indian film composer and singer. He has composed songs and provided background music for Tamil films in a career spanning about 20 years. Many know his gaana songs, written mostly using Madras Tamil. He is known as the "Father of Gaana Genre" in the Tamil film industry.Deva has composed...
took part in a promotional tour to publicise the soundtrack in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
. The film faced trouble during censorship and parts of a song featuring Ramya Krishnan
Ramya Krishnan
Ramya Krishnan is an actress who performs in Indian cinema. She has acted in over 200 films in five languages; Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi.-Early life and background:...
were subsequently cut, giving the film a U/A (Parental Guidance) rating. Hence the film was delayed for two weeks after an original planned release date of June 14, 2002.
Release
The film opened to positive reviews from critics, with the critic from The HinduThe Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
citing that Crazy Mohan
Crazy Mohan
"Crazy" Mohan is a popular Tamil comedy actor, script writer and playwright.He was a student at the College of Engineering, Guindy, where he graduated as a Mechanical Engineer in 1973. He wrote his first drama at College of Engineering, Guindy, when he was in the 4th year in 1972. His guide was...
's dialogue was "the mainstay", describing the film as "completely entertaining". The reviewer also praised the film's performances claiming that "with suitable slapstick, apt body language and timing and modulation that tickle, the veteran (Kamal Haasan) makes a mark yet again." Similarly, another critic claimed that "Crazy Mohan steals the scenes most of the time with his rib-tickling comedies, one-liners, and sensible timings", giving the film a positive review. Furthermore, reviewers from The Screen dubbed the film as a "clean comic-entertainer", adding that "director KS Ravikumar deserves a pat for weaving out a good screenplay based on Kamal Haasan’s story idea and creating a laugh riot".
The film was met with an above average response at the box office, making profits for the producers. Kamal Haasan had distributed the film in the Karnataka region. A sequel to the film was planned and Ravikumar had hoped to film scenes on a cruise liner, but the project failed to take off, although Ravikumar did use the planned elements in the 2010 romantic comedy Manmadhan Ambu
Manmadhan Ambu
The film's music was scored by Devi Sri Prasad, after initially Shruti Hassan and later Thaman were reported to be the music composer. All lyrics by Kamal Haasan except where noted. The controversial song Kamal Kavidhai, had come under criticism due to lines about a woman's desire and for...
which also starred Kamal Hassan.