Mammootty at 73: Tracing Hindi films inspired by Megastar's Malayalam classics

As Mammootty celebrates his 73rd birthday, we reflect on the journey of Malayalam masterpieces that have been remade into Hindi.

Mammootty/Instagram; Phool Aur Kaante; Billu

As Mammootty, the legendary actor, turns 73 today, September 7, 2024, it's a perfect occasion to reflect on his monumental contributions to Indian cinema. With a career spanning over five decades, Mammootty has not only defined Malayalam cinema but has also inspired numerous remakes of his iconic films in Hindi. His versatility, from playing nuanced characters in intense dramas to larger-than-life heroes, has translated into several Hindi adaptations. These films, starring Rajesh Khanna, Akshay Kumar, and Govinda, echo Mammootty's lasting legacy and cross-industry influence.

Mammootty films remade in Hindi

Kanamarayathu (YouTube) - Anokha Rishta (YouTube)

I. V. Sasi, a well-known Malayalam filmmaker, wrote and directed the 1986 film Anokha Rishta, which stars Rajesh Khanna, Smita Patil, Sabeeha, Tanuja, Shafi Inamdar, Satish Shah, and Karan Shah, among others. The plot centres on three characters—Rajesh Khanna, Smita Patil, and Sabeeha—and is based on the director's 1984 Malayalam film Kanamarayathu, which starred Mammootty. Based on the 1919 book Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster, the original screenplay served as an inspiration for Malayalam author P. Padmarajan. The touching story of a young woman's unorthodox romance with an older guy touches audiences in both languages.

ALSO READ: 7 superhits starring Mammootty and Mohanlal

Katha Parayumpol (Disney+ Hotstar) - Billu (Netflix)

Priyadarshan directed and produced the 2009 comedy-drama Billu (formerly titled Billu Barber) through Red Chillies Entertainment. It features Irrfan Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Lara Dutta Bhupathi as the main characters, with Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Kareena Kapoor Khan, who all make cameos in the songs. The Bhagavata Purana tells the tale of Krishna and Sudama's friendship, and the 2007 Malayalam film Katha Parayumpol is a recreation of that story. With a cameo appearance by Shah Rukh Khan, the Hindi version of this film—which centres on the friendship of a modest barber and his superstar friend—included a Bollywood touch.

Pokkiri Raja (ZEE5 [OTTplay Premium]) - Boss (Netflix)

Anthony D'Souza directed the 2013 action comedy film Boss while Farhad-Sajid wrote the script. Mithun Chakraborty, Ronit Roy, Shiv Panditt, and Akshay Kumar are among the actors included. Aditi Rao Hydari is also in the cast. Originally released in Malayalam, it is a remake of Pokkiri Raja. Surya (Akshay Kumar) and Shiv (Shiv Panditt) are the children of Satyakant Shastri (Mithun Chakraborty), a school teacher. Satyakant disowns and exiles Surya from the family after the latter gets into a series of violent fights with another child, killing him in the process. Although he and his father haven't seen Surya in a long time, Shiv (Shiv Pandit) becomes his father's beloved and only son as he grows up.

Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal (Disney+ Hotstar & Prime Video) - Hatya (ZEE5 [OTTplay Premium])

Kirti Kumar directed the 1988 action movie Hatya which featured Govinda, Neelam, Anupam Kher, and Sujitha. It's a remake of the 1986 Malayalam film Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal. Both adaptations of this suspenseful tale about a mute youngster who witnesses a murder successfully grip viewers.

Hitler (Eros Now) - Krodh (JioCinema)

Ashok Honda wrote, directed, and produced the action drama film Krodh in 2000. The film's main actors are Sunil Shetty and Rambha. The original film Hitler starring Mammootty and Shobhana, premiered in Malayalam in 1996. Karan, whose wrath has earned him the nickname "Hitler," is devoted, kind, and hard-working as he takes care of his five younger sisters. He plans to arrange marriages for each of his sisters individually when the time comes. However, everyone was resentful since Asha, the first sister, had a rough go of it. Seema (Sakshi Shivanand), the second sister, develops feelings for Raj Verma (Apoorva Agnihotri), a man Karan despises; as a result, he forbids the two from ever meeting, much less getting married. Rival gangsters shoot and hospitalise Balwant (Kader Khan), their father and a former criminal, further complicating the situation. While visiting his dying father, Karan learns a secret that will alter the course of his life and the way he sees the world.

New Delhi (Prime Video) - New Delhi (YouTube)

Joshiy's 1988 political thriller New Delhi stars Jeetendra and Sumalatha. The same director also directed New Delhi (1987) in Malayalam. Irving Wallace's novel The Almighty serves as loose inspiration for the plot. In this film, Urvashi and Suresh Gopi made their Hindi film debuts, reprising their roles from the original. Vijay Kumar (Jeetendra), an upright journalist based in Delhi, exposes two corrupt politicians. Desbandhu Sharma (Raza Murad) and Kendriya Mantri Shankar Babu (Devan) work together to punish Vijay. Maria (Sumalatha), Vijay's lover, assists him in launching a publication called "New Delhi Diary" once he finishes his term. As time goes on, the individuals who wronged him begin to meet violent ends, leading his employees to suspect foul play.

Parampara (YouTube) - Phool Aur Kaante (ZEE5 [OTTplay Premium])

Kuku Kohli directed the action-romance film Phool Aur Kaante in 1991. Ajay Devgn, Madhoo, Aruna Irani, Jagdeep, and Amrish Puri are among the many actors who star in it. Madhoo, the niece of Hema Malini, and Devgn, the son of the late action choreographer and stunt performer Veeru Devgan, made their debuts in this film. Phool Aur Kaante was based on the Sibi Malayil-directed Malayalam film Parampara which starred Mammootty as both the hero Johnny and his father Lawrence. It was a huge success.

Under the alias "Don," Nageshwar runs a massive criminal conspiracy. His only son, Ajay Devgn, knows everything there is to know about his father and his business. That includes Ajay's wife, who shares his desire to stop these illegal acts. Nageshwar decides that Ajay should take over from him when he begins to exhibit indications of ageing. Ajay complies, but some of Nageshwar's associates are upset, bitter, and sceptical of his decision; they eventually kidnap Ajay's son Gopal and hold him for ransom, led by Shankar Dhanraj. Is Nageshwar going to try to get his grandson released, or is he going to make another "empire" sacrifice? What are Ajay and his wife's reactions going to be?

Oru CBI Diary Kurippu (Disney+ Hotstar) - Police Public (YouTube)

Esmayeel Shroff directed this 1990 criminal thriller, Police Public. The film has Raaj Kumar, Raj Kiran, Poonam Dhillon, Naseeruddin Shah, Kabir Bedi, and Prem Chopra among its leading actors. Originating in 1988 with the Malayalam film Oru CBI Diary Kurippu Raaj Kumar played the major role in the Hindi crime drama adaptation of Mammootty's renowned role as a shrewd detective.

When a young woman named Karuna (Poonam Dhillon) dies under suspicious circumstances, the honourable police officer Shah Nawaz Khan (Kabir Bedi) becomes involved. Karuna's politically influential in-laws, however, obstruct the investigation. They assign the case to Mr. Maha Singh (Naseeruddin Shah), a corrupt police officer, and transfer Shah Nawaz Khan to his place. After he concluded the investigation, he stated that Karuna died by suicide. Karuna's father prayed for a CBI probe. As he investigates the situation and attempts to solve the case, CBI Officer Jagmohan (Raaj Kumar) discovers new information that helps him understand the mystery.

Aavanazhi (Sun NXT [OTTplay Premium] - Satyamev Jayate (YouTube)

Raj N. Sippy helmed the 1987 action flick Satyamev Jayate. Vinod Khanna, Meenakshi Sheshadri, and Madhavi are among the actors, along with Anita Raj, A. K. Hangal, Renu Joshi, Alankar, Neeta Puri, Saahil Chadha, Satyen Kappu, Sudhir Dalvi, Vinod Mehra, Shakti Kapoor, and Anupam Kher. This film marked Vinod Khanna's return to the big screen; it is a remake of the Malayalam film Aavanazhi. He delivered a stellar performance in his role as a police officer, widely considered to be among his finest. Additionally, critics praised Meenakshi Sheshadri's portrayal of a prostitute.

A notoriously vicious cop, Inspector Arjun Singh (Vinod Khanna) of the Mumbai Police, has earned a terrible reputation. A young man's death in custody prompts the transfer of Arjun to Tehsil, a small town. Despite repeated denials, Arjun maintains that he is innocent and that the killing was not his responsibility. Tragically, Arjun discovers upon moving to Tehsil that the young man's family happens to be his neighbours. Arjun has to face his demons and figure out what killed the young man. The former Arjun flame, Vidya, played by Anita Raj, now weds a corrupt lawyer, Anupam Kher. The two of them finally meet face-to-face. Pooja (Madhavi) tries to bring justice to the young man who died, but the shady lawyer's schemes entangle her with an infamous criminal. Meenakshi Sheshadri portrays Seema as a prostitute, while Arjun finds solace in his intoxication.

Post Mortem (YouTube) - Tahqiqaat (ZEE5 [OTTplay Premium])

A. Jagannathan directed and K. C. Bokadia produced the 1993 thriller Tahqiqaa under the BMB Productions label. In addition to Farheen, Sangeeta Bijlani, Ronit Roy, and Aditya Pancholi, Jeetendra plays a dual role in the film. Released in 1982 in Malayalam, Post Mortem is the source material for this remake.

Father Prem Fernandes (Jeetendra), a Catholic priest, is the centre of attention in the first scene of the film. Father is constantly trying to help Peter (Aditya Pancholi), who is a renegade who seeks justice by resisting injustices committed against the poor. Bhanu Pratap, played by Danny Denzongpa, is the town chief and a wealthy man; Peter and Pratap once had a disagreement. Mary, Peter's sister, loves Ramesh, the son of Bhanu Pratap. Mary seeks Father Joseph's assistance because Peter is anti-rich. As Mary becomes pregnant and confesses her pregnancy to Father, Ramesh (Ronit Roy) departs for another country. After that, he says he will figure something out. Peter hears it and learns the truth about Roopa (Sangeeta Bijlani) and Peter's connection, which he interprets incorrectly. Thus, he rebels against Father, gets himself jailed, and manages to escape. The audience is shocked to find Mary's (Farheen) lifeless body dangling from a tree the next day. They bury the body without conducting a postmortem because they think it was suicide. But Father has his suspicions, so he calls on his twin brother S.P. Arun Kumar, a pure cop, to do the autopsy and exhume Mary's burial. The discovery of Father Prem Fernandes's lifeless body in there shocks him to his core. S.P. Arun Kumar (Jeetendra) then starts looking into the allegations against Peter. Along the way, S.P. and Peter will meet and exchange pawns. Through Mary's acquaintance Mumtaz, Peter discovers the truth, and it is during this time that he repents. While everything is going on, S.P. is revealing the true victim by terrifying everyone in the spirit of Father. S.P. and Peter apprehended Ramesh during their hearings, and he confesses to the cold-blooded murder of Mary. A man shrouded in secrecy fires a shot, but it misses its target, killing Ramesh instantly. He despises knitting Mary with his son, which is why, shockingly, he turns to Bhanu Pratap, the man responsible for her murder. Subsequently, the criminal tries to dispose of the corpse while Father watches, apparently terrified of a postmortem. Consequently, he also killed him. At the end of the film, S.P. and Peter finally stop Bhanu Pratap.

No. 20 Madras Mail (Disney+ Hotstar & Eros Now) - Teesra Kaun (YouTube)

Partho Ghosh's Teesra Kaun? is an action-packed comedy from 1994. It stars Chunky Pandey, Mithun Chakraborty, Amol Palekar, Satish Shah, and Rakesh Bedi. This film is a remake of Joshiy's 1990 Malayalam film No. 20 Madras Mail which featured Mohanlal and Mammootty as himself. The death of Manjula (Rituparna Sengupta) on a speeding train casts suspicion on Vijay (Chunky Pandey) and his two companions, Binjo (Satish Shah) and Khoka (Rakesh Bedi). Pankaj, another traveller who has gone missing, is the person the three of them assume is responsible. Mithun Chakraborty, a well-known actor who also boarded the train, offers to lend a hand.

Ee Nadu (YouTube) - Yeh Desh (ZEE5 [OTTplay Premium])

T. Rama Rao produced and P. Mallikharjuna Rao directed the 1984 political film Yeh Desh. With score by R. D. Burman, it features Jeetendra, Geetha, Kamal Haasan, and Zeenat Aman. This movie is an adaptation of the 1982 Malayalam classic Ee Nadu. An organisation's head is Chandramohan Azad (Jeetendra), an honest and diligent worker who is also a model citizen. As a result, his coworkers and his boss, Sinha (Pinchoo Kapoor), hold him in high esteem. For a long time, he sits in prison, falsely accused of murder. Upon his release from prison, Chandramohan takes up arms against the corrupt establishment.

Mazhayethum Munpe (Manorama MAX [OTTplay Premium] - Zameer (Prime Video)

The 2005 romance drama Zameer: The Fire Within featured Ajay Devgn, Ameesha Patel, and Mahima Chaudhry. Produced and directed by Kamal, the film was an adaptation of the Malayalam film Mazhayethum Munpe. A chemistry professor's romantic involvement with a treatment-bound girl is the central plot point of the film. In the film, one of his students develops strong feelings for him and is willing to go to extreme lengths to win him back.

ALSO READ: 7 blockbuster films rejected by Mammootty

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