55 years of Pattanathil Bhootham

The Arabian Nights story, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, has fascinated and inspired filmmakers across the world, giving rise to several spin-offs. The 1964 film The Brass Bottle, which is based on a novel by Thomas Anstey Guthrie, is about an architect who inadvertently releases a grateful genie called Fakrash from an antique brass bottle. The movie inspired the popular sitcom, I Dream of Jeannie (1965), and a Tamil comedy called Pattanathil Bhootham (The Genie in the City, 1967). Directed by M V Raman, the film features Jaishankar, Nagesh, K R Vijaya, Rama Prabha, K Balaje, R S Manohar, V K Ramaswamy, V S Raghavan, and Javar Seetharaman.

A misunderstanding and a cockroach provide the spark that ignites a relationship between Latha (K R Vijaya) and Bhaskar (Jaishankar). Bhaskar’s friend, Caesar Cheenu (Nagesh), loves Saro (Rama Prabha). Saro’s uncle, the goon Pandi (R S Manohar) also intends to marry her and is part of a secret smuggling organisation.

When Latha’s father, Thangavelu (V K Ramaswamy) bids for and secures a large urn at an auction, he learns that its arrival has wrought misfortune upon a business that he partners with the gluttonous Sabapathy (V S Raghavan). When the urn also leads to squabbles between the two partners, Thangavelu decides to get rid of it by sponsoring it as a prize for a contest in the college where Latha, Bhaskar and Cheenu study. The three vie for the prize, and Bhaskar secures it, bringing home the unwieldy urn.

Meanwhile, Thangavelu is impressed by Sabapathy’s suave son, Mani (Balajee) who arrives from abroad. Thangavelu hopes that his 60th birthday function would lay the foundation for a better partnership with Sabapathy if Latha and Mani like each other enough to wed.

At Thangavelu’s 60th birthday event, Mani is enamoured by Latha, and as the No.2 in the secret smuggling organisation, he is in a relationship with Rita (Vijaya Lalitha) who is also part of the group. However, it becomes increasingly apparent to Mani that Latha is only interested in Bhaskar.

To impress Latha’s father, Bhaskar and Cheenu attempt to gift him the same urn. But Thangavelu recognises it and refuses to accept it.

When Bhaskar and Cheenu attempt to open the urn, a genie called Zee-Boom-Ba (Javar Seetharaman) emerges with the signature magic spells, ‘Zee-Boom-Ba’ and ‘Rashiyam-Alakshiyam-Egyptiam’. The genie is so grateful for being freed after 3,000 years that he pledges his allegiance to Bhaskar and Cheenu. However, Zee-Boom-Baa’s earnest attempts to better their lives backfire more than once.

When Zee-Boom-Baa creates a wooden box of gold bars to prove Bhaskar’s financial standing to Thangavelu, Sabapathy and Mani try to get Thangavelu in trouble with the law. Later, when Bhaskar and Latha decide to meet, Zee-Boom-Ba arranges a welcome for her that involves a bevvy of beautiful women cavorting around Bhaskar. This causes Latha to believe that the newfound wealth has transformed Bhaskar into a hedonist.

After witnessing the recent happenings, Thangavelu believes that Zee-Boom-Ba is a millionaire who has employed Bhaskar, who increasingly sounds like a good match for Latha. Bhaskar believes that Zee-Boom-Ba’s presence is ruining his relationship with Latha, whereas Latha is convinced that Zee-Boom-Ba is a bad influence on Bhaskar. After trying to convince her, the genie tells Latha that until she calls out to him, he will stay away from their lives.

As Latha and Bhaskar drift apart, Mani takes advantage of the situation and devises a plan to abduct them in order to provoke Zee-Boom-Baa out of hiding. The smugglers, including the mysterious No. 1 (whose identity is easily guessed), believe Zee-Boom-Ba to be a bigger smuggler than them and want to do business with him.

Rita has a change of heart and helps Latha and Bhaskar escape along with Cheenu and Saro who have also been held captive. Bhaskar explains to Latha that Zee-Boom-Baa is the genie from the urn who has transformed their lives for the better. In an elaborate climax involving a motorboat and a helicopter, Latha is again abducted by Mani, and as Bhaskar clings to the helicopter for life, Latha evokes Zee-Boom-Ba, who rescues them.

At the time of Pattanathil Bhootham’s release, the careers of the cast were on the upsurge. Jaishankar, who plays Bhaskar, was already on his way to earning the title ‘James Bond of Tamil Cinema’. He would also go on to work in Tamil westerns in the 1970s. K R Vijaya was the ‘Punnagai Arasi’ (Queen of the Smiles) and was already playing goddess in devotional movies, which she pulled off with aplomb while also playing characters that normalised sartorial choices like swimsuits and sleeveless bodycon outfits. Post his success playing the comic lead in Server Sundaram (1964), Nagesh was regarded as the ‘Jerry Lewis of Tamil Cinema’ and he plays Cheenu as an ally rather than a sidekick to Bhaskar. Most of all, Javar Seetharaman, who played the delightful genie Zee-Boom-Ba in the movie, had gained prominence after playing Javert of Les Miserables in a Tamil adaptation. He not only played the genie but was also the person who rewrote the American story for an Indian audience.

With lyrics by Kannadasan and music by Govardhanam, the music of Pattanathil Bootham became popular, especially ‘Ulagathil Siranthathu Yedhu’, ‘Kannil Kandadhellam’ and ‘Andha Sivagami Maganidam’.

A word of appreciation is due for Ravikant Nagaich for the visual effects employed in the movie to demonstrate Zee-Boom-Baa’s powers in the scenes where he creates a car from a car miniature, shrinks himself, and helps Bhaskar and Cheenu win a basketball match, albeit problematically. These effects vie with the ingenuity of gadgets that the smugglers have in their possession, for a movie of that time - like the secret elevator, the torch that can render a person unconscious, the CCTV at the smuggling headquarters, and even the glove with a steel blade.

Despite its continuity issues and some inexplicable character motivations, Pattanathil Bhootham’s success can be attributed as much to the way the story was adapted for a Tamil audience, as it was, to its special effects.