Mohanlal and Ajayante Randam Moshanam: Spotting Lalettan references in Tovino Thomas’ film

When Tovino Thomas-starrer Ajayante Randam Moshanam premiered in theatres across Kerala on September 12, fans were in for a pleasant surprise as Malayalam superstar Mohanlal’s voice boomed in cinema halls. With the voiceover during the opening credits, the star set the tone for the narrative, ushering viewers into the world of ARM which has elements of folklore and fantasy blended into the plot. Even the closing credits featured a voiceover by Mohanlal. But that is not the only Mohanlal connection in the movie, helmed by director Jithin Laal, a self-confessed Lalettan fan.

Read on to know what these are and of course, spoilers ahead!

Mohanlal references in Ajayante Randam Moshanam

Mohanlal’s evergreen dialogue in ARM

When we first see Ajayan (Tovino), he is busy connecting a ham radio to chat with his girlfriend, establishing that this is definitely an era before smartphones. But the makers dropped one more clue that this could be the 90s. As he tries to impress his lovely lady Lakshmi, Ajayan renders the evergreen dialogue of Solomon (Mohanlal) from the 1986 cult classic Namukku Parkkan Munthirithoppukal. And just before Lakshmi could respond, her father enters the scene. Even as she fears being caught red-handed, the tough Chathutti Nambiar too breaks into a smile and says Mohanlal!

Also read: Ajayante Randam Moshanam Review: Tovino Thomas is the backbone of this masterfully crafted drama 

Namukku Parkkan Munthirithoppukal is available on Hotstar.

The bus named Gulf Motors

As the lead pair breaks into a song and dance sequence, we see them travelling in a bus. And in half-a-glimpse of a scene, you see the name of Gulf Motors on the bus board. For the unversed (those who haven’t followed Malayalam movies of the 80s and 90s), this is a reference to Varavelpu. Another Mohanlal movie, where he played the role of a bus owner and the name of the bus was Gulf Motors! This 1989 film, directed by Sathyan Anthikad and written by Sreenivasan, is a must-watch not only for its brilliant writing and performances but also the way it showcases Kerala society and familial bonds.

Varavelupu is available on Prime Video.

Jithin Laal

But the ultimate tribute to the Malayalam star is the name of the director himself - Jithin Laal. That was not the name his parents had given him. His name was Jithin Nair TK and then how did it become Jithin Laal. In a recent interview, ARM leading man Tovino Thomas revealed this rather interesting story about the name change of Jithin, who was a die-hard fan of Mohanlal right from his childhood days. During school enrollment, the 5-year-old Jithin had demanded that he be named Mohanlal in records. But that seemed too far-fetched and since he refused to back down, his name was eventually given as Jithin Laal. There could be few fanboy stories that could beat this Jithin Laal ‘christening’.

Dakshayani biscuits in Minnal Murali

Though there are numerous movies that have paid tribute to Mohanlal by including his classic dialogues and imitating his trademark walk, another movie that did sneak in a Lalettan reference and became a talking point on social media was Dakshayani biscuits in Minnal Murali. For those who haven’t heard of Mithunam, Mohanlal’s character is trying hard to start up a factory for Dakshayani biscuits. And in one scene, we see Jaison aka Minnal Murali (Tovino again) winning a ring toss game at the carnival and one of his prizes is Dakshayani biscuits. Viewers got to see the fictional brand for real in the movie and that split-second scene too was celebrated on social media by fans.

Also read: Ajayante Randam Moshanam star Tovino Thomas: My friends have trusted my talent more than I have | Exclusive 

Minnal Murali is available on Netflix, while Mithunam is on Hotstar.