Sathyan Anthikad & Sreenivasan – 10 Movies That Defined Middle-Class Kerala

Sathyan Anthikad and Sreenivasan – The team which told relatable stories of middle-class people

Sathyan Anthikad and Sreenivasan – the duo created characters and situations that spoke so naturally in the language of ordinary people. They wove truly magical characters, standing close to reality and put together for social dramas. That’s the reason why such characters are so realistic. As a screenwriter, Sreenivasan’s best works are with Sathyan Anthikad, and they created great impact on Malayalis, society and culture. Most of their combination movies are regarded as cult classic, and have repeat-watch value, even after 30-35 years of release!

Their friendship spanning to 4 decades gave significant contributions to Malayalam cinema, and formed a part of new-generation wave back in the mid-1980s. Needless to say, Sathyan Anthikad was seen totally broken after the unexpected demise of his friend, and for him, a part of his soul is gone. Njan Prakashan in 2018 was their last film together, in fact, last work of Sreenivasan as a screenwriter, and the duo was planning a satire political film with Mohanlal similar to Sandesham, when death took Sreeni away, filling the space with irreplaceable void.

Both the legends spoke cinema, breathed cinema and only lived for cinema. The way they portrayed social issues through their films with a touch of humour is remarkable. That’s the reason why those scripts still look fresh, and many of their scenes are nostalgic to Malayalis. Many of their films changed Malayalam story telling style, and simple stories with deep meaning make them feel home. Their films always carried a strong social message too.

Top 10 Sathyan Anthikad – Sreenivasan films of my favourite

Through this list, I add 10 of the best films of Sathyan Anthikad, originally scripted by Sreenivasan. I chose films of my choice. Hope you will like too. I have sorted films according to year of release, to get continuity. Also read: 10 of the Best Screenplays Written by Sreenivasan That Defined Malayalam Cinema

Gandhinagar 2nd Street (1986)

Sreenivasan started his career as a screenwriter in 1984 for a Priyadarshan movie. He continued acting along with screenwriting and interestingly, he never worked with Sathyan Anthikad until 1986. The duo joined hands together for the first time in 1986 and Sreenivasan scripted three of Sathyan Anthikad films – Gandhinagar 2nd Street, T. P. Balagopalan M. A and Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam, and all these films starring Mohanlal in the lead are counted among the popular movies of 1980s. Gandhinagar 2nd Street was the second release after T. P. Balagopalan M. A.

These three films also played a magnificent role in establishing Mohanlal’s stardom, and well appreciated for his comic roles too. Sreenivasan played important roles in all these films and these three, all released in a single calendar year marked the successful beginning of Mohanlal -Sreenivasan screen pair. Among the three films, Gandhinagar 2nd Street ranks first when it comes to their combination films, and has always been praised for their screen chemistry.

Gandhinagar 2nd Street is widely regarded as one of the best classic comedies ever made on Malayalam screen which still enjoys a cult status, and the roles played by Mohanlal and Sreenivasan were widely praised. It’s one among the best scripts of Sreenivasan’s career as well. Mohanlal plays Sethu who impersonates as Ram Singh to get the job of a Goorkha in a street named Gandhinagar 2nd Street, and his efforts to win the heart of Maya, the character played by Karthika. Sreenivasan’s character Madhavan played his friend, who always tries to help him.

T. P. Balagopalan M. A. (1986)

T. P. Balagopalan M. A is the first theatre release of Sathyan Anthikad – Sreenivasan combination films. Mohanlal plays the titular role of T. P. Balagopalan in this film and Shobana played the female lead. Through their scripts, new directors and screenwriters of the 1980s showed the mirror of Kerala society back then, and one of the social issues they widely discussed was unemployment. Many of the films of Sathyan Anthikad – Sreenivasan combination were scripted around this topic, and both T. P. Balagopalan M. A and Gandhinagar 2nd Street belongs to this genre.

The duo always tried to weave stories based on social issues like unemployment with a touch of humour and hence they never appeared preachy. Instead, they became pure entertainers, but deeply rooted in reality of the society which was suffering from such issues like struggles of middle class to meet both ends. Sathyan Anthikkad won Kerala state award for best story for the film. 

Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam (1986)

Thilakan’s “Charles Shobharaj” dialogue, Mohanlal’s umbrella and Sreenivasan’s dance steps are not easy for Malayalis to forget. Fighting each other full time, Mohanlal & Karthika made an amazing screen on screen. Sreenivasan’s screen space was small, but memorable. Though many of the scenes he portrayed on screen were serious, they look so funny. Needless to say, the duo together presented a few nostalgic movies to Malayalis, and the credit goes to Sathyan Anthikkad who made wonderful movies with him. One among the best works of Sathyan Anthikkad – Sreenivasan team (screenwriter/actor), the movie still enjoys a cult classic status.

The movie is a satire take on a socially relevant subject – how to vacate tenants. Original story was written by Sathyan Anthikkad taking inspirations from a real-life incident. In fact, he picks characters from society & that’s why they are relatable. Many of its dialogues written by Sreenivasan are still popular, and form a part of Kerala’s meme culture. He played the pivot character of Sub-Inspector K. Rajendran in the film, and the popular song, “Pavizhamalli Poothulanja” song was filmed on him and Karthika. It was one of the very rare occasions, where Sreenivasan played a romantic role on screen, and Malayali audience loved it.

In its Hindi remake of Priyadarshan – Yeh Teraa Ghar Yeh Meraa Ghar, original lead roles played by Mohanlal and Karthika were reprised by Suniel Shetty and Mahima Chaudary respectively, while Priyadarshan’s all-time favourite actor Paresh Rawal reprised Sreenivasan’s role with a comic touch. It was one among the Priyadarshan remakes, which failed at box office.

Nadodikkattu (1987) and Pattanapravashem (1988)

As both these movies form a part of Nadodikkattu Triology scripted by Sreenivasan and directed by Sathyan Anthikad, I would like to take the first two parts together. The third & final installment, Akkare Akkare Akkare directed by Priyadarshan came out in 1990. Though all the three parts worked well at box office, the first part, which is a part of popular meme culture stands out. But still, I loved both the sequels. Unlike today, it was not so common to make sequels in the 1980s. Even during present times, it’s not easy to make sequels and make all of them popular. And if Sreenivasan achieved it, it’s his brilliance.

Siddique-Lal combo wrote the story of the first part. Through his script, Sreenivasan presented to us Jai and Veeru (Sholay reference) through the iconic characters, Dasan and Vijayan, and after the success of this combo, Mohanlal and Sreenivasan did numerous movies together and made us laugh. Yet Nadodikkattu always ranks first.

The comedy scenes of the duo surrounding cow and their journey to ‘Gulf’ make Malayalis even today. Mohanlal played Dasan, while Sreenivasan stepped into the shoes of Vijayan, both unemployed, dreaming big and looking for a better life, which is very much relatable, even today. The characters played by Thilakan, Captain Raju and Mammookoya are iconic, and many of their popular dialogues, written by Sreenivasan are bi-heart to every Malayalis. That was the kind of influence made by Nadodikkattu on Malayalis.

Nadodikkattu explored topics like unemployment of youth of 1980s and how Gulf culture influenced Malayalis. It was a clear mirror of society back then and can take as a reference for research. It showcased how the socio-political conditions of the 1980s resulted in the unemployment of several youngsters. The film ends where both the lead characters become CIDs. Pattanapravashem was a continuation of Nadodikkattu, where they solve an assigned task. Also read: When Priyadarshan Met Sreenivasan: 10 Films That Became Malayalam Classics

Varavelpu (1989)

This satirical dark comedy film directed by Sathyan Anthikad was written by Sreenivasan, who played the important role of a vehicle inspector. Mohanlal played the lead role of Murali, who returns from Gulf after 7 years and the film explores his journey and hardships to establish a startup business in Kerala. The challenges faced by him after buying a private bus is shown in this film.

It depicted trade union problems plaguing Kerala and the issues created by union members and the dirty politics. Unfortunately, such issues prevail even today, one of the reasons why Kerala is still not a business-friendly state. Revathi played the female lead of a student in this film. In the Hindi remake, lead roles were played by Govinda, Rajpal Yadav and Reema Sen.

Thalayanamanthram (1990)

In one talk show when Urvashi was given a few choices of big stars and asked to name the most handsome actor she worked with, she asked, “Why Sreenivasan’s name is not in the list?”. Without a second thought she took the name of Sreenivasan. Following his demise, she said, Sreenivasan gave her the career best roles. Thalayanamanthram is the best proof. The movie played a magnificent role in establishing her career and she won state award for best actress too. Though Sreenivasan didn’t script Ponmuttayidunna Thaaavu, they worked together as the lead pair, directed by Sathyan Anthikad earlier.

Urvashi portrayed the grey shaded role of a pretentiousness and greedy wife belonging to middle class, and how she gaslights her husband creating problems in the joint family, consisting of mother, younger brother and his wife. The title Thalayanamanthram can be literally connected to henpecked husband who listens whatever his wife says, and this character was played by Sreenivasan on screen. Jayaram played his younger brother, and Parvathy played his sister-in-law, who form a part of the joint family. Urvashi’s character was written neat by Sreenivasan and it explores some of the hidden characters of every woman. It’s one of the best films of Sathyan Anthikkad’s career too.

Sandesham (1991)

The most celebrated script of the legends – Sandesham is Kerala’s best political satire too. Generation passes one after the another, yet the memes and trolls of Sathyan Anthikkad’s Sandesham fill the timeline of every social media site of Malayalis during election campaign. Even after 3.5 decades of making, if a movie is still popular and relevant with current political scenario, it’s a script way ahead of times. We, Malayalis are blessed with some of the best movies of Sathyan Anthikad – Sreenivasan combo, and Sandesham made in 1991 tops the list, followed by Nadodikkattu.

Each and every funny dialogue of Sandesham is a part of meme culture. During election campaigns, both parties selectively pick lines and deploy them as political weapons to pit one side against the other. But in reality, Sreenivasan is trolling the Communist Party. Once a follower of this party, he witnessed its changing colours and ideologies and keeping these things in mind, he wrote this script as a political satire. He left the party too. This script came out in 1991, when USSR split into Russia and many other nations.

Sreenivasan himself played the lead role of the elder brother Prabhakaran Kottappalli in the film, while Jayaram played his younger brother Prakashan Kottappalli, and the brothers belong to two opposite political parties of Kerala. Thilakan played the pivot role of Raghavan Nair, their father in the film. Each and every scene should be celebrated. Whether it’s cameo role of Innocent or Shankarady’s assessment on how their party lost elections, each scene owns a separate fan base. ‘Nariyal’ scene starring actor Innocent is so hilarious!

Through Sreenivasan’s script, Sathyan Anthikad dug deep into Prabhakaran and Prakashan’s political differences and irresponsibility toward their family for the sake of their political career, and how events unfold to make them see the reality. This movie is one of the best of Sathyan Anthikad’s career too.

Irattakuttikalude Achan (1997)

Manju Warier worked with Sathyan Anthikkad in three films and Irattakuttikalude Achan was the first one. It’s the single film Sreenivasan scripted for her, in his entire career. This film is a celebration of motherhood (and fatherhood) too, and Sreenivasan neatly wrote the characters – Rajeevan and Anupama, portrayed by Jayaram and Manju on screen. The story revolves around the life of a couple and the circumstances after twins are born to them. The climax is the highlight of the film, truly emotional.

Narendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka (2001)

Sathyan Anthikkad films are guaranteed hits at box office. That’s the kind of acceptance this director has among Malayali audiences. But this film was not a box office hit. When I watched this film years back, I liked it a lot, and I wonder how it failed at box office. The movie was slow paced comparing other mass entertainers ruling theatres at the beginning of new Millennium, and that could be the reason why this film flopped. As a cinephile I would like to list this film among the best films of Sathyan Anthikad, scripted by Sreeni.

It’s the single collaboration of Kunchacko Boban and Sathyan Anthikkad, and it happened at a times when the actor was carrying a chocolate boy image. The movie also marked the acting debut of Asin in a supporting role (her single Malayalam film though a Malayali), before she moving to Kollywood and Bollywood and establishing herself. The movie told the story of Jayakanthan, inheriting his ancestral property in a quirky village.

Njan Prakashan (2018)

This movie is credited as the last film of Sreenivasan as a screenwriter before he became critically ill. For the last few years of his professional life, most of his films failed to connect chord with audience and failed at box office. But when he teams with his friend, it’s something different. Sathyan Anthikkad – The master of good feel films had earlier made Oru Indian Pranayakadha with Fahadh Fasil, which worked at box office. This movie was one of the biggest hits of the year, and will be marked as the last one of Sathyan Anthikad – Sreenivasan combo (both as script and also the last time when Sreenivasan appeared in his film).

Sreenivasan scripts something similar and it reminds you of Fahadh’s character in Oru Indian Pranayakadha. Njan Prakashan became one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all times. The movie also starred Anju Kurian, Sreenivasan, Nikhila Vimal and Devika Sanjay in pivot roles. The heart-breaking climax shown by Sathyan Anthikad forces us to think about different philosophies of life, significant of hard work and self-less service, and how you can transform yourself. It’s one of the sigature feel-good films of Sathyan Anthikad, which Malayali audience always loved him for.

Other major works of Sathyan Anthikad – Sreenivasan combo:

Sreedharante Onnam Thirumurivu (1987), My Dear Muthachan (1992), Golanthara Vartha (1993) and Yathrakarude Sradhakku (2002) are a few more films scripted by Sreeni for Sathyan Anthikad. Before I conclude let me mention a few Sathyan Anthikad films not scripted by Sreenivasan, but he played important roles.

Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu (1988) is often misinterpreted as scripted by Sreenivasan, which is not at all true. The movie was written by Raghunath Paleri, but the lead role of goldsmith was played by Sreenivasan. This film directed by Sathyan Anthikad is nostalgic for Malayalis and always remembered as one of the finest films of Sreenivasan as an actor. Jayaram and Urvashi appeared in pivot roles. Sreenivasan’s supporting roles in Mammootty starrer Kalikkalam (1990) and Oraal Maathram (1997), and Suresh Gopi starrer Samooham (1993) directed by Sathyan Anthikad is also memorable.

Also read: 10+ Iconic Bollywood films originally scripted by Sreenivasan