Benny P Nayarambalam on Chotta Mumbai, which is set for re-release:' Rather than heroism, we focused on fun'

Time of India

11-05-2025

Mohanlal's Chotta Mumbai
, directed by
Anwar Rasheed
, has earned a cult classic status since its release in 2007, especially for its humour and presentation. The film took an unconventional path and presented a slightly silly, lazy hero who doesn't work and lands in trouble often. With the film set for a re-release soon, its writer,
Benny P Nayarambalam
, talks to us about the work that went behind the film, the expectations it had and his thoughts on the kind of content that works for the modern Malayali audience.
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Excerpts:
'It was a new-gen commercial film back then'
"Right from the beginning, Chotta Mumbai was to be a Mohanlal project. We planned it as a comedy film from the start even thought it was a time when Mohanlal was in his mass-hero phase with films like Aaram Thampuran and Narasimham. We decided that his role wouldn't be overpowerful, and would be grounded with more fun elements. The main characters were a group of people who were not doing anything even past the age of securing a job. Rather than heroism, we focused on fun! The Fort Kochi region and carnival are very familiar to us, and there are some troublemakers around the region, too. But instead of exploring it at a higher level of crime, we decided to cut down on violence and turned up the entertainment quotient. The film had a story that develops through incidents rather than a deep exploration of emotions. The interpersonal interactions also have underlying humour in them despite the premise being that of a warring son and father and that of a brother and sister. It was a new-generation commercial film at that time."
'Thala' was inspired from
Ajith
'
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"In the film, Mohanlal's gang has people of different ages and that was intentional because if they were in the same age range, it would have become a bit more serious and the gang would have come across as too strong. The youngsters in the gang can't call the leader by name and we didn't want to use the clichéd names. So, we came up with Thala (head). When his gang calls Mohanlal Thala, it expresses both respect and friendship. And Ajith being called Thala was an inspiration, too. We named Mohanlal's character Vasco da Gama because of the Kochi connect. We named the other characters quirkily, too. For example, Mullan Chandrappan. Mullan, as in spiky, because his hair is spiky, and his name is the local, commonly used Chandrappan."
'Anwar Rasheed came up with the title'
"The film's name itself was subject to discussion for a while. Anwar came up with this title. I had some doubts about it as I felt it might give the impression that this would be a serious gangster film. Anwar and I discussed the possibility of over-expectation about the character played by Mohanlal. To handle this, he told me we could use a quirky colourful font and make it look a little funny. It worked. Anwar was always very clear on what needed to be there. If we didn't need something, he'd clearly say so. Still, when the film was released, there were people who weren't very happy with the characterisation. Some had walked in expecting to see another Aaram Thampuran and got disappointed, but the film gained acceptance after that."
'An auto-driving heroine was a representative of the modern woman'
"A heroine (played by
Bhavana
) who was in love with someone else at the beginning of the story, one who drives an auto — something unconventional at that time — was one of the highlights of the film. She was a representative of the modern woman. How we pace a character from the beginning makes a world of difference in how the audience accepts them. We portrayed characters that were not very serious."
'People still wish for such films filled with humour'
We hope the new generation that speaks about the film will watch it again (in theatre) and enjoy it. Many ask us if there will be a second part, and wonder if there will be a film like this one again! There are people who still wish for this sort of film with a lot of humour in it.
'Audiences want different content, not repetitive patterns'
"One of the reasons the recent Thudarum worked well is because Mohanlal is portrayed as an ordinary man. There are characters who stand on earth... grounded, rooted. We've lacked those for a while. That drove some families away from cinemas. While some films worked well with youngsters, films that work in a common space — for everyone — didn't happen for a while. Believable, relatable characters and feel are important in any movie. Cinema will keep moving like a flowing river, and there will be shifts, changes, etc... We sh ould always think differently. No matter which type, if we repeat it, it grows boring. Now, many films may follow Thudarum pattern, which will just be redundant, just like how we will get bored if we eat biryani every day."
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