Manichitrathazhu: 8 Facts That You Didn't Know About The Movie

Here are 8 facts about the all-time Manichitrathazhu, that you didn't know. Have a look...

By Akhila Menon

Manichitrathazhu, the Fazil movie still remains as one of the all-time classics of Malayalam movie industry. The blockbuster movie, which featured Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, and Shobana in the lead roles, has a huge fan following among both the Malayali and non-Malayali audiences.

The cult classic movie, which has been considered as one of the best psychological thrillers ever made in the history of Malayalam cinema, was a huge critical and commercial success. Manichitrathazhu was scripted by writer Madhu Muttam.

Here are the 8 interesting facts about Manichitrathazhu, that you don't know...

When Mohanlal Replaced Mammootty

When Mohanlal Replaced Mammootty

The role of Dr. Sunny, played by Mohanlal in the movie, was initially planned as a serious character. Director Fazil was planning cast Mammootty in the role. But later, the team decided to add a comical shade to the character and roped in Mohanlal to play the role.

Second Unit Directors

Second Unit Directors

Manichitrathazhu has had a second unit directors team, which consisted the popular film-makers Priyadarshan, Siddique-Lal, and Sibi Malayil. Several important sequences of the film, especially the comical sequences, were helmed by the second unit directors.

Suresh Gopi's Connection With The Climax Sequence

Suresh Gopi's Connection With The Climax Sequence

Fazil and Madhu Muttam were initially confused about the climax sequence of the movie. It was Suresh Gopi, who suggested them to try the dummy technique in the climax portions, to show how Shobana's Ganga gets cured through the special psychological treatment.

The Locations

The Locations

Most of the audiences still think that Manichitrathazhu was entirely shot at the Hill Palace of Tripunithura. But, the Oru Murai Vanthu Paarthaya song sequence was entirely shot at the famous Padmanabhapuram Palace, Trivandrum.

When Shridhar Replaced Vineeth

When Shridhar Replaced Vineeth

The role of Mahadevan, Ally's fiance who helps Sunny during Ganga's treatment, was initially offered to Vineeth. But the actor-dancer couldn't allot dates for the movie due to other professional commitments. Later, the team went on to rope in Kannada actor Shridhar for the role.

Malayalam Movie With The Maximum Remakes

Malayalam Movie With The Maximum Remakes

Manichitrathazhu still remains as the Malayalam movie to get the highest number of remakes in the history. The Fazil movie was remade in to Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Bengali, and Kannada languages. The movie also had a spin-off named Geethanjali in Malayalam, in 2013.

The Industry Hit

The Industry Hit

Manichitrathazhu emerged as the all-time highest grossing Malayalam movie of that time, by completing 365 days theatrical run in the all the major cities of Kerala. The 1993-released film had grossed a distributor's share of 5 Million.

Shobana's Dubbing Voices

Shobana's Dubbing Voices

As we all know, Shobana plays the role of Ganga, who suffers from multiple-personality disorder, in the movie. While renowned dubbing artist Bhagyalakshmi dubbed for Ganga's portions, Tamil dubbing artist Durga lend voice for Nagavalli, in the movie.

The movie, which was produced by Swargachitra Appachan, went on to bag the National Film Award and Kerala State Film Award for the Best Popular Movie Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Shobana won the award for the Best Actress, at both the State and National levels.

Interestingly, Manichitrathazhu emerged as the Malayalam movie to earn the highest TRP rating for its television screenings. The Fazil movie is still being screened on the prime time on the popular TV channel Asianet, even after 24 years of its release.

Manichitrathazhu was also featured in the list of all-time greatest Indian films, in a poll conducted by IBN Live during the celebrations of Indian cinema completing 100 years. The movie has also surpassed the reviews of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, to become the most-reviewed psycho-thriller in IMDB.

Advertisement

Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
X