Mammootty’s ‘Manglish’ Catches On
No, it does not mean the Megastar speaks the popular and quite
hilarious, Malayalam- English combo, but that his character in the new
movie might. Quite a change after Aaashiq Abu’s ‘Gangster’, Mammookka
has joined the sets of his next film ‘Manglish’, directed by Salaam
Baappu and produced by Muhammed Haneef under the banner of Red Rose
creations. K.P. Riyas is the one who penned down this comedy
entertainer.
The plot revolves around a whole sale fish seller and fisherman named Tharakan (Mammootty) who auctions fish off at the beaches where the landscape is twofold, comprising of the earnest, native fishermen and the new fangled world of tourist Kerala with mobs of bustling tourists. One such tourist is being played by Dutch actress Caroline Bech who, interestingly, is not being paired against Mammootty but rather just ‘with’ him. Tharakan’s lack of know how when it comes to speaking English but his uncontrollable passion to do so nonetheless leads to him saying the wrong or inappropriate things at the wrong time. This, slightly overused but still potentially rich material, provides most of the comedic fodder for the movie along with interactions between English speaking foreign girl (Bech) and the salt of the earth, ‘manglish’ speaking Tharakan.
The world of tourism and that of native culture colliding in the backdrop of Kerala’s beaches and fishing industry provides an interesting perspective too.
However, we still have to see if the ‘bad English with a funny accent’ gimmick can provide laughs for the full length of the movie or will other cinematic aspects have to carry it for the fans.
Mammootty’s got quite a penchant for playing such characters as visible from hits like ‘Kottayam Kunjachan’ and ‘Rajamanikyam’. He also used a bit of the same comedy element in ‘Pokkiri Raja’.
The plot revolves around a whole sale fish seller and fisherman named Tharakan (Mammootty) who auctions fish off at the beaches where the landscape is twofold, comprising of the earnest, native fishermen and the new fangled world of tourist Kerala with mobs of bustling tourists. One such tourist is being played by Dutch actress Caroline Bech who, interestingly, is not being paired against Mammootty but rather just ‘with’ him. Tharakan’s lack of know how when it comes to speaking English but his uncontrollable passion to do so nonetheless leads to him saying the wrong or inappropriate things at the wrong time. This, slightly overused but still potentially rich material, provides most of the comedic fodder for the movie along with interactions between English speaking foreign girl (Bech) and the salt of the earth, ‘manglish’ speaking Tharakan.
The world of tourism and that of native culture colliding in the backdrop of Kerala’s beaches and fishing industry provides an interesting perspective too.
However, we still have to see if the ‘bad English with a funny accent’ gimmick can provide laughs for the full length of the movie or will other cinematic aspects have to carry it for the fans.
Mammootty’s got quite a penchant for playing such characters as visible from hits like ‘Kottayam Kunjachan’ and ‘Rajamanikyam’. He also used a bit of the same comedy element in ‘Pokkiri Raja’.
