Thillu Mullu (1981)

English translation: Trickery (slang)
Director: K. Balachandar
Story: Visu (remake of Golmaal)
Cast: Rajinikanth, Madhavi, Thangai Srinivasan, Nagesh, Sowkar Janaki, Poornam Viswanathan
Music: M.S. Viswanathan 
Time: 136 minutes
Bottom-line: Loads of laughter, and plenty of entertainment. One of my all-time favourites

  Though this film was released almost a decade before Rajini got his ‘Superstar’ title, Thillu Mullu continues to be one of his best known films; and though this film came over 30 years ago, it remains an evergreen classic in Tamil cinema. Having big stars like Thengai Srinivasan and Nagesh, Thillu Mullu is one of the best comedies ever made in Tamil, and some say it is even better than the original, Golmaal. 

Aiyampettai Arivudainambi Kaliyaperumal Chandran, better known as AAK Chandran (Rajinikanth) has just completed his degree. His uncle (Viswanathan) advises him to attend the interview of his friend Sri Ramachandramurthy (Thangai Srinivasan), to get a job. He accordingly trains Chandran and Chandran also successfully gets the job. However, though his boss has a high regard of him, Chandran gets caught one day, when he lies to his boss that his mother is ill and leaves the office, only to be seen later that day at a football game, by Sri Ramachandramurthy himself. The next day, his boss is very angry with him, but Chandran remembers the words of his friend and actor Nagesh (played by Nagesh) about a moustache, and asks Sri Ramachandramurthy whether or not the person he saw at the match had a moustache under his nose. He thinks hard, but cannot remember. Chandran immediately grabs the opportunity and says that the person who attended the match was his ‘brother’ Indran (who doesn’t have a moustache), and not Chandran (who has a moustache). As Sri Ramachandramurthy cannot remember, he believes Chandran. But, then the fun starts. Chandran’s boss asks him when he can meet his brother. Chandran is dumbfounded, but, afraid of losing his job, he tries to find a solution to the problem. He approaches Nagesh, who advises him to shave his moustache and stick a fake one on, thereby being both Indran and Chandran. However, this is overheard by Kattabomman, as boy at Nagesh’s house, who also works for Sriramachandramuthy. Kattabomman later blackmails Chandran that he will tell his boss about the moustache affair. As the story progresses, Sri Ramachandramurthy also asks Chandran to marry his daughter Sarojini (Madhavi). But she is in love with Indran. The rest of the film is how Chandran cheats his boss and manages to keep himself afloat, without being caught his boss. 

Rajinikanth as Chandran

Rajini as Indran

This film is almost flawless in every aspect. The acting is excellent. Rajnikanth has done well to play both Indran and Chandran, two completely different characters, equally well. On one side, he has to play a casual, stylish youngster, who hates Sri Ramachandramurthy, and on the other hand, he has to play an honest, simple-minded employee, who is always devoted to his boss. Thengai Srinivasan’s acting is brilliant. His expression when he blindly listens to all the lies Chandran says makes the viewers laugh heartily. Sowkar Janaki and Nagesh have also acted very well. The music is good. The song ‘Raagangal Padhinaaru’ is very beautiful, and the visuals shown during this song are also good.  

Thengai Srinivasan as Sri Ramachandramurthy

The story is great. It is simple story, which turns out into a laughter ride. Almost every scene is funny in the film, and the comedy comes from all angles: story, acting, and mainly dialogues. Rajini’s and Srinivasan’s acting itself account for about 25% of the laughter. The dialogues are brilliant. There are lots of catchy phrases in the film, and tons of other funny dialogues; the dialogues account for about half the jokes. The comic timing is also good. The interview by Sri Ramachandramutrthy that Chandran attends is one of the best sequences in the film, if not the best of the lot. All the dialogues and the facial expressions of both Rajini and Srinivasan, during this scene, are excellent.

Madhavi as Sarojini

This film was remade in 2013, with Shiva starring as Pasupathi, for Rajinikanth’s role. Prakash Raj played the role of Pasupathi’s boss. This film was, in my opinion -and in the opinion of many other critics- a major flop. This was mainly because of poor acting and a very poor second half. The first half was almost a scene-by-scene copy of this film, but the second half goes wild, with the story moving to Dubai and all other crazy stuff. The ending of the 2013 film is poor. Santhanam makes a cameo appearance, for absolutely no reason at all. I think the director only wants to make him enter the film and do a couple of jokes and then exit. Anyway, compared to this film, that later film is a very poor one. Don’t visualize the original Thillu Mullu by viewing the 2013 version.

The 2013 film poster

To conclude, Thillu Mullu is a classic in Tamil cinema, and will also be a benchmark for comedy films. Great acting, great dialogues and a good story make this film a terrific family entertainer. No stunts, no unwanted fight, no lengthy duets… only pure comedy makes this film such a success. A must watch for any fan of Tamil cinema.

My Rating: 5/5