Ramji Rao Speaking

It's the best movie👍, I have not seen such beautiful movie

Mannar Mathai(Innocent) is in financial crisis as his drama company Urvasi Theatres has been closed. He has two people staying at his home as paying guests. One is Balakrishnan(Saikumar) and other is Gopalakrishnan(Mukesh). Balakrishnan comes to city for a job to pay off his debts. Gopalakrishnan is a jobless guy who lies to his sick mother that he has a good job. Three of their lives take a turning point when Balakrishnan receives a wrong number from a kidnapper Ramji Rao(Vijayaraghavan). This film was a surprise hit as it had many newcomers and not so popular actors. Story is fresh and humour was superb. This film sky rocketed several people's career. Its director duo Siddique Lal later made many cult blockbusters to their credit. Though they parted ways, they found success there also in their respective fields. Siddique became a successful independent director whereas Lal became a successful actor, producer and director. Mukesh got established as a medium range comedy hero. Innocent got flooded with offers and became a popular comedian of malayalam cinema after Jagathi Sreekumar. Though Saikumar never got lead roles after this, he became a popular supporting actor in 90s and 2000s. Ramji Rao Speaking also started a trend of low budget comedy films in Malayalam. Also several films like this came in malayalam where the protagonist tries to make fast bucks to solve their financial issues. Overall Ramji Rao Speaking is a trend setting film.

Though strictly speaking this movie is not an epic, it is one among those which is remembered as one. The dialogues are still in the minds of every malayali. Ramji Rao Speaking is one movie which i guess every malayali must have enjoyed. There is not one element in this movie which was unwanted or unnecessary. All emotions ,whether it was sadness or happiness or comedy or subtle romance, it was so beautifully displayed. Also one has to note that this was the directorial debut of the duo Siddique Lal who are arguably the only duo who have the record of delivering only hits. their movies have also been remade in tamil and Hindi and also been as successful.

Kudos also to Saikumar. it was his first movie. And the rest of the stars liks Innocent, Mukesh, Mamukoya... One has to also note that this movie did not feature any one of super stars of that era like mamooty or mohan lal. And still this movie is onbe among the top films which ran for a very long time.

It is sad that we don't come across such movies anymore in the malayalam film industry. Ramji Rao Speaking would be one movie which is well above the many movies which have come and and which are yet to come.

Scenes to watch out for: (practically every scene is so good it is difficult to pick, yet my fav scenes)

1. Saikumar meeting Innnocent for the first time . Ente peru Balakrishnan

2. Mamukoya coming to Saikumar's office. Note the scenes where he comes there in more than one auto and the scenes inside the office especially Sankaradi comes in.

3. Sankaradi advising Rekha on the beach on how to lure Saikumar and the scene after that.

4. Mukesh calling his mother from Calcutta (supposedly) !! Too good

5. Mukesh showing Sukumari his house (supposedly) and Saikumar coming.

6. Saikumar picking up Ramji Rao's phone in the night.... Too good again!

7. Mamukoya coming to Saikumar's house and tells the masked guys to bring Saikumar and the scenes thereafter.

I can go on and i would literally describe every scene.... The movie is that good.. There are lot of scenes which i haven't mentioned but as I said the ones listed above are my personal fav from the rest of the scenes.....Its miss if you haven't seen this film.

I first saw this movie around 15 years ago when I was a little kid. Even though I have seen the movie around a hundred times, I still don't get bored. The reason are the memorable characters and the clever comedic lines that are unforgettable. This movie may not be generally mentioned as one of the greats when discussing Malayalam cinema but among common Malayalees this movie would stay in their hearts for years to come.

The plot is quite unique. Balakrishnan(Saikumar) and Gopalakrishnan(Mukesh) are two unemployed youth who somehow get a place to stay in the city due to Mannar Mathai's(Innocent) kindness. They fight with each other all the time and life continues till one day they get a phone call(a wrong number) from a gang who have kidnapped a girl. They then hatch a plan to deceive the thieves and get the money for themselves. How they achieve this forms the rest of the story. The screenplay is just perfect. Each scene is perfectly constructed so as to lead to the next scene and it doesn't feel like a few scenes are added unnecessarily just for comedy. In the first half, the scene when Balakrishnan comes to ask Mannar mathai for a room is just absolutely hilarious! It is one of the scenes which can stay in your mind for a lifetime. Innocent's subtle comedy is one of the best aspects of this film. His sarcasm and his manner of speaking are the highlights of this movie. The second half of the movie is pretty exciting. There is so much confusion in the second half that you would marvel at how the writers somehow tie up all the loose ends. The character of Hamsakoya is also really funny and in the second half also, he becomes useful in a totally different way. The emotional scenes are also not misplaced and jell perfectly with the movie. One of my favourite scenes is when Balakrishnan asks Gopalakrishnan whether he told the truth regarding his mother or not. The expression on his face shows the desperation of a guy who wants to make his mother happy.

The acting is first rate. The acting makes it seem like they are real people and they completely immerse themselves into character. Mukesh as the slimy Gopalakrishnan has given a great performance. The scene where he explains the truth to mannar mathai is heartfelt and feels real. These are the kind of scenes which make it a classic. Another scene is the scene where he phones his mother who lives in an old age home. This scene is classic and the expression on his face when he is asked for a blanket is absolutely hilarious! Saikumar as Gopalakrishnan has given a great performance and I feel he is one of the most underrated actors alive today. It is a pity he wasn't able to use this opportunity to get other good movies. Again, the scene where he confronts Gopalakrishnan should be mentioned as the comic timing is impeccable. His line "ivan full time kanjiya" is one of the most popular lines in the history of cinema today. Mamukoya as Hamsakoya, a man who Balakrishnan is indebted to, is also a popular character for all Malayalees. His line "eda balakrishna" in that traditional Malappuram accent is one of the most referenced lines in Malayalam cinema. Innocent as Mannar Mathai is the actual centerpiece of the film and he is my favourite comedian. The scene where he loses his mundu is hilarious and this is also one of the scenes which I play over and over again. The other performances in this film cannot be ignored. Devan as Urmees thampan is also another highlight as he was known to do mostly villain roles in those days. Here he gives a heart rending performance as a man who is desperately in search of his daughter. The music is a huge reason for the success of the movie. There are not many songs and the few that are there are good. But the background music is what impressed me so much.

Ultimately what contributes to the everlasting success of the movie is the realism of the characters and the mature comedy(without much vulgarity) that exists in the movie. It is one of my most favourite Malayalam movies.

10/10

A really good movie. Very funny and at the same time bring suspensse and seriousness at the end. Innocent and Mukesh are really funny and there are many funny jokes throughout the movie. Sai Kumar acting debut in this movie. And Siddique - Lals duo first movie which turns out to be a big hit like many more to come.