Chithram

The longest-running film in the history of Malayalam cinema. Kalyani decides to marry a man her family opposes. When he learns she will be cut out of the inheritance he disappears. The trouble is that her father, who lives in America, believes she is married and is coming home for a holiday. Kaimal, who runs the household, finds a solution: a man will be hired from outside to play the husband for as long as the father is there. The job goes to someone named Vishnu. The first part of the film is comedy. Vishnu and Kalyani argue constantly, he disrupts the running of the house, and everyone works to keep the lie going. Then the register slowly changes. The film does not end the way such films usually end, and that is what separates it from the mainstream productions of its period. That choice is among the reasons it is still cited today. Mohanlal plays Vishnu, Ranjini plays Kalyani and Nedumudi Venu plays Kaimal. Priyadarshan directed. It reached a theatrical run of more than three hundred and seventy days, a record still unbroken in Malayalam cinema. A foundational production for anyone who likes Indian cinema and narratives that change genre. Before you watch, know this: the film starts like a comedy and does not end like one.