Chotta Mumbai
Poster
Directed byAnwar Rasheed
Written byBenny P. Nayarambalam
Produced byManiyanpilla Raju
Ajayachandran Nair
Raghuchandran Nair
StarringMohanlal
Narrated byMohanlal
CinematographyAlagappan N.
Edited byDon Max
Music byRahul Raj
Production
company
Sree Bhadra Pictures
Distributed byVaishakha Release
Release date
  • 7 April 2007 (2007-04-07)
Running time
137 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam

Chotta Mumbai (Transl. Small Mumbai) is a 2007 Indian Malayalam-language action comedy film directed by Anwar Rasheed, written by Benny P. Nayarambalam, and co-produced by Maniyanpilla Raju. The film stars Mohanlal in the lead role with Siddique, Jagathy Sreekumar, Kalabhavan Mani, Indrajith Sukumaran, Manikuttan, Bijukuttan, Sai Kumar and Bhavana in supporting roles. Rahul Raj composed the score and songs of the film. The plot follows Vasco da Gama (Thala) and his gang of friends, all unemployed and leading a happy-go-lucky life until they encounter a corrupt police officer and gangster, Nadeshan.

The film released on 7 April 2007 opened to positive reviews and was a great success in box office.

Plot

The film starts in a street in Fort Kochi where Vasco da Gama, the son of a wrestler named Michael, lives. Vasco and his gang of five – "Mullan" Chandrappan, Susheelan, Sainu, "Padakkam" Basheer, and cousin Tomichan are small-time goons, involved in petty offenses and as the movie progresses, these characters turn out to be more endearing than bad.

Vasco goes by the nickname Thala (head) since he is the gang leader. Though Michael rebukes his son time and again for his lifestyle choices, he loves him and has big dreams for him. The plot progresses when a marriage broker contracts a wedding between Vasco and auto-rickshaw driver Latha, the only daughter of Pambu Chakochan who is a heavy drinker and a longtime friend of Michael.

Vasco likes Latha, but she pleads with him to tell her father that he does not like her because she plans to elope with her boyfriend. Overjoyed at having discovered a fellow drinker in Vasco, Chakochan does not even let him voice his opinion. Vasco decides to help Latha out, but her plan to elope fails when she discovers that her boyfriend Suni is involved in human trafficking. She returns to Vasco.

Later when Vasco, Michael, Chandrappan, and Latha travel in her auto-rickshaw, they clash with a gang that has been on the run after stabbing a honest police officer called Mohandas. Vasco and his father were witnesses to the murder which was committed by Satheesan, the younger brother of a corrupt circle inspector called Nadesan. This leads to complications.

Cast

Production

Jayasurya was cast in a role, but he had to opt out from the film due to scheduling conflicts with Kangaroo (2007 film).[1]

Music

Chotta Mumbai
Soundtrack album by
Rahul Raj
ReleasedMarch 2007[2]
Studio
GenreFilm soundtrack
Length25:20
LabelSatyam Audios
Rahul Raj chronology
Chotta Mumbai
(2007)		 Time
(2007)

Composer Rahul Raj made his feature film debut through this film. The songs Thalaa and Vasco da Gama became chartbusters.

TrackSong TitleSinger(s)LyricistOther notes
1"Vasco da Gama"Afsal, Rimi Tomy, Vipin XavierSarath VayalarCarnival song in the climax
2"Poonila"Sangeeth, Sangeetha PrabhuSanthosh VarmaRaga: Kalyani, Sindhu Bhairavi[3]
Not picturised
3"Thala"Shankar Mahadevan, Arjun Sasi, Sangeeth, Rahul RajSarath VayalarHighlighting the lead character Thala
4"Chettikulangara"M. G. Sreekumar, Sayanora PhilipSreekumaran Thampi, Sarath VayalarMohanlal's intro song
Cover version of yesteryear song composed by M. K. Arjunan
5"Chotta Mumbai"Rahul Raj, Sreerag, SreelakshmiSarath VayalarTitle song. Showing the life of Chotta Mumbai gang.
6"Chettikulangara (Tell Me Now)"M. G. Sreekumar, Sayanora PhilipSreekumaran Thampi, Sarath VayalarNot picturised

Release

The film was released on 7 April 2007 in 60 screens in Kerala, the biggest release for a Malayalam film.[4]

Critical reception

The film was well received by critics. Unni R. Nair, in his review for Nowrunning.com said, "An out and out entertainer, it's a film that you would like to just sit back and enjoy, pushing all logical thinking to the background. Chotta Mumbai is a film that cashes in on Mohanlal's superstar image and its aim is merely to entertain and enthrall." ()[5] Paresh C Palicha of Rediff.com gave the film a rating and positively reviewed the film's script, Mohanlal's lead performance, Anwar Rasheed's direction as well as the performances of the supporting cast.[6] Sify.com also published an extremely positive review and said: "What makes the film tick is Mohanlal's at the heart of this mad, mad, mad world with his impeccable sense of comic timing. Clearly, he is at home playing this type of character- for him, it is the equivalent of an old pair of Hawai slippers. If laughter is the best medicine then Anwar Rasheed has earned his stripes yet again."[7]

Box office

The film was a blockbuster at the box office and became one of the top five highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year. It ran for over 101 days in theatres.[8][9]

References

  1. ↑ George, Vijay (4 January 2008). "Interview : A positive impact". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 8 January 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  2. ↑ "Audio CD Cover". Facebook. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  3. ↑ "Chotta Mumbai - MSIDb". malayasangeetham.info. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  4. ↑ "Is Rajni bigger than the Mega M's ? - Sify.com". Sify. 16 June 2007. Archived from the original on 16 June 2007. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  5. ↑ "Review by Nowrunning.com"
  6. ↑ "Chotta Mumbai is fun"
  7. ↑ "Movie Review: Chotta Mumbai"
  8. ↑ "Malayalam top ten 2007". Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  9. ↑ "Chotta Mumbai 75days". Archived from the original on 1 April 2012.
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