Udayon

Udayon
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Bhadran
Written by	Bhadran
Produced by	Maha Subair
Starring	Mohanlal Laya Salim Ghouse Kalabhavan Mani Manoj K. Jayan Innocent Nassar Jagathy Sreekumar
Cinematography	Ramachandra Babu
Edited by	Ranjan Abraham
Music by	Ouseppachan
Production company	Varnachithra Big Screen
Distributed by	Varnachithra Release
Release date	15 July 2005 (2005-07-15)
Running time	157 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Udayon (transl. Owner/Overlord) is a 2005 Indian Malayalam-language action-comedy film written and directed by Bhadran and produced by Maha Subair. It stars Mohanlal in dual roles: 75-year-old farmer Suranadu Kunju and his happy-go-lucky son Papoyi, Laya plays the female lead role and also features Salim Ghouse, Manoj K. Jayan, Kalabhavan Mani, Innocent, Jagathy Sreekumar and Siddique in substantial roles. The film features original soundtrack composed by Ouseppachan.^[1]

Mohanlal plays the double role of 75-year-old Shooranadu Kunju and his son Papoyi. Kunju thinks that the heartbeat of the earth is in soil (Agriculture) and not in any other vocation. His beliefs on land and agrarianism are good, but his value system that farmers and farming are more important and better than anything else is preposterous. He denies his sons the opportunity to pursue their interests and wants them to be successful in agriculture, which leads to frequent sarcastic quarrels between Kunju and his three sons. Also, when he decides to marry off his daughter to an odd looking but farming enthusiast instead of an educated, handsome Doctor makes them feel that the father is destroying and spoiling their lives with his ideals, stubbornness and high handedness.

Kunju had swindled a large portion of land (5 Acres) - which should have been inherited by his sister Eechamma by discreetly altering his Father's Will with the assistance of the family lawyer. The deceit is revealed to Eechamma years later by a severely ailing and remorseful Mullassery Sreedharan, the family lawyer. Eechamma decides to get back her rightful share through a proper legal channel as she is in a tight financial situation compared to Kunju. Eighteen years ago, Eecha's husband (A toddy shop owner) had committed suicide due to a dire financial crisis, after beseechingly requesting Kunju for help, which the latter denied owing to his miserly behaviour.

Mathan, Eecha's second son - known as JCB for owning and operating a Bulldozer for his livelihood - and his villainous brother-in-law, a local Tamil village chieftain and an arbitrator, adds a twist as he interferes in the family property dispute. All said and done, the sister doesn't want evil to her brother, and her younger son, the mute, also doesn't want. Papoyi tries to save things but never has luck. Ultimately, Kunju's youngest son is used as a bait to coerce for the transfer of property. Amidst the chaos, Ponnan is killed, and Kunju kills the villainous brother-in-law, Perumal and gives the family property keys to Eecha, and the patriarch stick to Papoyi after being arrested and taken to the prison. While leaving his house with the Police, Kunju - an impassive individual - wails loudly, repenting his misdeeds.

• Mohanlal in a dual role as:
  • Shooranadu Kunju aka Kunji Pappan (Father)
  • Shooranadu Papoyi (Second Son)
• Salim Ghouse as Perumal
• Kalabhavan Mani as Mathan, second son of Ichamma
• Manoj K. Jayan as Pottan Pathru, youngest son of Ichamma
• Innocent as Shooranad Rarichan, first son of Kunju
• Laya as Nurse Maya, Papoyi's classmate and love interest
• Jagathy Sreekumar as Shavappetty Thoma, First Son of Ichamma
• Siddique as Mammali, Shoorand Pappoyi's best friend
• Master Adarsh as Ponnan, youngest son of Kunju (voice dubbed by Kalidas Jayaram)
• Kuku Paremeswaran as Malli
• Shammi Thilakan as Sub Inspector Itti
• Bheeman Raghu as Circle Inspector Illikadan
• Mohan Jose as Manthodi Joppan
• Sadiq as Mathai, Pappoy's friend
• Kulappulli Leela as Bullet Kuttiyamma
• Rajan P. Dev as Chetti
• M. R. Gopakumar as Chackochi, Ichamma's husband
• Idavela Babu as Shooranad Itti, Third son of Kunju
• Nassar as Unni Vaidyan, Maya's father
• Bindu Panicker as Ichamma
• Rekha as Nangeli
• Sukanya as Susiemol, only daughter of Kunju and Pappoi's Younger Sister
• Ambika Mohan as

Leelamma, Rarichan's wife

• V. K. Sreeraman as Advocate Sreedharan
• Kochu Preman as Kangaroo, Bus conductor
• Vinayakan as Thoma's helper
• Valsala Menon as Karthyayani Amma
• Kalpana as Kunjujamma
• Unnikrishnan Namboothiri as Priest
• Baby Akshai as Son of Kuku Paremeswaran
• Vinod Therattil as Person helping Papoyi during the bus accident
• Baiju Ezhupunna, Koothattukulam Mathai as Tipper Lorry Driver

Jyothika was offered to act as lead actress with Mohanlal. But she could not do it due to her busy schedules in Tamil.^[2] She was later replaced by Telugu actress Laya.^[3]

The film features original soundtrack composed by Ouseppachan.

The film was released on 15 July 2005, and became an average in the box office, also getting mixed to negative reviews from the critics. Most of them criticized the complicated plot but Mohanlal’s performance as the crafty, tough bordering on villainy, Shooranad Kunju was well praised.^[3][4] The Times of India mentioned Mohanlal's appearance as the old but toughened Soornadu Kunju perfectly suits his character. The actor's makeover as a grumpy old farmer is convincing. Mohanlal is spotted with a white moustache and a fake tooth stained with tobacco which is apt for his role of that of an old-fashioned conservative farmer.^[5] WebIndia123 called the film "a must see for Mohanlal fans".^[6]

• Udayon at IMDb