Poocha Sanyasi

One of the first full length comedy films in Malayalam, Poocha Sanyasi (1981) stars Raj Kumar in the leading role as the flirtatious playboy son of a millionaire businessman(K. P. Ummer). I wonder how Raj Kumar came to play lead role in Malayalam movies, he obviously doesn’t look anything like a Malayali, infact to me he looks a typical Kannadiga or Konkani. Anyway the guy did a load of Malayalam movies in the early eighties, most of them in the comedy genre.

  

Rajkumar and Madhavi in Poocha Sanyasi 

Coming back to the movie, since the leading man is a playboy there is a bevy of beauties surrounding him in the first half and in the second half he is blissfully (bliss will soon be lost as his former girl friends start plotting against him) married to Madhavi(again a non-Kerala import who tried hand in Bollywood movies where success eluded her that she had to move Malayalam, she was a strong presence in Malayalam movies in the eighties.) The wife(Madhavi) was chosen by the playboy’s strict disciplinarian father(K. P. Ummar) to correct son of his wandering ways. Comedians Bahadur, Kuthiravattam Pappu and Sukumari have major roles as well. A surprise role was that of Balan.K Nair, who excelled in villain roles during this period, but has an interesting part as an Anglo-Indian party-animal, the brother of one of the girl friends who morphs in to a convincing villain in the climax scenes. I also glimpsed Silk Smitha – the one-time sex siren of the South as an extra in one of the dances.