Padmasree Bharat Dr. Saroj Kumar is a 2012 Indian Malayalam-language satirical parody film. It was directed by Sajin Raghavan as his directorial debut. The movie stars Sreenivasan as the titular superstar with Vineeth Sreenivasan, Fahadh Faasil, Jagathy Sreekumar, Suraj Venjaramoodu, and Mukesh.[citation needed] It is a spin-off of the popular 2005 film Udayananu Tharam. Sreenivasan reprises the original role of Saroj Kumar. The director announced this is not a sequel, and that only some characters from Udayananu Tharam were used. In the film, renowned actor Saroj Kumar is ousted from his film following a quarrel with a co-actor. He then goes on to try many tricks to sabotage the project but fails when the movie becomes a success.
| Padmasree Bharat Dr. Saroj Kumar | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Sajin Raaghavan |
| Written by | Sreenivasan |
| Produced by | Vaishaka Rajan |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | S. Kumar |
| Edited by | Kevin Thomas |
| Music by |
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| Distributed by |
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Release date |
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Running time | 147 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
The film was shot mainly in Chennai and Kochi.[1]
Saroj Kumar is a renowned South Indian actor who lost his fandom and successful films due to his arrogance and vanity. His latest films, like Vekkada Vedi, turn into flops due to his over-heroic performance and lack of story.
Alex Samuel and Pachalam Bhasi start their new film with Shyam, a debutant actor. Meanwhile Saroj bribes film associations and gets Samuel and Bhasi's film banned. He gets the rank of Colonel in the Army and brags about it. Meanwhile Babykuttan, another producer, helps Alex Samuel and Pachalam Bhasi to resume their project. Saroj Kumar tries to cancel the film in many ways but it is completed and is well received by the audience.
Meanwhile, the income tax department raids his premises and starts prosecution proceedings for tax evasion. How Saroj is tense about the matter, drinks a lot, and acts differently form the rest of the plot.
About the idea of making Padmasree Bharat Dr. Saroj Kumar, Sreenivasan says: "The thought of the film came to us when we started thinking about what should be happening to a superstar like Saroj Kumar at this point in time. He is getting old and the most challenging aspect about stardom is that once you have got it, the next question is how long it will last."[2]
The film was released on 14 January 2012 to mainly mixed reviews from critics, although, the comedy scenes received praise. Paresh C. Palicha of Rediff.com concluded his review saying, "On the whole, Padmasree Bharat Dr. Saroj Kumar is disappointing, to say the least."[3] Hari Prasad of Yentha.com said that "the film, despite having a good theme, suffers from a messy script."[4] Sify.com and Oneindia.in also published negative reviews saying that it is "disappointing."[5]
Music: Deepak Dev, Lyrics: Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mozhikalum" | Haricharan, Manjari | |
| 2. | "Iniyoru Chalanam" | Shaan Rahman, Vineeth Sreenivasan | |
| 3. | "Kesu" | Vineeth Sreenivasan, Shweta Mohan | |
| 4. | "Mozhikalum" | Haricharan |
