How Mammootty’s shirt from blockbuster ended up with Malayalam cinema’s most iconic villain Ramji Rao

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Prior to their debut as filmmakers, the Siddique-Lal duo worked as assistants to legendary director Fazil. During the making of Fazil’s Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal (1986), Lal’s eyes fell on the rust-brown, double-pocket shirt worn by the film’s lead star, Mammootty. Not just him, almost everyone on set fell in love with the megastar’s look in that apparel. Lal, nonetheless, loved the shirt so much that after the shoot, he approached Mammootty and expressed his desire to have it. Mammootty, in a loving and generous gesture, gifted him the shirt.

Babu Shahir, the Siddique-Lal duo’s friend, revealed in an interview, “Lal cherished that shirt for a long time. He attended many events wearing it.” Fast-forward three years after Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal: Siddique and Lal were busy with their directorial debut, Ramji Rao Speaking (1989). Babu himself served as the production executive on this movie.

Lal spearheaded the creative aspects of the film, including costume design. As discussions progressed, Siddique and Lal felt that the titular villain, Ramji Rao, should have a sharp, stylish look befitting his name. That was when Lal remembered Mammootty’s rust-brown shirt that had captivated everyone on a film set. He felt that the colour and outfit would be most suitable for Ramji Rao.

Upon sharing this with Siddique, he too agreed. Thus, they decided to use Mammootty’s old shirt as a reference to give their villain an attractive look. They subsequently had the costume department purchase fabric in the same colour and material as the shirt Mammootty wore in Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal. Needless to say, Siddique-Lal’s decision yielded positive results.

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While Ramji Rao Speaking became one of the most celebrated comedy dramas in the history of Malayalam cinema, its characters and their dialogues also turned iconic. The villain Ramji Rao, played by Vijayaraghavan, also went on to become one of the most memorable and funniest Malayalam villains of all time. Ramji Rao Speaking was later remade in Hindi as Hera Pheri (2000), which too is now regarded as a comedy classic.