Mohanlal finally meets Jayakrishnan of Thoovanathumbikal, the man for whom Padmarajan built a memorial

Don’t Miss | Malayalam cinema’s Q1 2026 was disappointing and heartbreaking, until Aadu 3 saved it

Thoovanathumbikal and Mannarathodi Jayakrishnan

The most intriguing aspect of Jayakrishnan is that the character is based on a real-life person — Padmarajan’s friend, Karikkath Unni Menon. Not just the essence and soul of the character, including his gestures and mannerisms, but the late writer-director also took incidents from Unni Menon’s life and portrayed them in Thoovanathumbikal. One of the major reasons the movie feels so lifelike is that it’s made from pages torn from the life story of an actual person, who still lives among us with the same eccentricity and youthful exuberance.

A member of the aristocratic Mannarathodi family, Jayakrishnan succeeded his father as patriarch following the latter’s death. While he is a dutiful son and brother at home, he is a frugal feudal lord for those around him in his village. Yet, he never hesitates to do manual labour on his farmland, unlike other lordlords. In the town, away from his village, he has another face. Among friends there, he is the vivacious one who celebrates each moment to the fullest. “There is an underworld in this very town that’s willing to do anything for him,” Madhavan (Sreenath) tells his sister Radha (Parvathy Jayaram) about Jayakrishnan.

Filmmaker-author P Padmarajan. (Credit: Facebook/@anantha.padmanabhan.165; Enhanced by AI)

Although he stands by his friends in whatever they need, Jayakrishnan has never been romantically involved with any woman. Radha is the first person he falls for, and she outrightly rejects him, shattering his ego completely. Amid this dual life, he subsequently gets involved with a sex worker, Clara (Sumalatha). While he slowly develops romantic feelings for her, she also walks out of his life. But eventually, he realises that both Radha and Clara have feelings for him, leaving him torn between them. However, both women are in control of their own decisions, and only Jayakrishnan needs to make up his mind. Here, all the masculinity and eccentricity he thought he possessed are of no help, and he is forced to get in touch with his inner self to make a decision.

Widely regarded as one of the most iconic romantic dramas in Malayalam cinema, Thoovanathumbikal is noted for its layered writing — which also brilliantly explores the greys in people, as well as the intricacies of selfless and selfish love in tandem — and extraordinary performances.

Mohanlal and Sumalatha in Thoovanathumbikal. (Screenshot: YouTube/MZmalayalammoviecafe)

Who is Karikkath Unni Menon?

Recently, YouTube channel Pappappa released a special segment in which Karikkath Unni Menon talked about his life and also sat down for his first in-person conversation with Mohanlal, marking the union of the real and reel Jayakrishnan. “Padmarajan was my close friend. He created the character Jayakrishnan after closely observing my characteristics and even the affairs I had,” Unni recalled during the segment, adding that much like the character, he too maintained different personalities in front of different crowds in life.

Interestingly, the 86-year-old is still a man of letters, as he was in his youth, and is as sharp as ever. An alumnus of Sree Kerala Varma College in Thrissur, he initially joined the BSc Chemistry course in 1957 after noticing that a film director had a BSc Honours. However, he eventually realised he had little interest in Chemistry and decided to pursue Literature instead. Back then, he frequently wrote stories for weeklies as well.

It was during one of those days that he met Padmarajan, who was working at All India Radio at the time, and they immediately hit it off. “During one of their nights of madness, Unni Menon and my father, along with their friends, went to a hilltop. Seeing that earthly beauty basked in moonlight, Unni uncle felt like jumping from the hill. There’s no reason why he felt like dying at that time; that’s just how eccentric he was. He even made a leap, but Dad pulled him back,” Anantha Padmanabhan recalled. From his words, it’s clear why Padmarajan decided to base Jayakrishnan on Unni Menon.

Must Read | Before KH x RK Reunion, landmark Malayalam film Twenty:20 tried to bring Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan together; producer reveals why it didn’t happen

Unni Menon meets Mohanlal

As he sat down for the chat with Mohanlal, the real Jayakrishnan revealed that he watched the movie for the first time while in Dubai. “I was shocked upon seeing the film. Although Padmarajan made several alterations, many of the incidents depicted in Thoovanathumbikal had actually happened in my life,” he told the Malayalam superstar. Opening up about his life philosophy, Unni shared that he had never hesitated to spend lavishly. “Celebration,” he said, “that’s what I live by. It’s all about celebrating the moment we are living in.”

Revealing that he wanted to live as a chronic bachelor forever, Unni said it was his meeting with his now-wife, Usha, that changed his mind. He also shared that the character of Radha, whom Jayakrishnan eventually ends up with, is based on Usha. As the conversation progressed, Mohanlal recalled learning from somewhere that Unni told Padmarajan during their final interaction, before the ace filmmaker passed away in 1991, “Usually, people make memorials for others after they die. But you made a memorial for me while I am still alive.” He admitted that it actually happened.

Unni Menon on losing both his sons, and turning to Osho

Although a man who wished to celebrate every moment in life to the fullest, tragedy struck Karikkath Unni Menon’s life as he and his wife lost both their sons in a gap of two months, leaving them emotionally shattered. In the aftermath, while struggling to come to terms with their children’s deaths, they found solace in the writings and teachings of Osho Rajneesh.

Expressing his elation at finally meeting the person on whom one of his most iconic characters was based, Mohanlal likened the sensation he was feeling at that moment to the high only a thousand bottles of wine could give. The superstar also revealed that Padmarajan never told him that the character of Jayakrishnan was based on one of his friends, let alone reveal Unni Menon’s identity.

Who is Thoovanathumbikal’s Clara?

As the conversation moved to its final leg, Mohanlal posed the question that Malayalees have long been asking themselves: Who is Clara? One of the most iconic female characters in Malayalam cinema history, Clara is seen as both a symbol of the liberated woman and an embodiment of selfless love. She and rain have been depicted in the movie as inseparable, and, accompanied by Johnson’s legendary background score, the trio still gives fans goosebumps.

“Even I have often wondered: has it (meeting someone like Clara) actually happened in my life? The Clara storyline could very well have happened, especially since we all lived in a similar setup at the time,” he noted, underscoring how Padmarajan brilliantly fused fiction and reality to create one of the most iconic romantic sagas in Malayalam.