Mohanlal masterfully played MGR in Iruvar, then went on to look like his photocopy in a dud

But even if it’s impossible to pick the best Mohanlal film or his best performance, there’s no doubt that director Mani Ratnam’s Iruvar (1997) and the acting legend’s portrayal of Anandan in it rank among his finest. From the character’s body language and gestures to his voice modulation and dialogue delivery, Mohanlal gives Anandan an astounding uniqueness, elevating the movie’s overall brilliance. The movie also shows Anandan at different points in his life, and Mohanlal depicts his character’s evolution exceptionally well, with remarkable finesse.

Although not a biopic per se, Iruvar was inspired by the lives of former Tamil Nadu chief ministers MG Ramachandran and M Karunanidhi and their frenemy relationship, with Anandan being a fictional version of MGR. Hence, Mohanlal also added some of MGR’s gestures and physical mannerisms, such as his brisk walk and hand movements, to Anandan. So, in a way, it can be said that Mohanlal did a phenomenal job portraying MGR on screen.

Vamanapuram Bus Route can undoubtedly be described as one of the worst Malayalam films of the 2000s. (Credit: IMDb)

From Anandan to ‘Lever’ Johnny: A jarring shift

However, about seven years later, the acting legend almost tarnished the legacy of his iconic portrayal by playing an MGR fan, which is one of his worst performances of all time. In fact, the movie Vamanapuram Bus Route (2004) can undoubtedly be described as one of the worst Malayalam films of the 2000s.

The movie is so crass that it gives the impression that all the makers wanted to do was create about two hours’ worth of visuals, somehow stitch them together, and dump them onto theatre screens, certain that at least some people would turn up to see Mohanlal’s face, no matter what.

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And un/surprisingly, this plan somehow worked as Vamanapuram Bus Route, according to The Hindu, ran for over three weeks in 36 centres in Kerala and did good business outside the state as well. This is despite it being one of those films that even trolls can’t sit through, because it doesn’t even have any meme-worthy moments.

Directed by Sonu Sisupal and penned by Sudheesh-John, the movie revolves around “Lever” Johnny (Mohanlal), a bus employee who arrives in Vamanapuram at the panchayat president’s (Jagathy Sreekumar) request to help bring a bus route to the village, which the opposition party has been blocking. Known for solving problems with his physical and mental strength, Johnny gradually helps the ruling party achieve its goals. Meanwhile, he falls in love with the president’s daughter Meenakshi (Lakshmi Gopalaswamy), paving the way for fresh conflicts in Vamanapuram.

Unlike the nuanced manner in which he channelled MGR into himself and onto the screen, Mohanlal goes all out in Vamanapuram Bus Route. While it’s understandable that he is not portraying MGR himself but someone inspired by the persona behind the man, Mohanlal’s performance lacks genuineness from the start.

The misfire: Mimicking MGR without nuance

Johnny is introduced in a Tamil song, “Ezhai Paravakale,” reminiscent of the makkal paasam tracks often seen in MGR movies. From his body language and the way he hops around to his dressing style — with a scarf around his neck and theatrical makeup — Johnny mimics MGR in every way.

However, rather than making Johnny look like a photocopy of MGR or even an amateurish painting of the icon, Mohanlal ends up making Johnny seem like MGR’s Aadhaar card photo, which even the latter would have hated.

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From jokes that would make one yawn and drama that would make one laugh to a story and setup inspired by cinema auteur KG George’s classic political satire Panchavadi Palam (1984) — although it’s grossly unfair to put the names of both movies in the same sentence, even if only to assert the contrast — the Sonu Sisupal directorial is an atrocity to all the senses.

Remember when Marlon Brando parodied his role as Vito Corleone from director Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972) in Andrew Bergman’s The Freshman (1990)? Carmine Sabatini, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Corleone, worked well because both the creators and Brando knew they were parodying his iconic character.

Maybe if Vamanapuram Bus Route had been treated in a similar manner, or at least if Mohanlal had crafted his performance that way, it could have been a delightful addition to his repertoire.

But I guess that’s just a film critic overreading things as usual, trying to find unnecessarily new meanings in works that actually don’t have any meaning to begin with. This so-called comedy-drama doesn’t even have comedy or drama in it, so how could it subvert anything?

Wasted talents

Vamanapuram Bus Route also features some of Malayalam cinema’s finest character actors, such as Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Jagadish, Jagathy Sreekumar, Janardhanan, and Rajan P Dev. Yet, much like Mohanlal, the film wastes them in abysmally written characters, leading to uninspired performances.

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Yet, the biggest atrocity the movie committed was wasting composer MS Viswanathan’s iconic romantic track “Raajaavin Paarvai” from Anbe Vaa (1966), featuring MGR and B Saroja Devi, by recreating it in this cinematic abomination.

Every time I hear the original “Raajaavin Paarvai,” images of Mohanlal and Lakshmi Gopalaswamy from Vamanapuram Bus Route rush to my mind and overlap with the original, which I have to fight against every time so the song doesn’t ruin itself for me.

If you thought Sonu Sisupal’s direction was bad, listen to “Enniyenni Chakkakkuru,” which he himself composed; it’s even worse. The only way I can believe that the song was penned by legendary lyricist Gireesh Puthenchery is by gaslighting myself into thinking that Gireesh had entered into a bet to write the worst lines he could possibly come up with.

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Vamanapuram Bus Route > Vaa Vaathiyaar

Considering that Sonu Sisupal’s previous directorial venture was the so-bad-it’s-good Kalachakram (2002), Vamanapuram Bus Route could be dubbed an upgrade. And I would still rank it above director Nalan Kumarasamy’s Karthi-starrer Vaa Vaathiyaar (2026), another movie featuring an MGR-inspired character at its centre.

But that’s only because Nalan has significantly more potential, and it’s infuriating to see him make something like that. For Sonu Sisupal, Vamanapuram Bus Route is the best movie he has directed to date, among all three of them.

Oh, by the way, you think Vamanapuram Bus Route is the worst? Have you heard of the time Mammootty mastered the art of creating masks of people’s faces? Apparently, as soon as someone wears one of these masks, their height and body shape also change to match the person they’re pretending to be. Or so the movie likes to believe.

But the funny part is, this isn’t a sci-fi film. It’s just a drama-thriller, and the creators apparently thought this plot device made total sense. If you want to know more about this movie, come back next Monday to read.

Memories of Blunder is a column in which we dissect some of the worst South Indian movies and performances of all time. No offence to anyone whose name surfaces here. They may all have potential, but they blew it that one time. However, don’t play the song if you can’t face the music, right?