When Classmates almost dethroned Mohanlal and Mammootty films, earning 7x its budget with no stars

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However, things changed in 2023 as director Jude Anthany Joseph’s 2018, starring a cast of young and character actors, broke collection records and minted Rs 180.03 crore. The following year, director Chidambaram’s Manjummel Boys, a survival thriller sans any A-listers, opened the Rs 200 crore club in Malayalam and earned Rs 241.03 crore.

While Mohanlal demonstrated his box-office command yet again the next year as his Empuraan (Rs 266.81 crore), the sequel to Prithviraj’s Lucifer, emerged as the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time, it was quickly dethroned by Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra (Rs 303.86 crore), another movie headlined by non-superstars. Nonetheless, Mohanlal remains the only star to have two films in the top five biggest blockbusters, with the other one being Tharun Moorthy’s Thudarum (Rs 235.38 crore).

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The coming-of-age comedy-drama that almost became an industry hit

While this is the current trend, it wasn’t always the case. In fact, to even challenge or come near Mohanlal and Mammootty’s records was almost impossible for others once. Yet, while the two were dominating, one movie gave the superstars a scare by almost overtaking their titles as the industry hit. Interestingly, it was also similar to Vaazha 2 in that it didn’t feature even a single “star.” If Vaazha 2 was headlined by social media content creators, the 2006 film featured a group of up-and-coming actors in the central roles. Another similarity between the two movies was that they were both coming-of-age comedy-dramas.

Classmates director Lal Jose (centre) with actors (L-R) Kavya Madhavan, Indrajith Sukumaran, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Narain, Jayasurya, and Radhika. (Credit: Instagram/@simply.mollywood)

Helmed by Lal Jose and written by James Albert, Classmates was not just a blockbuster but became a trendsetter that had a significant impact on the masses. Revolving around a group of college students who get together for a reunion after about 15 years, the film chronicles the incidents that occur that night, which have roots in their past.

The ‘Classmates wave’ that swept across Kerala

Classmates was nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. It sparked a wave of college reunions across Kerala, with many setting out on journeys to find their long-lost friends. The film also popularised and romanticised campus politics abundantly, inspiring many young adults to join student organisations in its aftermath.

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At the same time, young boys began hoping to get friends like P Sukumaran (Prithviraj), Pious (Indrajith Sukumaran), Murali (Narain), and Koshi (Anoop Chandran) when they join college. Young adults also hoped to find romances as intense as those of Sukumaran and Thara (Kavya Madhavan) or Murali and Raziya (Radhika), but without the tragic endings.

Classmates budget and collection

Classmates’ soundtrack, composed by Alex Paul, became a chartbuster. Rajeev Ravi’s cinematography was also well-appreciated, as were the movie’s dialogues and comedic moments. According to Filmibeat, the film was mounted on a budget of Rs 3.4 crore, though some other reports claim that it was below Rs 2.5 crore. Nonetheless, Classmates became a monstrous hit and almost overtook director Anwar Rasheed’s Mammootty-starrer Rajamanikyam (2005), which was then reigning as the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time, having collected over Rs 25 crore.

Rajamanikyam had just dethroned Shaji Kailas’ Mohanlal-starrer Narasimham (2000), which held the title of “industry hit” for five years, having grossed Rs 22 crore. At a time when Mohanlal and Mammootty were competing among themselves to be the biggest crowd-puller, Classmates earned a whopping Rs 24 crore, according to Onmanorama. Although it couldn’t surpass Rajamanikyam’s record, Classmates still became the biggest hit of 2006 and ranked among the most significant successes in the industry for many years that followed.

Almost no stars, yet Classmates became a massive blockbuster

At the time of Classmates, both Prithviraj and Indrajith were barely four years into their acting careers. Jayasurya, who played an important character in the movie, had begun receiving notable roles only in 2002 after working as a junior artiste for a few years. Narain’s story was no different. Among the actors, the only “star,” so to speak, was Kavya Madhavan, who had already made a name for herself as a leading lady after years of working as a child artiste.

Yet, it’s impossible to attribute Classmates’ blockbuster success to just one person. It was a once-in-a-lifetime movie for almost everyone involved; even the audience. Therefore, it’s not with Lokah, Manjummel Boys, or Vaazha that Malayalam audiences began their tradition of ensuring that deserving films struck gold; this habit can be traced back to Classmates, and even further.

Classmates’ remakes

The movie was eventually remade in Tamil, Telugu and Marathi. While Prithviraj reprised his role in the Tamil Ninaithale Inikkum (2009), Priyamani played the female lead. Even as the Telugu Classmates (2007) starred Sumanth and Sadha in the lead roles, the Marathi Classmates (2015) was headlined by Ankush Choudhary and Sai Tamhankar.