Malayalam producer Dinesh Panicker, one of the producers of the iconic film ‘Kireedam’, looked back at ‘Chenkol’, the sequel to the beloved classic.While appreciating the film’s success, he admitted that a few aspects of the sequel have stayed with him over the years.During an interview with Movie World Media, Dinesh recalled expressing his concerns when discussions about making ‘Chenkol’ first began.“It was ‘Kireedam’ that gave all of us our identity. When Unni informed me that they had decided to make ‘Chenkol’, I expressed my disagreement. As someone who was part of producing ‘Kireedam’, I felt I deserved proper recognition. I wasn’t asking for money. I only wanted at least a ‘thank you’ card in the credits. But I never got that. I even had a small disagreement with him over it. Even so, I was genuinely happy that Chenkol became a success.“
Producer says the sequel lacked the emotional energy of the original
Although Dinesh enjoyed watching ‘Chenkol’, he believes the sequel could not recreate the emotional impact of ‘Kireedam’. He recalled watching the film with his family on its opening day and sensed a difference between the two films.According to him, the screenplay of ‘Kireedam’ carried a unique emotional strength that was difficult to replicate. He also noted that many viewers felt the sequel had several shortcomings compared to the original classic.“My family and I watched the film on the very first day. I liked ‘Chenkol’, but I felt that the positive energy present in the screenplay of ‘Kireedam’ was somehow missing in the sequel. There wasn’t a single flaw to point out in ‘Kireedam’. But public opinion is that there are many shortcomings in ‘Chenkol’.”
Dinesh Panicker comments on Thilakan ‘s character arc
The producer also shared his thoughts on how Thilakan’s character was written in the sequel. He said the character, admired for his resilience in ‘Kireedam’, appeared significantly weaker in ‘Chenkol’, which many audiences noticed.Dinesh believes this change became one of the points frequently discussed by viewers after the film’s release.“The character played by Thilakan chettan, who faced immense hardships and family problems with great strength in the first film, became very weak in the second part. Viewers have said that this was one of the film’s biggest disappointments.”Another creative decision that continues to stay with Dinesh is the climax of ‘Chenkol’. He revealed that he never agreed with the decision to end Mohanlal‘s character’s journey in the film.According to him, keeping the character alive could have allowed the story to continue in another sequel if the makers had chosen to revisit the franchise.“Even though I liked the film as a whole, I still feel Mohanlal’s character should not have been killed in the end. If that hadn’t happened, Unni could even have made a third part if he wanted.”
‘Kireedam’ continues to remain a Malayalam cinema landmark
Directed by Sibi Malayil and written by A.K. Lohithadas, ‘Kireedam’ is widely regarded as one of Malayalam cinema’s defining classics. The movie was re-released recently.Although the second part ‘Chenkol’ received good reviews from critics, several audiences share mixed opinions about Thilakan’s character arc, the ending and several other factors.
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