Padmasree Bharat Dr. Saroj Kumar is a 2012 Indian Malayalam-language parody film .The movie was directed by Sajin Raaghavan in his directorial debut. The movie stars Sreenivasan as the titular superstar with Vineeth Sreenivasan, Fahadh Faasil, Jagathy Sreekumar, Suraj Venjaramoodu and Mukesh.[citation needed] The film is a spin-off of popular 2005 film Udayananu Tharam. Sreenivasan reprises the role of Saroj Kumar from the original. The director announced that this is not a sequel: Only some characters from Udayananu Tharam were used. In the film, Renowned actor Saroj Kumar is ousted from his film following a quarrel with a co-actor. He then goes on to try many tricks to sabotage the project but meets failure when the movie becomes a success.
Saroj Kumar is a renowned South Indian actor, who loses his fandom and successful films due to his arrogance and vanity; his latest films, like Vekkada Vedi turns into a flop due to his over heroic performance and lack of story.
Alex Samuel and Pachalam Bhasi start their new film with Shyam, a debutant actor. Meanwhile Saroj bribes film associations and gets Samuel and Bhasi's film banned. He gets the rank of Colonel in the Army and brags about it. Meanwhile Babykuttan, another producer, helps Alex Samuel and Pachalam Bhasi to resume their project. Saroj Kumar tries to cancel the film in many ways but it is successfully completed and is well received by the audience.
Meanwhile, the income tax department raids his premises and starts prosecution proceedings for tax evasion. Saroj is tense about the matter and he drinks a lot acting in a different manner forms rest of the plot.
Cast
Sreenivasan as Megastar Padmasri Bharat Dr Saroj Kumar (Thengumoodu Rajappan)
About the idea of making Padmasree Bharat Dr. Saroj Kumar, Sreenivasan says:
The thought of the film came to us when we started thinking about what should be happening to a superstar like Saroj Kumar at this point of time. He is getting old and the most challenging aspect about stardom is that once you have got it, the next question is how long it will last. Some people can accept the changes in life in a mature way but for most others, it is never easy. This superstar is wary of new thoughts and new experiments because he knows he won't fit into the changing scheme of things. It is easy to be a hero in films as even a weak person can fight with any number of goons and get applause from viewers. But Dr Saroj Kumar forces the directors to cater to his thoughts. All this makes the character very exciting.[2]
As the characters are already known to the viewers, the expectations could be huge. The film was mainly shot in Chennai and Kochi.
Reception
Critical reception
The film released on 14 January 2012[3] to mainly mixed reviews from critics, although, the film's comedy scenes received praise. Paresh C. Palicha of Rediff.com concluded his review saying, "On the whole, Padmasree Bharat Dr. Saroj Kumar is disappointing, to say the least."[4] Hari Prasad of Yentha.com said that "the film, despite having a good theme, suffers from a messy script."[5]Sify.com and Oneindia.in also published negative reviews saying that it is "disappointing."[6] Fahadh Faasil won the Asianet Youth Icon Award.
clarified that the characterisation of Saroj Kumar was not at all based on any existing superstars, it has been accused that Sreenivasan tried his famous ad campaigns. S. Kumar, the cinematographer of the film, claimed live on television that he was threatened over phone by Antony Perum
Although Sreenivasan clarified that the characterisation of Saroj Kumar was not at all based on any existing superstars, it has been accused that Sreenivasan tried to mock leading film actors like Mohanlal, Mammootty and Rajinikanth. Many comments are made in the film about real happenings including Mohanlal's life, including his derogatory comments against Sukumar Azhikode, his Lieutenant Colonel honour, income tax raids and recovering of elephant tusks from his house, and his famous ad campaigns. S. Kumar, the cinematographer of the film, claimed live on television that he was threatened over phone by Antony Perumbavoor , a producer and close aide of Mohanlal.
