Padmasree Bharat Dr. Saroj Kumar

Padmasree Bharat Dr. Saroj Kumar is a 2012 Indian Malayalam-language satirical parody film directed by Sajin Raghavan in his directorial debut. The film stars Sreenivasan as the titular superstar with Vineeth Sreenivasan, Fahadh Faasil, Jagathy Sreekumar, Suraj Venjaramoodu, and Mukesh. It is a spin-off of the popular 2005 film Udayananu Tharam. Sreenivasan reprises the original role of Saroj Kumar. The director announced this is not a sequel, and that 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 fails when the movie becomes a success.
The film was shot mainly in Chennai and Kochi.

Synopsis

Saroj Kumar is a renowned South Indian actor who lost his fandom and successful films due to his arrogance and vanity. His latest films like Vekkada Vedi, turn into a flop due to his over-heroic performance and lack of story. He gets the rank of Colonel in the Army and brags about it. Alex Samuel and Pachalam Bhasi start their new film with Shyam, a debutant actor who played junior artist roles. Meanwhile, Saroj bribes the film associations and gets Samuel's and Pachalam's film banned. Meanwhile, Babykuttan, another producer, helps Alex and Pachalam to resume their project. Saroj Kumar tries to cancel the film in many ways but it is completed and is well received by the audience.
Meanwhile, the income tax department raids his premises and starts prosecution proceedings for tax evasion. How Saroj is tense about the matter, drinks a lot, and acts differently form the rest of the plot.

Cast

Sreenivasan as Megastar Padmasree Bharat Dr Saroj Kumar
Vineeth Sreenivasan as Shyam, Saroj Kumar's son
Fahadh Faasil as Alex Samuel
Mukesh as Babykuttan
Jagathy Sreekumar as Pachalam Bhasi
Suraj Venjarammoodu as Muttathara Babu
Salim Kumar as Rafeeq
Mamta Mohandas as Neelima, Saroj's second wife
Manikuttan as Rajesh
Manikandan Pattambi as Journalist Anilkumar
Subi Suresh as Reporter Poomanthali Susheela
Kollam Thulasi as Union Leader
Liimal G Padath as Alex's Assistant
Apoorva Bose as Lekha, Shyam's love interest
Saju Attingal as SI Ram Kumar
Sunil Sukhada as Kadalundi Madhavan
Ponnamma Babu as Neelima's friend
Sajitha Betti as Neelima's friend
Lishoy as Income Tax Department officer
Shari as Shyam's mother and Saroj's first wife
Pradeep Kottayam as Eureka TV Assistant
Manoj Kumar as Shyam's neighbour
Munshi Venu as Shyam's native
Harikrishna Menon as Shyam's local friend
Vishnu as Shyam's local friend
Vijayan Peringode as the physician
Cherthala Lalitha as Shyam's neighbour
Deepika Mohan as Servant
Sandhya
Meera Nandan
Sarayu
Roopa
Nimisha Suresh

Production

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 in 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."

Soundtrack

Music: Deepak Dev, Lyrics: Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri

Reception

Critical reception

The film was released on 14 January 2012 to mainly mixed reviews from critics, although, the 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." Hari Prasad of Yentha.com said that "the film, despite having a good theme, suffers from a messy script." Sify.com."