Twelve years ago, in one of his final acts in cinema, Thilakan, in the garbs of a mysterious old man, pronounced that the secret to making a great sulaimani (black tea) was a sprinkle of mohabbath (love). The film, Ustad Hotel, that bought then budding actor Dulquer Salmaan a place in the hearts of Malayalis, is re-releasing on Friday, January 3, in PVR INOX theatres across south India.
Ustad Hotel became something of a phenomenon in 2012 with Dulquer the newbie teaming up with the veteran Thilakan for an Anwar Rasheed directorial scripted by Anjali Menon. The ‘Appangal’ song that Nithya Menen famously starred in became a hit.
It was only Dulquer’s second film, after his low-key introduction in Second Show, which had been released without the noise that accompanies the debut of a star kid. Anjali too was then only a couple of films old, but her debut Manjadikkuru had won critical acclaim and her segment in Kerala Cafe was noted for its humour. Anwar Rasheed and Nithya Menen were already popular by 2012, each with several films in their list.
Anjali’s script characteristically strayed away from the trodden path, with a hero who dreamed to be a chef and a heroine who moonlighted as a singer. But the film’s making was mainstream enough to attract an audience and build new fan bases for the actors and the writer. Music by Gopi Sunder helped in a big way. ‘Appangal Embadum’ was everywhere and ‘Mel Mel Mel’ became a loved melody.
Apart from its commercial success, the film also won a few National Awards, including a posthumous one for Thilakan’s performance and the Best Dialogues for Anjali. Dulquer and Nithya proved to be a magical pair and went on to repeat their success in movies like Mani Ratnam’s OK Kanmani.