Who’s that person you think of, the moment you have a perplexing question lurking in your mind? Or maybe the moment you are in a situation where you could do with some dire guidance from someone who’s been through it all? Of course, it’s your dad! It would never be an overstatement to say that a father’s presence and support in a child’s life is incalculable. As we walk through the stages of adolescence and are at the cusp of entering the uncertain world of adulthood, there is definitely an evolution in our relationship with dads. Though we lean towards our peer circle or become more independent when it comes to our daily life decisions, one would never stop needing emotional, social and psychological support from their father. And how can we forget the pearls of wisdom and life mantras they love catapulting at us?
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Whether we agree with them or not, the fatherly wisdom gleaned from dads often serves as a pathway to looking at our problems from a different perspective. We have rounded up some of the dad lines and advices from Malayalam movies – the inspiring, the thought-provoking, the simply hilarious and the questionable ones for you to savour!
Achuthan Nair (Kireedam)
Who can forget the oh-so-doting manner in which Achuthan calls his son ‘Da Themmadiii’ in Kireedam? A movie that rode on the wonderful, gripping and layered bond between a father and his son. The relationship arc of Sethumadhavan and his dad slowly pulls you from joy to melancholy as the story progresses. Here are a bunch of Achuthan’s wisdom nuggets that still ring in our ears:
– Da themmadi, paalikkan pattatha oru karyathinum vakku parayarthu, ithu pole chammendi varum
– Divasam oru ara manikoor engilum exercise cheyyanam. Pinne ninte ee valichuvaari ulla theeti undallo, ath nirthanam
– Themmaditharam kaati jeevikaanano atho maanavum maryadem ayit jeevikaanano udesham ennu paranjit veetil keriya mathi
And finally the dad of all ‘dadvices’ from the scene that literally sticks a dagger through your heart as you sorrowfully watch a helpless dad whose dreams are being shattered in front of his eyes.
“Mone kathi thaazhe idada, ninte achanada parayunne”
Mathayi Doctor (Ohm Shanti Oshana)
And the walking-talking chill pill of a dad award goes to none other than Mathayi Doctor. Mellow, easy-going and always a staunch supporter of his daughter; tell me which girl wouldn’t want a dad like him? Diving straight into some of the most memorable lines uttered by Mathayi Doctor:
– Enthu karyam cheyyumbozhum oru lakshyam venam; oru aim
– Mole, ee pachakam aarkanum vendi cheyyarathu, aalkarkk kazhikkan ullathaanu enna vijaram venam
– Nallatha mole, ee samooha karyangalil okke edapedunnath. Ith ente cheque alle? Oho, adhikam idapendenda
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Kochu Thoma (Veendum Chila Veetu Karyangal)
Sathyan Anthikad has always been a pioneer when it comes to depicting familial relationships, more precisely the camaraderie shared by a father and son. Watching Kochu Thoma and Roy, a renowned theatre artist and a carefree, budding actor of Veendum Chila Veetu Karyangal, stupendously essayed by Thilakan and Jayaram cements the possibility of your dad being your best friend someday (lucky are you if he already is)! Of course, things go downhill when Jayaram has a love interest; but that’s a separate issue again. Meanwhile, we sneak a peek at some of Kochu Thoma’s sagacity:
-Aadhunikamanenlum purathanamanelum naadakam naadakamada. Abhinayikkumol ullil thattanam.
– Ningalk njangalde katha pazhamkatha, maddukum. Njangalk ithu ethra paranjalum madukkilla
– Premicha penninte kai pidich appante munnil poyi parayanam “Ival ente bhaarya aanu, ivale sweekarikkanam” ennu
– Swantham viyarppu kondada Kochu Thoma Kochu Thoma aayath. Anyante viyarpu thatti parikkunnavar Kochu Thomayude makkal alla
Achu (Amaram)
This was a character beautifully portrayed by Mammootty. Achu, a widower fisherman’s entire life revolves around fulfilling a dream that he nurtured since the moment his daughter, Muthu was born – to see her become a doctor. And not just any doctor, but a doctor who wouldn’t mind selflessly walking miles to treat an ailing patient, which stems from the backstory of Achu’s wife’s demise after giving birth to Muthu. A classic example of a father-daughter relationship trammelled by the burden of a specific and obsessive expectation. This is also reflected in most of Achu’s dialogues in the movie as you can see:
–Achanu valuth neeyum ninte padthavum aa, baaki okke marakkanam
– Padichu velya doctor aakumbol, velya nelayum velayum ulla rajakumarane kondu varum molkk achan
– Thalayil vechal pen arikkum, thaazhathu vechal urumbarikum ennu paranju valarthiyatha, ennit kanda manakonanjanmaarde koode poyal kazhuthu njan kandikkum
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Kuttikrishna Menon (Ishtam)
We have another contender for the Best Friend cum Dad award and that’s Kuttikrishna Menon from Ishtam. Single parenting in pop culture is usually attributed to overprotecting and micromanaging their child’s every activity, however, Nedumudi Venu’s dad character in Ishtam begs to differ. In fact, there are moments in the movie where we wonder which of the two is the dad. The heartwarming bond shared by Kuttikrishna Menon and Pawan is nothing short of a delight to watch. Here are some of the adages he tosses at his son.
– Nuna paranjal, nunayannenninikk manassilavanam. Atharam nunakal alle njan ninnod parayarollu
– Enthokke pratheekshakalode valarthiyatha, avasanam oru pennu vannu chirichu kanichappo avanu achanem venda, koodapirappinem venda
– Mone, ninakkoru ahangaram ond, nee aanente thandha ennu, aa ahangarathinu oru peekkiri pennu vazhi kittiya shiksha aanithu
– Nammalodu thettu cheyyunnavarodu thirichu maanyamayi perumaaranam…athaanu character
Rameshan (Thanmathra)
Okay, I’m having a lump in my throat as I write this because that’s the effect even hearing the name of this movie has on me. Rameshan is your ideal dad, the kind of dad whom other dads might gain succor in wondering “If it was Rameshan what would he have done?” when it comes to guiding their kids. Living a simple and happy life with his wife and two children, his biggest ambition in life was to see his son crack his IAS exams. Fate however sent him on the unprecedented path of Alzheimer’s, where the person alone is not the sole sufferer but also those around him. As ironical as it sounds, some of Rameshan’s dialogues are still fresh in our memories even today:
– Orikkalum marakkila ennu vijaricha orupaad karyangal, jeevithathil thane maanja poleyo marannath poleyo…aa samshyam undakkunna oru tharam agony
– Ingane kandum kettum padichum okke nediyedutha arivukalum sthanangalum buddhiyumokke nammal ariyathe oru divasam angu thirichedukum
– Lokam muzhuvan velicham nalkunna sooryathejassinu polum oru pakal mathram aanu ayussu
– Nee paranju thudangiyappozhe manassu kondu achan monodu kshamikkuvarnu. Ente kunjunaalile manassu thanne aanallo nintethu ennorthu ullil chirikuvarnu
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Perumthachan (Perumthachan)
The movie Perumthachan is an interesting take on generation gap as it walks us through clashing ideologies and ego wars between a father and son. Perumthachan and his son, both sculptors, were as different as chalk and cheese. While Perumthachan believed that calculations are crucial to his trade, his son had a diametrically opposite view. In one instance he told his dad , “Ee kanakk okke oru saukaryathinu alle?” Can a father be jealous of his son if he turns out to be more skilled? Shouldn’t he be proud of him? These are some of the questions that hover in our minds as we think of Perumthachan. And on that note, here are some of Perumthachan’s noteworthy lines:
-Ivane pani padipiicha thantha verum thachan allallo
-Oru agraham baaki und. Ath kazhinjal pinne swasthayi grandham nokki irikkuam, allengil swantham ayit oru grandham thane ang ezhutham. Naale aarkengilum oru prayojanam aakatte
– Ellam padichu kazhinju ennu karuthavane pole padu viddhi illa
– Siddhikal oru daivanugraham aanu. Adhwanam kond valartham, pakshe aadharam anugraham konde kittu8.
Georgekutty (Drishyam)
I’m pretty sure Georgekutty needs no introduction as we all journeyed with him in not just one but two movies – Drishyam 1 and 2. So, without further ado, here are some of the truth bombs that GK threw at us:
Buddhi ullavark paper vayikenda avashyam illa
Aa rahasyam njan marikkumbol ennodoppam mannil alinju cherum. Athaanu njan ningalkku ippol tharunna ettavum velya suraksha
Bhayavum tensionum nammale apakadathil kondethikkum
Chodyangal thirichum marichum avar chodikkum. Athu kondu chodyangal sradhichu kettathinu sheshame utharam parayavu
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Sunnychayan (Niram)
Most of the 90s dads came across as stern, strict and overbearing. So watching Lalu Alex as Sunnychayan of Niram was a whiff of fresh air as he was one happy-go-lucky dad who cared for his son, Aby. Definitely a far cry from the “Ninak padikkan onnumille?” “Premichu nadakkan ulla samayam alla ith” dads who were a sort of an archetype back then. Here are some of his dad lines that we cherish:
Sheri namuk oru compromise il etham. Ee randu viralil onnu thotte
Makkal prayapoorthi aayi kazhinjal pinne appanammamarku oru phone vilikan polum swathanthryam illallo
Ningale pole ee lokathu ningal matrame ollu
Njan fit allallo jobe, pinne entha enik karachil varunne
Chacko Maashu (Spadikam)
Ending this list with an entrant who is a stark contrast to most dads in this list, but obviously an indispensable entity of this list – an authoritative, narcissistic and ruthless father. You guessed it – we are referring to Aadu Thoma’s bushy eye-browed kaduva daddy, Chacko Maashu, a father who is a long haul from dad goals. The stalwart math teacher, Chacko Maashu firmly believed that mathematics is the be all and end all of the universe. This led to his resentment towards his son who was averse to math. Exploring a few of Chacko Maashu’s pearls of wisdom:
Bhookolathinte oro spandanavum kanakkilaanu. Without mathematics, bhoomi verumoru vatta poojyam
Adyam padtham, athu kazhinju mathi kandupiditham
Mathruka adhyapakanu ulla national award Indian President inte kayyil ninnu vangiyavana njan
Thatteem mutteem jayichittu entha karyam, ivan thokkanam, ennale padikku
Naale avan karayum vetti muricha appante kaikalkku vendi. Kai vettiya aa chekuthan enne sambadhichaatholam marichu. Pakaram njan oru thengu vechu – pathienttam vattam.
This is not an exhaustive list of dad advices from Malayalam movies; we are sure there are many more in your mind! Shoot away your favourite dad lines and dadvices in the comment section!
