#FilmyFriday! No. 20 Madras Mail: When Mammootty turned saviour for the Mohanlal starrer

It’s Friday evening, and we are back with yet another exciting installment of #FilmyFriday. ETimes presents - #FilmyFriday, wherein we recommend our readers one Malayalam movie, every week. This week, we are recommending Mohanlal starrer ‘No. 20 Madras Mail’. You can thank us later!

Fashion lessons to learn from Hansika

Direction: Joshiy

Script: Dennis Joseph

Cast: Mohanlal, Jagadish, Maniyanpilla Raju, M. G. Soman, Ashokan, and Suchitra Murali, Sumalatha, Innocent, Jayabharathi, VK Sreeraman, Siddhique, Jagathy Sreekumar, Janardhanan, Jagannatha Varma, Valasala Menon, Santha Devi, Mammootty

Release date: 16 February 1990

(Pic courtesy: Mohanlal's official website)

Tony and his two friends are on their way to Madras via train. En route, they meet film star Mammootty, whom they befriend. Upon reaching Madras, a young woman is found dead in the loo under mysterious circumstances, and Tony and his friends are falsely accused. The three escape and abscond, in hopes of finding the real killer.

(Pic courtesy: Mohanlal's official website)

Thiruvananthapuram central railway station. Glimpses of the buzzing station.

Cut to

Int. of a house.

RK Nair (MG Soman), his wife Geetha (Jayabharathi), and his daughter Devi (Suchithra) are leaving for Madras.

(Pic courtesy: Mohanlal's official website)

Tony (Mohanlal) and his friends Kumbalam Hari (Jagadeesh), and Hitchcock Kanjikkuzhi (Maniyanpilla) board the train to Madras. RK Nair and his family get a coupe, which they share with a stranger Sunil (Ashokan), who happens to be Devi’s boyfriend. Devi is being shifted to a new college by her parents, because of her romantic relationship, however, they are unaware that Sunil is the boyfriend. Soon, filmstar Mammootty (Mammootty) boards the train. Tony and his friends start the booze party, and also meet Mammootty, and spend some time with him. Midway through the journey, Tony also bumps into RK Nair, creates a ruckus, and even tries to flirt with Devi. The next day, as the train arrives at Madras station, they find Devi’s dead body in the loo. As Tony had an episode of flirting with her, RK Nair accuses him of the murder. Terrified Tony and his friends run away from the murder scene and go into hiding. They try to reach out to Mammootty and clear that they have nothing to do with the homicide. Then who killed Devi?

(Pic courtesy: Mohanlal's official website)

• Mammootty played an extended cameo as himself in the film.
• Joshiy had initially planned to do the film with newbies, however, later he pitched the story to Mohanlal.
• Initially, Jagathy Sreekumar was decided to be cast as the film star, however, Mohanlal suggested that Mammootty would make a good fit.
• The interior scenes were shot in an original train. The makers rented a train in the Nilambur–Shoranur route and filmed the portions!

(Pic courtesy: Mohanlal's official website)