It’s a sunny afternoon and Malik Bhai is in a pensive mood, on the veranda of his modest but beautiful house by the backwaters at Kumbalangi near Kochi. Mammootty plays Malik Bhai, a fish broker based in Mattancherry, in Salam Bappu’s Manglish .
“Malik Bhai is an intermediary between the fishermen and the merchants in the market. He is known as ‘tharakan’ in the local lingo. He is not well educated but is often called to settle local issues at the harbour,” says Salam, who made his debut as a director with Red Wine last year.
The story takes a crucial turn when Malik Bhai meets Michelle, a British tourist who approaches him with a problem that only he can solve.
“Malik Bhai can speak only Malayalam and she knows only English. The fun begins when they try to interact without knowing what the other is saying. As a third party cannot be involved in the matter, they cannot approach anyone to act as an interpreter. Caroline Bech, a theatre artiste from the Netherlands, is playing Michelle,” explains the director.
Contrary to certain rumours doing the rounds on social media, the director claims that Mammootty’s character in Manglish is one of a kind. “Mammootty’s role in the movie has no resemblance to his roles in Rajamanikyam or Mayavi,” he adds . Srinda Ashab, Sudheer Karamana and Joju are waiting for their scene at the location.
Later, talking about her role, Caroline says: “I got this role through an agent. This is my first trip to India. I studied at a drama school in London and have been doing short films and commercials back home, besides theatre. I find Kerala beautiful. It has a fabulous climate. No wonder, your films look so colourful,” she says, as the crew gets ready for the shot.
Caroline is surprised by the adulation her co-star Mammootty is receiving. “I didn’t know he is such a huge star before I signed the movie. It’s an honour to work with him. He gave me some useful acting tips, which I think is nice of him,” she adds.
Manglish is produced by Haneef Muhammad under the banner of Red Rose Creations. Pradeesh Varma cranks the camera and Gopi Sundar scores the music.
