Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam: The old advertisement that inspired Mammootty-starrer

Malayalam superstar Mammootty is basking in the critical success of Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam. But, did you know this film was inspired by an old one minute long advertisement? The idea for this movie came to director Lijo Jose Pellissery when he saw the television commercial, shot in 2005, for a plywood company. 

In the advertisement, a Sikh boy is travelling with his parents in a crowded bus in Tamil Nadu. When he sees an old house passing through the bus window, the memories of his past life come gushing back to him. To the utter shock of his parents, the Sikh boy begins to speak Tamil. He demands the bus driver to stop the bus immediately in Tamil and runs towards the old house. He walks in and begins to remember more from his past life. He beings to behave like a dead patriarch of the house. While everyone in the house remains stunned and clueless as to what's happening, an old lady in the house recognises that her dead husband has returned in the form of a young boy. The boy's father is still in shock, and the mother faints. The old lady uses the bonus time to reiterate her love and devotion to her departed husband. 

At the beginning of Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam, in a note of thanks, Lijo mentions 'an advertisement' that inspired him to make this film. "To the God who awakened me from the tangled dreams. To the old advertisement that gave the seed of thought. To the filmmakers who have turned their messy lives into stories and characters," reads the message before the film begins. 

Screenwriter S. Hareesh has elevated Lijo's humble idea to another level with his reflection on the universality of human emotions. In the film, Mammootty plays a Malayali named James. While returning home with his family from a pilgrimage trip to Velankanni in Tamil Nadu, James falls into a quick afternoon nap. And he wakes up with the memory of a Tamilian man named Sundaram. To everyone's shock, James begins to live the life of Sundaram as an entire village watches the strange events with a sense of awe and cluelessness. However, the blind mother of Sundaram, senses her son in James, embraces him and spends the extra time she has with him without asking too many questions. 

Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam is now streaming on Netflix. The film also stars Ramya Suvi, Ramya Pandian and Ashokan in the supporting cast.