My Dear Kuttichathan

My Dear Kuttichathan was the first Indian film to be filmed in 3D.[5] Jijo Punnoose, son of Navodaya Appachan made his directorial debut with this film. After Padayottam (1982), Jijo decided to direct a 3D film after getting inspired by an article in "American Cinematographer" shown to him by cinematographer Ramachandra Babu.[6][7]

To understand the technology, Jijo travelled multiple trips to Burbank, California and bought sample reels of 3D films and held a preview in his studio.[2] Appachan who was thoroughly convinced decided to produce this film under the allocated budget of 40 lakhs.[7] David Schmier worked as the film's stereographer along with the film's cinematographer to ensure multiple images converge for 3D effect.[7]

Jijo travelled to the US once again where he met Chris Condon, an expert in 3D technology. Jijo bought the special camera lens and after much discussion Chris agreed to assist Jijo in his film.[2] The required equipment needed for the film had to be imported from the US and Jijo managed to do this with the help of his friend, Thomas J Easaw.[2]

For the 3D film, the makers wanted a universal theme in order to appeal children. Jijo carried the idea of a friendly ghost for years, he sought the opinion of people such as Anant Pai and Padmarajan for the film's writing. Raghunath Paleri came on board as the film's writer, took all the inputs from the experts and created the plot of three kids and a ghost. Paleri cited he wrote the script in such a way "that would have worked even if it was 2D".[7]

S. L. Puram Anand, who worked as an production executive for this film revealed that Jijo wanted to do this film with an entirely new cast. Anand suggested Dalip Tahil for the supporting role.[2] Sonia Bose and MD Ramnoth were cast as child artists.[8] The latter portrayed the titular character.[9]

Ashok Kumar handled cinematography for the film, thus making him the first cinematographer in India to have shot a 3D film.[10][11] T. K. Rajeev Kumar, who went on to become a famous director, started his career as an assistant director with this film.[12]

In the Hindi version shot in 1997, Shakti Kapoor plays the part of a magician (originally played by Alummoodan) who tries to catch Chetan, but gets trapped in a mirror. Prakash Raj did this role in its re-released Tamil version released in 2010. Satish Kaushik plays the part of Jagathi Sreekumar as a scientist who also tries to catch Chetan, but gets destroyed. This character was played as Santhanam in 2010 version.

Despite proper planning, the filming took around 90 days to complete, three times the schedule of a normal film.[7] The budget for the lighting was higher than a 2D film. The filming was held at Navodaya Studios and places around the Kakkanad area.[2] For the famous scene of walking on the wall, Paleri suggested the sequence to be converted into a song.[7] The song "Aalipazham Perukka" took 14 days to be completed.[7]

K. Sheker and Jijo decided on a rectangular-shaped rotating room to suit the wider, landscape-like nature of the 3D frame. Jijo then entrusted SILK (Steel Industrial Kerala) with the task of constructing a steel structure on the room, made of timber. The octagonal structure, weighing 25 tonnes, was completed in a month's time. Six men on either side would rotate it to create the illusion that the kids were walking 360 degrees around the room.[7] The original Malayalam film was made at a cost of ₹35 lakh.[1]

The film was commercial success and highest grossing Malayalam film at that time, which collected ₹ 2.5 crore from box office and it's Hindi dubbed version Chota Chetan also collected ₹ 1.3 crore from box office.[18] The film ran over 365 days in Trivandrum, 250 days in both Chennai and Mumbai and 150 days in both Bengaluru and Hyderabad box office.

The film was re-released in 1997 which was also highly successful at the box office; it had earned 60 times its initial investment.[2][19] The Hindi version was re-released by Nitin Manmohan in 1997, with additional scenes which involved Urmila Matondkar and other Hindi actors.[16] In 2010, Sri Thenandal Films re-released the Tamil version, titled Chutti Chathan in 2010, with added scenes starring Santhanam and Prakash Raj.