Punjabi House is a 1998 Indian Malayalam-language comedy drama film written and directed by Rafi Mecartin. It stars Dileep and Harisree Ashokan as Unni and Ramanan with Mohini, Jomol, Lal, Cochin Haneefa, Thilakan, Janardhanan and N. F. Varghese in other pivotal roles. It revolves around Unni, a debt-ridden entrepreneur who attempts suicide by jumping into the sea so that his family can use the insurance money to repay his debts. However, he survives and is rescued by two debt ridden fisherman, who keep him as a servant in the house of a Punjabi family of moneylenders, so that they can repay the sum at a later time.[1]
Development of the script took Rafi-Mecartin almost a year to complete. Rafi-Mecartin's script was based on a real-life incident they had experienced while on a train. Suresh Peters composed Punjabi House's soundtrack, in his Malayalam film debut, while S. P. Venkatesh composed the score. Anandakuttan was its cinematographer. M. B. Valsan and K. P. Hariharaputhran and were the film's art director and editor, respectively. Its principal photography was completed in 55 working days, with 42 days of filming taking place indoors. The film was predominantly filmed in Alappuzha district in Kerala.
Punjabi House was released on 25 September 1998 and was a box office success, completing a 150-day run in theatres. It has over the years acquired cult status in Malayalam cinema and is widely celebrated as one of the most popular Malayalam comedy films ever.[2] The film is considered a landmark film in Dileep's career as the success of the film established him as a bankable lead actor and was his first step towards superstardom. It was also a breakthrough for Harishree Ashokan, whose character of Ramanan has become a popular cinematic figure.[3] It was remade into Telugu as Maa Balaji in 1999, in Kannada with the same title in 2002 and in Hindi as Chup Chup Ke in 2006.
Jaban is an unsuccessful entrepreneur, who is in deep debt and in no situation to repay them. Due to torment from his many creditors and lack of solace from his family, he decides to commit suicide (faking it as an accident) so that his debts can be repaid with the insurance money. He jumps off the pier into the sea only to be rescued by fishermen from a distant coast, named Gangadharan and his employee Ramanan. Jaban pretends to be deaf and mute in front of them, so as to not reveal the truth. Back at home, his family is denied insurance, stating unconfirmed death (owing to lack of body), putting them in a difficult situation on repaying the debt.
Gangadharan has a debt of his own, to a Punjabi family of moneylenders who are settled in Kerala. The situation demands Unni and Ramanan to work at their home until he can repay the sum. There he meets a Punjabi girl named Pooja, who is mute. She finds out that he is not deaf or mute and considers him to be a fraudster, but later sympathises with him after learning his situation. She pays off his debt through Ramanan, without revealing to his family about their living son. The couple eventually falls in love and decide to get married. Her family agrees to their marriage on the condition that he will never desert her, as she had a traumatic failed marriage proposition in the past.
From Ramanan, by a slip of the tongue, Jaban's family learns of his survival. They find him and demand him to come back, as Sujatha who was in love with him, still waits for him living as his widow. He is shocked by the news but decides not to return because he does not want to put Pooja through more agony. During the marriage ceremony the next day, the family intervenes, but when Sujatha sees Pooja and the pain that she is going to inflict on her family, she finally decides to let go of him.