KOCHI: “Vijaya, eda namukkentha ee budhi nerathe thonnathathu?”

The conversation between Dasan and Vijayan, played by Mohanlal and Sreenivasan in Nadodikkattu, remains popular and deeply relatable among Malayalee youngsters even after more than three decades. The line is so familiar to Malayalees that it invariably brings a smile.

Through characters like Dasan and Vijayan, Mohanlal and Sreenivasan became the faces of a generation grappling with unemployment, migration dreams, and middle-class aspirations. The duo redefined male friendship on screen — not as idealised camaraderie, but as something imperfect, marked by arguments, mistakes, and affection, much like real life. Their films made people laugh and think at the same time, which is why their bond continues to live on in the hearts of Malayali audiences.

Off-screen too, Mohanlal and Sreenivasan shared a strong camaraderie. In the late 1980s and 1990s, they appeared together in several Malayalam films as friends, colleagues, and even employer and employee. Dasan and Vijayan of the Nadodikkattu trilogy—Nadodikkattu (1987), Pattanapravesham (1988), and Akkare, Akkare, Akkare (1990) — made audiences laugh while holding up a mirror to society.

However, the actor-screenwriter was also a firm critic of Mohanlal, which eventually led to friction in their relationship. Earlier, while speaking to TNIE, Sreenivasan had said, “Mohanlal is a complete actor.” When asked about how the 2012 film Padmasree Bharat Dr Saroj Kumar affected their friendship, he replied, “Even otherwise, our relationship was not that great.”