imported>Srivin at 12:31, 12 August 2021

2021-08-12T12:31:22Z

New page

{{short description|2001 film by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Little John
| image = Little John 2001.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Lobby card for English version
| director = [[Singeetam Srinivasa Rao]]
| producer = [[Sujatha Rangarajan]] M. Varadaraja K. Maniprasad '''Executive Producer:-''' Singeetam Srinivasa Rao
| writer = '''Dialogue:''' [[Crazy Mohan]] '''(Tamil)''' [[Sushma Ahuja]] '''(Hindi)''' [[Mark Zaslove]] '''(English)'''
| screenplay = Singeetam Srinivasa Rao
| story = Singeetam Srinivasa Rao
| starring = {{unbulleted list|[[Bentley Mitchum]]|[[Jyothika]]|[[Anupam Kher]]|[[Nassar (actor)|Nassar]]}}
| music = [[Pravin Mani]]
| cinematography = [[Tirru]]
| editing = N. P. Satish
| studio = [[Media Dreams]]
| distributor = [[Singeetam Srinivasa Rao|Singeetam Movies]]
| released = {{Film date|2001|04|13|df=y}}
| runtime = 126 minutes
| country = India
| language = Tamil Hindi English
}}

'''''Little John''''' is a 2001 trilingual [[fantasy film]] written, executive produced and directed by [[Singeetam Srinivasa Rao]]. [[Bentley Mitchum]] and [[Jyothika]] play the lead roles with [[Anupam Kher]], and [[Nassar (actor)|Nassar]] playing supporting roles. The film released in Tamil, English, and Hindi. [[Pravin Mani]] composed the music for the project.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cinesouth.com/cgi-bin/filmography/newfilmdb.cgi?name=little%20john |title=Filmography of little john |publisher=Cinesouth.com |access-date=11 June 2013}}</ref> The film opened to above average reviews and did moderate business at the box office. Despite the release of a Hindi version, the English version was dubbed into Hindi as ''Chota Johny'' in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IncQXr-UzZs|title=Chota Johny (2016) Full Hindi Dubbed Movie - Bentley Mitchum, Jyotika - South Dubbed Hindi Movies|date=8 September 2016}}</ref>

==Plot==
The film opens with a historical story in which the goddess Parvathi while performing dance with her husband Lord Shiva drops her nose stud (Mookuththi in Tamil) on the Earth and because of which a temple was raised named "Mookuththi Amman temple" in Tamil Nadu. The nose stud has many powers in it and so an evil powered soul named "Kaalabhairavan" / "Kalabhairav" ([[Prakash Raj]]) waits one thousand years patiently to capture it.

John McKenzie ([[Bentley Mitchum]]), an American student from [[Pittsburgh]] comes to India to visit and research the Mookuththi Amman temple and stays in his Indian friend Vasu's home. He is received warmly by his friend's family. John visits the temple and he learns the Mookuththi history by the temple key person Swami Paramananda aka Swamiji ([[Anupam Kher]]) and a leaf which guides them to protect Mookuthi from evil powers which is visible only to him and not to John. John does not believe the story yet he believes only whatever he sees in his own eyes. Meanwhile, John develops a love for Vasu's sister Vani ([[Jyothika]]) which is disliked by Vasu's parents. Kalabhairavan wakes up from his long patience and captures the Mookuththi by one of his faithful servants by hypnotizing him. But the Mookuththi does not allow itself to go out of the temple and hides in a snake hill inside the temple. John is charged for the theft of Mookuththi and arrested by police despite Swamiji's repeated words that he did not steal it. John escapes from police custody and seeks the help of Swamiji. Swamiji throws powder on him with an intention of making him invisible but John turns to a small tiny little being.

Swamiji was arrested with the charge of concealing someone charged with a crime. John seeks Vani's help and they go to the police station with John in her pocket. Swamiji instructs him that the Mookuththi should be placed back in Amman's nose by that day's sunset else John will be 'Little John' forever. John takes away the Mookuththi from snake hill. Meanwhile, Kalabhairavan attempts to capture the Mookuththi. After several struggles between evil and divine, Mookuthithi is placed back in Amman's nose by John which destroys the evil Kalabhairavan. John gets back to his normal size and unites with Vani.

==Cast==
{| class="wikitable" style="width:50%;"
! Actor (Tamil version) !! Actor (English/Hindi) !! Role
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| [[Bentley Mitchum]] || John McKenzie
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| [[Jyothika]] || Vani
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| [[Anupam Kher]] || Swami Paramananda aka Swamiji
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| [[Nassar (actor)|Nassar]] || Inspector Vijay
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[Mohan Ram]] || style="text-align:center;"| [[Anjan Srivastav]] || Vishwanath, Vani's father
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| [[Fathima Babu]] || style="text-align:center;"| [[Bharati Achrekar]] || Nirmala, Vani's mother
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| [[Ash Chandler]] || [[Deputy inspector general of police|DIG]] Kumar
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | [[Prakash Raj]] || Kaala Bhairavan / Kala Bhairav
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | U.B.G. Menon || Sundaresan, Nirmala's father
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | Laxmi Rattan || Lal, Kumar's father
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | [[Kallu Chidambaram]] || Bakshi, Kala's disciple
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | [[Mayilsamy]] || Kabali (Shanti Singh in Hindi), the auto (taxi) driver
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | [[R. S. Sivaji]] || Police constable
|-
|}

==Production==
In the late 1990s, director [[Singeetham Srinivasa Rao]] was asked by a producer to make a Hollywood film called ''Five and Half Hours to Dawn'' with many special effects and Rao went to Los Angeles and even engaged a casting director.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2005/05/20/stories/2005052001520300.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060409062525/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2005/05/20/stories/2005052001520300.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 April 2006 |work=[[The Hindu]] |title=Entertainment Hyderabad / Interview : Spinning magic |date=2005-05-20 |access-date=11 June 2013}}</ref> But when the chance bypassed him, it led to an opportunity to make ''Little John'' which would star an American lead actor. [[Bentley Mitchum]], an American actor best known for being the grandson of [[Robert Mitchum]], was cast in the lead role while [[Jyothika]] was signed on to play the heroine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cinematoday2.itgo.com/we_rise_fast_fall_fast_jyothika.htm |title="We Rise fast, fall fast": Jyothika |publisher=Cinematoday2.itgo.com |access-date=11 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/2001/04/06/stories/09060221.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021101220446/http://www.hindu.com/2001/04/06/stories/09060221.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 November 2002 |title=Flair for the unusual |date=6 April 2001 |work=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=11 June 2013}}</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20010429015812/http://www.tamilstar.com/preview/little/%23</ref> The American actor revealed he was surprised that he made it through his audition and had never watched an Indian film and only had read Rao's resume. The project was made as a trilingual in Tamil, Hindi, and English and was shot thrice, although the English version had no songs. The Tamil version starred Mohan Ram and Fathima Babu as Jyothika's parents while the English and Hindi versions featured Anjan Srivastav and Bharati Achrekar as her parents, respectively. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://ww.smashits.com/acting-in-a-tamil-film-is-like-doing-a-breakdance-and-singing-in-chinese-also-smiling-at-the-same-time-bentley-mitchum/bollywood-gossip-723.html |title=Acting in a Tamil Film Is Like Doing A Breakdance And Singing in Chinese, Also Smiling at the Same Time: Bentley Mitchum |publisher=Ww.smashits.com |date=16 November 2000 |access-date=11 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005020807/http://ww.smashits.com/acting-in-a-tamil-film-is-like-doing-a-breakdance-and-singing-in-chinese-also-smiling-at-the-same-time-bentley-mitchum/bollywood-gossip-723.html |archive-date=5 October 2013 }}</ref> [[Ash Chandler]], an English speaking comedian of Indian descent, was also selected to play a role in the film.<ref>{{cite web|author=Rounak Guharoy, Mumbai Mirror 25 October 2011, 11.34 am IST |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-10-25/news-interviews/30319549_1_ash-chandler-comedian-showbiz |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707144204/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-10-25/news-interviews/30319549_1_ash-chandler-comedian-showbiz |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 July 2012 |title='I don't want to label various aspects of my being' |date=25 October 2011 |work=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=11 June 2013}}</ref> [[Prakash Raj]] was also roped in to play the role of Kalabhairava, revealing he had to sit before the makeup man from 5 am to get ready for a 9 am shot.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oocities.org/thamilanweb/hot_news.htm |title=Thamilan Web Hot News |publisher=Oocities.org |access-date=11 June 2013}}</ref>

The film was produced by [[Media Dreams]], who at the time were also producing Kamal Haasan's ''[[Pammal K. Sambandam]]'' as well as the Shankar project, ''[[Enthiran|Robot]]'' in 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/2001/04/04/stories/0404401y.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041112124421/http://www.hindu.com/2001/04/04/stories/0404401y.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 November 2004 |title=Talk of the Town |date=4 April 2001 |work=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=11 June 2013}}</ref> [[Crazy Mohan]], Sushma Ahuja and Mark Jaslov wrote the dialogues for the Tamil, Hindi and English versions respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cinematoday2.itgo.com/little%20john.htm |title=Little John |publisher=Cinematoday2.itgo.com |access-date=11 June 2013}}</ref> Mitchum's voice was dubbed by playback singer, [[Devan Ekambaram]].<ref>{{cite web|author=P Sangeetha |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-04-20/news-interviews/28124639_1_devan-song-audio-release |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709201001/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-04-20/news-interviews/28124639_1_devan-song-audio-release |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 July 2012 |title=Devan enjoying his new innings |date=20 April 2010 |work=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=11 June 2013}}</ref>

==Release==
The film won above average reviews,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hindu.com/2001/04/13/stories/09130223.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922084213/http://hindu.com/2001/04/13/stories/09130223.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 September 2013 |title=Film review: ''Little John'' |date=13 April 2001 |work=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=11 June 2013}}</ref> with ''[[The New Straits Times]]'' wrote that the "movie is good in two aspects: its fantastic hit songs and real graphics", while about the performances the critic writes that "Mitchum is charming and likeable" and "Jyothika looks sweet with her new make-up".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9CshAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hHgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2746,2840637&dq=little+john+bentley-mitchum&hl=en |title=Funny white man the hero |author=K. N. Vijayan |date=5 May 2001 |website=New Straits Times |access-date=25 April 2020}}</ref> Another critic from LolluExpress.com also gave the film a positive verdict, praising Mitchum's performance.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lolluexpress.com/littlejohn.htm |title=LITTLE JOHN" A New Tamil Movie Review By Your Prabhu |work=Lollu Express |access-date=2012-03-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921220541/http://www.lolluexpress.com/littlejohn.htm |archive-date=21 September 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> However, another reviewer mentioned that "it seems like a film meant for children. But then the director seems to have under-estimated the intelligence level of his targeted audience. Thiru's cinematography is a plus point for the film."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lavan.fateback.com/Cinema%20Section/Little%20John.html |title=Little John Movie Review |publisher=Lavan.fateback.com |access-date=11 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922030254/http://lavan.fateback.com/Cinema%20Section/Little%20John.html |archive-date=22 September 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2006, a [[Telugu language]] version of the film was dubbed and released with Prakash Raj's character being renamed as Patala Bhairavudu.<ref>http://www.andhracafe.com/index.php?m=show&id=5790</ref>

==Soundtrack==
{{Infobox album
| name = Little John
| type = Soundtrack
| artist = [[Pravin Mani]]
| cover =
| alt =
| released = 9 March 2001
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = [[Film soundtrack|Feature film soundtrack]]
| length =
| label = [[Sa Re Ga Ma]]
| producer =
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = [[Ottran]]
| next_year = 2003
}}
The film's music composed by [[Pravin Mani]] was critically acclaimed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2004/05/11/stories/2004051100650400.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040702143633/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2004/05/11/stories/2004051100650400.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 July 2004 |title=Making waves |date=11 May 2004 |work=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=11 June 2013}}</ref> The lyrics for Tamil version was written by Vairamuthu and lyrics for hindi version was written by Javed Akhtar.

The songs of the film became an instant hit. Especially, the songs " Lady Don't Treat Me", "Baila Re Baila" and "Paadava Paadava" topped the charts. The songs "Lady Don't Treat Me" and "Baila Re Baila" were peppy numbers, while the song "Paadava Paadava" is a romantic melody rendered beautifully by the veteran singer [[Sujatha Mohan|Sujatha]]. This song was sung by [[Alka Yagnik]] in the Hindi version of the film. Critics praised the composition of [[Pravin Mani]], where apunkachoice rated the album 3 out of 5 stating that, " Pravin's music is of course one of the
good points of the film. It's different
from the usual Tamil film music".

===Tamil track list===
{{ tracklist
| headline = Track-list
| extra_column = Singer(s)
| title1 = Lady Don't Treat Me
| extra1 = [[Srinivas (singer)|Srinivas]], [[Sujatha Mohan|Sujatha]]
| title2 = Paadava Paadava
| extra2 = [[Sujatha Mohan|Sujatha]]
| title3 = Laila Laila
| extra3 = [[Pravin Mani]], [[Vasundhara Das]]
| title4 = Jagamengum
| extra4 = [[Srinivas (singer)|Srinivas]]
| title5 = Baila Re Baila
| extra5 = [[Clinton Cerejo]], [[K. S. Chithra]], [[Gopi Sunder|Gopi]]
| title6 = Gone Case
|extra6 = [[Hansel and Gretel (opera)|Hansel & Gretel]]
| title7 = Paadava Paadava
| extra7 = [[KK (singer)|KK]]
}}

===Hindi track list===
{{ tracklist
| headline = Track-list<ref>http://myswar.co/album/little-john-2001</ref>
| extra_column = Singer(s)
| title1 = Hey Hey Tum Ho
| extra1 = [[Srinivas (singer)|Srinivas]], [[K. S. Chithra]]
| title2 = Aaj Main Gavoon 1
| extra2 = [[Alka Yagnik]]
| title3 = Laila Laila
| extra3 = [[Pravin Mani]], [[Vasundhara Das]]
| title4 = Jag Hai Chidi
| extra4 = [[Shankar Mahadevan]]
| title5 = Baila Re Baila
| extra5 = [[Clinton Cerejo]], [[K. S. Chithra]], [[Gopi Sunder|Gopi]]
| title6 = Gone Case
| extra6 = [[Hansel and Gretel (opera)|Hansel & Gretel]]
| title7 = Jung Hai
| extra7 = [[Shankar Mahadevan]]
| title8 = Aaj Main Gavoon 2
| extra8 = [[Sujatha Mohan|Sujatha]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=0447257|title=Little John}}

{{Singeetam Srinivasa Rao}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little John (Film)}}
[[Category:2001 films]]
[[Category:Tamil-language films]]
[[Category:Hindi-language films]]
[[Category:2000s Hindi-language films]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:Films about size change]]
[[Category:Indian multilingual films]]
[[Category:Indian fantasy films]]
[[Category:Indian films]]
[[Category:2000s Tamil-language films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Crazy Mohan]]
[[Category:2000s multilingual films]]
[[Category:2001 fantasy films]]

Little John (film) - Revision history

imported>Srivin at 12:31, 12 August 2021