Everything You Must Know About Malamaal Weekly

When nothing seems quite in sight, all of us seem to seek refuge in a comfort movie. And for Indian audiences, that movie happens to be ‘Malamaal Weekly.

The movie revolves around a lottery game, and if you wish to experience it by any chance, you can play the Malamaal Daily Lottery at Lottoland. The film deals with the evils that come in with avarice and coveted wealth. However, the movie relatively captured hearts with its light-hearted comedy and right on-spot dialogues.

The movie has been out for more than 14 years, yet feels new and exciting every time you watch it. This movie was released in the golden era of early 2000, the time that gave Bollywood its most iconic comedies. So, here are a few facts about the movie that will certainly walk you down to the good old days.

malamaal weekly

Fact 1: The golden cast

You surely cannot imagine a 2000 comedy without Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav being in it. However, the movie was filled in by an utterly talented cast who added the much-desired depth to their comic timings and dialogues. The cast of Malamaal Weekly included:

  • Main cast
    • Paresh Rawal as Lilaram aka Leela
    • Riteish Deshmukh as Kanhaiya
    • Om Puri as Balwant aka Ballu
    • Rajpal Yadav as Bajbahadur aka Bajey
    • Reema Sen as Sukhmani
    • Shakti Kapoor as Joseph
    • Asrani as Chokheylal, Kanhaiya’s father
  • Special appearances and minor cast
    • Arbaaz Khan as the lottery inspector, namely Jayesh Agarwal
    • Radhika Joshi as Mary
    • Innocent as Anthony Fernandes, the man who actually won the lottery
    • Sona Nair as Lilaram’s wife, namely Tara
    • Rakhi Sawant for a dance number on the song ‘Kismat se chalti hai.’
    • Anand Ingle as the local village doctor

Fact 2: Production, direction, and screenwriting

A perfectly staged comedy movie and Priyadarshan go hand in hand. His direction has been a Midas touch to the comedy genre since 2000, and he has directed several comedies in the early 2000s, all of which have a different fan base even today.

  • Years after the release, Malamaal Weekly tends to top viewership charts.
  • This is all only because the movie sheerly revolved around a simple but humorous storyline backed up by the characters’ flawless comic timings.
  • Priyadarshan directed as well as wrote the film.
  • Suresh Balaje produced the movie.
  • The movie was released on 10th March 2006.

Fact 3: The movie has a reboot known as Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal

Priyadarshan dodged his best bullet by rebooting his much-loved comedy, Malamaal Weekly. Just like Malamaal Weekly, this movie revolved around lottery tickets and lottery prizes. You will know the same kind of lottery games if you happen to play the Malamaal Daily Lottery at Lottoland.

  • The movie was released under the labels of Percept Picture Company on 28th September 2012.
  • The cast was almost the same as the previous one, with few additions that included:
    • Nana Patekar
    • Shreyas Talpade
    • Madhuurima
    • Tarina Patel
    • Razzak Khan
    • Neeraj Vora
    • Rajeev Pillai
  • However, the movie did not turn out that great as it was critically bashed for its repetitive and slow storyline. Moreover, the worst part was that this movie was accused of being offensive to Catholic sentiments and was therefore termed as blasphemous.
  • The production label kept its calm throughout the Catholic protests and emphasized the fact that the movie was purely a work of fiction and did not mean to hurt any sentiments; if it did, they were exceedingly sorry for that.

Fact 4: The remake affairs

You Should know that your dearly beloved comedy was an adaptation of a 1998 Hollywood movie, Waking Ned.

  • The movie was certified as a dark comedy and revolved around a small village in Ireland.
  • Both the movies almost share similar plotlines, the central story being a dead person winning the lottery.
  • The plot might have been adapted, but the touch of Indian dialogues is what makes this movie precious to the Indian audience.
  • Malamaal Weekly was so celebrated in Bollywood that it was remade in Kannada as ‘Dakota Picture.’

Other important facts

  • Although the movie portrayed Ritesh Deshmukh as its lead, it was Om Puri and Paresh Rawal that bewitched the audience.
  • The movie’s soundtrack wasn’t its strong suit; none of the songs featured in the movie ever got hit.
  • The movie was shot in a village, and so the star cast had trouble with food. So, Paresh Rawal occasionally used to cook for the cast.

Conclusion

All in all, Malamaal Weekly still leaves us all in awe and waves of laughter due to its sheer simplicity and intense humor. Although the movie received conflated and mixed critical reviews, it was seemingly relished by the audience. Considering that it bagged a total worldwide collection of 43 crores against a budget of 7 crores, it probably points to its success within the audience.