Padmasree Bharath Doctor Saroj Kumar cannot exactly be called a sequel; it just borrows a character from a much appreciated film and places him in a satirical scenario. The plot therefore tapers away to a zero progressively, and if you were hoping for the 'Udayananu Thaaram' magic to rework again, you are bound to be dejected.
Saroj Kumar, we are told hasn't learned his lessons, and with Udayabhanu out of the picture, is back to his wily old ways again. He is a Megastar as of now, though his films have been flopping left, right and center. He has even got married to Neelima (Mamta Mohandas) and is a multi millionaire.
The film does start off brilliantly with a film producer Babykuttan (Mukesh) commenting on a talk show on television about the commercial prospects of remaking films in the Malayalam film industry. He talks of a recent remake that had had drawn in huge crowds at the theatres, and gauges the probable reasons.
Along comes Saroj Kumar, and the Megastar is shown a bashing up thugs thrice his size with ease. He even lights up a cigarette with the tip of his fingers. And once the fight is done, limps back home with a back sprain.
Its then that one starts feeling an uncanny resemblance to one actor or the other whom we are a bit too familiar with. Though the similarities are bound to be coincidental, its not every day that an actor is honored with a lieutenant colonel post in the industry. So when Saroj Kumar starts vying for the much coveted and respected post, we twitch our eye brows in disbelief.
After a miserable performance at the army practice grounds, Saroj Kumar is in for further nasty surprises, when the Income Tax officials come knocking on his doors. At their discovering bull horns, implores them to declare that they had unearthed elephant tusks from the Megastar's place.
Thus with too many coincidental resemblances in tact, Saroj Kumar eventually does make a gross mockery of an actor whom we had always loved and revered. Perhaps there are additional allusions to other stars as well, but while these seem to be causal references, the rest of it appears focused on the physical features, films and achievements of one actor in particular.
All said and done, the few genuine moments of hilarity that Saroj Kumar offers are restricted to the first half. And its when the film and Saroj become obsessed with deliberate attempts to poke fun at some individuals that we lose interest in this film, and start questioning its very purpose.
Saroj zooms his spoof lens on middle aged actors and sees the jealousy and distrust, the warring factions and organizations busy with bans, the masks and the facades. In fact, he sees almost everything, except the scenarists past their prime, who have been suffering from a writer's block for years now. And one only has to see how Padmasree Bharath Doctor Saroj Kumar ends, to realize the bitter truth that things are easily said than done.