My Dear Kuttichathan (1984)

Made by the veteran director Appachan’s son, this box-office hit is a fantasy film designed to show off its special effects in India’s first 3-D movie. Kuttichathan is a mischievous genie living in an abandoned house. He is accidentally summoned by a group of children and appears in the guise of a boy who carries out all their wishes. This allows the director to stage scenes of children walking on the ceiling, speeded-up rickshaw rides and various other spectacular episodes. Sentiment is catered for by having the genie cure one child’s father of alcoholism. The genie eventually changes into a fox-bat and flies off. A dubbed Hindi version, Chhota Chetan, was also successful.