Narasimham (film)

Narasimham (transl.The man-lion) is a 2000 Indian Malayalam-language action drama film directed by Shaji Kailas and written by Ranjith. The film features an ensemble cast comprising Mohanlal, Thilakan, N. F. Varghese, Aishwarya, Kanaka, Jagathi Sreekumar, and Bharathi Vishnuvardhan, among others.[3] Mammootty appears in a cameo role.[3] The film was the first production of Aashirvad Cinemas, owned by Antony Perumbavoor, the former chauffeur of Mohanlal.

Narasimham
DVD cover
Directed byShaji Kailas
Produced byAntony Perumbavoor
Written byRanjith
Starring
Music byM. G. Radhakrishnan
CinematographySanjeev Sankar
Edited byL. Bhoominathan
Production
company
Distributed bySwargachitra
Release date
  • 26 January 2000 (2000-01-26) (India)
Running time
175 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam
Budget2 crore[1]
Box office22crore[2]

The film was released on 26 January 2000, India's 50th Republic Day. Upon release, the film grossed 110 million (US$1.5 million) at the box office against a budget of 20 million (US$280,000),[4] making it the highest grossing malayalam film at the time.[5] The film ran for more than 200 days in theatres.[1]

The film was re-released under the name Narasimham Returns in 2014, which premiered in Dubai. It was re-released in Kerala on several occasions and still enjoys a cult following.[6][7] The film was remade in Telugu as Adhipathi (2001), starring Mohan Babu, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Preeti Jhangiani and Soundarya.[8]

Plot

Poovalli Induchoodan is sentenced to six years prison life for murdering his classmate. Induchoodan, the only son of Justice Maranchery Karunakara Menon was framed in the case by the state minister, Manapally Madhavan Nambiar and his crony DYSP Sankaranarayanan to take revenge on idealist judge Menon who had earlier given jail sentence to Manapally in a corruption case. So they set a big trap to put Induchoodan behind bars. Induchoodan, who had achieved top rank in Civil Services Examination (India) loses the post and Manapally Sudheeran, Manappally's younger son enters the list of civil service trainees.

It is later revealed that Ramakrishnan the son of Mooppil Nair, one among Manappally's top supporters, was the real killer. Six years passes by and Manapally Madhavan Nambiar, now a former state minister, is dead and Induchoodan, who is all rage at the gross injustice meted out to him - thus destroying his promising life, is released from prison. Induchoodan thwarts Manapally Pavithran, Manappally's elder son from performing the funeral rituals of his father at the banks of the Bharathapuzha. Many confrontations between Induchoodan and Manapally's henchmen follow.

Justice Menon and his wife return to Kerala to stay with Induchoodan. There is an appearance of a girl named Indulekha, who claims to be the daughter of Justice Menon. Menon flatly refuses the claim and banishes her. Forced by circumstances and at the instigation and help of Manapally Pavithran, she reluctantly come out open with the parentage claim. Induchoodan at first thrashes the protesters. But upon knowing the truth from Chandrabhanu his uncle, he accepts the task of her protection in the capacity as elder brother. Induchoodan decides to marry Indulekha to his good friend Jayakrishnan.

Induchoodan confronts his father and prods him to accept mistake and acknowledge the parentage of Indulekha. Menon ultimately regrets and secretly goes on to confess to his daughter. The very next morning when Induchoodan returns to Poovally, Indulekha is found dead and Menon is accused of murdering her. The whole act was planned by Pavithran, who after killing Indulekha, forces Raman Nair (Menon's longtime servant) to testify against Menon in court. In court, Nandagopal Marar, a close friend of Induchoodan and a supreme court lawyer, appears for Menon and manages to lay bare the murder plot and hidden intentions of other party. Menon is judged innocent of the crime by court.

After confronting Pavithran and promising just retribution to the crime of killing Indulekha, Induchoodan returns to his father who now shows remorse for all his actions including not believing in the innocence of his son. But while speaking to Induchoodan, Menon suffers a heart attack and passes away. At Menon's funeral, Manapally Pavithran arrives to poke fun at Induchoodan and he also tries to carry out the postponed last rituals of his own father. Induchoodan interrupts the ritual and avenges for the death of his sister and father by severely injuring Pavithran. On his way back to peaceful life, Induchoodan accepts Anuradha, the strong willed and independent-minded daughter of Mooppil Nair, as his life partner.

Cast

Soundtrack

Narasimham
Soundtrack album by
Released2000
GenreFilmi
Length31:05
LabelSatyam Audios
ProducerAntony Perumbavoor
M. G. Radhakrishnan chronology
Kannezhuthi Pottum Thottu
(1999)
Narasimham
(2000)
Pilots
(2000)

The film's original soundtrack includes five songs composed by M. G. Radhakrishnan and a total of eight tracks. Lyrics were by Gireesh Puthenchery. The soundtrack album was released by Satyam Audios.[9] The song "Aarodum Onnum" featuring Mohanlal and Aishwarya is not included in the film's home video version.

Narasimham (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Narasimham"K. J. Yesudas3:50
2."Manjin Mutheduthu"M. G. Sreekumar, Sujatha Mohan4:40
3."Aarodum Onnum" (Male version)K. J. Yesudas5:32
4."Amme Nile" (Version 1)K. J. Yesudas4:03
5."Manjin Mutheduthu" (Female version)Sujatha Mohan4:39
6."Amme Nile" (Version 2)M. G. Sreekumar4:13
7."Aarodum Onnum"K. J. Yesudas, Sujatha Mohan5:16
8."Pazhanimala"M. G. Sreekumar5:35

Release

Narasimham was released on 26 January 2000 on India's Republic Day. It was re-released on 5 December 2014 in Dubai after 15 years. The re-release was part of a special programme organised under the title Narasimham Returns on the occasion of celebrating the 15th anniversary of the film. It premiered at Golden Cinemas, Dubai. The premiere was attended by the major cast and crew of the film and subsequent screenings was received well by public. Later, it was released in Kerala.[6][10]

In 2016, Narasimham Returns was re-released in seven districts in Kerala. The special screenings was held in Ernakulam, Alappuzha, Thrissur, Kottayam, Kannur, Pathanamthitta and Kollam on 26 January 2016.[11]

Box office

The film was released in 32 centres in Kerala. It collected a distributor's share of 20 million (US$280,000) in 35 days from the state.[12] The film completed 200 days in theatres. Producer's profits were estimated at 100 million.[13] Narasimham generated around 70 million for the distributor's share.[14] At the time, the film was the highest-grossing film in Malayalam cinema.[13] The film also created history for screening with maximum number of additional shows for any Malayalam film, which took 16 years to surpass by Premam (2015).[15][16] It is one of the highest rated films in the television.[17]

The film grossed 250 million (US$3.5 million) at the box office against a budget of 20 million (US$280,000),[18] making it the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever, at the time.[5] It ran for more than 200 days in theatres.[1]

Accolades

At the Asianet Film Awards, the film was awarded the Best Film and Shaji Kailas was adjudged the Best Director. Mohanlal won Best Actor award at the National Film Academy Awards.

Legacy

Mohanlal's punch dialogue in the film, "Nee Po Mone Dinesha" has become an iconic Malayalam catchphrase.[19][20] The Mundu worn by Mohanlal in this film, popularly known as "Narasimhahm Mundu", became a fashion trend among youngsters.[21][14] The film includes five songs composed by M. G. Radhakrishnan, of which "Dhaankinakka/Pazhanimala" and Mohanlal's introduction song attained a high level of popularity. The film was the thousandth acting credit of Jagathy Sreekumar.

References

  1. Anu James (6 December 2014). "Mohanlal-Mammootty Starrer 'Narasimham': 15th Anniversary Celebration in Dubai Gets Grand Response [PHOTOS]". International Business Times. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  2. International Business Times (6 December 2014). "Premam is in the air". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  3. R. Ayyappan (1 January 2000). "Movies: Sleaze time, folks!". Rediff.com. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  4. IndiaGlitz (23 October 2014). "Narasimham to Return". Indiaglitz.com. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  5. Webdesk (4 December 2014). "After 15 Years Narasimham Returns-Mohanlal-Ranjith-". onlookersmedia. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  6. "Movie Reviews Adhipathi". telugucinema.com. 6 September 2002. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  7. "Narasimham (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by M. G. Radhakrishnan". iTunes. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  8. Akhila Menon (3 December 2014). "Narasimham To Re-release On Dec 5". Filmibeat.com. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  9. Anu James (23 January 2016). "Narasimham returns: Mohanlal starrer to be re-released in 7 theatres on Republic Day". International Business Times. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  10. "Narasimham:Two crore share in 35 days". ImageShack. Vellinakshatram. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012.
  11. Ayyappa Prasad (25 August 2000). "Flops galore, soft porn rules in Kerala". Screen. Archived from the original on 13 February 2011.
  12. Ayyappa Prasad (27 October 2000). "Action films are his forteasari". Screen India. Archived from the original on 20 December 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  13. Nicy V. P. (25 June 2015). "Box-Office Collection: 'Premam', 'Oru Vadakkan Selfie' Success Makes Nivin Pauly Ultimate Winner of Malayalam Cinema 2015". International Business Times. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  14. G. Krishnakumar (7 June 2015). "Premam is in the air". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  15. "'Narasimham' to celebrate 15 years". Nowrunning.com. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  16. Anu James (27 January 2016). "Mohanlal celebrates 16th anniversary of Narasimham on Pulimurugan sets [PHOTO]". International Business Times. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  17. Nandagopal Rajan (12 May 2016). "#PoMoneModi: Angry Kerala responds to PM Modi's Somalia comparision [sic]". The Indian Express. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  18. DNA webdesk (13 November 2015). "Watch: When Chris Gayle imitated Mohanlal's famous dialogue!". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  19. Roktim Rajpal (21 May 2015). "Mohanlal turns 55: 8 performances that prove he is the most bankable, successful star of Indian cinema". CNN-News18. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
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