Narasimham (film)

Narasimham
DVD cover
Malayalam: നരസിംഹം
Directed by	Shaji Kailas
Produced by	Antony Perumbavoor
Written by	Ranjith
Starring	Mohanlal Thilakan N. F. Varghese Aishwarya Jagathy Sreekumar Kanaka Sai Kumar
Music by	M. G. Radhakrishnan
Cinematography	Sanjeev Sankar
Edited by	L. Bhoominathan
Production company	Aashirvad Cinemas
Distributed by	Swargachitra
Release dates	26 January 2000 (2000-01-26) (India)
Running time	175 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam
Budget	₹20 million[1]
Box office	₹220 million[1]

Narasimham (English: The Man-Lion) is a 2000 Indian Malayalam action drama film directed by Shaji Kailas and written by Ranjith. It stars Mohanlal in the lead role, along with Thilakan, N. F. Varghese, Aishwarya, Kanaka, Jagathi Sreekumar, and Bharathi Vishnuvardhan in other pivotal roles. The film was the first production of Aashirvad Cinemas, owned by Antony Perumbavoor, the former driver of Mohanlal.

Upon release, the film created history in commercial Malayalam cinema, it grossed ₹220 million (US$3.3 million) at the box office against a budget of ₹20 million (US$300,000),^[2] making it the highest grosser of the year, and the highest grossing Malayalam film ever, at that time.^[3] The film ran for more than 200 days in theatres.^[1]

The film was released on 26 January 2000, and after 15 years it was re-released under the name Narasimham Returns in 2014, which premiered in Dubai. Later, it was re-released in Kerala at several occasions in time.^[4] It was remade in Telugu as Adhipathi (2001) with Mohan Babu, Nagarjuna appeared in a guest role.

Plot

Poovalli Induchoodan (Mohanlal) is sentenced to six years prison life for murdering his classmate. Induchoodan, the only son of Justice Maranchery Karunakara Menon (Thilakan) was framed in the case by the state minister, Manapally Madhavan Nambiar (Narayanan Nair) and his crony DYSP Sankaranarayanan (Bheeman Raghu) to take revenge on idealist judge Menon who had earlier given jail sentence to Manapally in a corruption case. Induchoodan, who had achieved top rank in Indian Civil Service loses the post and Manapally Sudheeran (Saikumar), Manappally's younger son enters the list of civil service trainees. It is later revealed that Ramakrishnan (E A Rajendran) the son of Moopil Nair (Narendra Prasad) 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 (N F Varghese), Manappally's elder son from performing the funeral rituals of his father at Bharathapuzha. Many confrontations between Induchoodan and Manapally's henchmen follow.

Justice Menon and his wife returns to Kerala to stay with Induchoodan. There is an appearance of a girl named Indulekha (Kanaka), 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 (Jagathi Sreekumar) 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 (Vijayakumar). 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 Maarar (Mammootty), a close friend of Induchoodan and a famous 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, (Aishwarya), the strong willed and independent-minded daughter of Mooppil Nair,as his life partner.

Cast

Box office

The film was released in 32 centres in Kerala and collected a share of ₹20 million (US$300,000) from 35 days.^[5] The film completed 200 days in theatres. Producer profits were estimated at ₹100 million.^[6] Narasimham generated around ₹70 million for the distributor's share.^[7] At the time, the film was the highest grossing film in Malayalam Cinema.^[6] 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).^[8][9] It is one of the highest rated films in the television.^[10]

The film grossed ₹220 million (US$3.3 million) at the box office against a budget of ₹20 million (US$300,000),^[2] making it the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever, at the time.^[3] It ran for more than 200 days in theatres.^[1]

Re-release

Narasimham which was originally released on 26 January 2000, 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.^[4][11]

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.^[12]

Accolades

At the Asianet Film Awards, the film was awarded the Best Film and Shaji Kailas was adjudged the Best Director. Mohanlal received the National Film Academy Award for Best Actor.

Soundtrack

This film includes 5 songs written by lyricist Gireesh Puthenchery. The songs are composed by composer M. G. Radhakrishnan.

Legacy

• The film's punch dialogue "Nee Po Mone Dinesha" (Malayalam: "നീ പോ മോനെ ദിനേശാ") has become an iconic Malayalam catchphrase.^[13][14]
• The Mundu worn by Mohanlal in this film, popularly known as "Narasimhahm Mundu", became a fashion trend among youngsters.^[15][7]
• 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 a record breaking blockbuster and was the highest grossing film of all time.
• The film was the thousandth acting credit of Jagathy Sreekumar.

References

External links

• Narasimham at the Internet Movie Database