''Black'' is a 2004 Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

language

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

action thriller film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

written and directed by Ranjith, and produced by

Lal Lal ( fa, لعل, hi, लाल, bn, লাল, ur, لال, ps, Lāl) is an Indo-Iranian surname and given name, which means "darling", "precious", or "beloved", from the Sanskrit ''lala'' ("cajoling").''Dictionary of American Family Names''F ...

. It deals with the underworld operations in

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

. Mammootty plays the role of Police Constable Karikkamuri Shanmugham, who is a hit man and a contract killer. The film features cinematography by

Amal Neerad Amal Neerad (born on 7 October 1976) is an Indian film director, cinematographer and Film producer, producer who mainly works in Malayalam Cinema. He attended the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkata (first batch). He was awarded ...

. The film was a comeback for actor Rahman to Malayalam cinema. The movie was released on November 12 on the occasion of

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

Plot

The plot revolves around Shanmugham and Adv. Devin Carlos Padaveedan, who runs an organized

crime syndicate Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

. Shanmugham "Kumbari", moonlights as a

police constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

, but never wears his uniform. Padaveedan suspects Shanmugham, because of his interaction with SI Ashok Srinivas. Padaveedan turns against Shanmugham and orders his lieutenants to finish him. Shanmugham couldn't believe his betrayal, but eventually finishes Padaveedan and his men. Thus, the city gets rid of some of its most dangerous criminals. In the end, Shanmugham, moves out to start a new life with his deaf daughter and Anandam.

Cast

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil l ...

as Head Constable Karikkamuri Shanmughan aka ''Kumbari'' *

as Adv. Devin Carlos Padaveedan * Rahman as Sub Inspector Ashok Srinivas * Janaki Krishnan as Anna * Shreya Reddy as Anandam *

Babu Antony Babu Antony (born 22 February 1966) is an Indian-American actor and martial artist, who works primarily in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in several Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Sinhalese, Hindi and English films. He started his career doing ...

as City Police Commissioner Govind Chengappa IPS *

Janardanan Janardhanan Nair (born 5 May 1946) is an Indian actor, producer and a former Indian Airforce personnel who predominantly acts in Malayalam films. He acted in his first feature film '' Adyathe Kadha'', directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan in 1971, h ...

as Aasan *

Mohan Jose Mohan Jose is an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He has acted more than 100 films. He came into movie industry portraying villains and later began acting in different comedy and character roles. He is the son of famous singer Pappukutty Bhag ...

as Mammali *

Tom George Kolath Tom George Kolath better known as Tom George, is a film producer, director, actor and scriptwriter in the Malayalam Film Industry. He first came to attention for his performance in mini-screen ''Anna'' television serial (based on Tolstoy's ''An ...

as Ajay Srinivas * Kulappully Leela as Veronica *

Sona Nair Sona Nair (born 4 March 1975) is an Indian actress working mainly in Malayalam cinema who is also best known for roles in Soap opera, television soaps. Personal life Sona Nair attended Al-Uthuman Higher Secondary School, Kazhakoottam, Trivan ...

as Sheela *

T. P. Madhavan T. P. Madhavan (born 7 November 1935) is an Indian actor who appeared in Malayalam films. He started acting at the age of 40. He has acted in more than 600 films. He came into the film industry playing villain roles; later he started doing com ...

* Prem Kumar as Unni *

Sadiq Sadiq is a male name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Ja'far al-Sadiq, the 8th-century Muslim scholar and scientist, considered as an Imam and founder of the Ja'fari school of jurisprudence by Twelver and Isma'ili Shi’as, and a major fi ...

as Mustafa *

Ramu The Ramu River is a major river in northern Papua New Guinea. The headwaters of the river are formed in the Kratke Range from where it then travels about northwest to the Bismarck Sea. Along the Ramu's course, it receives numerous tributaries ...

as Francis *

Daniel Balaji T. C. Balaji, better known by his stage name Daniel Balaji, is an Indian actor and writer, who predominantly appears in Tamil and Malayalam films. Early life and career Balaji studied a film direction course in Taramani film institute, Chenna ...

as Ezhumalai *

Anoop Chandran Anoop Chandran is an Indian actor and comedian who appears in Malayalam films. He was a contestant in the reality show '' Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 1'' in 2018. Career Mostly appeared in comic roles, he is best known for his roles in ''Classm ...

as Pauly *

Joju George Joseph George, better known as Joju George (born 22 October 1977) is an Indian actor, playback singer and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has acted in Malayalam films and worked on Tamil projects as well. In 2015, he won the ...

Besant Ravi Besant Ravi (born R. Ravi Kumar; 1 June 1970) is an Indian actor and stunt choreographer. He has played antagonistic supporting roles in Tamil, Hindi and several other Indian language films. Early life Besant Ravi, who was born and brought up ...

Meenakshi Meenakshi (Sanskrit: ; Tamil: ; sometimes spelled as Minakshi; also known as , and ), is a Hindu goddess and tutelary deity of Madurai who is considered an avatar of the Goddess Parvati also referred to as Durga. She is the divine consort of ...

(Cameo appearance in the song ''Ambalakkara'')

Release

The film was released on 10 November 2004.

Box office

The film was box office hit .

Soundtrack

Music:

Alex Paul Alex Paul is an Indian music director who works in Malayalam cinema. Personal life Alex is the son of A. M. Paul, a music artist who formed the first orchestra (in Malayalam: 'ganamela') troupe in Kochi & Philomina. He is the younger brother ...

Lyrics: Ranjith,

Kaithapram Padma Shri Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, popularly known as Kaithapram, is a Malayalam lyricist, poet, music director, actor, singer, screenwriter, music therapist and performer of Carnatic music. He debuted with the movie Ennennum Kannett ...

, Pirai Choodan * "Ambalakkara" -

M. G. Sreekumar Malabar Gopalan Sreekumar (born 25 May 1957), better known as M.G. Sreekumar is an Indian playback singer, composer, music producer, television presenter and film producer, who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. He has sung more than 2000 ...

, Chorus * "Ambalakkara" (Extended) - M. G. Sreekumar * "Thinkal Kalaye" -

Sujatha Mohan Sujatha Mohan (credited as Sujatha) is an Indian playback singer who is popular for singing in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu movies. She has also sung for Kannada, Badaga, Hindi and Marathi movies. In a career spanning 48 years, she has recorde ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Black (2004 Film) 2004 films 2000s Malayalam-language films 2004 crime thriller films Indian crime thriller films Fictional portrayals of the Kerala Police Films shot in Kochi Films scored by Rajamani Films directed by Ranjith