''Chantha'' () is a 1995 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 action film directed by
Sunill and written by
Robin Thirumala. The film stars
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 ...
,
Thilakan
Palappurathu Kesavan Surendranatha Thilakan (15 July 1935 – 24 September 2012) was an Indian film and stage actor who appeared in over 200 Malayalam films. Thilakan was known for his elaborate method acting, realistic and spontaneous appearan ...
,
Sathaar
Sathaar (25 May 1948 – 17 September 2019) was an Indian actor who primarily worked in Malayalam films. He made his acting debut with M. Krishnan Nair's ''Bharyaye Avashyamundu'' (1975). He became a hero in 1976 with ''Anaavaranam'', directe ...
, and
Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman pr ...
. The film has musical score by
M. Jayachandran
Madhusoodanan Jayachandran is an Indian composer, singer, and musician. He has won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Music Director for a record number of nine times. In 2005, he also won the state award for best male singer. In 2015, he wo ...
. This film was a third highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year behind The King and Spadikam.
Plot
Police officer Sekhar Joseph is an honest and upright police officer in Kozhikode City. He imprisons the minister Keshavan Nair's nephew and his high-profile friends for running over a kid in the street due to drunken driving. The corrupt Commissioner Ravishankar tries to get Sekhar to release them, but Sekhar doesn't give in. Later the minister himself visits the station and appreciated Sekhar for his Honest action, reprimanding Ravishankar at the same time. At the city market, Mammali, a shrewd trader brings in people from outside to unload material for his shop against the markets rule. Enter Sulthan, the leader of the market workers and the local ruffian, he roughens up Mammali's goons and drives them away. Ummer Haji, a cunning businessman and Mammali's partner, tries to influence Sulthan, but he doesn't give in. He makes Mammali file a complaint to the police. When Sekhar Joseph tries to arrest Sulthan, he cannot take him away from the market due to stiff opposition from the masses who regard him as their savior. Ummer Haji tries to take over a building in the market for his activities but is humiliated and driven away by Sulthan and gang. Furious, he calls for their leader Alexander who flies in from outside the state. For trapping Sulthan, he coaxes Mammali into drinking and abusing Sulthan one night. The same night he has Mammali stabbed to death by his accomplices and plans to pin the murder on Sulthan based on their altercations earlier the day. However, this plan is foiled by Merlin Joseph, Sekhar Joseph's Journalist sister, when she takes a photo of Alexanders henchman stabbing Mammali, thereby confirming Sulthan’ s Innocence.
To get back at Merlin and silence her, Alexander, and gang barge into Sekhar's home at night and kills his wife and daughter by poisoning them. When alexander goes to question him at his house, he has alexander beaten up by his men and run a vehicle over one of his legs, Incapacitating him. Left for death on the roadside, Sulthan saves Sekhar and takes him to the hospital. He manages to save Sekhar from the doctor also who tries to kill him under Alexander's Order. Sulthan brings Sekhar to his house where he slowly starts recovering with Merlin and Sulthan’ s mother's care. Meanwhile, Ummar Haji has an altercation with Minister Keshavan Nair since he is not doing anything in his capacity to move things at the market to Alexander and the gang's favor. To meet his end, he has Minister's nephew Renjith humiliate the minister at his residence after a press conference by getting a notorious prostitute inside his bedroom and making it public. Keshavan Nair resigns out of party pressure and goes back to the market from where he started his public life. Sulthan and Sekhar wants to get back for this ill-doing and they capture the prostitute Ramlabeevi out of whom they beat and record a confession. However, their plan is thwarted by Alexander when he gets Ramlabeevi killed on the way to court by exploding her car. Further to weaker Sulthan they kill his favorite kid in the locality Thithibeevi with a time bomb. Sulthan is now bent on getting revenge and he starts killing Alexander's gang one by one, first Renjith and then Ummer Haji. Police try to find Sulthan by raiding the market but are not successful. Alexander murders Keshavan Nair when he unsuccessfully tries to question him of Sulthan’ s whereabouts. He kidnaps Sultan's mother and sister. Sulthan gets into his hideout and beats up all his goons. In the end Sekhar Joseph and Sulthan together kill Alexander.
Cast
*
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 Sulthan
*
Thilakan
Palappurathu Kesavan Surendranatha Thilakan (15 July 1935 – 24 September 2012) was an Indian film and stage actor who appeared in over 200 Malayalam films. Thilakan was known for his elaborate method acting, realistic and spontaneous appearan ...
as Minister Keshavan Nair
*
Sathaar
Sathaar (25 May 1948 – 17 September 2019) was an Indian actor who primarily worked in Malayalam films. He made his acting debut with M. Krishnan Nair's ''Bharyaye Avashyamundu'' (1975). He became a hero in 1976 with ''Anaavaranam'', directe ...
as Commissioner Ravishanker
*
Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman pr ...
as Mammali
*
Devan as Alexander
*
Lalu Alex
Lalu Alex is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam cinema. In a career spanning four decades, Lalu Alex has acted over 250 movies and is known for his character roles, comic roles and antagonistic roles in Malayalam movie industry.
Lalu Alex ...
as CI Sekher Joseph
*
Mohini
Mohini (Sanskrit: मोहिनी, ') is the Hindu goddess of enchantment. She is the only female avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. She is portrayed as a '' femme fatale'', an enchantress, who maddens lovers and demons, sometimes leading them ...
as Merlin Joseph
*
Narendra Prasad
Raghava Kurup Narendra Prasad (26 December 1946 3 November 2003) was an Indian actor, playwright, director, teacher and literary critic. He was born at Mavelikkara in the erstwhile Kingdom of Travancore. Appreciated for his body language and ...
as Guest in a song
*
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 Mayinkutty
*
Renuka
Renuka, also known as Yellamma, is a Hindu goddess worshipped predominantly in the South Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and western state of Maharashtra. She is also known as the mother of Parashurama ...
as Sherly
*
T. S. Krishnan as Renjith
*
Kozhikode Narayanan Nair
Kozhikode Narayanan Nair is an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema, who has acted in more than 300 films. He entered the "Malayalam" movie industry (Mollywood) through a drama troupe.
His first film was ''Aabhijathyam'' (1970), and he is also reme ...
as P. C. Gopi
*
Abu Salim as Williams
*
VK Sreeraman
Vettiyattil Krishnan Sreeraman (born 6 February 1953) is an Indian actor, writer, TV anchor and social worker.
Personal life and education
He was born into a middle-class family at Cheruvathani village near Kunnamkulam, situated in Thrissur di ...
as Ummer Haji
*
Santhakumari
Santha Kumari (born Vellaala Subbamma; 17 May 1920 – 16 January 2006) was an Indian musical artist and actress. She was married to the Telugu film director and producer P. Pullayya.
Early years
Vellaala Subbamma was born in Proddatur town, ...
as Sulthan's umma
*Anila Sreekumar as Laila
*Baby Ambili as Thithibeevi
*Bindu Varappuzha as Ramlabeevi
Soundtrack
The music was composed by
M. Jayachandran
Madhusoodanan Jayachandran is an Indian composer, singer, and musician. He has won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Music Director for a record number of nine times. In 2005, he also won the state award for best male singer. In 2015, he wo ...
and the lyrics were written by
Gireesh Puthenchery
Girish Puthenchery (1961–2010) was a noted Malayalam Lyricist, Poet, Scriptwriter and Screenwriter. He was always referred to as the aristocratic lyricist of Malayalam who had a distinctive writing style of his own. He also served as the direc ...
.
References
{{reflist
1995 films
1990s Malayalam-language films
Films scored by M. Jayachandran
Films shot in Kozhikode