''Ekalavyan'' is a 1993 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 ...

directed by

Shaji Kailas Shaji Kailas (born 8 February 1965) is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his works in Malayalam cinema. Shaji got a breakthrough with the comedy film ''Dr. Pasupathy'' (1990). He is best known for his action films with mainl ...

and written by

Renji Panicker Renji Panicker (born 23 September 1960) is an Indian actor, scriptwriter, director, film producer, and journalist best known for his Malayalam films. He made his debut as a director with ''Bharatchandran IPS'' in 2005. Early life He did his ...

, starring

Suresh Gopi Suresh Gopi (born 26 June 1958) is an Indian actor, politician, playback singer and television presenter. He works predominantly in Malayalam cinema and has also appeared in some Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bollywood films. Suresh made his acti ...

in the lead role along with Siddique, Geetha,

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 ...

Vijayaraghavan Vijayaraghavan (born 20 December 1951) is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He is popular for his character roles. He is the son of popular drama and cinema artist N. N. Pillai. He got his break by playing the iconic ...

Ganesh Kumar Keezhoote Balakrishna Pillai Ganesh Kumar (born 25 May 1966) is an Indian actor, television host, and politician. Ganesh Kumar is a proposed cabinet minister for the last 2.5 years in the ongoing 2nd LDF govt in Kerala and he is also the curre ...

, Janardhanan,

Madhu Madhu (Sanskrit: ) is a word used in several Indo-Aryan languages meaning ''honey'' or ''sweet''. It is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European ''*médʰu'', whence English '' mead''. Metaphorical use ''Madhu'' has been used for millennia si ...

Maathu Madhavi (born 1973), better known by her stage name Maathu, is an Indian actress who was active during the 1980s and 1990s in Malayalam cinema. She is born to Telugu-speaking parents Venkit and Shantha. She is best known for her role as ''Rad ...

Jagathy Sreekumar Sreekumar P. K. (born 5 January 1951), better known by his stage name Jagathy Sreekumar or simply Jagathy, is an Indian actor, director and playback singer, who has appeared in over 1500 Malayalam films in a career spanning almost four decad ...

Kuthiravattam Pappu Padmadalakshan, better known by his stage name Kuthiravattam Pappu (24 December 1936 – 25 February 2000), was a popular Indian stage and film actor. His repertoire of acting was based on his unique style and use of the ''Kozhikodan'' dialect, i ...

, and Devan in other pivotal roles. The plot revolves around a cop named Madhavan, who is hired by the CBI to investigate a godman, who is suspected of being involved in narcotics business and murders. The film was a blockbuster and ran for more than 100 days in theatres. With consecutive box office hits from ''The News'', ''

Thalastaanam ''Thalasthanam'' () is a 1992 Malayalam-language crime action film written by Renji Panicker, directed by Shaji Kailas and produced by S. Henry under the banner of Christ King Productions. The film stars Suresh Gopi in the lead role, along with ...

'', ''Mafia'' and ''Ekalavyan'' lead actor

was catapulted to the status of a matinee idol. After the success of the 1994 blockbuster ''

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

'' in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

, ''Ekalavyan'' was dubbed in Telugu and released as ''CBI Officer'' which was also a commercial success. The movie is said to be an inspiration for the 2014 Hindi blockbuster ''

Singham Returns ''Singham Returns'' is a 2014 Cinema of India, Indian Bollywood, Hindi-Hindi, language action film directed by Rohit Shetty as the second installment of his Cop Universe.

''.

Plot

Swami Amoorthananda is a psychotic holy godman with strong international connections and also runs a powerful Narcotics mafia in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. He also has several connections within political circles and is also a good

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...

, where he draws many devotees from abroad and makes them to slowly turn into addicts. A series of murders at

Kovalam Kovalam is a region in the city of Trivandrum, around 13 km southwest of the city center, whose beaches are a tourist destination. Etymology Kovalam means "coconut grove," after the coconut trees which are common there. History Kovala ...

beach invites sharp criticism of the

Kerala Government Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

and the C.M Sreedharan decides to bring Narcotics Wing Madhavan IPS to investigate the case. Arriving in Kerala from

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

and assisted by a smart C.I Sharath Chandran, Madhavan's aggressive way of investigation leads him to Amoorthananda's ashram, which creates a panic in the state. Amoorthananda decides to eliminate Madhavan and also plans to topple Sreedharan. by appointing his aide Velayudhan as the new C.M. Upon the orders from Amoorthananda, Mahesh Nair, a notorious terrorist arrives in Kerala, where he kills Sharath Chandran, which forces Madhavan to react violently and raids the ashram and botches Amoorthananda's plot to cause a series of

bomb blast An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...

s in the state. Madhavan also kills Amoorthananda and Mahesh Nair, thus saving the state from a series of blasts and

communal riots Religious violence covers phenomena in which religion is either the subject or the object of Violence, violent behavior. All the religions of the world contain narratives, symbols, and metaphors of violence and war. Religious violence is viol ...

Cast

as Madhavan

IPS IPS, ips, or iPS may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * ''Ips'' (genus), a genus of bark beetle * Induced pluripotent stem cell or iPS cells * Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique * Intraparietal sulcus, ...

* Siddique as CI Sarath Chandran *

as Swami Amoorthananda *

as Cheradi Skariah * Geetha as Maya Menon *

as Malu *

K. B. Ganesh Kumar Keezhoote Balakrishna Pillai Ganesh Kumar (born 25 May 1966) is an Indian actor, television host, and politician. Ganesh Kumar is a proposed cabinet minister for the last 2.5 years in the ongoing 2nd LDF govt in Kerala and he is also the curre ...

as Unni Joseph Mulaveedan * Janardhanan as Krishnan *

as Sreedharan,

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

as SI Achuthan Nair *

Rajan P. Dev Rajan P. Dev (20 May 1951 – 29 July 2009) was an Indian film and stage actor. He was born in Cherthala in the Alappuzha district of the former state Thiru-Kochi (present day Kerala). He had acted in over 500 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu ...

as Velayudhan,

Home Minister The Minister of Home Affairs (or simply, the Home Minister, short-form HM) is the head of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most officers in the Union Cabinet, the chief responsibility of the Home Minist ...

K. P. A. C. Azeez Azeez (27 November 1934 – 16 July 2003) was an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 100 films. He came into the movie industry as a villain, later he started doing character roles, such as police officer, jailer, and ministe ...

as IG Devadas

* Devan as Mahesh Nair *

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 SI Geevarghese *

as Govindan Kutty *

Chithra Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963), always credited as K. S. Chithra or Chithra, is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning over four decades, she has recorded over 25,000 songs in various In ...

as Hemambaram *

Maniyanpilla Raju Sudheer Kumar (born 20 April 1955), better known by his stage name Maniyanpilla Raju (Malayalam:മണിയൻപിള്ള രാജു), is an Indian actor and producer who works in Malayalam film industry.Kunchan Kunchan is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Kunchan Nambiar Kunchan Nambiar was a prominent Malayalam poet of the 18th century (1705-1770). Apart from being a prolific poet, Nambiar is also famous as the originator of the da ...

as Keshavan *

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 Anto *T. S. Krishnan as Salim Khan *

Usharani Usharani (29 May 1958 – 20 June 2020) was an Indian actress who acted mainly in Malayalam films. Personal life Usharani married Malayalam movie director N. Sankaran Nair in 1977. Filmography Tamil * Thirumalai Thenkumari (1970) * Kalam ...

as Mathaji *Ragini as SI Valsamma *

as Airport passenger (Cameo appearance) *Suma Jayaram as Susanna John *Remyasree as Cheradi Skariah's Wife

Production

Filming

The film was shot mostly in and around

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

and

. A large part was also shot in

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

. It was produced by

P. V. Gangadharan Parayarukandi Vettath Gangadharan is an Indian film producer and businessman from Kerala. He has produced 22 Malayalam films under his production company Grihalakshmi Productions. As a producer, he has won two National Film Awards, five Kera ...

for Grihalakshmi Productions. The camera was done by

Ravi K. Chandran Ravi K. Chandran is an Indian cinematographer and film director known for his works in Hindi, Malayalam, and Tamil-language cinema. He is the founding member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC). His most recognized works are '' Minsa ...

and editing by L. Bhoominathan. Rajamani did the background score, and Boban was the art director.

Casting

Initially, director Shaji Kailas and scriptwriter Renji Panicker had planned to rope in

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 ...

to do the lead role in this flick. Suresh Gopi was also part of the initial star cast, but his role was that of the second hero. But after hearing the script, Mammootty told Shaji Kailas that he is not impressed with the dialogues. A disappointed Shaji Kailas decided to start the movie with Suresh Gopi in the lead, and the originally planned role for Suresh was later given to Siddique. Surprisingly, the crime thriller shattered many collection records and marked the birth of a new superstar in Mollywood - Suresh Gopi. This is also the rise of a second action hero superstar ever in Malayalam Cinema after

Jayan Krishnan Nair (25 July 1939 – 16 November 1980), better known by his stage name Jayan, was an Indian actor, naval officer, stunt performer and cultural icon of the 1970s and 1980s. He starred in over 150 Malayalam films. During his film caree ...

. The mammoth success of Ekalavyan helped Suresh Gopi to fetch more action-oriented roles.

Box office

The film was a commercial success and ran for 200 days in theaters. After the success of the original version along with Telugu and Tamil versions of ''Commissioner'', the Telugu and Tamil versions of the film ''Ekalavyan'' which was actually released before ''Commissioner'' hit the theaters under the title ''CBI Officer''. The movie had earned Suresh Gopi the title of ''Supreme Star'' in

Legacy

* ''Ekalavyan'' was the second in a trilogy of films that established Suresh Gopi as the new superstar in the Malayalam film industry, the other 2 being ''

'' and ''Mafia''. * Suresh Gopi reprised his role of Madhavan IPS in 1995 blockbuster ''

The King In the British English-speaking world, The King refers to: * Charles III (born 1948), King of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms since 2022 As a nickname * Michael Jackson (1958–2009), American singer and pop icon, nicknamed "T ...

'' starring

Remake

This movie was remade in Hindi as

Singham Returns ''Singham Returns'' is a 2014 Cinema of India, Indian Bollywood, Hindi-Hindi, language action film directed by Rohit Shetty as the second installment of his Cop Universe.

in 2014 starring

Ajay Devgan Vishal Veeru Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi cinema. Devgn has appeared in over a hundred films and has won numerous accolades, including four ...

References

External links

* {{Shaji Kailas 1990s Malayalam-language films 1993 action thriller films 1993 films Films directed by Shaji Kailas Films shot in Kozhikode Films shot in Thiruvananthapuram Fictional portrayals of the Kerala Police Malayalam films remade in other languages Indian action thriller films