''Indrajaalam'' () is a 1990 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
crime thriller film
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
produced and directed by
Thampi Kannanthanam
Thampi Kannanthanam (11 December 1953 – 2 October 2018) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor, who worked in Malayalam cinema. He has directed 16 films.
Personal life
Thampi was born on 11 December 1953 as the sixth son ...
and written by
Dennis Joseph
Dennis Joseph (20 October 1957 – 10 May 2021) was an Indian scriptwriter and director known for his work in Malayalam films. He was active during the 1980s and early 1990s. He frequently collaborated with directors Joshi (director), Joshi and ...
. The film stars
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeare ...
,
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 ...
and
Geetha, with music composed by
S. P. Venkatesh
S. P. Venkatesh (also credited as Sangeetharajan; born 5 March 1955) is an Indian music director and composer who primarily works in Malayalam films. He was at his prime in the late 80s and 90s, being reputed for his background scores and songs ...
. It was released on 3 September 1990. The Film became major commercial success and was major breakthrough for Rajan P Dev for his villain character Carlos.
Plot
The plot revolves around the uprising of an underworld gangster.
Cast
*
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeare ...
as Kannan 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 Carlos
*A. T. Jose IPS (Retd) as Commissioner David
*Vijayan Karote as Home minister K. G. Menon
*
Anupam Kher as Maharashtra Chief Minister
*
Geetha as Jayanthi
*
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 icon ...
as Thankappan
*
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 Michael
*
Sreeja as Vinu
*
Jose Prakash
Jose Prakash (14 April 1925 – 24 March 2012) was an Indian actor and singer who worked in Malayalam cinema. He was a singer turned actor who had appeared in more than 300 films mostly in antagonist roles. He was awarded with the J. C. Daniel ...
as Baba
*
K. P. A. C. Sunny
K. P. A. C. Sunny (1934–2006) was an Indian actor in Malayalam movies. He acted in more than 400 Malayalam films. He occupied the movie industry for four decades.
Background
Sunny was born as Sunny D'Cruz in Chavara, Kollam on 18 April 1934. ...
as Adv.Narayana Swamy
*
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 Chandrakumar
*
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 Appu
*
Prathapachandran
Prathapachandran (1941–2004) was an Indian actor, who worked predominantly in Malayalam film, Malayalam film industry, though he acted in a few Tamil and Telugu movies as well. He known for the portrayal of villainous and character roles in o ...
as Baburaj
*
Sainuddin as Kuttan
*
Meenakumari
Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano; 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Popularly known as ''The Tragedy Queen'', she was active between 1939 and 1972. Kumari is widely considered one of ...
as Mariyamma
*
Balan K. Nair
Balakrishnan Nair, more popularly known as Balan K. Nair (4 April 1933 26 August 2000) was an Indian actor known for his roles in Malayalam cinema. Although he appeared as a villain in most films, he was also noted for his performances in stron ...
as Ayyappan Nair
*
Ravi Menon
Chalappurathu Raveendranatha Menon (1950 – 24 November 2007), popularly known as Ravi Menon was a veteran Indian film actor who worked in Malayalam cinema. He was born in Sreekrishnapuram, Palakkad in 1950. He completed diploma from the Film a ...
as Ravi, Press Photographer
Production
''Indrajaalam'' is the debut film of
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 ...
, and action choreographer Sham Kaushal, who signed on in May 1990. Filming took place mostly in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by
S. P. Venkatesh
S. P. Venkatesh (also credited as Sangeetharajan; born 5 March 1955) is an Indian music director and composer who primarily works in Malayalam films. He was at his prime in the late 80s and 90s, being reputed for his background scores and songs ...
.
Release and reception
''Indrajaalam'' was released on 3 September 1990,
Onam
Onam ( ) is an annual Indian harvest festival celebrated predominantly by the Hindus of Kerala. A major annual event for Keralites, it is the official festival of the state and includes a spectrum of cultural events.
Onam commemorates Vamana ...
day.
N. Krishnaswamy of ''
The Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
'' wrote, "High-speed cameras, sensitive film, innovative choreography of action and use of newfangled props have helped in this direction". Despite facing competition from three other Onam releases – ''
Arhatha'', ''
Iyer the Great
''Iyer the Great'' is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language psychological thriller film directed by Bhadran and starring Mammootty, Geetha, Shobana, Sukumari and Devan. The film was a commercial success upon release. M. S. Mani won the National ...
'' and ''
Oliyampukal'' – it emerged the bigger success.
References
External links
*
{{Dennis Joseph
1990 crime thriller films
1990 films
1990s Malayalam-language films
Films about organised crime in India
Indian crime thriller films
Indian gangster films
Films shot in Mumbai
Fictional portrayals of the Maharashtra Police
Films directed by Thampi Kannanthanam