''Karmayodha'' () is a 2012 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 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 ...
co-produced, written and directed by
Major Ravi
Major A. K. Raveendran SM (born 13 June 1958) is a retired officer of the Indian Army and former National Security Guard commando. He was awarded the President's gallantry medal in 1991 and 1992 for his contributions in fighting terrorism in P ...
. It features
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 ...
,
Asha Sarath
Asha Sharath (born 19 July 1974) is an Indian actress and classical dancer, who predominantly works in Malayalam films and television shows and also has a few Tamil, Kannada and Telugu film credits.
Personal life
Asha is married to Sharath ...
,
Murali Sharma
Murali Sharma (born 9 August 1972) is an Indian actor who works predominently in Telugu and Hindi films. Sharma has starred in over 130 feature films, including Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Malayalam cinema.
Sharma gained wide recognition ...
,
Sai Kumar,
Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It also means god of 3 worlds, heaven, hell & earth, which in turn represents Hindu god Shiva. It is commonly used as a male given name in India. Peopl ...
, Bineesh Kodiyeri,
Rajeev Pillai
Rajeev Govinda Pillai is an Indian actor from Malayalam cinema. His acting debut was in the movie ''City of God (2011 film), City of God'' directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery (2011) where he played one of the heroes. His popularity further increa ...
and
Aishwarya Devan
Aishwarya Devan is an Indian actress and Beauty queen from Kerala state who has acted in Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada language films. She was crowned Femina Miss India Maharashtra 2017 and represented Maharashtra state in Femina Miss India 2017 ...
. The
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
was composed by
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 ...
; the background score was provided by Jeffrey Jonathan. The film deals about the illegal activities happening against women. The film received mixed reviews, and was just an average at the box office.
Plot
Madhavan Menon (Maddy) is a ruthless and psychotic investigating officer working with the
Mumbai Police
The Mumbai Police (Marathi: मुंबई पोलीस, IAST: ''Mumbaī Pulīs'', formerly ''Bombay Police'') is the police department of the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of Maharashtra Police and has the primary responsibiliti ...
. He is an encounter specialist who makes decisions on the spot, without always waiting for orders from the top. His latest assignment is to investigate the missing of a teenage school girl from Mumbai. He reaches
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 ...
on being tipped off that the girl could be taken to Kerala. In the meantime, another girl gets kidnapped in Kerala, presumably by the same people or people linked to them. There is also information that some other girls too have been kidnapped. Following the leads, Maddy comes to the conclusion that all the girls have been abducted by a Kerala-based sex trafficking racket headed by a psycho criminal named Khais Khanna. Maddy embarks on a mission to eliminate the racket and save the girls, including his daughter, who gets kidnapped, Diya.
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
DCP Madhava Menon
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, ...
aka. "Mad Maddy",
Mumbai Police
The Mumbai Police (Marathi: मुंबई पोलीस, IAST: ''Mumbaī Pulīs'', formerly ''Bombay Police'') is the police department of the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of Maharashtra Police and has the primary responsibiliti ...
officer
*
Asha Sarath
Asha Sharath (born 19 July 1974) is an Indian actress and classical dancer, who predominantly works in Malayalam films and television shows and also has a few Tamil, Kannada and Telugu film credits.
Personal life
Asha is married to Sharath ...
as Arathi, Maddy's wife
*
Murali Sharma
Murali Sharma (born 9 August 1972) is an Indian actor who works predominently in Telugu and Hindi films. Sharma has starred in over 130 feature films, including Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Malayalam cinema.
Sharma gained wide recognition ...
as Khais Khanna The Main Antagonist
*
Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It also means god of 3 worlds, heaven, hell & earth, which in turn represents Hindu god Shiva. It is commonly used as a male given name in India. Peopl ...
as
CI Krishnaraj,
Kerala Police
The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperamen ...
*
Rajeev Pillai
Rajeev Govinda Pillai is an Indian actor from Malayalam cinema. His acting debut was in the movie ''City of God (2011 film), City of God'' directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery (2011) where he played one of the heroes. His popularity further increa ...
as
ACP K.Tony
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, ...
,
Mumbai Police
The Mumbai Police (Marathi: मुंबई पोलीस, IAST: ''Mumbaī Pulīs'', formerly ''Bombay Police'') is the police department of the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of Maharashtra Police and has the primary responsibiliti ...
officer
*
Sai Kumar as
ACP Eepan Devassy
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, ...
,
Kerala Police
The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperamen ...
Officer
*
Pradeep Chandran Pradeep is a Diya lamp, used in Puja (religious ceremonies) in Hinduism, Jainism, & Buddhism. It is related to the name Pradip.
Notable people with the name include:
Pradeep Dahal* Pradeep (actor)
* Kavi Pradeep
* Vidya Pradeep
* Pradeep Kumar
...
as Arathi's Bose
* Bineesh Kodiyeri as Manu
*
Riyaz Khan
Riyaz Khan is an Indian actor and bodybuilder. He predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil films and television series, besides acting in a few Telugu and Kannada films, as well as two Hindi films. Riyaz debuted in Malayalam through the 1994 ...
as Sathan Sunny
*
Shaalin as Renuka
*
Aishwarya Devan
Aishwarya Devan is an Indian actress and Beauty queen from Kerala state who has acted in Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada language films. She was crowned Femina Miss India Maharashtra 2017 and represented Maharashtra state in Femina Miss India 2017 ...
as Saleena
*
Sona Heiden
Sona Heiden is an Indian actress, entrepreneur and film producer. She was crowned Miss South India in the year 2002. She is best known for her item songs in Kollywood.
Personal life
Sona Heiden was born on 1 June 1979 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, ...
as Selena Madam
*
Malavika Nair
Malvika Nair is an Indian actress who appears in Telugu and Malayalam-language films. Her notable works include '' Black Butterfly'' (2013) and ''Cuckoo'' (2014).
Early life
Malvika Nair was born in Delhi. Her family soon moved to Kerala and ...
as Diya
* Kannan Pattambi as Thenkasi Selvam (Dubbed by Major Ravi)
* Vishnu Hariharan
*
Sarayu
The Sarayu is a river that originates at a ridge south of Nanda Kot mountain in Bageshwar district in Uttarakhand, India. It flows through Kapkot, Bageshwar, and Seraghat towns before discharging into the Sharda River at Pancheshwar at the Ind ...
*
Sudheer Karamana
Sudheer Karamana (born 24 May 1971) is an Indian actor who appears mainly in Malayalam cinema. He is the son of veteran actor Karamana Janardanan Nair.
Personal life
He is the eldest son to actor Karamana Janardanan Nair and Jaya, at Karamana, ...
as Anoop
*
Anil Murali
Anil Murali (12 April 1964 – 30 July 2020) was an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 200 films. He started out in the film industry as a villain before later taking on character roles. He died on 30 July 2020, as a re ...
as Salim
*
Santosh Sleeba
Santosh Sleeba is an actor in Malayalam film industry.
Biography
Santosh Sleeba was born on 16 March 1972 in Ernakulam district. He did his diploma in pharmaceuticals. Started a living by helping his father's medical business. His passion for a ...
as a police officer
*
Janardhanan as Narayana Menon
*
Sukumari
Sukumari Amma (6 October 1940 – 26 March 2013) was an Indian actress best known for her works in Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning more than five decades, She has appeared in more than 2500 films predominantly in Malayalam, Tam ...
as Maddy's mother
*
Gayathri Varsha as Krisharajs Wife
*
Jayakrishnan
Jayakrishnan (born 11 April 1974) is an Indian film and television actor known for his work in the Malayalam industry. Often regarded as Immortal Star JK by the Malayalam film fanatics for his unaging appearance for decades.
He was introduced a ...
as
District Collector
A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal reven ...
Muhammad Riyaz
IAS IAS may refer to:
Science
* Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States
* Image Analysis & Stereology, the official journal of the International Society for Stereology & Image Analysis.
* Iowa Archeological Society, Uni ...
* Bindu Ramakrishnan as Manu's mother
*
Lakshmi Menon as Divya
*
Sasi Kalinga
V. Chandrakumar, better known by his stage name Sasi Kalinga, was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in '' Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha'' (2009), ''Pranchiyettan & the Saint'' (2010), ''Indian Rupee ...
as Chachaji
*
Dr Rony David
Rony David Raj is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam cinema, mainly in supporting roles. He made his debut in the 2007 film ''Chocolate''. He is also a physician who practiced at KIMS Hospital before foraying into acting. He got a break ...
as
City Police Commissioner,
Mumbai Police
The Mumbai Police (Marathi: मुंबई पोलीस, IAST: ''Mumbaī Pulīs'', formerly ''Bombay Police'') is the police department of the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of Maharashtra Police and has the primary responsibiliti ...
(Voice Dubbed By
Vijay Babu
Vijay Babu (born 14 May 1976) is an Indian film producer, actor, and businessman, who works in the Malayalam film industry. He is the founder of the film production company Friday Film House.
Vijay Babu is best known for producing and starrin ...
)
Production
The ''
pooja'' ceremony of the film was held on 7 July 2012 at the BTH Sarovaram Hotel in
Cochin
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 ...
, India. The film was shot on locations in
Mumbai
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- ...
,
Cochin
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 ...
,
Munnar
Munnar () is a town and hill station in the Idukki district of the southwestern Indian state of Kerala. Munnar is situated at around above mean sea level, in the Western Ghats mountain range. Munnar is also called the "Kashmir of South Indi ...
and
Nagercoil
Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil ("Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on an ...
. Filming began in August 2012.
Notably, ''Karmayodha'' is not set in the military backdrop that had characterised all other Mohanlal–Major Ravi films, such as ''
Keerthi Chakra
The Kirti Chakra is an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle. It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, including posthumous awards. It is the ''p ...
'', ''
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra (, ) is a city and administrative headquarter of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty ") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita".
Legends
According to the Pura ...
'' and ''
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...
''.
"Mohanlal's characterisation is similar to
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...
's in the action film ''
Man On Fire'', which is about a single man on a mission who doesn't play by the rules to reach there," says Ravi.
[
]
Marketing
The films' teaser featured the song " American VI: Ain't No Grave" by American musician Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...
. It was the first time that an English track was being used in a Malayalam film. The makers also gave credit to Cash's song claiming that "It has been used for teaser purposes only". The teaser went viral, and received praise for incorporating the song, which perfectly sets the action-thriller tone of the film. "The idea of using the song came during the editing stage, and I thought it truly complemented the Mexican-style footage that was used for the teaser. Though the song is a free template that's been made available by its producers to be used by anyone, we have also given the due credit.", says Ravi. Cash often performed wearing dark clothing, earning him the nickname 'The Man in Black.' Mohanlal's character is also seen wearing a black attire in the teaser and the stills.
The first-look poster was released in September 2012; the film's first teaser was released on 3 October 2012, and a theatrical trailer was released on 25 November 2012.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by 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 ...
, with lyrics by Dr. Madhu Vasudevan. The album was launched on 25 November 2012 at IMA Hall 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 ...
. The event was attended by 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 ...
, Joshiy
Joshiy (born 18 July 1952) is an Indian film director and producer from Varkala in Kerala who works predominantly in the Malayalam film industry. He made his debut with ''Tiger Salim'' (1978) and has directed over 80 films. He has also directe ...
, Major Ravi
Major A. K. Raveendran SM (born 13 June 1958) is a retired officer of the Indian Army and former National Security Guard commando. He was awarded the President's gallantry medal in 1991 and 1992 for his contributions in fighting terrorism in P ...
, Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It also means god of 3 worlds, heaven, hell & earth, which in turn represents Hindu god Shiva. It is commonly used as a male given name in India. Peopl ...
, Rajeev Pillai
Rajeev Govinda Pillai is an Indian actor from Malayalam cinema. His acting debut was in the movie ''City of God (2011 film), City of God'' directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery (2011) where he played one of the heroes. His popularity further increa ...
, MG Sreekumar, Pradeep Nair, Pranav Mohanlal
Pranav Mohanlal (born 13 July 1990) is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam films. The son of actor Mohanlal, began his acting career as a child artist in '' Onnaman'' (2002) with his father in the lead role, and won the Kerala State Film Awa ...
, 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 ...
, Jeffrey Jonathan and other personalities from the film industry, along with the technical crew and cast of the film. The background score for the film was provided by Jeffrey Jonathan. The film notably features Murukan Kattakada's famous poem "Kannada", which has been rendered by the poet himself.
Release
The distribution rights for ''Karmayodha'' 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 ...
were bought by Red Rose Release. The film's premiere show was held on 20 December 2012 in Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
, United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
. The worldwide release took place on 21 December 2012. Karmayodha was released in Europe and the UAE on 27 December 2012.
Critical reception
The film opened to mixed reviews. Sify.com
Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...
said: "A rather flimsy plot, some bad performances, silly lines and villains who are unintentionally comical make you cringe in the seats. The plot moves ahead without a definite aim or direction with some weak links that barely look convincing."
Rediff.com
Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City.
, it had more than 300 e ...
rated the movie 2 out of 5, saying: "Karmayodha is not worth watching".
Indiaglitz gave the film an average rating of 5.9/10, saying that "''Karmayodha'' may satisfy the die-hard Mohanlal fans."
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 2358424, Karma Yodha
Indian action thriller films
Films shot in Kochi
Films shot in Mumbai
Films shot in Munnar
Fictional portrayals of the Maharashtra Police
Films directed by Major Ravi
2010s Malayalam-language films