''Kurukshetra'' is a 2008 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
war film
War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...
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 is a prequel to the 2006 film ''
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 ...
'' and the second installment in the Major Mahadevan film series, with
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 ...
reprising his role as
Colonel Mahadevan The film is based on the
Kargil conflict of 1999 between
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. The political situation of the conflict is portrayed from an Indian perspective.
The film was released on October 28 coinciding with
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 ...
. It was a box office success and was one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year.
The third film in the series ''
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 ...
'' was released in 2010 and the fourth film
1971: Beyond Borders was released in 2017.
Plot
The story revolves around the 1999
Kargil War
The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...
between
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. It revolves around the
Battle of Tololing
The Battle of Tololing was a pivotal battle in the Kargil War between India's 2nd Rajputana Rifles's and troops from one full bn of Pakistan’s Northern Light Infantry who were aided by Pakistani irregulars in 1999.
The Tololing peak is a dom ...
between Indian Army Colonel Mahadevan and Pakistani Army Colonel Chengiz. In the climax, India wins the war and Mahadevan kills Chengiz and avenges the brutal murder of many Indian soldiers.
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
Colonel Mahadevan,
CO- 2
JAT
The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and su ...
*
Siddique as
Subedar Major
Subedar Major is the senior-most rank of junior commissioned officer in the Indian and Pakistani Armies, formerly known as the Viceroy's commissioned officer in the British Indian Army.
History
During the British Raj, Subedar-Major was the hi ...
Fussy Ahmed, 2
JAT
The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and su ...
*
Biju Menon
Biju Menon (born 9 September 1970) is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam films, and also has a few Tamil cinema, Tamil and Telugu cinema, Telugu film credits. He made his debut in the 1994 Malayalam film ''Puthran''. In a car ...
as
Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
Rajesh, 2
JAT
The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and su ...
*
Ravi Mariya
S. Ravi Mariya (born August 4, 1979) is an Indian film director and actor who works primarily in Tamil cinema. He appears in villain and supporting roles.
Career
Ravi Mariya's directorial debut was meant to be ''Nee Naan Kaadhal'' starring Pras ...
as
Brigadier
Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...
Krishna, 2
JAT
The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and su ...
* Sania Singh as
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Lekshmi Rajesh, army doctor
*
Manikuttan
Thomas James better known by his stage name Manikuttan or 'MK', is an Indian actor who prominently works in the Malayalam film industry. He is known for his role as Kayamkulam Kochunni in the famous TV serial of the same title broadcast by Sur ...
as
Naik Prakash
*
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
Naik Saravanan, Radio Operator
*
Rony David
Dr.Rony David 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
KIMS Hospital is the largest independent pr ...
as
Naik Sasi
* Saju Attingal as
Naik Swaminathan
* Sudheer Sukumaran as
Havildar
Havildar or havaldar ( Hindustani: or (Devanagari), (Perso-Arabic)) is a rank in the Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese armies, equivalent to sergeant. It is not used in cavalry units, where the equivalent is daffadar.
Like a British sergeant, ...
Johnson
* Anu Anand as
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
Saurabh Kalia
Saurabh Kalia (; – ) was an officer of the Indian Army who was killed during the Kargil War while being held as a prisoner of war by the Pakistan Army. He and five soldiers in his patrol group were captured by Pakistani troops following a ...
*
Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
Kishore as
Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
Jerry Prem Raj
* Kannan Pattambi as
Naik Kannan, Cook
* Anil as
Naik Anilkumar
*
Cochin Haneefa
Muhammed Haneefa (22 April 1951 – 2 February 2010), better known by his stage name Cochin Haneefa, was an Indian actor, film director, and screenwriter. He started his career in the 1970s mainly portraying villainous roles, before going on to ...
as
Havildar
Havildar or havaldar ( Hindustani: or (Devanagari), (Perso-Arabic)) is a rank in the Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese armies, equivalent to sergeant. It is not used in cavalry units, where the equivalent is daffadar.
Like a British sergeant, ...
* Bineesh Kodiyeri as
Naik Bineesh
*
Suraj Venjaramoodu
Suraj Vasudevan (born 30 June 1976), professionally credited as Suraj Venjaramoodu, is an Indian actor, comedian, impressionist, and television presenter, who appears in Malayalam films, television and stage plays. He has acted in more than 2 ...
as
Naik
* Anjana Chandran as Alma, Kashmiri Girl
*
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
Squadron Leader
Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...
Ajay (
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
officer)
* Joy John Antony as Soldier
*
Assim Jamal as Hyder, Pakistani officer
*
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 Fussy's mother (Cameo)
* Kavitha Nair as Swaminathan's wife
*
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 ...
(Cameo appearance)
Soundtrack
The film have four songs composed by debutant
Siddharth Vipin
Siddharth Vipin is an Indian composer, who mainly produces film scores and soundtracks in the Tamil film industry. He recently married Shriya Mohandas who is an advocate.
Early life
Siddharth was born in Salem,Tamil Nadu. Finished his schoolin ...
, with lyrics 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 ...
and Bombay S. Kamal (''Chalo Chalo'').
See also
*
Kargil War
The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...
References
External links
*
2008 films
2000s Malayalam-language films
Indian war films
Indian sequel films
HMajor2
Indian Army in films
Films directed by Major Ravi
India–Pakistan relations in popular culture
{{2000s-Malayalam-film-stub