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
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
film directed by
T. K. Rajeev Kumar
Thazhathupurakkal Karunakara Panicker Rajeev Kumar (born 20 September 1961) is a National Award-winning Indian director of Malayalam films, from Trivandrum. He is the winner of five Kerala State Film Awards for Best Film, Director, Story Writer ...
, written by
Sreenivasan
Sreenivasan (born 6 April 1956) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, dubbing artist and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Sreenivasan has starred in over 225 films. Sreenivasan wrote the screenplays of films such as ' ...
, and produced by
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.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 ...
and
Sameera Reddy
Sameera Reddy (born 14 December 1978) is a former Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi films, in addition to Tamil and Telugu language films. Reddy made her film debut with the 2002 film ''Maine Dil Tujhko Diya''. She is best known for ...
in her Malayalam debut, with
Sreenivasan
Sreenivasan (born 6 April 1956) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, dubbing artist and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Sreenivasan has starred in over 225 films. Sreenivasan wrote the screenplays of films such as ' ...
,
Devayani
Devayani ( sa, देवयानी, translit=Devayānī) is a character in Hindu literature. She is described to be the daughter of Shukra, the acharya (preceptor) of the asuras, and his wife Jayanti, the daughter of Indra. She marries K ...
,
Nazriya Nazim
Nazriya Nazim (born 20 December 1994) is an Indian actress, producer and former television presenter who works predominantly in Malayalam films in addition to Tamil films. She has won One Filmfare Award South, one Kerala State Film Awards, an ...
and
Esther Anil
Esther Anil is an Indian actress who works primarily in the Malayalam-language films. She debuted her career as a child artist through the film '' Nallavan'' in 2010. She is best known for her role as Anumol George (Anu) in the 2013 drama-thril ...
in supporting roles. The film's 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 ...
. ''Oru Naal Varum'' was released on 9 July 2010. The plot deals with
corruption in India
Corruption in India is an issue which affects economy of central, state and local government agencies in many ways. Corruption is blamed for stunting the economy of India. A study conducted by Transparency International in 2005 recorded that ...
.
Plot
Gopi Krishnan, his wife Rajalakshmi and daughter Dhanya are enjoying their moments at Kutralam Waterfalls. Soon it is revealed that Gopi Krishnan is a corrupt assistant
town planner
An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning.
An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town ...
using a government vehicle to come on holiday in
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
during his duty hours. As his driver takes him back to his station 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 has an altercation with Sukumaran, whose identity and profession are not yet revealed.
Sukumaran lives in a rented flat with his daughter. There is also a sub-plot involving the
child custody
Child custody is a legal term regarding '' guardianship'' which is used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent or guardian and a child in that person's care. Child custody consists of ''legal custody'', which is the righ ...
battle between Nandhakumar and his wife Meera. Later, Sukumaran is seen at the town planning office trying to get a building permit, and meets Vasudevan, who is also having difficulty with building permits. In reality, Sukumaran is in disguise and is actually a
vigilance
Vigilance may refer to:
* Alertness
* Vigilance, a creature ability in the ''Magic: The Gathering'' collectible card game
* ''Vigilance'' (album), by Threat Signal
* Vigilance (behavioural ecology), the watchfulness of prey for nearby predator ...
officer named Nandhakumar trying to arrest Gopi Krishnan in a corruption case.
Nandhakumar makes three attempts to get evidence against Gopi Krishnan. The first two fail, because Nandhakumar's subordinate Sunny leaked the plans to Gopi Krishnan. Vasudevan commits suicide after the first failure. Finally after catching Sunny, the third attempt succeeds, though there is confusion over the evidence and some thugs attempt to murder Gopi Krishnan while he is in police custody.
However, Nandhakumar loses his court case against his wife and has to give up his daughter. Faced with the collapse of his corrupt life, Gopi Krishnan agrees to work with Nandhakumar to root out corrupt
real estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
developers. Meera returns Nandhakumar's daughter to him, saying that she could not handle her crying for her father all the time.
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 Kulappulli Sukumaran / Vigilance DySP Nandhakumar
*
Sreenivasan
Sreenivasan (born 6 April 1956) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, dubbing artist and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Sreenivasan has starred in over 225 films. Sreenivasan wrote the screenplays of films such as ' ...
as ATPO Gopi Krishnan
*
Sameera Reddy
Sameera Reddy (born 14 December 1978) is a former Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi films, in addition to Tamil and Telugu language films. Reddy made her film debut with the 2002 film ''Maine Dil Tujhko Diya''. She is best known for ...
as Meera, Nandakumar's wife
*
Devayani
Devayani ( sa, देवयानी, translit=Devayānī) is a character in Hindu literature. She is described to be the daughter of Shukra, the acharya (preceptor) of the asuras, and his wife Jayanti, the daughter of Indra. She marries K ...
as Rajalekshmi, Gopikrishnan's wife
*
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 Driver Girijan
*
Nazriya Nazim
Nazriya Nazim (born 20 December 1994) is an Indian actress, producer and former television presenter who works predominantly in Malayalam films in addition to Tamil films. She has won One Filmfare Award South, one Kerala State Film Awards, an ...
as Dhanya Gopi Krishnan
*
Esther Anil
Esther Anil is an Indian actress who works primarily in the Malayalam-language films. She debuted her career as a child artist through the film '' Nallavan'' in 2010. She is best known for her role as Anumol George (Anu) in the 2013 drama-thril ...
as Nandhakumar's daughter
*
Nedumudi Venu
Kesavan Venugopal (22 May 1948 – 11 October 2021), better known by his stage name Nedumudi Venu, was an Indian actor and screenwriter from Kerala, who predominantly worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 500 films, primarily in Ma ...
as Havildar Vasudevan (Retd)
*
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 Vinod Abraham, Vigilance SP
* Siddique as K.N.C
*
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.Ambika Mohan
Ambika Mohan is an Indian actress known for her work in Malayalam cinema and television series mostly in supporting roles. She made her debut in the film, ''Meghamalhar
''Meghamalhar'' is a 2001 Indian Malayalam-language romance film writ ...
as Family Court Judge
*
Aliyar
Aliyar is one of the tributaries of the river Kannadipuzha. ''Kannadipuzha'' is one of the main tributaries of the river Bharathapuzha, the second-longest river in Kerala, south India. Its source is the Aliyar dam in Aliyar near Pollachi in Tam ...
as George Sebastian, Advocate of Nandhakumar
*
T. P. Madhavan
T. P. Madhavan (born 7 November 1935) is an Indian actor who appeared in Malayalam films. He started acting at the age of 40. He has acted in more than 600 films. He came into the film industry playing villain roles; later he started doing com ...
*
Kottayam Nazir
Kottayam Nazeer is an Indian actor, impressionist, and an artist from Kerala. Kottayam Nazeer started his career as a stage artist . Recently he also started his career in painting.
Family
Nazeer is married to Haseena. They have two sons, Moh ...
*
Fathima Babu
Fathima Babu is a South Indian actress, former newsreader and socialite based out of Chennai who hails from Puducherry. Born in a Muslim family, Fathima began her public career as a newsreader for more than 25 years with DD Podhigai, the Tamil ...
*
Indrans
Indrans is an Indian actor and former costume designer, who appears in Malayalam films.His mentor was Shiyas M S, a law college student. He started his film career as a costume designer and actor in 1981 and got a breakthrough in 1994 with the ...
*
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 Advocate Santhosh
*
Biju Pappan
Biju Pappan (born 9 March 1969), is a Malayalam actor, his career began in movies in 1991 and continued both in television and films. He is well known for his anti-hero roles in ''Naran'' and ''Kayyoppu'', which were financial successes. He has ...
as Vigilance SI Mukundan
*
Dinesh Panicker
Dinesh Panicker is an Indian film producer, actor and TV producer. He entered the film industry in 1989 by producing '' Kireedam'', a critically acclaimed and commercially successful film. He went on to produce different genre films in Mollywoo ...
as Vigilance CI Ravi
Production
The film was produced by
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. ''Oru Naal Varum'' was the maiden film of
Sameera Reddy
Sameera Reddy (born 14 December 1978) is a former Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi films, in addition to Tamil and Telugu language films. Reddy made her film debut with the 2002 film ''Maine Dil Tujhko Diya''. She is best known for ...
in the
Malayalam cinema
Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, ''Elippathayam' ...
.
Soundtrack
The film features songs 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 film was originally planned to be released on 7 May 2010 and was censored by the
Central Board of Film Certification
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provision ...
on 7 April 2010. But it was delayed by two months due to a strike in the Malayalam film industry. The film was released on 9 July 2010.
Reception
''
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 that "the plot is well-constructed and the element of satire well worked out. The film retains the interest of the audience till the end". ''
Sify
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 ...
'' called the film "above average" and said: "''Oru Naal Varum'' handles a relevant issue, but the problem here is the way it has been told. Of course, even in its current shape, the film is really good when compared to the rest of the movies that are being churned out in Malayalam these days". ''
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 2 out of 5 and stated that "The first half works wonderfully due to the presence of a lively and humorous Mohanlal. Sadly, he transforms into somebody else just before intermission: as if to do justice to his superstar image ... ''Oru Naal Varum'' may be a well intended social satire but it ends up as a conundrum".
Awards
Kerala State Film Awards
The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Cha ...
Suraj Venjaramood
Suraj Vasudevan (born 30 June 1976), professionally credited as Suraj Venjaramoodu, is an Indian actor, comedian, Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist, and television presenter, who appears in Malayalam films, television and stage pla ...
Asianet Film Awards
The Asianet Film Awards is an award ceremony for films presented annually by Asianet, a Malayalam-language television network from the south-Indian state of Kerala. Asianet says that awards ceremony has been instituted to honour both artis ...
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 ...
Asiavision Awards
Asiavision Awards have been held annually since 2006 to honor the artistes and technicians of Indian cinema and television & is organized under the leadership of renowned journalist Nissar Syed.
More than 40,000 people across United Arab Emirates ...
* Best Socially Committed Movie
* Best Music Director -
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 ...
Jaihind TV
Jaihind Television is an Indian Malayalam-language channel, based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It was launched on 17 August 2007, in Delhi by the Indian National Congress President and United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
T ...
Film Awards
* Best Music Director -
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 ...
* Best Female Playback Singer -
Shweta Mohan
Shweta Mohan (born 19 November 1985) is an Indian playback singer. She has received four Filmfare Awards South for Best Female Playback Singer, one Kerala State Film Award and one Tamil Nadu State Film Award. She has recorded more than 700
so ...
* Best Comedy Artist -
Suraj Venjaramood
Suraj Vasudevan (born 30 June 1976), professionally credited as Suraj Venjaramoodu, is an Indian actor, comedian, Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist, and television presenter, who appears in Malayalam films, television and stage pla ...