''Thalasthanam'' () is a 1992
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 action 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 ...
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 ...
, 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 produced by S. Henry under the banner of Christ King Productions. The film stars
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
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 ...
,
Monisha
Monisha Unni (24 January 1970 – 5 December 1992) was an Indian actress, known for her works in Malayalam, Tamil cinema.
Monisha was 16 when she became the youngest actress ever to receive the National Film Award for Best Actress for ''N ...
,
M. G. Soman
M. G. Soman (28 September 1941 – 12 December 1997) was an Indian actor and former Indian Air Force officer who appeared in Malayalam films. He was one among the leading star actors doing hero roles in Malayalam Cinema during the late 1970s an ...
,
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 ...
and
Vijayakumar in supporting roles. The basic plot revolves around Hari and his revenge against the people who murdered his brother, Unnikrishnan. The film explores the concepts of
campus politics
Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. Although often focused on schools, curriculum, and educational funding, student groups have influenced greater political e ...
and the impact of
anti social elements in students.
The film was produced by S. Henry under the banner of Christ King Productions in their debut production venture. The distribution of the film was handled by Aardra Films Release. The film is believed to be based on
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 ...
's experiences in campus politics, in which he was active in, during his collage days.The film was shot extensively in and around
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 ...
,
Thiruvananthapuram
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 the
Kerala University
University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is a state-run public university located in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chit ...
campus.
Renji Panickar,
Chippy and
Vijayakumar debuted as actors through this film. Johnson composed the film's soundtrack and score, and
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 ...
was its cinematographer. Sasi Perumanoor and L. Bhoominathan were the film's art dir. and editor, respectively.
The film was released on 12 July 1992 and was a
blockbuster
Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to:
*Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived.
Corporations
* Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain
** Bl ...
and was one of highest grossing Malayalam films of 1992. This film was a landmark film in Suresh Gopi's career as the success of the film established him as a bankable lead actor and was his first step towards
superstardom. The film is also noted to be the first of the Shaji-Renji mass films which go on to become the outline of their future works. The film enjoys a
cult status
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
even after decades after its release. Narendra Prasad received praise for his performance as the antagonist. The film was remade in Telugu as ''Rajadhani.''
Plot
Unnikrishnan is an easy going youth, who joins a
law college
Legal education is the education of individuals in the principles, practices, and theory of law. It may be undertaken for several reasons, including to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for admission to legal practice in a particular ...
, where he along with
first-year students are ragged by seniors under the leadership of Pappan, a student leader with strong
political clout. Pappan violently thrashes down Unnikrishnan who opposes the ragging. After getting insulted in front of girls, Unnikrishnan stabs Pappan at the corridor of the college in retaliation. G. Parameshwaran aka G.P, Pappan's political mentor, orders his goons to bring Unnikrishnan. Upon recognizing the potential of Unnikrishnan, G.P inducts him into the party and strikes a truce between Pappan and Unnikrishnan. However, G.P had more sinister plans in stock. The bill on self-financing colleges was introduced by 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 ...
, where the party decides to oppose the bill under the leadership of G.P. and launch a student agitation campaign, where Unni is appointed as the leader of the movement.
With the intention of spreading the violence throughout state, G.P decides to immolate Unni in front of the cops and press. Unni is killed, where his death is used as a powerful weapon by G.P against the government, but has also become a big blow to his family. Unni's elder brother Harikrishnan, arrives in Kerala from
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- ...
to perform the funeral rituals, where he becomes suspicious about Unnikrishnan's death and decides to investigate the reason behind the murder. Harikrishnan faces the wrath from several corners including the college management, cops and local politicians, where his attempts to convince the
C.M for an inquiry comes to no avail. Harikrishnan meets Meera, an aggressive journalist, who is the witness of Unnikrishnan's death. After learning about G.P's plans, Harikrishnan decides to fight against his violent political ways. where he faces several physical attacks from the hoodlums of G.P, but Harikrishnan manages to defeat them and burns G.P alive with the help of the college students.
Cast
Production
The film was shot in various locations including St. Joseph Devagiri College, Kozhikode, M.G. College, Thiruvananthapuram and Kerala university campus, Kariavattom, University Hostel Kariavattom Thiruvananthapuram.
Soundtrack
The film features original songs composed by
Johnson
Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...
, with lyrics written by
O. N. V. Kurup
Ottaplakkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup (known as O. N. V. Kurup; 27 May 1931 – 13 February 2016) was a Malayalam poet and lyricist from Kerala, India, who won the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary award in India for the year 2007. He receive ...
and
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 ...
.
Reception
''Thalastaanam'' was released on 11 July 1992, in 15 centers in Kerala. Despite having a limited release the film was a huge success at box office. The film was made on a budget of 1 Cr and made about 8 Cr in its final run. Narendra Prasad's performance is considered one the best in his career. It was after the success of the film that he started essaying antagonistic roles in films like ''
Ekalavyan
Ekalavya (Sanskrit: एकलव्य, ''ékalavya'') is a character from the Indian epic Mahābhārata. He was a young prince of the Nishadas, a confederation of forest and hill tribes in ancient India.
Ekalavya is called as one of the fore ...
,
Aaraam Thampuran and
Narasimham.'' The satellite rights of the film were sold to Amrita TV.
References
External links
*
{{Shaji Kailas
Films directed by Shaji Kailas
1990s Malayalam-language films
Films scored by Johnson
1990s action films
1990 films
Indian political thriller films
Malayalam films remade in other languages
Films shot in Thiruvananthapuram
Films shot in Kozhikode