''Ustaad'' () is a 1999 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 directed by Sibi Malayil and written by

Ranjith Ranjit or Renjith may refer to: Religion * Anton Ranjith Pillainayagam (born 1966), Sri Lankan Tamil Catholic priest, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Colombo * Malcolm Ranjith (born 1947), Sri Lankan Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, C ...

. The film was produced by

and

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 ...

. The plot follows Parameshwaran (

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 ...

), a soft-spoken businessman who leads a

double life An alter ego (Latin for "other I", "doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a different ...

as an underworld don named Ustaad, he takes care of his younger sister Padmaja (

Divyaa Unni Divyaa Unni is an Indian actress and classical dancer who teaches various forms of dance such as Bharathanatyam, Kuchipudi and Mohiniyattom. Early life Divyaa Unni was born to Ponnethmadhatil Unnikrishnan and Kizhkemadhatil Uma Devi at Kochi, K ...

), his only family. The film also features

Indraja Rajathi, better known by her stage name Indraja, is an Indian actress known for her work in Telugu and Malayalam films. She has also appeared in a few Tamil and Kannada films, in addition to television shows. Early life Indraja was born as Ra ...

, Narendra Prasad,

N. F. Varghese Nadakkaparambil Francis Varghese (6 January 1950 – 19 June 2002) was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam film industry. He began his career as a mimicry artist in Kalabhavan, acting in minor roles, but later he turned to strong villain r ...

Rajeev Rājīv (Devanagari: राजीव, Bengali script: রাজীব) is a popular Indian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and Nepalese male name, also spelt Rajeev, Rajive, Rajib, Rajeeb, Rajiva and Rajiba. It is said that the lotus flower (''Nelumbo nuc ...

, and Vineeth. The songs were composed by

Vidyasagar Vidyasagar or Vidya Sagar may refer to: People * Acharya Vidyasagar (born 1946), prominent Digambar Jain Acharya (1946-) *Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820–1891), Bengali scholar *Vidyasagar (composer) (born 1963), South Indian music director *C ...

and Thej Mervin, while C. Rajamani provided the background score. ''Ustaad'' was released on 26 March 1999. The film was a commercial success at the box office and ran over 100 days in theatres, becoming one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year.

Plot

Ustaad is a powerful crime boss 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- ...

, who decides to stop everything and settle down in his home town with his sister Padmaja. Before he leaves, Ustaad sends Sami and Sethu to ''Yousuf Shah Associates'' to withdraw his share. However, Yousuf Shah is not ready to give him a single penny. When Sulaiman, Yousuf's manager, creates a problem, Ustaad uses to take his share of the money by force. In

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 ...

, Ustaad is merely Parameshwaran, an adorable brother and guardian to his younger sister Padmaja. He maintains a low profile as a businessman who has ventured into

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 ...

. Padmaja has fallen in love with her friend Nandan, who is the son of Koliyodan Shekharan, a businessman who has not been doing so well, mainly because of the extravagant lifestyle of his older son Koliyodan Giri. Mohan Thampy, Shekharan's son-in-law, is a

business tycoon A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

and a politician as well. Originally, Thampy was helped financially by Shekharan, but over time, he was more involved with the underworld, which causes the duo to have a strained relationship. Varsha, a newly appointed

city commissioner City commission government is a form of local government in the United States. In a city commission government, voters elect a small commission, typically of five to seven members, typically on a plurality-at-large voting basis. These commissione ...

, does not like Parameshwaran. Meanwhile, Padmaja wants to marry Nandan, to which Parameshwaran gives his approval. The night before the wedding, Parameshwaran is arrested by Varsha for

gold smuggling Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

. He learns that his arrest was set up by Yousuf Shah and Thampy. Varsha later realizes her mistake, and vows to support Parameshwaran. Thampy then devises a plan to vanquish Ustaad, and force Padmaja to vow her properties to help her father-in-law, who has a large debt to Thampy. As a mediator, Thampy gives some money to Giri and advise him to keep it on Nandan's office room and will inform the police and make Nandan and Padmaja arrest for

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...

. This enrages Ustaad, who finds Thampy is in the protection of a minister. He makes him speak all the truth in front of Varsha. Later Yousuf threatens Ustaad by telling him that he will kill his sister by bomb and breaks his right hand. Ustaad hunts down Yousuf Shah, who flees to

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 ...

, and finally defeats him in the desert. He flies back to join his sister and family.

Cast

Production

The song "Theerchayilla Janam" was filmed at the AVM Studio in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, for which a set was constructed resembling a bar. It was choreographed by

Kala Kala or Kalah may refer to: Religion Hinduism *Kāla, a Sanskrit word meaning ''time'' *Kāla, a Hindu deity of time, destiny, death and destruction closely related to Yama and Shiva. *Kalā, a Sanskrit word meaning ''performing arts'' * Kala Bo, ...

. The song was sung by Mohanlal and featured himself along with dancers, club members, and the villains.

Soundtrack

The songs soundtrack was composed by

and Thej Mervin ("Thirchayilla"). The lyrics were by Gireesh Puthenchery and Kannan Pareekutty ("Theerchayilla").

Reception

Neenu Abraham of ''

Deccan Herald ''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by K. N. Guruswamy, a liquor businessman from Ballari and was launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Printe ...

'' wrote that "With the exception of Mohan Lal, that classic Malayil touch seems to be missing here. Which is not to say that it is a bad film. It did have its light-hearted moments lent by all-time favourite Innocent. But the next time Malayil decides on producing a film, he better keep to his old style". ''Ustaad'' was successful at the box office running for more than 100 days in many releasing centres . Mohanlal's "മേം ഹൂം ഉസ്താദ് " (''Mem hum Ustaad'') dialogue and his ustad cap was a cult sensation in Kerala. The movie was speculated to be an inspiration for the 2015 Tamil movie '' Vedalam''.

References

External links

* {{Ranjith 1999 films 1990s Malayalam-language films 1990s action drama films Indian action drama films Films with screenplays by Ranjith Films scored by Vidyasagar Films about organised crime in India Indian gangster films Films shot at Varikkasseri Mana Films shot in Ottapalam Films shot in Kozhikode Films shot in Mumbai Films directed by Sibi Malayil