''Shobhraj'' is a 1986 Indian
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
-language
action thriller
The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...
film directed by
J. Sasikumar and written by Vijayan Karote, starring
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...
and
Madhavi. The film was a Hit. The film is a remake of the 1978
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
film ''
Don'' written by
Salim–Javed
Salim–Javed were an Indian screenwriting duo, composed of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, who worked primarily in Hindi cinema. They were among the first Indian screenwriters to achieve star status, and are regarded as among "Hindi cinema's grea ...
. Mohanlal portrays dual roles as Shobhraj and Dharmaraj.
Plot
Shobhraj is the leader of an
underworld
The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld.
...
syndicate who in spite of being one of the most wanted on the list of Interpol, remains elusive to the police. Along with the police, He makes a few other enemies through his merciless approach to running his organization, especially when he kills one of his own men, Babu, when the latter decides to leave the business. This introduces Shobhraj to two new enemies, Julie, Babu's fiancée, and Nisha, Babu's sister. When Julie seduces Sobharaj and attempts to have the police arrest him, her plan backfires as Shobhraj outsmarts her and the police in his escape, and in the process, Julie is killed. A shattered, revenge-seeking Nisha gets trained in judo and karate, then enters Shobhraj's gang after deceiving them into thinking that she too is on the wrong side of the law. Shobhraj is impressed with her fighting skills and allows her to work for him, without realizing her true intentions.
Meanwhile, after a couple of unsuccessful attempts at nabbing Shobhraj but unbeknownst to her, the
Deputy Superintendent of Police Mohandas is tracking down Shobhraj and in one of their confrontations, the DSP wounds Shobhraj, resulting in his death. After which the DSP remembers a person 'Dharmaraj' who looks like Shobhraj, who is really Shobhraj's blood brother, who were separated when they were small. DSP then tracks that person down. He requests Raj to impersonate Shobhraj so that the DSP can take down the rest of Shobhraj's gang, Raj requests that the DSP promises him that he will give a proper education to the children Salim and Suhra that he is looking after. The DSP then secretly holds a burying of Shobhraj. Around the time Dharmaraj "returns" to Shobhraj's gang as Shobhraj under the guise of amnesia, Raheem, just released from jail, begins his mission of revenge against DSP Mohandas and his search for his children Salim and Suhra, who had been saved and taken care of by Dharmaraj. Raheem has a past starting from his childhood playing with Shobhraj and Dharmaraj.
One day, the three went to fishing and when a fight occurred between Shobhraj and Dharmaraj, Dharmaraj falls into the river. Worried about the death of his brother, Shobhraj and Raheem flee and they later became criminals. After marriage, Raheem decided to change his life, but Shobhraj didn't like Raheem quitting and he felt angry. After some years, Shobhraj's Gang members visit him in seeking help Shobhraj run from jail in return of money. Attempt is succeeded and Shobhraj gives the money but Raheem learns from his children that his wife has eaten poison and is in the hospital. Raheem runs to the hospital with the money but DSP Mohandas arrests him for helping Shobhraj escape prison. In a struggle, Raheem's leg was shot.
Dharmaraj learns more about Shobhraj's gang and makes a plan with the DSP to prove the memory could be regained. The gang now believes that Shobhraj's memory is regained. There is a diary which Shobhraj listed the names and addresses of men belonging to the gang. Dharmaraj carefully takes the diary with anyone noticing and tells his gang that he is going to take revenge on the DSP, but is actually going there to give him the red diary. Nisha goes after him, but Dharmaraj survives the attack and he tries to explain to her that he is not Shobhraj. She refuses to believe him at first but DSP Mohandas intervenes and tells her that the man she is trying to kill is indeed Dharmaraj. He tells DSP that there is going to be a meet with all the men belonging to the gang internationally.
Incidents occur when Raheem comes to DSP's house and in a talk, knows that Salim and Suhra are taken care by the DSP and DSP promises Raheem to return. Celebrations ensue as Shobhraj announces his return to the world, but things take a drastic turn when the police raid the celebrations, acting upon Dharmaraj's information, but Dharmaraj's only witness to his true identity, Mohandas, dies in the crossfire. Tangled in a web of confusion where the police refuse to believe that he is Dharmaraj while his underworld gang realizes that he is indeed not Shobhraj, Dharmaraj incites the ire of both the police and Shobhraj's right-hand man, Shekhar. To add to Dharmaraj's woes, the diary that Dharmaraj had handed over to DSP Mohandas – his last hope of proving his innocence – is stolen by Raheem in an attempt to track down his lost children, without realizing that Dharmaraj is the one man who can reunite them. Dharmaraj escapes the clutches of the police and the underworld with Nisha's help and returns to his old self though he struggles to prove his identity and innocence.
Cast
*
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...
as
Shobhraj and Dharmaraj (Dual role)
*
T. G. Ravi as Raheem, a childhood friend of Shobhraj and Dharmaraj, the main antagonist
*
Madhavi as Nisha
*
Priya as Julie
*
K. P. Ummer
Kachinamthoduka Puthiyapurayil Ummer known as K. P. Ummer (11 October 1930 - 29 October 2001) was an Indian actor from Thekkepuram quarter of Kozhikode, Kerala, India. He was active in the Malayalam cinema from the early sixties until the lat ...
as DSP Mohandas
*
Jose
Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph.
Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods
* Jose ben Abin
* Jose ben Akabya
*Jose the Galilean
* Jose ben Halafta ...
*
C. I. Paul
*
Chithra
*
Sathaar
Sathaar (25 May 1952 – 17 September 2019) was an Indian actor who primarily worked in Malayalam films. He made his acting debut with M. Krishnan Nair's ''Bharyaye Avashyamundu'' (1975). He became a hero in 1976, with '' Anaavaranam'', direc ...
*
Jagannatha Varma
K. N. Jagannatha Varma (1 May 1939 – 20 December 2016) was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam film and television industry. He was also a Kathakali artist. His son Manu Varma is also an artist and his son-in-law Viji Thampi is a film d ...
Soundtrack
The music was composed by L. Vaidyanathan and the lyrics were written by Cheramangalam.
References
External links
*
''Shobhraj''at the Malayalam Movie Database
{{Salim-Javed
1980s action thriller films
1980s gangster films
1980s Malayalam-language films
1986 films
Fictional portrayals of the Kerala Police
Films about brothers
Films about Interpol
Films about lookalikes
Films about the illegal drug trade
Films directed by J. Sasikumar
Films with screenplays by Salim–Javed
Indian action thriller films
Indian gangster films
Malayalam remakes of Hindi films