''Chanakyan'' is a 1989 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 wa ...

-language

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

produced by Navodaya Appachan under Navodaya Studio and directed by T. K. Rajeev Kumar in his directorial debut. Starring

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali f ...

Urmila Matondkar Urmila Matondkar (born 4 February 1974) is an Indian actress and politician. Known for her work primarily in Hindi films, in addition to Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Tamil films, she has received numerous accolades, including the Filmfare ...

Jayaram Jayaram Subramaniam, (born 10 December 1965) known mononymously as Jayaram, is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam,Tamil cinema, Tamil films, along with a few Telugu cinema, Telugu films. He is also a chend ...

Madhu Madhu ( Sanskrit: ) is a word used in several Indo-Aryan languages meaning ''honey'' or '' sweet''. It is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European ''*médʰu'', whence English ''mead''. Metaphorical use ''Madhu'' has been used for millenni ...

, and

Thilakan Palappurathu Kesavan Surendranatha Thilakan (15 July 1935 – 24 September 2012) was an Indian film and stage actor who appeared in over 200 Malayalam films. Thilakan was known for his elaborate method acting, realistic and spontaneous appearan ...

. The film was a critical and commercial success.

Plot

Johnson is a technically-skilled person, who plots to assassinate CM Madhava Menon by using a radio-operated car, but the plan gets botched due to unforeseen circumstances. Later, Johnson happens to watch Jayaram, a mimicry artist mimicking various celebrity's voices and meets him, where he introduce himself as a government agent and ask him to mimick Madhava Menon's voice by recording a bogus

Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially ca ...

message filled with fake promises. Later, Johnson uses the tape and replaces the other tape at All India Radio Station in

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 ...

, which shocks Madhava Menon where he is faced with severe criticism from the party members. Madhava Menon ask his friend DIG K. Gopalakrishnan Pillai to investigate the case and nab the suspect. While investigating, Pillai suspects foul play while hearing the broadcast. Jayaram confronts Johnson, who reveals his past. Johnson was in relationship with Renu, who is Madhava Menon's daughter. However, Their relationship enrages Madhava Menon and uses his influence to issue an

arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual, or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a ...

against Johnson's family under the charges of prostitution, due to which his family commits suicide, including Renu, which devastates Johnson. After learning his past, Jayaram decide to help Johnson in destroying Madhava Menon's political career. They humiliate Madhava Menon's character by intervening the broadcasting a televised message and states outrageous comments regarding the unemployed youngsters (The visuals have been dubbed by Jayaram). The duo also thrust by swindling amount of money from a distress relief fund of Madhava Menon by using Madhava Menon's mimicked voice. Johnson forces Madhava Menon to shoot him, which he does and Johnson dies, but the murder is witnessed by the cops leading to his political career being destroyed.

Cast

as Johnson *

as Renuka *

as Jayaram *

as Madhava Menon *

as DIG K. Gopalakrishna Pillai * Sithara as Geethu *

Sabitha Anand Sabitha Anand is an Indian actress who has performed in Tamil and Malayalam movies and serials. She was one of the lead actresses in the 1980s. She is the daughter of Jacoob Abdu Rahman Anand, an Indian actor in Malayalam movies during the 196 ...

as Jessy *

Sreeja Sreeja is an Indian actress who acts mostly in Malayalam movies. Her lead roles in Indrajaalam as Mohanlal's heroine and Cheriya Lokavum Valiya Manushyarum are well noted. She had acted only in few movies. Early life Sreeja is born to theater a ...

as Johnson's sister * Santha Devi as Johnson's mother *P. C. George as Dy. SP Soman *

Jagadish P. V. Jagadish Kumar (born 12 June 1955) known mononymously as Jagadish, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, television presenter and former politician. He has starred in over 375 Malayalam films and 2 Hindi films. He is best known for his co ...

as Tea Shop Owner * Jagannathan as Madhava Menon's aide * Poojappura Radhakrishnan as Security guard * Zainuddin as Mimicry artist *

M. S. Thripunithura Madathilparambil Seshan Venkitaraman (26 May 1943 – 8 March 2006) known by his stage name M. S. Thripunithura was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam film Industry. He was born in Thripunithura in the erstwhile Cochin State. He died in Sho ...

as Achuthan *

Kollam Thulasi Kollam Kanjaveli Kuttilazhikathu Thulasidharan Nair is an actor in Malayalam cinema, who is better known as Kollam Thulasi relating to the name of his birthplace Kollam to his first name as customary in some parts of Kerala Kerala ( ; ) ...

as Opposition Leader Anantharaman

Production

The film was initially written for

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada ...

, who was unable to do the film. The role subsequently went to Kamal Haasan, who was shooting for '' Apoorva Sagodharargal'' in

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...

. The film marked the first of several collaborations between

and Kamal Haasan, with the pair becoming friends on set.

Music

#"Kaalvari Kunnil Kannyasuthan" (Bit) #"Music Of Love" #"Theme Music"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chanakyan (Film) 1980s Malayalam-language films 1989 films Indian films about revenge Indian thriller films Films scored by Mohan Sithara 1989 directorial debut films Films directed by T. K. Rajeev Kumar 1989 thriller films