''Indrajaalam'' () is a 1990 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

crime thriller film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as drama or gangster film, but al ...

produced and directed by

Thampi Kannanthanam Thampi Kannanthanam (11 December 1953 – 2 October 2018) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor, who worked in Malayalam cinema. He has directed 16 films. Personal life Thampi was born on 11 December 1953 as the sixth so ...

and written by

Dennis Joseph Dennis Joseph (20 October 1957 – 10 May 2021) was an Indian scriptwriter and director known for his work in Malayalam films. He was active during the 1980s and early 1990s. He frequently collaborated with directors Joshiy and Thambi Kannantha ...

. The film stars

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 ...

, Rajan P. Dev and Geetha, with music composed by S. P. Venkatesh. It was released on 3 September 1990. The film became major commercial success and was major breakthrough for Rajan P Dev for his villain character Carlos.

Plot

The plot revolves around the uprising of an underworld gangster.

Cast

as Kannan Nair * Rajan P. Dev as Carlos * Geetha as Jayanthi *

Sreeja Sreeja is an Indian actress who was active in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films from 1989 to 1994. Her lead roles in ''Indrajaalam'' (1990) as Mohanlal's heroine and ''Cheriya Lokavum Valiya Manushyarum'' (1990) are well noted. She had acted o ...

as Vinu, Kannan's love interest *A. T. Jose IPS as Commissioner David *Vijayan Karote as Home minister K. G. Menon *

Anupam Kher Anupam Kher (born 7 March 1955) is an Indian actor, director and producer who works primarily in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, he has acted in more than 540 films. A veteran of Indian cinema, Kher is recipient of two Na ...

as Maharashtra Chief Minister *

Vijayaraghavan Narayanapillai Vijayaraghavan, known mononymously as Vijayaraghavan, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He is known for his character roles. He is the son of drama and cinema artist N. N. Pillai. Early life and f ...

as Thankappan *

Mohan Jose Mohan Jose is an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He has acted in more than 100 films. He came into the movie industry portraying villains and later began acting in different comedy and character roles. He is the son of singer and actor Pappu ...

as Michael *

Jose Prakash Kunnel Joseph Joseph, better known by his stage name, Jose Prakash (14 April 1925 – 24 March 2012) was an Indian actor and singer who worked in Malayalam cinema. He was a singer turned actor who had appeared in more than 300 films mostly in a ...

as Baba * K. P. A. C. Sunny as Adv.Narayana Swamy *

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 ...

as Chandrakumar * Kunchan as Appu * Sainuddin as Kuttan *

Prathapachandran Prathapachandran (1941–2004) was an Indian actor, who worked predominantly in Malayalam film industry, though he acted in a few Tamil and Telugu movies as well. He is known for the portrayal of villainous and character roles in over 300 mov ...

as Baburaj * Meenakumari as Mariyamma *

Balan K. Nair Balakrishnan Kuttiraman Nair, more popularly known as Balan K. Nair (4 April 1933 26 August 2000) was an Indian actor known for his roles in Malayalam cinema. Although he appeared as a villain in most films, he was also noted for his performanc ...

as Ayyappan Nair *

Ravi Menon Chalappurathu Raveendranatha Menon (1950 – 24 November 2007), popularly known as Ravi Menon, was a veteran Indian film actor who worked in Malayalam cinema. He was born in Sreekrishnapuram, Palakkad in 1950. He graduated from the Film and T ...

as Ravi, Press Photographer

Production

Action choreographer Sham Kaushal debuted with this film, who signed on in May 1990. One of Dennis Joseph's acquittances, Kennedy had recommended Rajan P. Dev to him after the success of the theatre play ''Kattukuthira.''

Thilakan Palappurathu Keshavan 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 appeara ...

was initially considered for the role of Carlos. However, they then decided to cast a new actor for the role. When they contacted Nana magazine, they recommended Rajan P. Dev for the role and he was eventually cast. Filming took place mostly in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by S. P. Venkatesh.

Release and reception

''Indrajaalam'' was released on 3 September 1990,

Onam Onam () is an annual harvest and Hindus, Hindu cultural festival celebrated mostly by the people of Kerala. A major annual event for Malayalis, Keralites, it is the official festival of the state and includes a spectrum of cultural events. H ...

day. N. Krishnaswamy of ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...

'' wrote, "High-speed cameras, sensitive film, innovative choreography of action and use of newfangled props have helped in this direction". Despite facing competition from three other Onam releases – ''

Arhatha ''Arhatha'' is a 1990 Indian Malayalam film, directed by I. V. Sasi and produced by P. K. R. Pillai. The film stars Mohanlal, Urvashi, Rekha and Suresh Gopi in the lead roles. The film has musical score by Shyam. Plot The story revolves aro ...

'', ''

Iyer the Great ''Iyer the Great'' is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language psychological thriller film directed by Bhadran, starring Mammootty, Geetha, Shobana, Sukumari, and Devan. It was a commercial success upon release. M. S. Mani won the National Film A ...

'' and '' Oliyampukal'' – it emerged the bigger success.

References

External links

* {{Dennis Joseph 1990 crime thriller films 1990 films 1990s Malayalam-language films Films about organised crime in India Indian crime thriller films Indian gangster films Films shot in Mumbai Fictional portrayals of the Maharashtra Police Films directed by Thampi Kannanthanam 1990s gangster films 1990s Indian films