''Karmayodha'' is a 2012 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 crime film 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 ...

co-produced, written and directed by

Major Ravi Major A. K. Raveendran SM (born 13 June 1958) is a retired officer of the Indian Army, former National Security Guard commando, film actor and film director predominantly works in Malayalam cinema and some films in Tamil and Hindi. He was aw ...

. It features

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 ...

Murali Sharma Murali Sharma (born 9 August 1972) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Telugu language, Telugu and Hindi films. Sharma has starred in over 130 feature films including Telugu language, Telugu, Hindi, Tamil language, Tamil, Marathi lang ...

Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It is commonly used as a male given name in India. People with the name Mukesh include: * Mukesh (singer) (1923–1976), Indian playback singer from ...

Sai Kumar Sai Kumar or Saikumar is the name of: * Sai Kumar (Malayalam actor) Sai Kumar, also credited as Saikumar, is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films. He is the son of Malayalam actor late Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair. He appears in bo ...

, Bineesh Kodiyeri,

Rajeev Pillai Rajeev Govinda Pillai is an Indian actor from Malayalam cinema. His acting debut was a lead role in the film '' City of God'' directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery (2011) where he played one of the protagonists. He has also worked as a dentist, a m ...

Asha Sarath Asha Sharath is an Indian actress and classical dancer, who predominantly works in Malayalam films and television shows in addition to a few Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films. She is most known for her role as Geetha Prabhakar in the ''Drishya ...

Aishwarya Devan Aishwarya Devan is an Indian actress and model from Kerala, who has acted in Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada cinema. She was crowned Femina Miss India Maharashtra in 2017. She won various subtitles during the contest and made it to top-6 finalists ...

Malavika Nair Malavika Nair is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Malayalam films. She has appeared in more than 20 films, mostly as a child artist and is a two time recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist, in 2006 and 201 ...

, Janardhanan and

Riyaz Khan Riyaz Khan is an Indian actor and bodybuilder. He predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam and Tamil cinema, Tamil films and television series, besides acting in a few Telugu language, Telugu and Kannada cinema, Kannada films, as well ...

. The

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

was composed by M. G. Sreekumar; the background score was provided by Jeffrey Jonathan. The film received mixed reviews and was an average grosser.

Plot

Madhavan Menon alias Mad Maddy is a ruthless and psychotic cop working with the

Mumbai Police The Greater Mumbai Police (Marathi language, Marathi: बृहन्मुंबई पोलीस, IAST: ''Brihanmumbaī Pulīs'', formerly ''Bombay City Police'') is the Police, police department of the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a cit ...

. He is an encounter specialist who makes decisions on the spot, without always waiting for orders from the top. His latest assignment is to investigate the missing of a teenage school girl from Mumbai. He reaches

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

on being tipped off that the girl could be taken to Kerala. In the meantime, another girl gets kidnapped in Kerala, presumably by the same people or people linked to them. There is also information that some other girls too have been kidnapped. Following the leads, Maddy comes to the conclusion that all the girls have been abducted by a Kerala-based sex trafficking racket led by a psychotic

pimp Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term "pimp" ...

named Khais Khanna, who had a grudge on Maddy. As long ago, when Khanna kidnaps a girl, Maddy comes to save her. When Khanna try to attack Maddy, Maddy stab at Khanna's

penis A penis (; : penises or penes) is a sex organ through which male and hermaphrodite animals expel semen during copulation (zoology), copulation, and through which male placental mammals and marsupials also Urination, urinate. The term ''pen ...

with a knife, resulting Khanna to lose his penis permanently. Maddy embarks on a mission to eliminate the racket and save the girls, including his daughter Diya. Finally, Maddy kills Khanna and rescues his daughter along with the other girls with the help of his colleagues.

Cast

as DCP Madhavan Menon IPS ("Mad Maddy"), a psychotic

officer *

as Khais Khanna, a psychotic

and the main antagonist,(Voiceover by

Shobi Thilakan Shobi Thilakan is an Indian actor and voice-over artist who works prominently in Malayalam films and television. He is the son of late actor Thilakan. Shobi has won the Kerala State Film Award for the best dubbing artist in 2021. Early life an ...

) *

as CI Krishnaraj,

Kerala Police The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperament, ...

as ACP Tony Varghese IPS,

officer *

as Arathi, Maddy's wife *

as ACP Eappen Devassy IPS,

Officer * Pradeep Chandran as Arathi's Bose * Bineesh Kodiyeri as Manu * Shaalin as Renuka *

as Saleena *

Sona Heiden Sona Heiden is an Indian actress, entrepreneur and film producer. Filmography ;As actress Production Television References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heiden, Sona Indian beauty pageant winners Actresses in Telugu cinema Livi ...

as Selena *

as Diya, Maddy's daughter * Kannan Pattambi as Thenkasi Selvam (Dubbed by

) *

as Sathan Sunny * Vishnu Hariharan *

Sarayu The Sarju ( Kumaoni: सरज्यू, Hindi: सरयू), also known as Saryu, is a major river draining Central Kumaon region in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Originating from Sarmul, Sarju flows through the cities of Kapkot, Bageshw ...

Sudheer Karamana Sudheer Karamana (born 24 May 1971) is an Indian actor who appears mainly in Malayalam cinema. He is the son of actor Karamana Janardanan Nair. Personal life He is the eldest son to actor Karamana Janardanan Nair and Jaya, at Karamana, Thiruv ...

as Anoop *

Anil Murali Anil Murali ( – 30 July 2020) was an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 200 films. He started out in the film industry as a villain before later taking on character roles. He died on 30 July 2020, as a result of liver ...

as Surab *

Santosh Sleeba Santosh Sleeba is an actor in Malayalam film industry. Biography Santosh Sleeba was born on 16 March 1972 in Ernakulam district. He did his diploma in pharmaceuticals. Started a living by helping his father's medical business. His passion for a ...

as a police officer * Janardhanan as Narayana Menon *

Sukumari Sukumari Amma (6 October 1940 – 26 March 2013) was an Indian actress best known for her works in Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning more than five decades, She has appeared in more than 2500 films predominantly in Malayalam, T ...

as Maddy's mother * Gayathri Varsha as Krisharaj's Wife *

Jayakrishnan Jayakrishnan (born 11 April 1974) is an Indian film and television actor known for his work in the Malayalam industry. He was introduced as an actor by cinematographer and director Sunny Joseph with the serial ''Ninavukal Novukal'' in 1997. He ...

District Collector The district magistrate, also known as the district collector or deputy commissioner, is a career civil servant who serves as the executive head of a district's administration in India. The specific name depends on the state or union territo ...

Muhammad Riyaz IAS * Bindu Ramakrishnan as Manu's mother * Lakshmi Menon as Divya *

Sasi Kalinga V. Chandrakumar, better known by his stage name Sasi Kalinga, was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in '' Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha'' (2009), '' Pranchiyettan & the Saint'' (2010), ''Indian Rupee ...

as Chachaji *

Dr Rony David Rony David Raj is an Indian actor and former physician who works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. Personal life Rony David Raj was born in Thrissur district, Thrissur, Kerala. He is the son of film producer C. T. Rajan. He graduated wi ...

City Police Commissioner A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

(Voice Dubbed By

Vijay Babu Vijay Babu may refer to: *Vijay Babu (actor, born 1976) Vijay Babu is an Indian film producer, actor, and businessman, who works in the Malayalam film industry. He is the founder of the film production company Friday Film House. Vijay Babu is ...

)

Production

The '' pooja'' ceremony of the film was held on 7 July 2012 at the BTH Sarovaram Hotel in

Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...

, India. The film was shot on locations in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Munnar Munnar () is a town located in the Idukki district of the southwestern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. Munnar is situated at around above mean sea level, in the Western Ghats mountain range. This ancient plantat ...

and

Nagercoil Nagercoil, natively spelt as Nāgarkovil (, "Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a Municipal Corporation city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the ...

. Filming began in August 2012. Notably, ''Karmayodha'' is not set in the military backdrop that had characterised all other Mohanlal–Major Ravi films, such as '' Keerthi Chakra'', ''

Kurukshetra Kurukshetra () is a city and administrative headquarters of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita". Legends According to the Puranas ...

'' and ''

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

''. "Mohanlal's characterisation is similar to

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles Denzel Washington on screen and stage, on stage and screen, Washington has received List of awards and nominations ...

's in the action film '' Man On Fire'', which is about a single man on a mission who doesn't play by the rules to reach there," says Ravi.

Marketing

The films' teaser featured the song " American VI: Ain't No Grave" by American musician

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

. It was the first time that an English track was being used in a Malayalam film. The makers also gave credit to Cash's song claiming that "It has been used for teaser purposes only". The teaser went viral, and received praise for incorporating the song, which perfectly sets the action-thriller tone of the film. "The idea of using the song came during the editing stage, and I thought it truly complemented the Mexican-style footage that was used for the teaser. Though the song is a free template that's been made available by its producers to be used by anyone, we have also given the due credit.", says Ravi. Cash often performed wearing dark clothing, earning him the nickname 'The Man in Black.' Mohanlal's character is also seen wearing a black attire in the teaser and the stills. The first-look poster was released in September 2012; the film's first teaser was released on 3 October 2012, and a theatrical trailer was released on 25 November 2012.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by M. G. Sreekumar, with lyrics by Dr. Madhu Vasudevan. The album was launched on 25 November 2012 at IMA Hall in

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

. The event was attended by

Joshiy Joshiy (born 18 July 1952) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema and also directed Tamil language, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu language, Telugu and Kannada-language films. Joshiy made his directorial ...

MG Sreekumar Malabar Gopalan Nair Sreekumar (born 25 May 1957), better known as M. G. Sreekumar is an Indian playback singer, composer, music producer, television presenter and film producer, who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. He has sung more than ...

, Pradeep Nair,

Pranav Mohanlal Pranav Mohanlal (born 13 July 1990) is an Indian actor and playback singer who works in Malayalam cinema. The son of actor Mohanlal, he made his debut as a child actor with a minor role in '' Onnaman'' (2002), followed by a leading role in '' ...

Renji Panicker Renji Panicker (born 23 September 1960) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, film producer, and journalist known for his works in Malayalam films. He made his debut as a director with '' Bharatchandran IPS'' in 2005. Early life He di ...

, Jeffrey Jonathan and other personalities from the film industry, along with the technical crew and cast of the film. The background score for the film was provided by Jeffrey Jonathan. The film notably features Murukan Kattakada's famous poem "Kannada", which has been rendered by the poet himself.

Release

The distribution rights for ''Karmayodha'' in

were bought by Red Rose Release. The film's premiere show was held on 20 December 2012 in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. The worldwide release took place on 21 December 2012. Karmayodha was released in Europe and the UAE on 27 December 2012.

Critical reception

The film opened to mixed reviews.

Sify.com Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology (ICT) company providing telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation integration services, and a ...

said: "A rather flimsy plot, some bad performances, silly lines and villains who are unintentionally comical make you cringe in the seats. The plot moves ahead without a definite aim or direction with some weak links that barely look convincing."

Rediff.com Rediff.com, stylized as rediff.com, is an Indian news, information, entertainment, and shopping website. Founded by Ajit Balakrishnan in 1996, it was the first Indian website to become a mainstream news media organization. It is headquartered i ...

rated the movie 2 out of 5, saying: "Karmayodha is not worth watching". Indiaglitz gave the film an average rating of 5.9/10, saying that "''Karmayodha'' may satisfy the die-hard Mohanlal fans."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 2358424, Karma Yodha Indian action thriller films Films shot in Kochi Films shot in Mumbai Films shot in Munnar Fictional portrayals of the Maharashtra Police Films directed by Major Ravi 2010s Malayalam-language films Fictional portrayals of the Kerala Police Encounters in India Films about child abduction in India Films about families Films about murderers Indian films about revenge Films shot in Kanyakumari Films set in Mumbai Films about murder Films about police brutality