''Naatturajavu'' () is a 2004 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 Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film directed by

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 main ...

and written by

T. A. Shahid T A Shahid (25 May 1972 – 28 September 2012) was a scriptwriter in the Malayalam film industry. He died of cirrhosis aged 41 on 28 September 2012 in a private hospital in Kozhikode where he had been undergoing treatment for sometime. Filmog ...

. 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 ...

in the lead role and

Meena Meena () is a tribe from northern and western India which is sometimes considered a sub-group of the Bhil community. It used to be claimed they speak Mina language, a Spurious languages, spurious language. Its name is also transliterated as ' ...

Nayanthara Nayanthara (born Diana Mariam Kurian; 18 November 1984) is an Indian actress and producer known for her work in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu and Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. One of the highest-paid actresses in India, she ...

Kalabhavan Mani Kunnisseri Veettil Raman Mani (1 January 1971 – 6 March 2016), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Mani, was an Indian actor and singer. Mani started his career as a Impersonator, mimicry artist with the Kalabhavan comedy troupe. He had ...

Manoj K Jayan Manoj Kadampoothramadam Jayan, also known as Manoj K. Jayan is an Indian actor who acts in Malayalam films in addition to a few Tamil films. Manoj has won three Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actor for his portrayals of Hariharan's "Ku ...

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 Catholic Church, Archbi ...

, and Siddique in supporting roles. M. Jayachandran composed the film's soundtrack. It was produced by

Antony Perumbavoor Malekudy Joseph Antony, better known as Antony Perumbavoor, is an Indian film producer, Film distributor, distributor, movie theatre, cinema exhibitor and actor, who works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry. He began his career as a c ...

through Aashirvad Cinemas. ''Naatturajavu'' was released in India on 20 August 2004, the film performed well at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year.

Plot

Pulikkattil Charlie is a nasrani from

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

, who has struggled hard to take care of his business empire after the death of his father Pulikkattil Mathachan. Charlie's father was a ruthless feudal landlord, who, during his lifetime, had done several heinous crimes. Charlie is now helping all those who had once suffered from the hands of his father. Mani Kuttan, the son of an ironsmith burned to death by Mathachan for demanding title deed proving his rights on land ownership, is brought up by Charlie as a loving younger brother and a trusted confidant. After suffering a small injury as part of a squabble with Antappan, Manikuttan emotionally recollects witnessing, as a child, the dreadful killing of his parents by Mathachan at night. Charlie is married to a girl named Maya, whose family was annihilated by his father using trained wild dogs, barring her brother Karnan. As retribution, Pulikkattil Mathachan was brutally stabbed to death by Karnan, exacting his revenge, eight years before. While being captured by the police after the murder, Karnan vowed to eliminate the remaining heir of the Pulikkattil family, thus specifying his intention to kill Charlie. For the murder of Mathachan, Karnan is imprisoned for eight years. Though being a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, Maya is looked after lovingly by Charlie and she too loves him very much. The couple have a toddler son too. Karnan is unaware of the fact that his sister is married to Charlie. Later, he realizes that Charlie is a goodhearted person and gives up revenge and apologizes to Charlie.

Cast

as Pulikkattil Charlie *

as Maya, Charlie's Wife *

as Kathrina, Charlie's Stepsister *

as Manikuttan, Charlie's Helper and Friend *

as Karnan, Maya's Brother *

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 Sunny, Charlie's Cousin *

Manoj K. Jayan Manoj Kadampoothramadam Jayan, also known as Manoj K. Jayan is an Indian actor who acts in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films in addition to a few Tamil cinema, Tamil films. Manoj has won three Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actor for h ...

as Antappan * Siddique as Pathiriveettil Johnykutty (Cameo) *

Kaviyoor Ponnamma Kaviyoor Ponnamma (10 September 1945 – 20 September 2024) was an Indian actress who appeared in Malayalam films and television. She began her career performing in theatre dramas before foraying into cinema. She also acted in TV serials and c ...

as Charlie's Mother *

K. P. A. C. Lalitha Maheshwari Amma, better known by her stage name K. P. A. C. Lalitha (10 March 1947 – 22 February 2022), was an Indian film and stage actress who worked primarily in the Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry. Considered one of the greatest ...

as Achamma / Thathammachi, Charlie's Grandmother * Mahadevan as Pulikkattil Mathachan, Charlie's Father * Rajan P. Dev as Captain Menon, Mathachan and Charlie's Friend * Janardhanan as Fr. Puppy, Charlie's Uncle * Vijayakumar as Charlie's Friend and Lawyer *

Bindu Panicker Bindu Panicker is an Indian actress who has more than 200 films to her credit. She has played both comedy and character roles in Malayalam cinema. Critically acclaimed for her performance in 2001 for Soothradharan. She was a member of the Asso ...

as Thankamma, Antappan's Mother *

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

as Morayur Bappu / Bapputty *

Spadikam George George Antony, popularly credited as Spadikam George is an Indian actor who primarily works in Malayalam films. He came to the limelight with the 1995 film '' Spadikam'', after which his name was preceded by the name of that film. George's perf ...

as Ousepp, Antappan's Uncle * Santhosh as Antappan's Uncle *

Sarath Das Sarath Das (born 25 July 1978) is an Indian actor and dubbing artist who works in Malayalam films and television. He is known for his role as Lord Krishna in the serial ''Sree Mahabhagavatham'' telecasted on Asianet. He has had a lengthy career ...

as Pulikkattil Simon, Charlie's Younger Brother *

Suja Karthika Suja Karthika is an Indian actress and dancer who has appeared in Malayalam films. She Holds a PhD in commerce from Cochin University of Science and Technology. She currently teaches at the Lee Shau Kee School of Business and Administration of ...

as Rosy Simon, Charlie's Sister-in-Law *

T. P. Madhavan T. P. Madhavan (7 November 1935 – 9 October 2024) was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. He began acting at age 40 and appeared in over 600 films. Initially known for playing antagonistic roles, he transitioned t ...

as Secretary * M. S. Thripunithura as Kurup *

J. Pallassery Joseph Pallassery aka. J.Pallassery is an Indian film scriptwriter and actor in Malayalam movies. He did story, screenplay and dialogue for more than 50 Malayalam movies. He has also acted in many movies and teleserial. Filmography Dialogue ...

as Kunjali * Ottapalam Pappan as Kanaran *

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 ...

as Dr. IV Thomas *

Geetha Vijayan Geetha Vijayan is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam movies, a few Tamil and Hindi movies. She debuted in the 1990 Malayalam comedy- thriller film ''In Harihar Nagar''. She has since acted in more than 150 Malayalam movies and in some ...

as Sunny's Wife *

Kollam Ajith Ajith Kollam (7 April 1962 – 5 April 2018) was an Indian actor, who predominantly appeared in Malayalam cinema. He had acted in more than 500 films in all South Indian languages. He mainly acted in villain roles. He acted in the Tamil movie ...

as Goonda *Susheel Kumar as Church Priest

Production

The filming progressed in

Wadakkancherry Wadakkancherry () is a major town in Thrissur, Kerala. Up until 1860, this area was part of Chelakkara Taluk. It is the headquarters of Talappilly Taluk. Wadakkanchery obtained municipality status from the government by merging with the Mund ...

Thrissur district Thrissur (), anglicised as Trichur, is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is situated in the central region of the state. Spanning an area of about , th ...

in June 2004. The film shot promo videos and recorded songs for television audience for the pre-release promotions, which was an emerging marketing method in Malayalam film industry at that time. The promo videos were directed by Rajesh Divakaran and edited by Don Max. The songs recorded for the purpose were not included in the filmwritten Joy Thamalam and composed by Sajjan Madhavan, son of

Raveendran Madhavan Raveendran (born Kulathupuzha, Kollam, 9 November 1943 – died Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 3 March 2005), also known as Raveendran Master, was a South Indian music composer and playback singer from Kerala. He composed songs for more tha ...

Soundtrack

The soundtrack composed by M. Jayachandran consists of 7 tracks. Lyrics for all songs were written by

Gireesh Puthenchery Girish Puthenchery was a noted Malayalam lyricist, poet, scriptwriter and screenwriter, esteemed for his pivotal role as a lyricist in Malayalam cinema. He was often hailed as the aristocratic lyricist of Malayalam and was admired for his uniqu ...

, except the poem "

Vande Mataram Vande Mātaram (Bengali language, Original Bengali: বন্দে মাতরম্‌ ''Bônde Mātôrôm'' Devanagari script: वंदे मातरम्; , Transcreation: I Bow to Thee, Mother) is a poem that was adopted as the nati ...

" by

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (anglicized as Bankim Chandra Chatterjee; 26 or 27 June 1838 – 8 April 1894) was an Indian Bengali novelist, poet, essayist and journalist.Staff writer"Bankim Chandra: The First Prominent Bengali Novelist" ''The ...

. The soundtrack was released on 1 May 2004 by East Coast Audio Entertainments.

Box office

''Naatturajavu'' was released on 20 August 2004 during

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 ...

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 ...

. The film had a strong opening weekend in Kerala, grossing 1.12

crore Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...

from 54 stations in three days, and had good run particularly in

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

and

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

regions. It was the highest-grossing film among the Onam releases; according to ''

Sify 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 ...

'': "the only winner among the Onam releases". It was made on a budget of 1.75 crore, in 35 days, the film earned 2.27 crore as distributor's share alone from 51 stations. After that, it managed to run with 35 40 percent occupancy in Kerala theatres. ''Naatturajavu'' was the third highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year.

References

External links

*
''Naatturajavu'' review on Sify.com
{{Shaji Kailas 2004 films 2000s Malayalam-language films Indian action drama films Indian family films Films shot in Thrissur Films scored by M. Jayachandran Films directed by Shaji Kailas 2004 action drama films Aashirvad Cinemas films