Keerthi Chakra (film)
| Keerthi Chakra | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Major Ravi |
| Written by | Major Ravi |
| Produced by | R. B. Choudary |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Tirru |
| Music by |
|
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Super Good Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 144 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
Keerthi Chakra is a 2006 Indian Malayalam-language war film written and directed by Major Ravi, in his directorial debut. Starring Mohanlal in lead role as Major Mahadevan and also features Jiiva, Biju Menon, Gopika, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy and Nawab Shah in major supporting roles. This film marks the debut of Jiiva in Malayalam cinema. The film is based on true events related to incidents that took place in Jammu and Kashmir. The film is the first in the Major Mahadevan film series. The title is derived from the Indian gallantry award, Kirti Chakra.
The film was released worldwide on 4 August 2006. It was critically and commercial well received. It was the third highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year. The film was dubbed released into Tamil titled Aran,[1][2] with a few additional scenes shot and added for Prakash Raj. Major Ravi won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Screenplay for the film.
Plot
 | This article needs an improved plot summary. (July 2019) |
Later, during an operation focused on some cottages near the Dal Lake, a commando Kishori Lal in the team is killed and an outraged Jai shoots down a captured terrorist who challenges the commandos. Athira, a human rights activist learns about this and threatens to file a complaint with the government. She later understands the situation and the sincerity of the commandos and decides not to proceed with the complaint.
Meanwhile, a group of terrorists from Afghanistan and Pakistan conspire to hit the Hazratbal Shrine with a missile as they think this will create unrest in the region and that the Indian army will be blamed. They hijack a house that offers a good vantage point on the shrine and plants the missile there. Some of them rape a girl in the house in front of her family and shoot a boy who protests. A military patrolling vehicle hears the gunshot; as they approach the house, they are fired upon. The patrolling team intimates the NSG, and Mahadevan and his team immediately join the battle.
After a long operation, the team kills the terrorists, frees the civilian hostages and disarms the missile. But a civilian informs that the leader of the terrorists is not to be seen among the corpses, and the commandos goes to find him in the house. They locate the terrorist and Mahadevan recognises the man as the one who killed his wife Sreekutty and daughter. The terrorist is killed but he tries to shoot at Mahadevan. Mahadevan is covered by Jai, who gets hit by the bullet and dies. Jai is awarded the Kirti Chakra posthumously. Later, Sandhya gives birth to his son. She visits Havildar Jai's grave, along with his son.[3]
Cast
- Mohanlal as Major Mahadevan aka Mahi, NSG officer
- Jiiva as Havildar Jaikumar / Jai, NSG Commando
- Biju Menon as Gopinath, CRPF officer
- Shammi Thilakan as Havildar Hari, NSG Commando
- Sai Kumar as Colonel Ravi Dutta, NSG officer, Mahi's superior officer
- Gopika as Sandhya, Jai's wife
- Lakshmi Gopalaswamy as Sreekutty, Mahadevan's wife
- Shweta Menonas Athira, Human Rights Activist
- Nawab Shah as Terrorist leader
- Santhosh Jogi as Havildar Kishori Lal, NSG Commando
- Cochin Hanifaas Nairettan, Tea shop owner
- Baiju Ezhupunna as Siddharthan, NSG Commando
- Spadikam George as Colonel Krishnakumar, a corrupt and dishonest officer
- Ganja Karuppu as Ganja Karuppu, Jai's friend
- Delhi Ganesh as Jai's father
- Paravai Muniyamma as Paati (Grandma)
- Ramesh Khanna as a soldier
- Payal Malhotra as Kashmiri
- Sanusha as Kashmiri girl
- Kannan Pattambi as Appukuttan, Tea boy
- Kiran Raj as Terrorist
Production
Ravi got R. B. Chaudhary of Super Good Films, a major production house in
Soundtrack
The soundtrack has songs composed by
| Keerthichakra | |
|---|---|
Film soundtrack | |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Label | Johny Sagariga |
Original tracklist
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Lyricist | Composer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Kaveri Nadiye" | Karthik, Asha G. Menon | Gireesh Puthenchery |
Joshua Sridhar |
| 2 | "Mukile Mukile" | M. G. Sreekumar | Gireesh Puthenchery | Joshua Sridhar |
| 3 | "Thottaal Poo" | Anushka Manchanda, Chorus | Pa. Vijay | Joshua Sridhar |
| 4 | "Ghanashyama" | M. G. Sreekumar | Gireesh Puthenchery | Joshua Sridhar |
| 5 | "Khuda Se Mannath" | Kailash Kher | Sajid-Farhad | Sajid-Farhad |
| 6 | "Pooncholai Kiliye" | Karthik, Asha G. Menon | Gireesh Puthenchery | Joshua Sridhar |
| 7 | "Giddy Up Giddy Up Brave Prince" | Pete Hillier | Gireesh Puthencherry | Joshua Sridhar |
Tamil tracklist
| No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Allahve Engalin" | Manikka Vinayagam, Sajid Farth | 3:36 |
| 2. | "Pooncholai" | Karthik, Ashamenaon | 3:23 |
| 3. | "Idhu Yarum" | Srinivas | 1:19 |
| 4. | "Mugilae Mugilae" | Srinivas | 3:27 |
Release
The film was released on 4 August 2006.
Critical reaction
Keerthi Chakra received generally positive reviews. The Rediff.com reviewer describes the casting of Mohanlal as "near perfect" and comments, "though people may complain that his bulky physique doesn't suit the role of a commando… Mohanlal overcomes this shortcoming by the agility and the emotional roundness he gives to his character."[1] He also thought Major Ravi was "successful in keeping the feel of the film authentic most of the time." On the negative side, he found that "there are certain times when the narrative lapses into the stereotypical terrain." He also thought the film "lacks in pace" and that "except for the main characters; the others are cardboardish." The reviewer wraps up his review by commenting that "the effort that went behind making Kirtichakra is commendable."[1]
Indiaglitz.com review calls the film one that parallels national standards. The reviewer goes on to state that "proving to be an effective story teller and a crafty film maker, the film and the director holds the viewers till the end with very little short comings."[7] The major actors and the cinematographer were also praised. The reviewer did not find too many negative points about the film and described it as a "technically sound, visually striking flick largely based on reality."[7]
Box office
Kirti Chakra performed well at the box office, becoming the third highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year (behind
Satellite rights
The satellite right of the original movie was acquired by Asianet while the rights for Tamil dubbed version Aran was obtained by Kalaignar TV.
Awards
- Best Screenplay - Major Ravi
- Best Feature Film on National Integration
- Best Actor - Mohanlal
- Best Director - Major Ravi
- Best Star Pair - Jiiva and Gopika
Sequels and prequel
The film spawned two sequels—Kurukshetra (2008), Kandahar (2010) and one prequel 1971: Beyond Borders (2017)—directed by Major Ravi and Mohanlal reprising his role with new supporting cast in each film. While Kurukshetra was a commercial success at the box office, the other two was not that well received critically and commercially.
References
- ^ a b c "Keerthichakra: commendable". Rediff.com. 5 August 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
- ^ a b "Keerthi Chakra declared a winner - Malayalam Movie News". IndiaGlitz.com. Archived from the original on 12 August 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
- ^ "Watch Keerthichakra Full Movie, Malayalam Action Movies in HD on Hotstar". Hotstar. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
- ^ a b [1] [permanent dead link]
- ^ "Keerthichakra Audio CD". AVDigital. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- ^ "Keerthichakra - MSIDb". Malayalasangeetham.info. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Keerthi Chakra Malayalam Movie Review". IndiaGlitz.com. 7 August 2006. Archived from the original on 14 June 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
- ^ Pillai, Sreedhar (29 December 2006). "Superstars continue their reign". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 January 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ "2006-A Flashback!". Sify. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ "Mohanlal disowns Aran". Imsports.rediff.com. 9 August 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
- ^ "Mohanlal dissociates himself from 'Aran'". Thehindu.com. 8 August 2006. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
External links
- Keerthi Chakra at IMDb
- Rediff report
- Watch Keerthi Chakra film on Hotstar
