Yoddha (1992 film)

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This article is about the 1992 Malayalam film. For other uses, see Yodha (disambiguation).

Yoddha
Directed bySangeeth Sivan
Screenplay bySasidharan Arattuvazhi
Based onThe Golden Child
Produced bySaga Films
StarringMohanlal
Jagathy Sreekumar
Siddharth Lama
Puneet Issar
Madhoo
Urvashi
CinematographySantosh Sivan
Edited byA. Sreekar Prasad
Music byA. R. Rahman
Production
company
Saga Films
Distributed bySaga Films
Release date
  • 3 September 1992 (1992-09-03) (India)
Running time
150 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam

Yoddha: The Warrior, or simply Yodha (transl. Warrior) is a 1992 Indian Malayalam-language fantasy action film directed by Sangeeth Sivan and written by Sasidharan Arattuvazhi. Mohanlal plays the lead role of Thaiparambil Ashokan, the saviour destined to rescue the Rimpoche of a Nepalese Buddhist monastery from sorcerers practicing black magic. The ensemble supporting cast include Siddharth Lama, Jagathy Sreekumar, Puneet Issar, Madhoo and Urvashi.

The original songs and background score were composed by A. R. Rahman. Santosh Sivan was the cinematographer and A. Sreekar Prasad edited the film. Saga Films produced and distributed the film. Yoddha was released in India on 3 September 1992. The film was an unofficial remake of the Hollywood film The Golden Child. It was later dubbed and released in other regional Indian languages—Dharam Yoddha (1993) in Hindi, Ashokan (1993) in Tamil, and Yoddha (1995) in Telugu. The film won four Kerala State Film Awards for Best Child Artist (Lama), Best Editor (Prasad), Best Sound Recordist (Arun K. Bose), and Best Male Singer (M. G. Sreekumar).

Plot

In an unknown location on the Himalayan Nepal, a mystical boy is about to be crowned the Rimpoche of a Buddhist monastery when a gang of sorcerers, led by Vishaka, abduct the child. Vishaka is in service to a mysterious enchantress, who needs to make a human sacrifice of the Rimpoche before the solar eclipse to attain invincibility. The monks expect the advent of a saviour, the man with ears as a weapon, across the Himalayas to rescue the child as they are prophesied. In the meantime, Rimpoche manages to escape through the course and reaches Kathmandu.

At the other end of the subcontinent, in a village in Kerala, Ashokan, a youngster spends his time competing with his cousin, Appukuttan, in a series of games conducted by a sports club. Appukuttan finds himself on the losing side each time, but strongly optimistic of his win, he competes again. Appukuttan feels fooled and heartbroken when he suspects an affair is brewing between Ashokan and his fiancée, Dhamayanthi. Ashokan is sent to his uncle Capt. Kuttikrishna Menon a.k.a Kuttimama in Nepal by his mother, Sumathi Amma, after a palm reader predicts that he will commit murder if he stays in Kerala. Unbeknownst to Ashokan, Appukuttan flees to Nepal beforehand and masquerades as Ashokan before their uncle. Ashokan, in turn, is cast out onto the streets, where he meets the boy and forms a bond with him.

Kuttimama's daughter, Aswathi, is a researcher in Nepalese traditions and history. As a payback to Ashokan, Appukuttan attempts to plot his way into marrying her, who in turn is Ashokan's bride-to-be by their custom, but not engaged. Ashokan, with Unnikuttan's (as he calls the boy) assistance, manages to cast doubt into the mind of his uncle about the credibility of Appukuttan's claims and wins over Aswathi's love and trust.

Ashokan and Aswathi witness one of the sorcerers' confederate combatants kidnapping the boy. Upon following him into a forest, they end up confronting Vishaka. In an ensuing fight, Vishaka grievously wounds Aswathi, blinds Ashokan using a substance, and leaves the two to die. Ashokan is rescued by a tribe affiliated with the monks that train warriors tasked with protecting the monastery. Ashokan is discovered as the "chosen one" and is given training in

Kung Fu
by a master, to overcome his blindness and enhance his hearing skills. At the same time, Appukuttan was also captured by another evil tribe while following the two.

Ashokan, now enlisted as a warrior, infiltrates the sorcerer's location and rescues Unnikuttan from a bewitched sheathe. The boy then, aided by an ailing old monk, restores Ashokan's eyesight. As the solar eclipse nears, the monks begin the coronation ceremony of the boy. Vishaka rushes to the monastery to terminate it. But Ashokan stands in his way and, in a climactic fight, kills him. The boy is crowned as the Rimpoche. Ashokan discovers that Aswathi was indeed saved by tribes and is alive and healthy. Appukuttan returns as Ashokan-esque trained warrior, but before he could stand a chance, he is subdued by Ashokan in a friendly manner.

Cast

Production

Rimpoche. His father Yubaraj Lama also acted in the film as the long-haired henchman, an abductor sent by Puneet Issar's villain character. Cinematographer Santhosh Sivan found Siddharth Lama accidentally, who happened to see him when he visited actor Yubaraj Lama. At the time, they were searching for a suitable child actor to play the role of Rimpoche. Sivan invited "little" Lama to the film, who without hesitation said, yes.[2] While filming, Lama shaved his head at least 20 times for the film. Every three days he had to shave.[3][4]

Ashokan's arrival scene at the Nepal airport was shot at the

Buddha statue. The jacket worn by Mohanlal in the scenes shot in Nepal was an indigenous fashion at the time, called the Butterfly Jacket.[5] Some sequences were filmed inside a cave called the Bat Cave in Pokhara, a tourist attraction.[6] Baring a few scenes shot in Palakkad, the film was completely shot in Nepal
.

Music

Yoddha
Soundtrack album by
A. R. Rahman
Released2 August 1992 (1992-08-02)
Recorded1992
VenueMadras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu
StudioPanchathan Record Inn
GenreFilmi
LabelTharangini Records
ProducerA. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman chronology
Roja
(1992) 		Yoddha
(1992) 		Pudhiya Mugam
(1992)

The film's original songs and

advertisement films and was then known by the name Dileep. Sangeeth decided to experiment with Rahman as the composer and was impressed with Rahman's musical arrangement for a candy commercial he directed. He also liked Rahman's composition of "Chinna Chinna Asai" for Roja, which Rahman showed him while he was in his studio.[7]

The song "Padakaali" is featured in the backdrop of a singing competition between Ashokan and Appukuttan in a temple, with both of them dissing each other with words. The song's situation in the story was briefed to lyricist Thirumala by Sivan while they were in Rahman's

Hindu goddess Kali's image was the first thing that came into his mind. He thought that a hymn describing Kali's furious persona would suit the situation. He referred to the book Mahakshetrangalude Munnil by Nalankal Krishna Pillai for reference, from which he got words such as padakali, porkali, chandi, maargini among others, to use in the lyrics. Padakali and chandi are synonyms for goddess Kali. Since it was a comical song, it was not expected to have deep words, though Thirumala was particular that the words should not be meaningless, and most of the words he added were related to religious worship.[8] It is one of the all-time popular songs in Malayalam film music.[9]

Apart from the original Malayalam version, the soundtrack was also released in Tamil (as

Asokan by Pyramid
was released in 1994, the Hindi version by BMG Crescendo in 1996, and the Telugu version in 1995. The Hindi version was re-released in 1997 with five new songs added.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Bichu Thirumala

Yoddha (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."Maampoove"K. J. Yesudas, Sujatha Mohan03:33
2."Padakaali"K. J. Yesudas, M. G. Sreekumar04:23
3."Theme"Malgudi Subha , A. R. Rahman05:20
4."Kunu Kune"K. J. Yesudas, Sujatha Mohan03:50

All lyrics are written by Vairamuthu

Ashokan (Tamil dubbed)
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."Kulu Kulu Endru"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra03:50
2."Om Kari"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam04:23
3."Nilavuku Pakkam"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam06:51
Dharam Yoddha (Hindi dubbed)
No.TitleLyricsMusicArtist(s)Length
1."Me Delhi Ka Sahjada"P. K. Mishra, Shyam Anuragi
Kavita Krishnamurthy
05:06
7."Ye Resham Ki Saari" (Re-added)P. K. MishraPappu KhanKumar Sanu05:56
Yoddha (Telugu dubbed)
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."Kulu Kule"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. P. Sailaja03:50
2."Theme"Malgudi Subha05:20

Release

Yoddha was released in India on 3 September 1992. It was later dubbed and released in other regional Indian languages—Dharam Yodha (1993) in Hindi, Ashokan (1993) in Tamil, and Yoddha (1995) in Telugu.[10]

Accolades

Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
Kerala State Film Award
 Best Child Artist Siddharth Lama Won [11]
Best Editor A. Sreekar Prasad Won
Best Sound Recordist Arun K. Bose Won
Best Male Singer M. G. Sreekumar Won

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rajan, Silpa (3 December 2021). "#FilmyFriday: Yodha: Mohanlal starrer will take you through an adventurous ride". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  2. ^ Pradeep, Siji (15 January 2013). "A Himalayan affair with Siddhartha Lama". FWD Life. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  3. ^ "'Akkosotto' is back, as Lama!". The New Indian Express. 21 March 2012. Archived from the original on 25 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  4. ^ Sathyendran, Nita (21 March 2012). "'Unnikuttan' is dreaming big". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  5. ^ Kana, Santhosh Kumar (8 September 2012). "തിരശ്ശീലയിൽ തീരുന്നില്ല". Mathrubhumi (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  6. ^ സ്വന്തം ലേഖകൻ (17 April 2015). "നേപ്പാളിലെ മലയാളി സംഘം സുരക്ഷിതർ". Deshabhimani (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  7. ^ മേനോൻ, രവി (2 September 2017). "ഇങ്ങനെയാണ് പടകാളി ചണ്ഡിച്ചങ്കരി ഉണ്ടായത്". Mathrubhumi (in Malayalam). Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  8. ^ മേനോൻ, രവി (18 September 2017). "ആ പാട്ട് എല്ലാവരും പോക്കിരി മാക്കിരി എന്നു പാടുന്നതില്‍ ദു:ഖമുണ്ട് - ബിച്ചു തിരുമല". Mathrubhumi (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  9. ^ Menon, Ravi (30 September 2017). "How 'pokkiri' and 'makkiri' sneaked into 'Padakali' song: Bichu Thirumala tells the tale". Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  10. ISBN 9788184758238
    .
  11. ^ "State Film Awards-1992". Department of Information and Public Relations. 1992. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2017.

External links

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