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Ekalavyan (film)
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Wikipedia article
'Ekalavyan' is a 1993 Indian Malayalam-language neo-noir action thriller film directed by Shaji Kailas and written by Renji Panicker, starring Suresh Gopi in the lead role along with Siddique, Geetha, Narendra Prasad, Vijayaraghavan, Ganesh Kumar, Janardhanan, Madhu, Maathu, Jagathy Sreekumar, Kuthiravattam Pappu, and Devan in other pivotal roles. The plot revolves around a cop named Madhavan, who is hired by the CBI to investigate a godman, who is suspected of being involved in narcotics business and murders.
The film was a blockbuster and ran for more than 100 days in theatres. With consecutive box office hits from 'The News', 'Thalastaanam', 'Mafia' and 'Ekalavyan' lead actor Suresh Gopi was catapulted to the status of a matinee idol. After the success of the 1994 blockbuster 'Commissioner' in Andhra Pradesh, 'Ekalavyan' was dubbed in Telugu and released as 'CBI Officer' which was also a commercial success. The movie is said to be an inspiration for the 2014 Hindi blockbuster 'Singham Returns'.
Plot
Swami Amoorthananda is a psychotic holy godman with strong international connections, also runs a powerful Narcotics mafia in Kerala. He also has several connections within political circles. Being a good orator, Amoorthananda also draws many devotees from abroad, and many are slowly turned into addicts. A series of murders at Kovalam beach invites sharp criticism of the Kerala Government and the C.M Sreedharan decides to bring a new head to the states Narcotics Wing Madhavan IPS. Arriving in Kerala from New Delhi and is assisted by a smart C.I Sharath Chandran, Madhavan's aggressive way of investigation leads him to Amoorthananda's ashram, which creates a panic in the state. Amoorthananda decides to eliminate Madhavan and also plans to topple Sreedharan. by appointing his aide Velayudhan, as the new C.M. Upon the orders from Amoorthananda, Mahesh Nair, a notorious terrorist, arrives in Kerala, where he kills Sharath Chandran, which forces Madhavan to react violently. Madhavan raids the ashram and botches Amoorthananda's plot to cause a series of bomb blasts in the state. Madhavan also kills Amoorthananda and Mahesh Nair, thus saving the state from a series of blasts and communal riots.
Cast
*Suresh Gopi as Madhavan IPS
*Siddique as CI Sarath Chandran
*Narendra Prasad as Swami Amoorthananda
*Vijayaraghavan as Cheradi Skariah
*Geetha as Maya Menon
*Maathu as Malu
*K. B. Ganesh Kumar as Unni Joseph Mulaveedan
*Janardhanan as Krishnan
*Madhu as Sreedharan, Chief Minister of Kerala
*Jagathy Sreekumar as SI Achuthan Nair
*Rajan P. Dev as Velayudhan, Home Minister of Kerala
*K. P. A. C. Azeez as IG Devadas IPS
*Devan as Mahesh Nair
*Augustine as SI Geevarghese
*Kuthiravattam Pappu as Govindan Kutty
*Chithra as Hemambaram
*Maniyanpilla Raju as Vallapuzha Chandran, Journalist
*Kunchan as Keshavan
*Sadiq as Anto
*T. S. Krishnan as Salim Khan
*Usharani as Mathaji
*Ragini as SI Valsamma
*Renji Panicker as Airport Passenger (Cameo appearance)
*Suma Jayaram as Susanna John
*Remyasree as Cheradi Skariah's Wife
Production
Filming
The film was shot mostly in and around Trivandrum and Kovalam. A large part was also shot in Kozhikode. It was produced by P. V. Gangadharan for Grihalakshmi Productions. The camera was done by Ravi K. Chandran and editing by L. Bhoominathan. Rajamani did the background score, and Boban was the art director.Casting
Initially, director Shaji Kailas and scriptwriter Renji Panicker had planned to rope in Mammootty to do the lead role in this flick. Suresh Gopi was also part of the initial star cast, but his role was that of the second hero. But after hearing the script, Mammootty told Shaji Kailas that he is not impressed with the dialogues. A disappointed Shaji Kailas decided to start the movie with Suresh Gopi in the lead, and the originally planned role for Suresh was later given to Siddique. Surprisingly, the crime thriller shattered many collection records and marked the birth of a new superstar in Mollywood - Suresh Gopi. This is also the rise of a second action hero superstar ever in Malayalam Cinema after Jayan. The mammoth success of Ekalavyan helped Suresh Gopi to fetch more action-oriented roles.Box office
The film was a commercial success and ran for 200 days in theaters.
After the success of the original version along with Telugu and Tamil versions of 'Commissioner', the Telugu and Tamil versions of the film 'Ekalavyan' which was actually released before 'Commissioner' hit the theaters under the title 'CBI Officer'. The movie had earned Suresh Gopi the title of 'Supreme Star' in Andhra Pradesh.
Legacy
* 'Ekalavyan' was the second in a trilogy of films that established Suresh Gopi as a 'superstar' in the Malayalam film industry, the other 2 being 'Thalastaanam' and 'Mafia'.
* Suresh Gopi reprised his role of Madhavan IPS in 1995 blockbuster 'The King' starring Mammootty.
Remake
This movie was remade in Hindi as Singham Returns in 2014 starring Ajay Devgan
References
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