Indrajaalam

1990 film by Thampi Kannanthanam

3 September 1990 (1990-09-03)

Running time

152 minutesCountryIndiaLanguageMalayalam

Indrajaalam (transl. Magic) is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film produced and directed by Thampi Kannanthanam and written by Dennis Joseph. The film stars Mohanlal, Rajan P. Dev and Geetha, with music composed by S. P. Venkatesh. It was released on 3 September 1990. The film became major commercial success and was major breakthrough for Rajan P Dev for his villain character Carlos.^[1]

Plot

The plot revolves around the uprising of an underworld gangster.

Cast

Mohanlal as Kannan Nair
Rajan P. Dev as Carlos^[2]
Geetha as Jayanthi
Sreeja as Vinu, Kannan's love interest
A. T. Jose IPS (Retd) as Commissioner David
Vijayan Karote as Home minister K. G. Menon
Anupam Kher as Maharashtra Chief Minister
Vijayaraghavan as Thankappan
Mohan Jose as Michael
Jose Prakash as Baba
K. P. A. C. Sunny as Adv.Narayana Swamy
Sathaar as Chandrakumar
Kunchan as Appu
Sainuddin as Kuttan
Prathapachandran as Baburaj
Meenakumari as Mariyamma
Balan K. Nair as Ayyappan Nair
Ravi Menon as Ravi, Press Photographer

Production

Action choreographer Sham Kaushal debuted with this film, who signed on in May 1990. One of Dennis Joseph's acquittances, Kennedy had recommended Rajan P. Dev to him after the success of the theatre play Kattukuthira. Thilakan was initially considered for the role of Carlos. However, they then decided to cast a new actor for the role. When they contacted Nana magazine, they recommended Rajan P. Dev for the role and he was eventually cast.^[3] Filming took place mostly in Bombay.^[4]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by S. P. Venkatesh.^[5]^[6]

All lyrics are written by O. N. V. Kurup, except where noted

No.	Title	Lyrics	Artist(s)
1.	"Dil Hai"	P. B. Sreenivas	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
2.	"Kunjikkiliye Koodevide" (Female)		K. S. Chithra
3.	"Kunjikkiliye Koodevide" (Male)		M. G. Sreekumar
4.	"Paayunna Yagaashwam"		M. G. Sreekumar
5.	"Vilkkaanundo"		M. G. Sreekumar

Release and reception

Indrajaalam was released on 3 September 1990, Onam day.^[6]^[7] N. Krishnaswamy of The Indian Express wrote, "High-speed cameras, sensitive film, innovative choreography of action and use of newfangled props have helped in this direction".^[8] Despite facing competition from three other Onam releases – Arhatha, Iyer the Great and Oliyampukal – it emerged the bigger success.^[9]

References

^ "'Rajavinte Makan' director Thampi Kannanthanam passes away". The News Minute. 2 October 2018. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
^ Indian Panorama. Vol. 40. Directorate of Film Festivals. 2009. p. 159. Archived from the original on 18 March 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
^ Sidhardhan, Sanjith (25 February 2019). "Sham Kaushal: Malayali filmmakers are the reason I do action for Bollywood period films". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
^ Varma, Lipika (8 May 2020). "Blessed to be associated with SLB for 24 years, director Sham Kaushal says". The Asian Age. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
^ "Indrajaalam (0)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Indrajaalam (1990)". MSIDb. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
^ "Reel Onams". The Hindu. 9 September 2016. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
^ Krishnaswamy, N. (4 January 1991). "Indrajalam". The Indian Express. p. 5. Retrieved 4 February 2020 – via Google News Archive.
^ "Mollywood loses the man who created Mohanlal the superstar". The New Indian Express. 3 October 2018. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.