Keerthi Chakra (film)
| Keerthi Chakra | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Malayalam | കീര്ത്തിചക്ര |
| Directed by | Major Ravi |
| Produced by | R. B. Choudary |
| Screenplay by | Major Ravi |
| Starring |
Mohanlal Jiiva Gopika Ramesh Khanna Cochin Haneefa Biju Menon Lakshmi Gopalaswamy |
| Music by |
Joshua Sridhar (Songs) C. Rajamani (Score) |
| Cinematography | Tirru |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Super Good Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 144 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
Keerthi Chakra is a 2006 Indian Malayalam war film written and directed by Major Ravi, in his debut directorial. It features Mohanlal in lead as Major Mahadevan and Jiiva in a supporting role. The film is based on true events related to insurgency in the Indian state of Kashmir. The political situation of the conflict is portrayed from an Indian perspective in the film.
The film, the first in the Major Mahadevan film series, was released worldwide on 3 August 2006. The title is derived from the Indian gallantry award, Kirti Chakra. It was a critical and commercial success at the box office. The film was dubbed released into Tamil (with a few additional scenes shot) titled Aran[1][2] and some scenes were added for Prakash Raj in that version.
Plot
Major Mahadevan (Mohanlal) is an officer deputed to the National Security Guards (NSG). He has been assigned to counter-terrorism duties in Kashmir and commands an elite group of NSG commandos. He calls back his buddy Havildar Jaikumar (Jiiva) from his honeymoon because he has information about major activities of the militants; he feels Jaikumar is needed for the team. The commandos raid a mosque in civilian dress and seize a big collection of arms and explosives. Later, during an operation focused on some cottages near the Dal Lake, a commando in the team is killed and an outraged Jaikumar shoots down a captured terrorist who challenges the commandos. A human rights activist (Shwetha Menon) 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; 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 plant the missile there. Some of them rape three girls in the house in front of their father and shoot a person 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 chief of the terrorists is not to be seen among the corpses, and the commandos start a combing operation in the house. They locate the terrorist and Mahadevan recognises the man as the one who killed his wife and daughter. The terrorist is killed but he manages to shoot at Mahadevan. Mahadevan is covered by Jaikumar, who gets hit by the bullet and dies. Jaikumar is awarded the Kirti Chakra posthumously.
Cast
- Mohanlal as Major Mahadevan
- Jiiva as Havildar Jaikumar
- Lakshmi Gopalaswamy as Mahadevan's wife
- Gopika as Jaikumar's wife
- Biju Menon as Gopinath
- Santhosh Jogi as Military Officer
- Spadikam George as Krishnakumar
- Cochin Hanifa as Nairettan
- Ramesh Kanna as Chinna Thambi
- Shweta Menon as Human Rights Activist
- Saikumar as Dutta
- Sanusha as Kashmiri girl
- Shammi Thilakan as Hari
- Kannan Pattambi as Tea boy Appukuttan
Production
Major Ravi, a resigned officer of the Indian army, planned a film on Kashmir militancy based on real-life incidents while he was under duty in counter-terrorism activities in Punjab & Kashmir. He wrote the film which reveals the actual mode of working of Islamic terrorist groups within India: their recruitment, training, target choosing, terror strikes, propaganda, and how Indian armed forces tackle the attacks via its special services forces. The movie develops with this backdrop and tries to convey the dedication and selfless service defence personnel exhibit while on duty. Ravi got R. B. Chaudhary of Super Good Films, a major production house in Tamil Nadu, to produce the film.[3] The film was to re-shot and released Tamil as well. Chaudhary's son Jiiva was cast in a major role in the film. A few additional scenes were shot for the Tamil version, Aran. The filming was predominantly done in Srinagar and Pollachi.[3]
Reception
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."[4] 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."[4]
Box office
Kirti Chakra was a box-office success. The film got a great opening and was one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year.[2] However, Aran - the Tamil version, which had additional footage of Prakash Raj, Jeeva, comedy tracks with Ganja Karuppu and song montages featuring Jeeva and Gopika, was not well received, with the additional scenes being lamented as the reason.[5] Mohanlal disowned Aran since his voice had been dubbed by another artist without his consent.[6]
Accolades
- Kerala State Film Awards
- Asianet Film Awards
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack contains 4 songs, all composed by Joshua Sridhar and Lyrics by Gireesh Puthenchery.
| No. | Title | Singer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pooncholai Kiliye" | Karthik, Asha G. Menon |
| 2 | "Kaveri Nadiye" | Karthik, Asha G. Menon |
| 3 | "Mukile Mukile" | M. G. Sreekumar |
| 4 | "Khuda Se Mannath" | Kailash Kher |
References
- 1 2 3 "Keerthichakra: commendable". Rediff.com. 2006-08-05. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- 1 2 "Keerthi Chakra declared a winner - Malayalam Movie News". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- 1 2 Padma Jayaraj/Unni R. Nair (2006-05-05). "Malayalam film news". Screenindia.com. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- 1 2 "Keerthi Chakra Malayalam Movie Review". IndiaGlitz. 2006-08-07. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- ↑ "Mohanlal disowns Aran". Imsports.rediff.com. 2006-08-09. Retrieved 2011-01-09.
- ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/mohanlal-dissociates-himself-from-aran/article3087136.ece