Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha
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| Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | T. Hariharan |
| Produced by | PV Gangadharan |
| Written by | M. T. Vasudevan Nair |
| Starring | Mammootty,Mohanlal(Second Part) Suresh Gopi Balan K Nair Madhavi Geetha Chitra Sukumari Captain Raju |
| Music by | Bombay Ravi |
| Release date(s) | 1989 |
| Running time | 168 min. |
| Language | Malayalam |
| IMDb profile | |
Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha (Translation: A Northern Epic) (1989) is a Malayalam feature film directed by T. Hariharan. The screenplay of this film was written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair.
The film is based on a legend about the famous warriors of Northern Kerala. According to the legend, Aaromal Chekavar, a well-known warrior, lost his life in a duel when his sword broke off at the hilt during the fight. The metal rivets holding the blade to the hilt had been replaced with wooden ones by his trusted ally and cousin, Chandu. Chandu is said to have betrayed his cousin because he was jealous of Aaromal's popularity and abilities.
Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha represents the Golden Age of Malayalam Cinema. The story was filmed numerous times in the early black-and-white era. Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha presents an alternative version of the same legend, as it presents the incident from Chandu's perspective, suggesting that grave injustice has been done to Chandu by wrongly accusing him of replacing the rivets. Though the language of the black and white era was generally heavily melodramatic, in Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha, the director and writer used a more natural tone. M.T. Vasudevan Nair won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay. Mammootty received a National Film Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Chandu. Generally, his portrayal of Chandu is counted among the best portrayal of any character in Indian Cinema. P. Krishna Moorthy, the Art Director, also earned the National Film Award for Best Art Direction.
[edit] Plot
The film is told in flashbacks showing the incidents leading to the death of Aromal Chekavar. It opens with two young men, Aaromal's son and his nephew, the son of Unniarcha, his sister. They learn how Chandu’s treachery resulted in Aaromal’s death. The young men set out to take revenge against Chandu. The youngsters challenge Chandu to a duel, which he refuses.
Chandu narrates his version of the incidents to the servant girl of the house. He tells how he became an orphan and how his uncle Kannappan adopted him. Kannappan's son and Chandu's cousin Aaromal humiliated Chandu. However, Chandu excelled at martial arts (Kalari) which made Aaromal jealous. To make things worse, Aaromal's father loves Chandu and is proud of his abilities. This increases Aaromal’s dislike of Chandu. Chandu loses his love interest for Unniarcha, when her brother marries her to a well-to-do man. Chandu's guru does not give him the respect due to him for his martial arts expertise. This causes Chandu to join a martial arts school run by Aringodar. Chandu becomes Aringodar’s favorite student.
A dispute arises between the brothers of the Kerala royal family, which is settled by a duel. One of the brothers hires Aringodar, and the other hires Aaromal. Aringodar wants to take Chandu as his second, but Chandu is forced by family obligations (owed to his uncle) to be Aaromal’s second.
During the duel, Aaromal’s sword breaks. Even with a broken sword, he kills Aringodar by underhanded means. Aaromal accuses Chandu of bribing the blacksmith to replace metallic rivets that hold the blade to the handle of the sword with wooden ones. This causes a fight to break out between Chandu and Aaromal. Aaromal dies after falling on a spike and utters ‘Chandu Chathichu’ (Chandu Betrayed) to people, who have just arrived at the scene of the duel. Chandu flees from the village and later learns that the blacksmith was bribed by Aringodar’s daughter, Kunji.
The film returns to the present time where the two young men (Aaromal’s son and nephew) are adamant on fighting Chandu. Chandu defeats each of them in turn, and asks them to return. They refuse, and subsequently Chandu stabs himself saying "let the traitor Chandu’s story end here. I don’t want you people to lose..."
