Narasimham (film)

Narasimham
DVD cover
Directed by	Shaji Kailas
Produced by	Antony Perumbavoor
Written by	Ranjith
Starring	Mohanlal Thilakan Kanaka N. F. Varghese Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran Jagathy Sreekumar
Music by	Songs:<br /> M. G. Radhakrishnan<br />Score:<br />C. Rajamani
Cinematography	Sanjeev Sankar
Edited by	L. Bhoominathan
Production company	Aashirvad Cinemas
Distributed by	Swargachitra
Release date	26 January 2000 (2000-01-26)
Running time	175 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam
Budget	₹1–2 crore
Box office	est. ₹22 crore<ref name="mm" /><ref>"Highest-grossing movies of Mohanlal that you should watch right now!". The Times of India. 18 July 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2025.</ref><ref>"What Was The Biggest Malayalam Hit In The Year You Were Born?". Film Companion. 19 July 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2025.</ref>

Narasimham (transl. The man-lion) is a 2000 Indian Malayalam-language epic action thriller film directed by Shaji Kailas and written by Ranjith. Narasimham was released on 26 January 2000, India's 50th Republic Day,<ref name="highest"/> and ran for 200 days in theatres and grossed over 20 crores worldwide, which was a record in the Kerala box office.<ref name="boxoffice"/> The film stars Mohanlal in the title role with Thilakan, Kanaka, N. F. Varghese, Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran and Jagathy Sreekumar in pivotal roles. Mammootty appears in a cameo role. The film was the first production of Aashirvad Cinemas, owned by Antony Perumbavoor, the former chauffeur of Mohanlal.

The film was re-released under the name Narasimham Returns in 2014, which premiered in Dubai and was re-released in Kerala on several occasions, where it still enjoys a cult following.<ref name=premiere/><ref>Webdesk (4 December 2014). "After 15 Years Narasimham Returns-Mohanlal-Ranjith-". onlookersmedia. Retrieved 4 December 2019.</ref> The film was remade in Telugu as Adhipathi (2001), starring Mohan Babu, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Preeti Jhangiani and Soundarya.<ref>"Movie Reviews Adhipathi". Telugucinema.com. 6 September 2002. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2013.</ref>

Plot

Poovalli Induchoodan is the only son of idealistic High Court Justice Maranchery Karunakara Menon, who is sentenced to 6 years imprisonment for murdering his classmate. He later learns that the Home Minister, Manappally Madhavan Nambiar and his crony DYSP Sankaranarayanan had framed him to seek revenge on Justice Menon who had earlier given jail sentence to Manapally in a corruption case. Induchoodan, who had achieved rank in Civil exams loses the post and Manapally Sudheeran, Manappally's younger son enters the list of civil service trainees.

It is later revealed that Ramakrishnan, who is the son of Mooppil and Manappally's top supporters, was the real killer. After six years, Madhavan Nambiar, who is now a former state minister, is dead and Induchoodan is released from prison. Induchoodan thwarts Manapally Pavithran, Manappally's elder son from performing the funeral rituals of his father at the banks of Bharathapuzha. Many confrontations between Induchoodan and Manapally's henchmen begin. Justice Menon and his wife Sharada return to Kerala to stay with Induchoodan. A girl named Indulekha claims to be the daughter of Justice Menon. Indulekha was manipulated by the Manappally's family members to take revenge on Induchoodan. Menon flatly refuses the claim and banishes her.

Forced by circumstances and at the instigation and help of Manapally Pavithran, she reluctantly comes out open with the parentage claim. At first, Induchoodan thrashes the protesters, but upon knowing the truth from his maternal uncle Chandrabhanu, he accepts the task of her protection as her elder brother. Induchoodan decides to marry Indulekha to his good friend Jayakrishnan where he confronts Justice Menon and prods him to accept the mistake and acknowledge the parentage of Indulekha. Menon ultimately regrets and secretly goes on to confess to his daughter.

The next morning, Induchoodan returns to Poovally, where he learns that Indulekha is found dead and Menon is accused of murdering her. The whole act was planned by Pavithran, who after killing Indulekha forces Raman Nair (Menon's long time servant) to testify against Menon in court. In court, Nandagopal Marar, a close friend of Induchoodan and a Supreme Court lawyer, appears for Menon and manages to lay bare the murder plot and hidden intentions of the other party. Menon is proven innocent and is released. After confronting Pavithran and promising to avenge Indulekha's death, Induchoodan meets Justice Menon, who is remorseful for all his actions, including not believing in the innocence of Induchoodan.

While speaking to Induchoodan, Menon suffers a stroke and passes away. At Menon's funeral, Manapally Pavithran arrives to poke fun at Induchoodan and also tries to carry out the postponed last rituals of his own father. Induchoodan interrupts the ritual and avenges the death of Indulekha and Justice Menon by severely injuring Pavithran. On his way back to a peaceful life, Induchoodan accepts Anuradha, who is the robust and honest daughter of Mooppil Nair as his life partner.

Cast

• Mohanlal as Maranchery Poovali Induchoodan "Achu" Menon
• Thilakan as Justice Maranchery Karunakara Menon, Induchoodan's father
• N. F. Varghese as Manappally Pavithran, Nambiar's elder son
• Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran as Anuradha, Induchoodan's love interest (voiceover by Sreeja Ravi)
• Jagathy Sreekumar as Poovalli Chandrabhanu, Induchoodan's maternal uncle
• Augustine as Eradi, Panchayath district president
• Bharathi as Sharada, M. K. Menon's wife and Induchoodan's mother
• Spadikam George as Kalletti Vasudevan
• Kanaka as Indulekha, Induchoodan's sister (voiceover by Bhagyalakshmi)
• T. P. Madhavan as Raman Nair
• Irshad as Gopalan, Induchoodan's friend
• Kalabhavan Mani as Bharathan, Induchoodan's friend
• Sadiq as Govindankutty, Induchoodan's friend
• Vijayakumar as Jayakrishnan, Induchoodan's best friend
• Saikumar as SP Manappally Sudheeran, Nambiar's younger son
• Maniyanpilla Raju as CI Habeeb, Induchoodan's friend
• V. K. Sreeraman as Venu Master
• Kozhikode Narayanan Nair as Manappally Madhavan Nambiar
• Narendra Prasad as Mooppil Nair, Ramakrishnan and Anuradha's father
• Bheeman Raghu as DySP Sankaranarayanan
• Mohan Raj as Bhaskaran
• E. A. Rajendran as Ramakrishnan
• Kuthiravattam Pappu as Sharadi, Indulekha's relative
• Reena as Anuradha's mother
• Ponnamma Babu as Jayalakshmi teacher
• Kollam Ajith as Vasudevan, Pavithran's henchmen
• Kollam Thulasi as Public Prosecutor Gopinathan
• Jagannatha Varma as Justice Pillai
• Mammootty as Adv. Nandagopal Marar (cameo appearance)

Soundtrack

Narasimham
Soundtrack album by M. G. Radhakrishnan
Released	2000
Genre	Filmi
Length	31:05
Label	Sargam Speed Audios<br />Satyam Audios
Producer	Antony Perumbavoor
M. G. Radhakrishnan chronology
Kannezhuthi Pottum Thottu (1999) Narasimham (2000) Pilots (2000)

The film's original soundtrack includes five songs composed by M. G. Radhakrishnan and a total of eight tracks. Lyrics were by Gireesh Puthenchery. The soundtrack album was released by Sargam Speed Audios and later the audio right was acquired by Satyam Audios.<ref>"Narasimham (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by M. G. Radhakrishnan". iTunes. Retrieved 25 December 2019.</ref> The song "Aarodum Onnum" featuring Mohanlal and Aishwarya is not included in the film's home video version.

Narasimham (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Narasimham"	K. J. Yesudas	3:50
2.	"Manjin Mutheduthu"	M. G. Sreekumar, K S Chithra	4:40
3.	"Aarodum Onnum" (Male version)	K. J. Yesudas	5:32
4.	"Amme Nile" (Version 1)	K. J. Yesudas	4:03
5.	"Manjin Mutheduthu" (Female version)	K S Chithra	4:39
6.	"Amme Nile" (Version 2)	M. G. Sreekumar	4:13
7.	"Aarodum Onnum"	K. J. Yesudas, Sujatha Mohan	5:16
8.	"Pazhanimala"	M. G. Sreekumar	5:35

Release

Narasimham was released on 26 January 2000 on India's Republic Day. It was re-released on 5 December 2014 in Dubai after 15 years. The re-release was part of a special programme organised under the title Narasimham Returns on the occasion of celebrating the 15th anniversary of the film. It premiered at Golden Cinemas, Dubai. The premiere was attended by the major cast and crew of the film and subsequent screenings was received well by public. Later, it was released in Kerala.<ref name=premiere>IndiaGlitz (23 October 2014). "Narasimham to Return". Indiaglitz.com. Retrieved 23 January 2016.</ref><ref>Akhila Menon (3 December 2014). "Narasimham To Re-release On Dec 5". Filmibeat.com. Retrieved 23 January 2016.</ref>

In 2016, Narasimham Returns was re-released in seven districts in Kerala. The special screenings were held in Ernakulam, Alappuzha, Thrissur, Kottayam, Kannur, Pathanamthitta and Kollam on 26 January 2016.<ref name=rerelease>Anu James (23 January 2016). "Narasimham returns: Mohanlal starrer to be re-released in 7 theatres on Republic Day". International Business Times. Retrieved 23 January 2016.</ref>

Box office

The film was released in 32 centres in Kerala. It collected a distributor's share of ₹2 crore (US$280,000) in 35 days from the state.<ref>"Narasimham:Two crore share in 35 days". ImageShack. Vellinakshatram. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012.</ref> The film completed 200 days in theatres. Producer's profits were estimated at ₹10 crore.<ref name="profit">Ayyappa Prasad (25 August 2000). "Flops galore, soft porn rules in Kerala". Screen. Archived from the original on 13 February 2011.</ref> Narasimham generated around ₹7 crore for the distributor's share.<ref name="Shaji Kailas">Ayyappa Prasad (27 October 2000). "Action films are his forteasari". Screen India. Archived from the original on 20 December 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2011.</ref> At the time, the film was the highest-grossing film in Malayalam cinema.<ref name="profit" /> The film also created history for screening with maximum number of additional shows for any Malayalam film, which took 16 years to surpass by Premam (2015).<ref>Nicy V. P. (25 June 2015). "Box-Office Collection: 'Premam', 'Oru Vadakkan Selfie' Success Makes Nivin Pauly Ultimate Winner of Malayalam Cinema 2015". International Business Times. Retrieved 1 July 2016.</ref><ref>G. Krishnakumar (7 June 2015). "Premam is in the air". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 July 2016.</ref> It is one of the highest rated films in the television.<ref>"'Narasimham' to celebrate 15 years". Nowrunning.com. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2016.</ref>

The film grossed ₹18 crore (US$2.5 million) at the box office against a budget of ₹2 crore (US$280,000),<ref name="333 CRORES">Anu James (27 January 2016). "Mohanlal celebrates 16th anniversary of Narasimham on Pulimurugan sets [PHOTO]". International Business Times. Retrieved 1 July 2016.</ref> making it the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever, at the time.<ref name="highest">R. Ayyappan (1 January 2000). "Movies: Sleaze time, folks!". Rediff.com. Retrieved 1 July 2016.</ref> It ran for more than 200 days in theatres.<ref name="boxoffice">Anu James (6 December 2014). "Mohanlal-Mammootty Starrer 'Narasimham': 15th Anniversary Celebration in Dubai Gets Grand Response [PHOTOS]". International Business Times. Retrieved 1 July 2016.</ref><ref>"rediff.com, Movies: Sleaze time, folks!". m.rediff.com. Retrieved 28 June 2021.</ref>

Accolades

Kerala Film Critics Award<ref>"Film Critics Awards Complete List From 1977 Till 2012". Kerala Film Critics Association. 17 October 2020.</ref>

• Best Popular Film - Shaji Kailas (director)

Asianet Film Awards<ref>"Mammooty, Samyuktaverma win Asianet film awards". IndianTelevision.com. 23 February 2001. Retrieved 28 May 2025.</ref>

• Best Film - Antony Perumbavoor (producer)
• Best Director - Shaji Kailas

Legacy

Mohanlal's punch dialogue in the film Nee Po Mone Dinesha has become an iconic Malayalam catchphrase.<ref>Nandagopal Rajan (12 May 2016). "#PoMoneModi: Angry Kerala responds to PM Modi's Somalia comparision &#91;sic&#93;". The Indian Express. Retrieved 1 July 2016.</ref><ref>DNA webdesk (13 November 2015). "Watch: When Chris Gayle imitated Mohanlal's famous dialogue!". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 1 July 2016.</ref> The Mundu worn by Mohanlal in this film, popularly known as Narasimham Mundu, became a fashion trend among youngsters.<ref>Roktim Rajpal (21 May 2015). "Mohanlal turns 55: 8 performances that prove he is the most bankable, successful star of Indian cinema". News18. Retrieved 1 July 2016.</ref><ref name="Shaji Kailas"/> The film includes five songs composed by M. G. Radhakrishnan, of which Dhaankinakka/Pazhanimala and Mohanlal's introduction song attained a high level of popularity. The film was the 1000th acting credit of Jagathy Sreekumar.

PoMoneModi campaign

Two years after being elected as the prime minister, Narendra Modi visited the state of Kerala in May 2016 to campaign for the BJP in the 2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly election. During a campaign rally, Modi gave a speech in which he compared the infant mortality rate (IMR) of Kerala to that of Somalia.<ref>"What does PM Modi get when he compares Kerala to Somalia? A #PoMoneModi trend". 11 May 2016.</ref> Kerala is one of the most religiously heterogeneous states in India, and the Kerala model has consistently been praised as one of the most socially developed states. At the time of his remarks, Kerala had the lowest IMR in India at 10,<ref>Maya, C. (27 October 2021). "At 6, Kerala's single-digit IMR a great achievement". The Hindu.</ref> while Gujarat's was 30, the national average stood at 34,<ref>"Press Release: Press Information Bureau". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 10 May 2025.</ref> and Somalia had an IMR of 137. As a consequence, a social media campaign took off using the hashtag PoMoneModi ("Go Back Modi"), inspired by the famous Narasimham punchline.<ref>"#PoMoneModi: Angry Kerala responds to PM Modi's Somalia comparision". 12 May 2016.</ref>

External links

• Narasimham on IMDb