Yodha
Encyclopedia
Yodha is a 1992 Malayalam film scripted by Sasidharan Arattuvazhi
Sasidharan Arattuvazhi
Sasidharan Arattuvazhi was a Malayalam playwright and screen writer. Within a career spanning more than two decades, he wrote 20 screenplays and 12 plays.-Biography:...

 and directed by Sangeeth Sivan
Sangeeth Sivan
Sangeeth Sivan is a Bollywood/Malayalam director and writer of Indian cinema.He is the brother of cinematographer-director Santosh Sivan. He started his career in films as a director with Malayalam films. After directing more than half a dozen Malayalam films, he directed his first Bollywood film,...

. The film stars Mohanlal
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star...

 who plays the protagonist, who is told he is the saviour destined to rescue the Rimpoche of a Nepalese Buddhist monastery from practitioners of black magic. The score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...

. The film is an adaptation of the movie The Golden Child
The Golden Child
The Golden Child is a 1986 American comedy film starring Eddie Murphy. Murphy plays Chandler Jarrell, a social worker who is confronted by a young Asian woman , who tells him that he is The Chosen One destined to save The Golden Child, the savior of all mankind, from the clutches of the demon Sardo...

and has borrowed subplots from the movie Bloodsport
Bloodsport (film)
Bloodsport is a 1988 American martial arts film directed by Newt Arnold and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb and Leah Ayres. The film is based on the claimed adventures of Frank Dux, and was followed by three sequels Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite , Bloodsport III and Bloodsport 4: The...

. The film was mostly shot at Palakkad in Kerala and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

. A sequel titled Yodha 2 has been planned, which hypes A.R. Rahman's second venture in Malayalam Film Industry.

Plot

In an unknown location in the Nepalese
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

 Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...

, a young monk (played by Siddhartha) is about to be crowned the Rimpoche of the monastery, when a gang of black magicians led by an unnamed character (played by Puneet Issar
Puneet Issar
Puneet Issar is an Indian actor and director, most famous for his role as Duryodhana in the TV adaptation of the Mahabharata, and directing Garv: Pride and Honour starring Salman Khan. His other notable roles are in Border, 1997 war film, directed by J. P...

) kidnap him. It is revealed that the leader of the black magicians wishes to make a human sacrifice of the Rimpoche in order to attain invincibility. The other monks in the monastery also understand that the Rimpoche's saviour will arrive from across the Himalayas to rescue him from the clutches of the black magicians. In the meantime, the young Rimpoche manages to escape from the clutches of the black magicians and runs away to Kathmandu.

At the other end of the subcontinent, in a small village in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, Ashokan (Mohanlal
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star...

) is an unemployed youth who, along with the other members of his club, whiles his time away competing with his cousin Appukuttan (Jagathi Sreekumar) and his club in a series of trivial competitions. Appukuttan finds himself on the losing side of every such competition, adding to his insecurity complex, which leads him to suspect Ashokan of having an affair with his, Appukuttan's, fiancee Damayanti (played by Urvashi
Urvashi (actress)
Kavitha Ranjini, better known by her stage name Urvashi , is an Indian film actress and producer. She was a prominent lead actress during the 1980s and 1990s in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu films. She has dubbed in her own voice in all these languages. And she produced the film Pidakkozhi...

).

When an astrologer predicts to Ashokan's mother, Sumathi (played by Sukumari
Sukumari
Sukumari is an Indian film actress who has primarily acted in Malayalam and Tamil films. She has been acting since she was 10 years old and has acted in various roles. The total number of her films is presumed to be about two-thousand. In 2003, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of...

), that Ashokan is likely to commit a murder if he remains in Kerala, Ashokan is bundled away to Nepal to stay with his uncle Captain (retired) Krishnankutty Menon (M. S. Thripunithura), whom he hasn't met since childhood. Unbeknownst to Ashokan, Appukuttan flies into Nepal beforehand and establishes himself in Krishanankutty Menon (Kutty Mama)'s house, masquerading as Ashokan. Ashokan is cast out onto the streets of Kathmandu, where he meets the Rimpoche and forms a friendship with the young lad.

Appukuttan attempts to connive his way into marrying Kutty Mama's daughter, Ashwati (Madhoo
Madhoo
Madhoo is an actress in Indian films. She has acted in Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. She was named after the late Hindi actress Madhubala. She has acted with almost all leading actors in India...

) - a researcher into Nepalese traditions and black magic at a university in Kathmandu. But Ashokan, with the Rimpoche's assistance, manages to cast doubt into the mind of Kutty Mama and win over Ashwati.

Ashokan and Ashwati then witness one of the black magician's minions kidnapping the Rimpoche. Upon following the kidnapper, they end up confronting the black magician himself. In the ensuing melee, the black magician grievously wounds Ashwati and blinds Ashokan, and leaves the two of them to their deaths in the forest. Both of them are rescued by the adivasi
Adivasi
Adivasi is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups claimed to be the aboriginal population of India. They comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India...

 tribe tasked with protecting the Rimpoche's monastery. Ashokan is then told of how he is the Chosen One, and is trained by an adivasi teacher to overcome his blindness and become a warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...

 tasked with rescuing the Rimpoche.

In the meantime, the jealous and suspicious Appukuttan follows Ashwati and Ashokan into the forest and is captured by a tribe of adivasis who torture him.

Ashokan then ventures into the black magician's hideout, rescues the Rimpoche, and brings him back to the monastery. The Rimpoche then, aided by an ailing old monk, restores Ashokan's eyesight. As the solar eclipse nears, the monks begin the coronation of the Rimpoche. The black magician rushes to the monastery to kill the Rimpoche before he is crowned. But Ashokan stands in the black magician's way, and in the climactic fight, kills the latter.

Ashokan then discovers that Ashwati is not dead as he had previously feared. Appukuttan makes a final appearance, trained as a warrior by the adivasis who captured and tortured him previously. In the comical fight that ensues, Appukuttan is beaten up by Ashokan.

Cast

  • Mohanlal
    Mohanlal
    Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star...

     as Ashokan
  • Master Siddhartha as Rimpoche
  • Madhoo
    Madhoo
    Madhoo is an actress in Indian films. She has acted in Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. She was named after the late Hindi actress Madhubala. She has acted with almost all leading actors in India...

     as Aswathi
  • Jagathy Sreekumar
    Jagathy Sreekumar
    Sreekumar Achary, better known by his stage name Jagathy Sreekumar, is an Indian film actor who has performed in more than 1,000 Malayalam films. He has also directed two films and has written screenplays for two films...

     as Appukuttan
  • Urvashi
    Urvashi (actress)
    Kavitha Ranjini, better known by her stage name Urvashi , is an Indian film actress and producer. She was a prominent lead actress during the 1980s and 1990s in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu films. She has dubbed in her own voice in all these languages. And she produced the film Pidakkozhi...

     as Damayanthi
  • Puneet Issar
    Puneet Issar
    Puneet Issar is an Indian actor and director, most famous for his role as Duryodhana in the TV adaptation of the Mahabharata, and directing Garv: Pride and Honour starring Salman Khan. His other notable roles are in Border, 1997 war film, directed by J. P...

     as the (unnamed) black magician
  • M. S. Thripunithura as Captain (retired) Krishnankutty Menon
  • Oduvil Unnikrishnan
    Oduvil Unnikrishnan
    Oduvil Unnikrishnan was an award winning Malayalam movie actor known for his versatile acting skills, known for his portrayal of classical ancient aristocratic personalities in Malayalam cinema with his unique provincial linguistic style, expressions and dialect. He was noted as a serious as well...

     as Appukuttans father
  • Jagannatha Varma as Ashokan's father
  • Sukumari
    Sukumari
    Sukumari is an Indian film actress who has primarily acted in Malayalam and Tamil films. She has been acting since she was 10 years old and has acted in various roles. The total number of her films is presumed to be about two-thousand. In 2003, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of...

     as Sumathi
  • Meena as Vasumathi
  • Beena Antony as Ashokan's sister

Box office

The movie, which was released as an Onam release of 1992, was the biggest hit in 1992 and now has a major cult following.

Soundtrack

The original score and songs were composed by A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...

; the lyrics for the songs were penned by Bichu Thirumala
Bichu Thirumala
Bichu Thirumala is an Indian lyricist and poet from Kerala, who works in the Malayalam film industry. He, along with O. N. V. Kurup, is known for creating the style of arranging beautiful words in Malayalam film songs. In Malayalam cinema, Thirumala led the group of lyricist who wrote songs for...

. This is the only released Malayalam movie for which Rahman has composed the music so far. (The audio of his second Malayalam venture Vaishnavar was released even though the film got shelved.)

The soundtrack was also released in Tamil (as Asokan
Ashokan (film)
Ashokan is the Tamil version of the Malayalam film Yodha. It stars Mohanlal, Madhoo, Jagathy Sreekumar. It is directed by Sangeeth Sivan. Music is by done by A.R.Rahman.-Plot:...

), Hindi (as Dharam Yoddha) and Telugu (as Yoddha). The respective soundtracks featured versions of all songs except "Mamboove", which was not featured in the film. "Mamboove" was later reused for the Tamil movie Pavithra
Pavithra
Pavithra is a Tamil film directed by K. Subhash under his home banner, Dhanooja Films. The film features Raadhika in the lead role with Nassar and Ajith Kumar in supporting roles. The film's music was by A.R. Rahman and lyrics by Vairamuthu, who won the National Film Award for Best Lyrics for the...

as "Sevvanam". The lyrics were written by Vairamuthu
Vairamuthu
Vairamuthu Ramaswamy Thevar is an award-winning Tamil poet and lyricist.Debuting in the film Nizhalgal with the lyrics for the song "Ponmalai Pozhudhu", he has now about 5800 songs to his credit as of January 2009. His partnership with the composers Ilaiyaraaja, and later A. R...

, P. K. Mishra and Veturi respectively for the Tamil, Hindi and Telugu versions. The Hindi version was added with five songs composed by Pappu Khan.

The soundtrack was met with positive responses upon release. The track "Padakali" is often considered one of the most popular film songs ever in the Malayalam film history. Besides the tune of the song, the tongue twisting lyrics by Bichu Thirumala and choreography by Kumar were also noticed.

Track listing

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|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
! No.
! Title
! Singers
|-
| 1
| "Padakaali"
| K. J. Yesudas
K. J. Yesudas
Kattassery Joseph Yesudas is an Indian classical musician and playback singer.Yesudas sings Indian classical, devotional, and popular music. He has recorded more than 50,000 songs in many languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati, Oriya, Marathi, Punjabi,...

, M. G. Sreekumar
M. G. Sreekumar
M. G. Sreekumar is a two-time National Award-winning Indian playback singer and music director who works in Malayalam cinema. With a career of over 25 years, he is one of the prominent male singers in the Malayalam film industry. He is known for matching voice with Malayalam actor Mohanlal. He has...


|-
| 2
| "Kunu Kune"
| K. J. Yesudas
K. J. Yesudas
Kattassery Joseph Yesudas is an Indian classical musician and playback singer.Yesudas sings Indian classical, devotional, and popular music. He has recorded more than 50,000 songs in many languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati, Oriya, Marathi, Punjabi,...

, Sujatha
Sujatha Mohan
Sujatha Mohan , usually credited as Sujatha, is an award-winning Indian playback singer who is popular for singing in Malayalam and Tamil movies. She has also sung for Telugu, Kannada and Hindi movies. She is widely popular for her evergreen melodies and her sweet voice is considered to be her...


|-
| 3
| "Maampoove"
| K. J. Yesudas
K. J. Yesudas
Kattassery Joseph Yesudas is an Indian classical musician and playback singer.Yesudas sings Indian classical, devotional, and popular music. He has recorded more than 50,000 songs in many languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati, Oriya, Marathi, Punjabi,...

, Sujatha
Sujatha Mohan
Sujatha Mohan , usually credited as Sujatha, is an award-winning Indian playback singer who is popular for singing in Malayalam and Tamil movies. She has also sung for Telugu, Kannada and Hindi movies. She is widely popular for her evergreen melodies and her sweet voice is considered to be her...


|-
| 4
| "Theme Music"
| Malgudi Subha
Malgudi Subha
Malgudi Subha is an Indian playback singer. She has recorded songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. In a career spanning for two decades, she sang more than 2500 songs....


|-
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCC
! colspan="5" style="background: LightSteelBlue;"|Tamil (Asokan)
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
! No.
! Title
! Singers
|-
| 1
| "Om Kari"
| S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam is a multilingual Indian playback singer, actor, music director, voice actor and a film producer. He is referred to as S. P. B. or Balu by the media. He has won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer six times closely following K. J. Yesudas...


|-
| 2
| "Kulu Kulu"
| S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam is a multilingual Indian playback singer, actor, music director, voice actor and a film producer. He is referred to as S. P. B. or Balu by the media. He has won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer six times closely following K. J. Yesudas...

, K. S. Chithra
K. S. Chithra
K. S. Chithra often credited as Chithra , is an Indian playback singer who has made her mark in the Indian music playback industry. Popularly known as Chinna Kuyil of South India, she has lent her voice to Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Oriya, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Badaga and Punjabi films...


|-
|3
| "Theme Music"
| Malgudi Subha
Malgudi Subha
Malgudi Subha is an Indian playback singer. She has recorded songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. In a career spanning for two decades, she sang more than 2500 songs....


|-
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCC
! colspan="5" style="background: LightSteelBlue;"|Hindi (Dharam Yoddha)
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
! No.
! Title
! Singers
|-
| 1
| "Main Dilli Ka Shehzada"
| S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam is a multilingual Indian playback singer, actor, music director, voice actor and a film producer. He is referred to as S. P. B. or Balu by the media. He has won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer six times closely following K. J. Yesudas...


|-
| 2
| "Mujhko Yeh Lagta Hain"
| S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam is a multilingual Indian playback singer, actor, music director, voice actor and a film producer. He is referred to as S. P. B. or Balu by the media. He has won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer six times closely following K. J. Yesudas...

, K. S. Chithra
K. S. Chithra
K. S. Chithra often credited as Chithra , is an Indian playback singer who has made her mark in the Indian music playback industry. Popularly known as Chinna Kuyil of South India, she has lent her voice to Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Oriya, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Badaga and Punjabi films...


|-
|3
| "Theme Music"
| Malgudi Subha
Malgudi Subha
Malgudi Subha is an Indian playback singer. She has recorded songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. In a career spanning for two decades, she sang more than 2500 songs....


|-
|4
| "Kangna Kalai Mein Khanke"
| Kavita Krishnamurthy
|-
|5
| "Yeh Resham Ki Sari"
| Kumar Sanu
Kumar Sanu
Kumar Sanu Kumar Sanu Kumar Sanu (alias Kedarnath Bhattacharya , born in Kolkata, is a leading Indian Bollywood playback singer. He was awarded the Filmfare Best Male Playback Award over five consecutive years. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 2009....


|-
|6
| "Kal Raat Mujhse Tu"
| Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Poornima
|-
|7
| "Ek Do Teen Char"
| Jolly Mukherjee
Jolly Mukherjee
Jolly Mukherjee is an Indian singer/songwriter. Known as India's "King of Strings", Mukherjee specializes in the music of Bollywood, or the Indian film industry. He started his career as a backup singer for commercials, then moving on to writing music for airline on-flight introductions, where he...

, Alka Yagnik
Alka Yagnik
Alka Yagnik is an Indian singer who is ranked among the best Hindi playback singers of all time. She is a seven-time winner of the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award as well as a two-time recipient of the prestigious National Film Awards...


|-
|8
| "Chori Se Chupke Chupke"
| Jolly Mukherjee
Jolly Mukherjee
Jolly Mukherjee is an Indian singer/songwriter. Known as India's "King of Strings", Mukherjee specializes in the music of Bollywood, or the Indian film industry. He started his career as a backup singer for commercials, then moving on to writing music for airline on-flight introductions, where he...

, Poornima
|-
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|- bgcolor="#CCCCC
! colspan="5" style="background: LightSteelBlue;"|Telugu (Yoddha)
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
! No.
! Title
! Singers
|-
| 1
| "Kule Kule"
| S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam is a multilingual Indian playback singer, actor, music director, voice actor and a film producer. He is referred to as S. P. B. or Balu by the media. He has won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer six times closely following K. J. Yesudas...

, K. S. Chithra
K. S. Chithra
K. S. Chithra often credited as Chithra , is an Indian playback singer who has made her mark in the Indian music playback industry. Popularly known as Chinna Kuyil of South India, she has lent her voice to Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Oriya, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Badaga and Punjabi films...


|-
| 2
| "Theme Music"
| Malgudi Subha
Malgudi Subha
Malgudi Subha is an Indian playback singer. She has recorded songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. In a career spanning for two decades, she sang more than 2500 songs....


|}

Kerala State Film Awards

  • Master Siddhartha - Best Child Artist
    Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist
    The Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist winners are the following:-References:**...

  • A. Sreekar Prasad
    A. Sreekar Prasad
    Akkineni Sreekar Prasad better known as Sreekar Prasad is an National Award winning Indian film editor.-Brief lifesketch:He was born to editor A. Sanjivi. Veteran L. V. Prasad was his maternal uncle. He was a graduate in Literature and started his film editing career in Telugu films...

     - Best Editor
    Kerala State Film Award for Best Editor
    The Kerala State Film Award for Best Editor winners:-References:**...

  • Arun K. Bose - Best Sound Recordist
    Kerala State Film Award for Best Sound Recordist
    The Kerala State Film Award for Best Sound Recordist winners:-References:**...

  • Arun K. Bose - Best Sound Editor
    Kerala State Film Award for Best Sound Editor
    The Kerala State Film Award for Best Sound Editor winners:-References:**...


Sequel

This new project will be directed by Sanjeev Sivan and will be made in Hindi, as well. Big names like AR Rahman, Richard Herrovites, Sreekarprasad, Santhosh Sivan and Sean Kerbey will team up for this thriller which will be produced by Network 18. The movie will be presented in 3D version also and will be shot at Nepal, New Zealand and parts of Kerala. The other details about the title of the project, and its cast and crew are awaited.

The original movie was directed by Sanjeev's brother Sangeeth Sivan, who later turned out as a famous director in Bollywood.
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