Maanthrikam

Maanthrikam
Directed byThampi Kannanthanam
Written byBabu Pallassery
Produced byThampi Kannanthanam
StarringMohanlal
Raghuvaran
Jagadish
Priya Raman
Hemanth Ravan
CinematographySaloo George
Edited byA. Sreekar Prasad
Music byS. P. Venkatesh
Production
company
Juliya Productions
Distributed byJuliya Pictures Release
Release date
  • 5 September 1995 (1995-09-05)
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam
Budget₹3 crores[1][2]

Maanthrikam (transl. Magical) is a 1995 Indian Malayalam-language action comedy film produced and directed by Thampi Kannanthanam and written by Babu Pallassery. It stars Mohanlal, Raghuvaran, Jagadish, Priya Raman, Hemanth Ravan and Rajan P. Dev. Filmed by Saloo George and edited by A. Sreekar Prasad; S. P. Venkatesh provided the music. The film was dubbed in Tamil as Raanuvamin Telugu as Army Commander. It marked the Malayalam debut of actress Vineetha.[3]

Plot

A Senior Scientist of Missile Technology designs a state of the art missile "Samhaara"and he is abducted by a terrorist group with family. A military officer and his assistant are entrusted with the mission to rescue the scientist. They join a gypsy performing art group in disguise and reach a fictitious town and a girl get attracted to the officer. He get involved with the sister of the assistant of terrorist group leader to execute the mission. In a twist it is revealed that the main girl dancer of the gypsy group is an officer appointed by military chief to track officer, who is suspected of double crossing. Finally every thing get resolved and the scientist is rescued unhurt with safety of Samhaara know-how and the hero takes his lady love with him. Mohanlal simply excels as a comedian, lover, military man, magician and dancer with 3 heroines.

Cast

Production

Lal Jose was the associate director of Thampi Kannanthanam in the film. Madras (now Chennai) was a filming location.[4] Maanthrikam marked the film debut of Vinayakan, who appeared as a member of a gypsy dance group, he apparently imitates and wears the attire of Michael Jackson.[5] For the role, Vinayakan was referred to Kannanthanam by Lal Jose, who spotted him during a dance performance in Kochi.[4] Made on a budget of ₹3 crores, major locations of the movie were MGR Film City, Kishkinda Water Park, Chidambaram and Pichavaram. The magic sequences which Mohanlal performed was taught by magician R. K. Malayath.[1][2]

Soundtrack

S. P. Venkatesh composed the music for the movie for which the lyrics were written by O. N. V. Kurup. The songs were distributed by Ankit Audios.[6]

Maanthrikam (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Mohikkum Neelmizhi"K. J. Yesudas, K. S. Chithra5:42
2."Keli Vipinam"Biju Narayanan5:06
3."Dhim Dhim Dheemi Dheemi (movie version)"M. G. Sreekumar, Alex5:03
4."Keli Vipinam"K. S. Chithra5:06
5."Dhim Dhim Dheemi Dheemi (audio cd/cassette version)"M. G. Sreekumar5:03

Reception

Mohanlal had expressed doubts about the film doing well at the box office due to the unworldly stunts performed in the film. However, Kannanthanam assured him that the film would be a hit.[3] Maanthrikam was one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of that year.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b George, Anjana (13 December 2019). "Behind the Scenes: We chose Vinayakan, who debuted in Manthrikam, because his moves reminded us of Michael Jackson: Babu Pallassery". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b Brother, Lumiere (23 October 2018). "മോഹൻലാൽ പറഞ്ഞു: സോറി ഈ രംഗം എനിക്കു പറ്റില്ല". Malayala Manorama (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b Sebastian, Shevlin (3 October 2018). "A filmmaker with a clarity of vision, says Jagadish about Thampi Kannanthanam". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  4. ^ a b "മാന്ത്രികത്തിലെ ജിപ്സിയിൽ നിന്ന് ഗംഗയായ വിനായകന്റെ കഥ". Malayala Manorama (in Malayalam). 9 March 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  5. ^ Sreenath, I. (8 March 2017). "Vinayakan: A catcall from the fringe that rattles the uptight hero". Malayala Manorama. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Manthrikam (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes. 14 July 1995. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  7. ^ "കോടികളുടെ തിളക്കം". Deepika (in Malayalam). 1995. Archived from the original on 22 February 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.