Ravanaprabhu
| Ravanaprabhu | |
|---|---|
100 days success poster | |
| Directed by | Ranjith |
| Written by | Ranjith |
| Produced by | Antony Perumbavoor |
| Starring | Mohanlal Vasundhara Das Napoleon Siddique Innocent Vijayaraghavan Sai Kumar |
| Cinematography | P. Sukumar |
| Edited by | Ranjan Abraham |
| Music by | Music: Suresh Peters Score: C. Rajamani |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Swargachithra |
Release date |
|
Running time | 178 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Box office | ₹19.70 crore[1] |
Ravanaprabhu (transl. Lord Ravana) is a 2001 Indian Malayalam-language masala film written and directed by Ranjith in his directorial debut. It is a sequel to the 1993 film Devaasuram written by Ranjith and directed by I.V. Sasi. The film stars Mohanlal in dual roles of Mangalassery Neelakandan and M. N. Karthikeyan, father and son. Napoleon reprises the role of Neelakandan's archenemy Mundackal Shekharan. It also features Vasundhara Das, Siddique, Innocent, Vijayaraghavan, and Sai Kumar. Revathi reprises the role of Bhanumathi in a cameo appearance. The plot follows M. N. Karthikeyan, Neelakandan's son and his attempts to reclaim their ancestral home Mangalassery tharavadu. The film features original songs composed by Suresh Peters and background score by C. Rajamani.
Ravanaprabhu was released on 31 August 2001 and received generally positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success, grossing over ₹15 crores during its theatrical run, making it the highest-grossing Malayalam movie of 2001. Among its various accolades, Ravanaprabhu won the Kerala State Film Awards for Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value and Best Male Playback Singer for K. J. Yesudas.
Plot
The story begins with Mangalassery Neelakandan's ('Neelan') son Karthikeyan, as he ventures out to make money - ultimately becoming a wealthy businessman and a liquor baron, while Neelakandan - with the passage of time - is burdened by liabilities and is in dire financial position. The relationship between Neelan and Karthikeyan becomes strained, as Neelan disapproves of his son's money-making methods.
Mundakkal Shekaran Nambiar - now an established industrialist and the owner of a multispeciality hospital - was imprisoned in the past for killing one of Neelan's friends, Kunjananthan, decades ago on Neelan's and Bhanumathi's wedding day. He still carries a grudge against Neelan for severing the former's right-hand years ago. Shekaran decides to ruin the Mangalassery family by taking over the chairmanship of a debt-ridden bank to confiscate the Mangalassery ancestral house (Tharavadu) which is mortgaged to the bank for the educational expenses of Suhara, daughter of one of Neelan's aides, Hydrose.
Bhanumathi seeks treatment at Shekaran's hospital. Even though Dr. Janaki, Shekaran's daughter, offers her the treatment she requires, Shekaran denies her treatment and asks her aides to leave the hospital, but Neelan arrives on time and berates Shekaran. Neelan tries to have her treatee elsewhere, but Bhanumathi passes away in her sleep. Neelan is shattered. Karthikeyan is unable to arrive on time to set fire to his mother's funeral pyre - Neelan performs the funeral rituals of Bhanumathi - and is now bent on taking revenge on Shekaran. He vandalises the hospital as revenge.
Neelan loses his home - as Shekaran, his nephew Rajendran and the board of directors of the Bank decide to attach the Mangalassery House - and Karthikeyan ventures out in an attempt to reclaim the ancestral home – where Bhanumathi was cremated and the urn of her ashes stands on the Mangalassery soil. He tries to acquire the house legally from an auction with the assistance of the state's Home Minister and MLA Sivadasan (Kunjananthan's son and Karthikeyan's childhood friend), but Shekaran and the cunning Rajendran, along with the latter's evil accomplice Maniyampra Purushothaman, acquire it back using a faux concealed tender. As a last resort, Karthikeyan seizes Purushothaman's S Class Mercedes-Benz car and also abducts Janaki in an attempt to blackmail Shekaran, and hides her at the house of his friend, Sakhtivel Gounder, in Pollachi. It is during this time that Karthikeyan and Janaki fall in love with each other.
Karthikeyan gets the Mangalassery Tharavadu back when Shekaran strikes a compromise without the knowledge of Rajendran and Janaki's fiancé, Sreenivasan Nambiar IPS. Janaki is subsequently released. As a result of arguments with Sreenivasan about her chastity while being in the custody of Karthikeyan, and her not giving a written statement to the police against him because of her liking towards Karthikeyan, their wedding is called off by Janaki.
Rajendran makes a last attempt to kill Karthikeyan, but instead kills Neelan by lighting him on fire. Rajendran in turn is killed by Neelan after a perfect knife throw, piercing through his throat. Karthikeyan, now infuriated due to his father's murder, goes on to kill Shekaran by burning him. But an elderly Warrier stops him and brings him back. Shekaran realises his mistakes, as well as the influence of the kind Warrier on both Neelan and Karthikeyan (Warrier's intervention prevented Neelan from killing Shekaran decades ago: in Devasuram).
In the end, the urns of Bhanumathi and Neelan are shown; Karthikeyan becomes the head of the Mangalassery house, and Sreenivasan parts ways with Janaki on a happy note. Karthikeyan and Janaki are happily married with everyone's blessings.
Cast
- Mohanlal in dual roles as:
- Mangalassery Neelakandan "Neelan"
- Mangalassery Neelakandan (M. N.) Karthikeyan "Karthi", Neelan's son
- Vishnu Sasikumar as Young Karthikeyan
- Napoleon as Mundakkal Shekharan Nambiar
- Vasundhara Das as Janaki Nambiar, Shekharan's daughter and Karthi's love interest
- Sanusha as Young Janaki
- Siddique as SP Sreenivasan Nambiar IPS, Janaki's ex fiance and later becomes Karthikeyan's friend in the end
- Vijayaraghavan as Mundakkal Rajendran Nambiar, Shekharan's nephew
- Saikumar as Unni, Karthi's friend and business partner
- Manoj K. Jayan as MLA Sivadasan, Kunjananthan's son and Karthi's childhood friend
- Innocent as Warrier, caretaker of the Mangalassery house and Neelan's confidant
- Augustine as Hydrose, Neelan's friend
- V. K. Sreeraman as Kuruppu, Neelan's friend
- Jagathy Sreekumar as Sakthivel Gounder
- Jagadish as Guruswami, Gounder's assistant
- N. F. Varghese as Paul, Karthikeyan's close associate
- Ratheesh as Maniyampra Purushothaman (MP), Rajendran's partner friend
- P.J.Radhakrishnan as Minister Madhavan
- Rajashree as Dr. Suhra Hydrose, Hydrose's daughter
- Fathima Babu as Sreedevi, Shekaran's wife and Janaki's mother
- Nadirsha as Salaam Hydrose, Suhra's younger brother and Hydrose's son
- T. P. Madhavan as Chandran Nambiar, Sreenivasan's father
- Sukumari as Gounder's mother
- Baburaj as Nateshan, Rajendran's henchman
- Nalini as Gounder's wife
- Manju Pillai as Kumudam, Gounder's younger sister
- Abu Salim as Vikraman, goon
- Besant Ravi as goon
- Joju George as Police officer (uncredited)
- Madhupal as Harinarayanan, Peringodu Sankara Marar's son (cameo appearance)
- Revathi as Bhanumathi (Bhanu), Neelan's wife and Karthi's mother (cameo appearance)
- Janardhanan as Mundakkal Kunjikrishnan Nambiar (photo archive)
- Ramu as Kunjananthan, MLA Sivadasan's late father (cameo appearance)
- Vindhya as Item girl in song "Pottukuthedi"
- Kashmera Shah as Item girl in song "Thakilu Pukilu"
Family Tree
† Indicates a deceased character.
| Mundakkal Ramakrishnan Nambiar † | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mangalassery Madhava Menon † | Yasodha † | Unknown | Mampatta Appukutty Nair † | Madhavi † | Parameswaran † | Bhargavi Nambiar † | Kunjikrishnan Nambiar † | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mangalassery Neelakandan † | Bhanumathi † | Sarada † | Achuthan | Mundakkal Shekharan Nambiar | Sreedevi | Lakshmi Nambiar | Krishnan † | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Karthikeyan | Janaki Nambiar | Rajendran Nambiar† | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Production
Ravanaprabhu marks the directorial debut of Ranjith and acts as a sequel to the 1993 film Devaasuram written by Ranjith. The plot follows M. N. Karthikeyan, a new character, the son of Mangalasserry Neelakandan.[2] Vasundhara Das played the female lead role, who debuted in Malayalam with the film. She started by filming the song "Pottukuthedi" which was shot in five days.[3] Kanal Kannan was the action choreographer of the film.[4] The Karthikeyan vs. SP Sreenivasan fight scene featuring Mohanlal and Siddique was choreographed by Kanal Kannan, who then worked in the film. Ravanaprabhu marks the debut work of Hein in Malayalam cinema.[5]
Soundtrack
| Ravanaprabhu | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 2001 | |||
| Recorded | 2001 | |||
| Genre | soundtrack | |||
| Length | 31:05 | |||
| Label | East Coast Audio | |||
| Producer | Antony Perumbavoor | |||
| Suresh Peters chronology | ||||
| ||||
The film's soundtrack includes five songs composed by Suresh Peters and written by Gireesh Puthenchery. "Vandemukunda Hare" was song taken from the prequel Devaasuram originally sung and composed by M. G. Radhakrishnan. The soundtrack album was released by the label East Coast Audio Entertainments.[6] The film's background score was composed by C. Rajamani.
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ariyathe Ariyathe" | P. Jayachandran, K. S. Chithra | 5:32 |
| 2. | "Pottukuthedi" | Palakkad Sreeram, Swarnalatha | 4:29 |
| 3. | "Aakashadheepangal Sakshi" | K. J. Yesudas | 4:07 |
| 4. | "Aattoram Azhakoram" | Sujatha Mohan | 4:46 |
| 5. | "Aakashadheepangal Sakshi" | K. S. Chithra | 4:07 |
| 6. | "Vande Mukundahare" | Nikhil | 2:08 |
| 7. | "Ariyathe Ariyathe" | K. S. Chithra | 5:32 |
| 8. | "Thakilu Pukilu" | M. G. Sreekumar, Radhika Thilak, Prabhakaran, Mohanlal | 5:42 |
Release
Ravanaprabhu was released as an Onam festival release on 31 August 2001. A digitally remastered 4K Dolby Atmos version of Ravanaprabhu was released theatrically on 10 October 2025,[7][8] having a special premiere on 9 October 2025 at Kavitha theatre, Ernakulam.[9]
Reception
Ravanaprabhu received generally positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success at box office.[10] The film grossed over ₹15 crores during its initial theatrical run,[1] making it the highest-grossing Malayalam movie of 2001.[11][12] Mohanlal's frequently used punchline Savari Giri Giri became a popular catchphrase.[13][11] In re-release the film has collected ₹70 lakhs in day one, ₹1.42 crores in 2 days[14] and ₹2.30 in 3 days.[15]
Accolades
- Best Popular Film – Ranjith (director)
- Best Choreographer – Kumar-Shanthi
- Best Music Director (Malayalam) – Suresh Peters
- Best Male Playback Singer – P. Jayachandran
- Best Supporting Actor – Innocent
- Best Makeup Artist – P. V. Shankar, Salim
References
- ^ a b 2001 First release: "What Was The Biggest Malayalam Hit In The Year You Were Born?". Film Companion. 19 July 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
Original release: ₹15 crore
- 2025 Re-release: "നാഗവല്ലിയെ തളച്ച് മംഗലശ്ശേരി കാർത്തികേയൻ, റീറിലീസിൽ മുന്നില് രണ്ട് ചിത്രങ്ങള് മാത്രം" [Ravanaprabhu breaks Manichitrathazhu's collection record]. Reporter TV (in Malayalam). 25 October 2025. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
2025 Re-release: ₹4.70 crore
- 2025 Re-release: "നാഗവല്ലിയെ തളച്ച് മംഗലശ്ശേരി കാർത്തികേയൻ, റീറിലീസിൽ മുന്നില് രണ്ട് ചിത്രങ്ങള് മാത്രം" [Ravanaprabhu breaks Manichitrathazhu's collection record]. Reporter TV (in Malayalam). 25 October 2025. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ^ സൂര്യവര്ധന് (16 July 2015). "ഇവിടെയുണ്ട് അയാള്, എം എന് കാര്ത്തികേയന് !". Malayala Manorama (in Malayalam). Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ "അഭിനയരംഗത്ത് നിന്നും മാറിനില്ക്കാന് കാരണം; മനസ്സുതുറന്ന് വസുന്ധര ദാസ്". Mathrubhumi (in Malayalam). 1 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ മനോരമ ലേഖകൻ (10 December 2018). "രാവണപ്രഭുവിലെ 'ഗപ്പ്' കിട്ടിയ ആ തല്ലിന് പിന്നിൽ കനൽ കണ്ണൻ". Malayala Manorama (in Malayalam). Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ Sidhardhan, Sanjith (12 December 2018). "Peter Hein first choreographed Mohanlal's action scenes in Ravanaprabhu". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ "Ravanaprabhu (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Suresh Peters". iTunes. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ Santhosh, Vivek (9 October 2025). "Ravanaprabhu 4K Rerelease: Savari Giri Giri, again". Cinema Express. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
- ^ Krishna, Gayathri (20 September 2025). "Ravanaprabhu: Mohanlal's hit sequel of Devaasuram to re-release on this date". OTTPlay. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
- ^ "ഇതാൻടാ മോഹൻലാൽവുഡ്, തിയേറ്റർ ഇളക്കിമറിച്ച് ലാലേട്ടന്റെ പിള്ളേർ; ആഘോഷമായി രാവണപ്രഭു സ്പെഷ്യൽ ഷോ". Reporter TV (in Malayalam). 10 October 2025. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
- ^ Choudhury, Anjali (29 October 2024). "Who is Ranjith Balakrishnan?". Pinkvilla. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
- ^ a b "20 years of 'Ravanaprabhu': Interesting facts about the Mohanlal starrer". The Times of India. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
- ^ "Lalettan-Mammukka clash at the box office after a gap of 15 years". The News Minute. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
- ^ Onmanorama staff (4 January 2019). "'KGF' star Yash impresses with Mohanlal's punch dialogue". Malayala Manorama. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ "റിലീസ് ദിനത്തെ മറികടന്ന് രണ്ടാം ദിനം! ബോക്സ് ഓഫീസില് 'കാര്ത്തികേയന് ഷോ'; 'രാവണപ്രഭു' 2 ദിനത്തില് നേടിയത്" [Ravanaprabhu 2 days box office collection]. Asianet News (in Malayalam). 12 October 2025. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
- ^ "'ഇനി ഇതുപോലൊരു പടം കിട്ടാൻ പ്രയാസമാണ്, ഓരോ ഡയലോഗും മാസ് ആൻഡ് ക്ലാസ്, രാവണപ്രഭു ഇതുവരെ എത്ര നേടി?" [How much has Ravanaprabhu earned from the box office so far]. Reporter TV (in Malayalam). 13 October 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
- ^ "Film Critics Awards Complete List From 1977 Till 2012". Kerala Film Critics Association. 17 October 2020.