Chanakyan

I can never forget the first time i saw this film n i couldn't believe this was a malayalam film, never even knew Kamal Hasan had acted in such a film...No doubt he must have liked the story, it's engaging from scene one... This is no doubt one of the finest malayalam vendetta thriller films, if not one of the best indian thriller films imo....everything is top notch especially the technical side, from using the gadgets for revenge n the ideas behind each scheme...It was equal to watching a Hollywood thriller film...No loud dialogues, no larger than life superheroes, it's all a brain game like chess...I read the lead role was meant for mammootty, no doubt he would've done a fine job but the fact remains this role was meant for Kamal Hasan...U don't expect a lean short man to become so cunning, intelligent n dangerous, and he breathes life into this character, even the bgm is so apt... All movie lovers irrespective of language who likes to watch malayalam films must not miss this classic revenge thriller...The interesting fact is It still can be remade into present time... A film ahead of it's time in Indian film... Tragedy that director Rajeev Kumar couldn't make a brilliant film as this one in his future career...This remains one of his of his most finest works.

'Chanakyan' has a significant relevance in Malayalam cinema and may be in Indian cinema too. It is a revenge story and first of its kind. The cinema not only reveals the acting perfection of Kamal Hassan and Thilakan but also shows how technology can be used to deceive a whole state. The film came when TV was becoming popular as a household device and Doordarshan was a strange and astonishing entertainment medium to the common people. The film boasts of using technological experiments in the content of the story which one can hardly think at that time. T.K.Rajeev Kumar surprised everyone with this film. Urmila Mandotkar made debut in malayalam with this film. Jayaram also gave a good performance.

The plot of the movie is quite familiar : the poor man meets rich girl ..rich girl falls in love.. poor man says no ....rich girl nags on .. poor man agrees... and evil father-in-law makes life miserable for poor man.But don't let that stop you from watching the movie - it is refreshingly interesting.That is mainly because of the trio of Kamal Hassan,Thilakan and Jayaram. They fit in so well into their roles as if they were born into them. Kamal Hassan puts up an extremely brilliant performance , both as Johnson the unemployed church choir violinist and as Johnson the intelligent avenger who weaves the web around his enemy with infinite accuracy.Thilakan too puts up a great show as MadhavaMenon, the chief minister of Kerala(!)whose daughter Renu(Urmila) is in love with Johnson.He takes every trick in the book to make Johnson leave his daughter alone but as they say Love is blind ( ..and silly) and so he goes for the extreme measure .He ruins Johnson's family .. makes them commit suicide and leaves a very battered Johnson to rot in a railway track. Johnson gets a double shock as he learns that Renu committed suicide.

What does he do? Unlike the ordinary hero who would either drink and die or takes up an axe to hack the villain,he decides to ruin MadhavaMenon's life slowly and steadily.He uses Jayaram to mimic Mr Menon's voice and switches his election campaign ... first on radio and then on TV .. then he makes huge withdrawals from banks from the CM's fund ... and finally traps the CM in a nail biting climax. Jayaram's love interests and Madhu as the investigating officer consist the further part of the movie. The movie Chanakyan also introduces Urmila Matonkar into filmdom but she doesn't have much to do except look pretty.

And of course there is that theme music that follows Kamal Hassan around as he goes on in search of his prey.The music is simply scintillating and it makes you feel so very involved in the film. Mohan Sithara can take credit for that.

Overall it is a good bet if you are interested in a good revenge-seeker film and I give it a 9/10 ( the one point taken of due to the excessive dosage of drama) and be sure to watch it on a stormy Saturday evening..

This is a well thought out story that is superbly done considering when this movie was actually made. As usual, Haasan shows himself to be a creative and pioneering artist, while once again, delivering an outstanding performance.

One of the best thrillers of Indian cinema. Thats Chanakyan.Its an absolutely brilliant film. Backed by a fantastic screenplay & scintillating performances,Chanakyan is a must watch. It's a treat to watch Kamal Haasan & Thilakan perform. The film features one of the best climax ever. One of the major highlights of the film is it's background score by Mohan Sithara, which is truly exceptional. Hats off to the captain of the film T.K.Rajeev Kumar.The most shocking aspect of this film is that the producer Navodaya Appachan incurred losses owing to the origin of cassette piracy when it released.I don't mind watching this film a hundred times. It's an evergreen film which proves to be a spine chilling thriller every time you watch it !