Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha

The Cult Classic Epic Saga of an Antagonist from Kerala Folklore twisting him to a Modern day Hero !

This Movie made in 1989 with a budget of 3 Crore Rupees (the most expensive movie in Malayalam at that period) was no less than a Magnum Opus with powerful script from legendary M. T. Vasudevan Nair , Directorial Expertise from Hariharan and a National Award Winning Sterling Performance from Mammootty as Chathiyan Chandhu.

I tried finding a DVD copy of this film but was unsuccessful. i highly suggest that the producers of this movie decide to remaster the video and audio for future generations. the copy of it that I saw was a very grainy print on VHS, which unfortunately is how most people watch the movie for the first time. its strange how fast the technical quality of movie prints in India have been improving in recent years. Malayalam cinema is always a few years behind obviously, but i wish that current technology were available in the late 1980s in Kerala. This is not the sort of movie that can be re-made. i am all but certain that the spirit would be ruined. The last thing i want to see is some scrawny lad doing hong kong kung fu in the kalari. there is no perfect movie, but this comes close. when a story manages to upturn legend, bond us with a silent hero, and entertain us along the way, it has done its job and then some. i wish there were more like this.

excellent movie... highly recommended. the acting of bharath mammotty is excellent. The best part of this movie goes to its screenplay which was done by award winner M T. The music in this film was a great hit. This is one of the best movies in Malayalam. This is a historical story which portraying the life of chanthu in a different way. in history chanthu was accused of being a cheater, but here he is the protagonist. this film had a great twist at the end. Overall this is the one the best Indian movies which bagged several national awards.through this movie the director made a benchmark in historical film making. the fighting scenes also superb.

This film made the Malayalam industry proud. One of the best performance by Mammootty. Story-wise and direction are extraordinary.

Terrific movie & one of my all time favourites. Everything about this movie is in superlatives. Great sets, casting, cinematography, music etc. M.T.Vasudevan Nair has worked wonders with the script & dialogues, and direction by Hariharan is innovative. Mammootty's portrayal of the central character "Chandu" was so realistic that whenever one reads or talks about this historical character from the Northern ballads,it's Mammootty who springs to mind. Captain Raju too did a great job as the much misunderstood martial arts Guru "Aringodar". In fact, there were fantastic performances all around -Balan K.Nair, Suresh Gopi, Madhavi, each one of them "lived" their characters. Another lasting factor of this film are the two songs by Yesudas which have become perennial favourites. I hope the copyright holders of this movie will urgently start working on its DVD version. It would be a great tribute to one of the best movies ever made in India.