Devaasuram

Devasuram
Poster published on newspaper
Directed by	I. V. Sasi
Written by	Ranjith
Produced by	V. B. K. Menon
Starring	Mohanlal Revathi Napoleon Innocent
Cinematography	V. Jayaram
Edited by	K. Narayanan
Music by	Songs: M. G. Radhakrishnan Score: S. P. Venkatesh
Production company	Anugraha Cine Arts
Distributed by	Anugraha Release
Release date	14 April 1993(1993-04-14)
Running time	160 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam
Budget	₹ 95 lakh

Devaasuram(transl. Of Gods and Demons) is a 1993 IndianMalayalam-languageaction drama filmdirected byI. V. Sasiand written byRanjith.It starsMohanlal,Revathi,andNapoleon,withInnocent,V. K. Sreeraman,Maniyanpilla Raju,andAugustinein supporting roles. The songs featured in the film were composed byM. G. Radhakrishnan,whileS. P. Venkateshcomposed thebackground score.It was Mohanlal's 200th film.

The film depicts the rivalry between two spoiled heirs of two feudal families—Mangalassery Neelakandan (Mohanlal) and Mundakkal Shekaran (Napoleon). The character Neelakandan was created by Ranjith based on a real-life person named Mullasserry Rajagopal (died 2002).The film was shot atVarikkasseri ManainOttappalam.

Devaasuramwas a critical and commercially successful movie. It is considered to be a classic and the character of Mangalassery Neelakandan is considered as one of the best roles ofMohanlal.It was followed by a sequel,Ravanaprabhu(2001), which was writer Ranjith's directorial debut. The film was remade inTeluguthe same year asKunti Putrudu.

Plot

Neelakandan is the spoiled heir to the wealthy and well-known Mangalassery family. He squanders away his father's largess, wealth and good name who served as a judicial officer but is loved by the people who know him well, mainly Warrier, his elderly right-hand man. He has been the arch-rival of Shekaran Nambiar of the Mundakkal family since childhood. During a minor ruckus, one of Neelakandan's aides accidentally kills Shekaran's maternal uncle. This incites Shekaran to plan to avenge the death of his uncle. Having lost all the financial backups, Neelakandan agreed to sell his land for the construction of a Dance Centre near the village Temple. When a Gulf-returned son of an erstwhile landlessMappilafarmer -who worked under the Mangalassery feudal family- approached him for buying land, Neelakandan ridiculed him. However, later on, Neelakandan had to sell the land to the farmer's son at a low price. Meanwhile, Neelakandan offends Bhanumathi, a talented and educatedBharata Natyamdance graduate, by forcing her to dance in front of him in his house. In retaliation, Bhanumathi quits dancing and curses Neelakandan for desecrating the art so dear to her.

Later, Neelakandan feels regretful and helps her family in many ways and tries to persuade Bhanumathi to take up dancing again, but she doesn't budge. Meanwhile, Neelakandan visits his widowed mother intending to bring her back home, but she passes away after revealing a terrible secret; that he was born of another man, out of wedlock, without revealing the name of his real father. This fact crushes him, and only Bhanumathi finds out this secret when he curses drunkenly (at the car of his deceased "father" ) that the ancestral heritage which he is proud of, is actually not his. She is surprised by the vulnerable side of Neelakandan. He visits Bhanumathi at her home to persuade her to take up dancing again, only to be refused like before, telling him that she will resume dancing only after his death. That night while returning home from the visit, Shekaran and his aide's ambush (by hitting him with a car from behind) and injure him seriously after inflicting several wounds with swords, knives, iron rods, and wooden sticks. Neelakandan survives the attack, but his left hand and right leg are badly injured and as a cure he undergoesAyurvedictreatment to rejuvenate his legs.

It is during this time that Bhanumathi falls in love with him (she is also regretful for having cursed him, feeling a bit guilty that the attack was somehow related to her curse). Neelakandan convinces Bhanumathi to dance and he arranges for a classical dance event for her atDelhi.He too loves her ardently, but he refuses to marry Bhanumathi considering her future, but in the end, Warrier persuades him to do so. Neelakandan tries to forget all the past events and his rivalry with Shekaran, but the latter is not satisfied. He wants to defeat Neelakandan in front of the whole village. For this, he kidnaps Bhanumathi and forces Neelakandan to take blows in front of the public during the annual village temple festival organized by the Mundakkal family. Meanwhile, Neelakandan's friends rescue Bhanumathi and after this, he mauls Shekaran badly and cuts off Shekaran's right hand, claiming "Shekaran, I want to live peacefully..." so that he will not again come up with revenge later. However, while severing Shekharan's right hand, Neelakandan uses the backside of the sword, which shows the agony and power he had.

Cast

• Mohanlalas Mangalassery Neelakandan (Neelan)
• Napoleonas Mundakkal Shekaran (voiceoverbyShammi Thilakan)
• Revathias Bhanumathi
• Innocentas Warrier
• Nedumudi Venuas Appukutty Nair / Appu master, Bhanumathi's father
• Maniyanpilla Rajuas Bharathan
• V. K. Sreeramanas Kurup
• Ramuas Kunjananthan
• Augustineas Hydrose
• Cochin Haneefaas Achuthan, Appu master's nephew
• Janardhananas Mundakkal Kunjikrishnan Nambiar, Shekharan's uncle (cameo)
• Chithraas Subhadramma
• Seethaas Sharada, Bhanumathi's younger sister
• Bharathi Vishnuvardhanas Subhadra, Neelakandan's mother
• Delhi Ganeshas Panicker
• Sankaradias Kuttikrishnan Nair,
• Oduvil Unnikrishnanas Peringodu Sankara Marar
• Bheeman Raghuas 'Kallan' Chacko
• Sreenathas C. S., Neelan's Friend
• Jagannatha Varmaas Adiyodi
• Jose Prakashas Ezhuthachan
• Kozhikode Narayanan Nairas Vaidyar
• Jagannathanas Poduval
• Subairas S.I. Madhu
• Sathaaras Vasu
• Kundara Johnyas Ashokan, Goonda
• Kollam Ajithas Krishnan, Goonda
• Vijayan Peringode as Neelan's uncle
• Pavitran as Veerankutty
• Nishaas Leela
• Karyavattam Sasikumar as Sub Inspector

Production

The protagonist Mangalaserry Neelakandan (Mohanlal) is a real-life character sketch of Mullasserry Rajagopal (died 2002).Supposedly, some notable scenes inDevaasuramare real-life incidents. Varikassery Mana near Ottappalam was selected to portray the ancient Mangalaserry house. "It was only afterDevaasurambecame a hit that producers and directors began to queue up for this location. Until then only one film was shot here, "says Murali, one of the managers of the mana.The climax scene of the movie was shot entirely inPariyanampatta Bhagavathi Temple.

Mullasserry Rajagopal is known as an ardent music lover. "Music was the sole passion in his life. He was a good friend of mine, but we never discussed literature; we talked mainly about music and films," said renowned authorM. T. Vasudevan Nair.M. T. was impressed by the way Rajagopal reacted to the setbacks in his life. "I was even more impressed by the way how his wife, Lakshmi, devoted her life to him; he would not have survived but for her.""I met him for the first time atK. J. Yesudas' bungalow in Chennai, way back in 1985, "recalls playback singerG. Venugopal."He was sitting on a wheelchair. I was told that his name was Raju.K. J. Yesudas,his close friend had brought him to Chennai for brain surgery. ""I will never forget the evening director and script-writerRanjithtook me along to meet Raju, "says directorJayaraj."When I went there, a ghazal programme was going on; I could sense music everywhere in that house. I could also feel the extraordinary warmth of the man. I was surprised he could take life so lightly, despite being bed-ridden for about two decades. We became very good friends. Ranjith had told me that he was planning to make a film on Raju (Devaasuram). I believe that is the best work by Ranjith till date. Raju used to joke thatRanjithhad not managed to show even half of what he did in his life. "Oduvil's character was based on a real life Sopanam artist from Malabar, Njeralath Rama Pothuval. He was a vagabond sort of and was instrumental in bringing the art outside temple courtyards.

"There were [also] powerful business interests at work when I wrote my hits such asDevaasuram,Narasimham,Ravanaprabhuand so on... ", said writerRanjith.

Soundtrack

Devaasuram
Soundtrack albumby M. G. Radhakrishnan
Released	14 April 1993
Recorded	1993
Studio	Prasad Studios Recording Theatre
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Language	Malayalam
Label	Magnasound Sony Music India
Producer	M. G. Radhakrishnan
M. G. Radhakrishnanchronology
Adhwaytham (1992) Devaasuram (1993) Ammayane Sathyam (1993)

The film includes songs composed byM. G. Radhakrishnan,with lyrics byGireesh Puthenchery.Thebackground scorewas composed byS. P. Venkatesh.

The song "Vande Mukundahare" is picturised onOduvil Unnikrishnan,in one of the most dramatic scenes in the film. Unnikrishnan plays the role of a wanderingEdakkamusician who frequently visits Neelakandan. The Edakka featured in the background of the song is played byTripunithura Krishnadas.

Track	Title	Singer(s)	Notes
1	"Sree Paadam"	M. G. Sreekumar	Raga:Aarabhi,Anandabhairavi
2	"Ganga Tharanga" (Bit)	M. G. Sreekumar	Raga:Bowli
3	"Angopangam"	K. S. Chithra	Raga:Lalitha
4	"Maappu Nalku"	M. G. Sreekumar	Raga:Mukhari,Nattakurinji
5	"Kizhakkannam"	M. G. Radhakrishnan
6	"Sooryakireedam"	M. G. Sreekumar	Raga: Chenchurutti
7	"Vande Mukundahare"	M. G. Radhakrishnan	Raga:Anandabhairavi
8	"Sree Paadam"	K. S. Chithra	Raga:Aarabhi,Anandabhairavi
9	"Medaponnaniyum"	M. G. Sreekumar,B. Arundhathi	Raga: Kadanakuthuhalam
10	"Maarimazhakal"	M. G. Sreekumar, Jaya
11	"Namasthesthu" (Bit)	B. Arundhathi	Raga:Anandabhairavi Traditional slokam by Sri Mahalakshmi Ashtakam
12	"Sarasijanaabha"	K. Omanakutty	Raga: Nagagandhari Traditional keerthanam byMuthuswami Dikshitar
13	"Yamuna Kinaare" (Bit)	M. G. Sreekumar

Release

Box office

Devaasuram, released on 14 April 1993 during the season ofVishu.The film clashed withMammootty'sVatsalyam,which released a few days before, andKamal Hassan'sKalaignan,which was released on the same day.Despite stiff competition, the film fared better than its competitors and ended up becoming the 2nd biggest hit of the year completing 200 days of theatrical run.The movie made on a budget of₹95 lakhs had earned the producer a profit of₹35 lakhs, while the satellite right was sold for₹6 lakhs.

Accolades

• Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Malayalam– Mohanlal

Sequel

Main article:Ravanaprabhu

Devaasuramwas followed by a sequel,Ravanaprabhu,in 2001, written and directed by Ranjith in his directorial debut.Because of the success of the film, a number of films falling under the same genre with a feudal backdrop was produced in Malayalam cinema.

Legacy

Devasuram is considered to be one of IV Sasi's best works.The film over the years has attained cult status. The characters played by Mohanlal (Mangalassery Neelakandan) and Napoleon (Mundakkal Shekaran) remains to be two of the most iconic characters in Malayalam cinema with the character of Mohanlal's Neelakandan celebrated as one of the finest anti-heroes in Malayalam cinema.The success of the film led to many films being made based onfeudal lordsandancestorial homes.The film made Varikassery Mana a popular tourist destination.

External links

• DevaasuramatIMDb