Yodha (1992 film)

Plot

In an unknown location in the Nepalese Himalayas, a young monk (played by Siddharth) is about to be crowned the Rinpoche of the monastery, when a gang of black magicians led by an unnamed character (played by Puneet Issar) kidnap him. It is revealed that the leader of the black magicians wishes to make a human sacrifice of the Rinpoche to attain invincibility. The other monks in the monastery understand that the Rinpoche's saviour will arrive from across the Himalayas to rescue him from the clutches of the black magicians. In the meantime, the young Rinpoche manages to escape from the clutches of the magicians and runs away to Kathmandu.

At the other end of the subcontinent, in a small village in Kerala, Ashokan (Mohanlal) is an unemployed youth who, with the other members of his club, whiles his time away competing with his cousin Appukuttan (Jagathi Sreekumar) and his club in a series of trivial competitions. Appukuttan finds himself on the losing side every time, adding to his insecurity complex, which leads him to suspect Ashokan of having an affair with his (Appukuttan's) fiancée Damayanti (played by Urvashi).

When an astrologer predicts to his mother, Sumathi (played by Sukumari), that Ashokan is likely to commit a murder if he remains in Kerala, Ashokan is bundled away to Nepal to stay with his uncle Captain (retired) Krishnankutty Menon (M. S. Thripunithura), whom he hasn't met since childhood. Unbeknownst to Ashokan, Appukuttan flies to Nepal beforehand and establishes himself in Krishanankutty Menon's (Kutty Mama) house, masquerading as Ashokan. Ashokan is cast out onto the streets of Kathmandu, where he meets the Rimpoche and forms a friendship with the young lad. Appukuttan attempts to connive his way into marrying Kutty Mama's daughter, Ashwati (Madhoo) — a researcher into Nepalese traditions and black magic at a university in Kathmandu. But Ashokan, with the Rimpoche's assistance, manages to cast doubt into the mind of Kutty Mama and win over Ashwati.

Ashokan and Ashwati then witness one of the black magician's minions kidnapping the Rimpoche. Upon following the kidnapper, they end up confronting the black magician himself. In the ensuing melee, the magician grievously wounds Ashwati and blinds Ashokan, and leaves the two of them to their deaths in the forest. Both of them are rescued by the adivasi tribe tasked with protecting the Rimpoche's monastery. Ashokan is then told of how he is the Chosen One and is trained by an adivasi teacher to overcome his blindness and become a warrior tasked with rescuing the Rimpoche.

In the meantime, the jealous and suspicious Appukuttan follows Ashwati and Ashokan into the forest and is captured by a tribe of adivasis who torture him. Ashokan then ventures into the magician's hideout, rescues the Rimpoche, and brings him back to the monastery. The Rimpoche then, aided by an ailing old monk, restores Ashokan's eyesight. As the solar eclipse nears, the monks begin the coronation of the Rimpoche. The black magician rushes to the monastery to kill the Rimpoche before he is crowned. But Ashokan stands in the black magician's way and, in the climactic fight, kills the latter.

Ashokan then discovers that Ashwati is not dead as he had previously feared. Appukuttan makes a final appearance, trained as a warrior by the adivasis who captured and tortured him. In the comical fight that ensues, Appukuttan is beaten up by Ashokan.

Cast

Production

Siddharth Lama debuted in the film playing Rimpoche. His father Yuvraj Lama also acted in the film as the long-haired henchman, an abductor sent by Puneet Issar's villain character. Cinematographer Santhosh Sivan found Sidharth Lama accidentally, who happened to see him when he visited actor Yuvraj Lama. At the time, they were searching for a suitable child actor to play the role of Rimpoche. Sivan invited "little" Lama to the film, who without hesitation said, yes. While filming, Lama shaved his head at least 20 times for the film. Every three days he had to shave.

Soundtrack

The original score and songs were composed by A. R. Rahman; the lyrics were penned by Bichu Thirumala.

Apart from the original Malayalam version, the soundtrack was also released in Tamil (as Asokan), Hindi (as Dharam Yoddha) and Telugu (as Yoddha). The respective soundtracks featured versions of all songs except "Mamboove", which was not featured in the film. "Mamboove" was later reused for the Tamil movie Pavithra as "Sevvanam". The lyrics were written by Vairamuthu, P. K. Mishra and Veturi respectively for the Tamil, Hindi and Telugu versions. The Hindi version was added with five songs composed by Pappu Khan, none of which was featured in the movie.

Release history

The original soundtrack was released by Tharangini in 1992. Yodha was not a successful movie at box office. The movie achieved cult status much later. A nice movie remembered for songs and Jagathy's dialogue "kuttimama....". The Tamil dubbed version, Asokan by Pyramid in 1994, the Hindi version by BMG Crescendo in 1996 and the Telugu version in 1995. The Hindi version was re-released in 1997 with five new songs added.

Hindi (Dharam Yoddha) - DUBBED

Kerala State Film Awards

Trivia

On Mohanlal's 56th birthday, an agency named Minion Molly Posters designed posters of Mohanlal's films, in which the Minion characters from the Despicable Me franchise are dressed as Mohanlal. The digital art was hand drawn on a digital pad by Bharath Mohan. One of the posters depicted a minion cutting a watermelon and dressed like Mohanlal's character in Yodha, reminiscent of the training scene in the film.