Irupatham Noottandu (transl. Twentieth Century) is a 1987 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by K. Madhu, written by S. N. Swamy and produced by M. Mani. It stars Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, and Ambika. The film's music was composed by Shyam. In the film, Sagar alias Jacky, a maverick youth, runs a gold smuggling racket for Sekharankutty, the son of the Chief Minister Inchakadu Ramakrishna Pillai. Jacky and Sekharankutty's relationship stains after Sekharankutty brings narcotics into the business.
| Irupatham Noottandu | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | K. Madhu |
| Written by | S. N. Swamy |
| Produced by | M. Mani |
| Starring | Mohanlal Suresh Gopi Ambika |
| Cinematography | Vipindas |
| Edited by | V. P. Krishnan |
| Music by | Shyam |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Aaroma Release |
Release date |
|
Running time | 150 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Budget | ₹0.35 crore |
| Box office | ₹2.5 crore[1] |
Irupatham Noottandu was released on 14 May 1987 and enjoys a cult following in Malayalam cinema.[2][1] It was remade in Kannada as Jackey (1989) and in Telugu as 20va Sathabdam (1990). Ambareesh and Suman reprised Mohanlal's role in the Kannada and Telugu versions, while Devaraj portrayed Suresh Gopi's role in both versions. A sequel titled Sagar Alias Jacky Reloaded was released in 2009.
Plot
editSagar alias "Jacky", a maverick youth, turns to gold smuggling due to financial situation and inspiration from the media glorifying the Bombay underworld. He is partnered with Shekharankutty, the son of the ruling Chief Minister Inchakadu Ramakrishna Pillai. The Custom officers are provided with an information about one of the cars among the rally race cars, a blue Maruti car is being used in gold smuggling. Suddenly, the car sways from the pack, where Jacky and his aide Lawrence hide the gold in the car's spare wheel. They pass the customs checking and reach Shekharankutty's house. Jacky, Shekkarankutty and their aides; Qasim, Tony and Chanakya relaxes in a room at Chanakya's hotel.
Qasim and Tony are about to smuggle the gold tonight. Shekarankutty warns Qasim that there is a traitor among them. Unfortunately, Qasim turns out to be the traitor, who escapes with the gold after killing Tony. He is then caught by Jacky and is drowned to death. The next day, Qasim's body is recovered by the police and Chanakya is sent to investigate, where he meets Ashwathy, a reporter for a news magazine investigating the connection between politics and crime in Kerala. At the scene, Ashwathy meets Jeevan, the current investigating officer. Jacky visits Kayikka, a fellow smuggler and reveals that they killed Qasim. Kayikka reveals that his eldest son Shahul has turned to selling weed.
Jacky turns him away for the better and sees Janakiyamma, who is the mother of his love interest Jyothi. Jyothi is actually in prison for murder. Ashwathy is drawn to Jacky's life and tries to get his attention by releasing an article stating that the CM is connected with Jacky. With his influence, Sekkarankutty bails others and learns that Jacky had informed the police. Pillai demolishes Jyothi's place, but Jacky threatens him and demands to build those houses. Shekarankutty is enraged, where he kills Lawrence and hits the car which had Jacky and his mother. Jacky's mother dies and Pillai asks Shekharankutty to leave for Dubai with full police protection, but Jacky finds a way to sneak into the airport disguised as a pilot, where he chases Shekharankutty and kills him. Jacky gets arrested and imprisoned on the day of Jyothi's release.
Cast
edit- Mohanlal as Sagar alias "Jacky"
- Suresh Gopi as Shekharankutty
- Ambika as Aswathy Varma
- Santhosh as Lawrence, Sagar's Partner and Friend
- Prathapachandran as Chief Minister Inchakattu Ramakrishna Pillai, Shekarankutty's Father
- Urvashi as Jyothi, Sagar's Ex-Lover
- Jagathy Sreekumar as Chanakyan, Sagar, Shekarankutty and Lawrence's Friend
- Sreenath as ASP Jeevan IPS
- Janardhanan as IG Issac Thomas IPS
- Kaviyoor Ponnamma as Meenakshiyamma, Sagar's Mother
- Sukumari as Janakiyamma, Jyothi's Mother
- Adoor Bhasi as Varma, Aswathy's Grandfather
- T. P. Madhavan as CI Pothen
- K. P. A. C. Sunny as Koshy
- Jagadish as Balakrishnan
- Mamukkoya as Kayikka
- Jagannatha Varma as Pillai, Opposition Leader
- Jose as Santhosh, Customs Officer and Jeevan's Brother
- Kollam Thulasi as Police Officer
- Vishnuprakash as George
- Tony as Finance Minister Sethu
- Kollam Ajith as Kasim
- Dr. Jayan as Johny
Production
editWriter S. N. Swamy got the idea for the film from a photograph featured in an English-language Sunday magazine published from Calcutta. Swami recalled in an interview that it was the time when mafia bosses had a glorified image in the country after the national emergency period in India (1975–1977). That was the time when public began to learn about Bombay-based mafia leaders such as Haji Mastan, Yusuf Patel, Varadarajan Mudaliar among others. The magazine had an article on Mastan and a photograph featuring much respected actor Dilip Kumar and his wife Saira Banu touching Mastan's feet for giving pranāma. It was shocking for Swami, he never imagined a mafia leader would be respected as such. It inspired the plot for Irupatham Noottandu and the character Sagar Alias Jacky.[3] The lengthy climax of the film was shot in a single day. Vipindas was the cinematographer.[4]
Soundtrack
editThe music was composed by Shyam and the lyrics were written by Chunakkara Ramankutty.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ambarappoo Veedhiyilu" | Chunakkara Ramankutty | K. J. Yesudas |
Box office
editThe film was released on May 14, 1987 and was an Industry Hit at the box office grossing ₹2.5 crore with a distributor share of ₹1 crore.[1]
Sequel
editA sequel titled Sagar Alias Jacky Reloaded directed by Amal Neerad was released on 26 March 2009.
References
edit- ^ a b c Sreedhar Pillai (31 December 1988). "Mammootty and Mohan Lal emerge as unprecedented superstars of Malayalam films". India Today. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
- ^ Narayanan, Nirmal (12 February 2021). "Irupatham Noottandu to Oppam: Five thrillers of Mohanlal to watch before Drishyam 2". www.ibtimes.co.in. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
- ^ Antony, Seena (8 July 2020). "മുഖ്യമന്ത്രിയുടെ ഓഫിസിലെ സ്വർണക്കടത്തും ജാക്കിയും: എസ്.എൻ. സ്വാമി അഭിമുഖം". Manorama Online (in Malayalam). Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ Express News Service (13 February 2011). "Equally at ease with art and commercial". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2016.