Vellinakshatram (transl. Silver Star) is a 2004 Malayalam-language comedy horror film by Vinayan starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Taruni Sachdev with Meenakshi, Karthika Mathew, Jayasurya, Jagathy Sreekumar, Jagadeesh, Siddique, Salim Kumar and Thilakan in pivotal roles.[1] It says the story of paranormal events which revolve around Vinod's daughter Ammu, which eventually leads to the revelations of several shocking truths from the past and the inevitable death of the cruel Mahendra Varma.[2]
| Vellinakshatram | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Vinayan |
| Written by | Vinayan |
| Produced by | Babu Panicker |
| Starring | Prithviraj Sukumaran Taruni Sachdev |
| Cinematography | Shaji Kumar |
| Edited by | G. Murali |
| Music by | M. Jayachandran |
| Distributed by | Swargachitra |
Release date |
|
Running time | 156 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
Plot
editVinod is in love with Aswathy, who comes from the Lakshmipuram royal family, which has many dark secrets. When Aswathy's mother refuses to allow her to marry Vinod, she elopes and marries him. Just before the birth of their child, Vinod and Aswathy make up with the royal family consisting of her two uncles, Pooradam Thirunal Valiya Koyi Thampuran alias Kuttikrishnan and Cheriya Koyi Thampuran alias Kochuraman and their wives Bhagyalakshmi and Sakunthala Devi. Later their child is born to them, but Aswathy dies mysteriously during the delivery. Her mother is bedridden after seeing her death. The baby is called Ammu and is looked after by the members of the family, who later starts thinking that the she is possessed by an evil spirit. Vinod hires Indu to babysit Ammu. Later the family members understand that Indu is also possessed by an evil spirit.
The Koyi Thampurans meets an exorcist, Valliyankattu Thirumeni, to get a solution for their troubles Valliyankattu Thirumeni gives them an enchanted plate to be buried in the original deserted Lakshmipuram palace, the origin point for all the problems. When they try to bury the enchanted plate, they are frightened by the ghosts, who looks like Ammu and Indu and become insane. Dr. Sundaresan, a psychiatrist comes to the palace to treat them. Their brother, Mahendra Varma, who is also Sundareshan's friend returns from Kuwait upon hearing his brother's illness. He falls for the beauty of Indu and try to seduce her only to realise that she is a ghost. He and his brothers, along with Sundaresan, goes to Valliyankattu Thirumeni to learn the reason behind these mysterious happenings.
In a flashback, it is revealed that in the days of Tipu Sultan, Manaveda Varma, a Keralite king, had joined hands with the British to save his kingdom from falling into the hands of the Sultan. Chandrachoodan (Vinod) was a brave general of the King's army and Indumathi Devi (Indu) was his wife and Ammu, was their daughter. The British general agreed to save the kingdom on the condition that Indumathi submit to him. Manavedan sought his daughter's help to summon Indumathi, as Indumathi was friends with the princess. When Indumathi reaches the palace with her daughter, she was shocked at the betrayal. Out of rage, she tried to kill the British general by pulling the king's sword, but the Manavedan snatches the sword and beheaded Indumathi. They buries her body along with Ammu, who was alive, inside the palace itself. Manavedan ordered to kill Chandrachoodan as he returned from his quest, thereby putting everything to an end.
As the child was killed on the day of her 4th birthday, she returned as a vengeful spirit to take revenge on the king. Manavedan, the princess, Chandrachoodan, Indumathi Devi and Ammu reincarnated in the current generation. First, Aswathy was killed prior to her delivery as she was the princess in her previous birth who betrayed Indumathi Devi. In this birth, Mahendran continuously used to get nightmares and it was prophesied that a child will be born in their family with "Karthika" as its star and that the child will be the cause of his death. And when the child is born, Mahendran will experience a physical disability. As per the prophecy, a girl child was born with the same star to his sister, but he killed the child without the knowledge of the rest of the family members. He lost one side of his vision as a result of the child's birth.
Now Ammu is also born with "Karthika" as a star but by minutes difference, the family mistook a wrong star. Due to the birth of Ammu he lost his hearing ability on one side but did not realize its cause. Mahendran sends his men to kill Ammu and Vinod but they manages to escape. They arrange for a Pooja to exorcise Indumathi. Valliyankattu Thirumeni successfully manages to control the spirit of Indumathi, but faints after the pooja. Ammu reaches there and gets angry on seeing Mahendran. In spite of others' efforts from saving him, she kills Mahendran and thus her soul finds peace.
Now a normal Ammu, joins hands of Vinod and Indu and they live happily ever after.
Cast
edit- Prithviraj Sukumaran in a dual role as:
- Vinod Varma
- Chandrachoodan
- Taruni Sachdev as Ammu Varma (Ammukutty)
- Meenakshi in a dual role as:
- Indu
- Indumathi Devi
- Karthika as Aswathi Varma Thampuratti
- Jayasurya as Unnikrishnan, Indu's fiancé
- Jagathy Sreekumar as Pooradam Thirunal Valiya Koyi Thampuran (Kuttikrishnan)
- Jagadish as Pooradam Thirunal Cheriya Koyi Thampuran (Kochuraman)
- Thilakan as Valliyankattu Thirumeni
- Siddique in a dual role as:
- Mahendra Varma
- Manaveda Varma
- Salim Kumar as Dr. Sundareshan, Mahendran's friend
- Indrans as Palace Superintendent Kochunni
- Shobha Mohan as Dr Savithri, Aswathi's mother
- Bindu Panicker as Bhagyalakshmi Thampuratti, Kuttikrishnan's wife
- Praseetha Menon as Sakunthaladevi Thampuratti, Kochuraman's wife
- Jose Pellissery as Konnanattil Shankaran, Indu's father
- Valsala Menon as Valiya Thampuratti (Cameo Appearance)
- Rajan P. Dev as Meppadathu Valiya Thirumeni, Valliyankattu Thirumeni's mentor (Cameo Appearance)
- Cochin Haneefa as CI Velayudhan (Cameo Appearance)
- Baiju Ezhupunna as SI Sugunan (Cameo Appearance)
- Kalpana as School Principal (Cameo Appearance)
- Machan Varghese as School Teacher (Cameo Appearance)
- Ramya Sudha as Rajalakshmi, Mahendran's wife
Soundtrack
editThe film's soundtrack contains 8 songs, all composed by M. Jayachandran. Lyrics were by S. Ramesan Nair and Kaithapram.
| # | Title | Singer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Chandana Mukile" (F) | K. S. Chitra, Chorus |
| 2 | "Chakkarakkili" | Sujatha Mohan |
| 3 | "Kookuru Kukku Kurukkan" | Baby Vidya |
| 4 | "Pinnapple Penne" | Franco, Jyotsna |
| 5 | "Chandana Mukile" (M) | Sudeep Kumar |
| 6 | "Maanazhako" (M) | K. J. Yesudas |
| 7 | "Maanazhako" (F) | Sujatha Mohan |
| 8 | "Vellinakshathram" (Theme Music) | M. Jayachandran, Chorus |
Box office
editReferences
edit- ^ "'5 Sundarikal' to 'Mamangam': A list of Malayalam films that have identical titles". 21 April 2021.
- ^ Sify review
- ^ "Malayalam cinema- Analysis 2004!". Sify. 1 January 2005. Archived from the original on 7 February 2015.
- ^ "Will the Yakshi save Vinayan?". Sify. 23 July 2010. Archived from the original on 28 October 2016.
- ^ "Raghuvinte Swantham Rasiya will release this Friday". Rediff.com. 19 May 2011.
- ^ "Jayasurya is viable hero! - Sify.com". Sify. 12 September 2004. Archived from the original on 12 September 2004. Retrieved 18 April 2023.