His Highness Abdullah

Last updated

His Highness Abdullah
His Highness Abdullah.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Sibi Malayil
Written by A. K. Lohithadas
Produced by Mohanlal
Starring
Cinematography Anandakuttan
Edited byL. Bhoominathan
Music by Raveendran (Songs)
Mohan Sithara(Score)
Production
company
Distributed bySeven Arts Release
Release date
  • 30 March 1990 (1990-03-30)(Kerala)
Running time
150 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam

His Highness Abdullah is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language musical thriller drama film written by A. K. Lohithadas [1] and directed by Sibi Malayil. [2] It stars Mohanlal, Nedumudi Venu, Gautami, [3] Sreenivasan, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair and Mamukkoya. The film was produced by Mohanlal [4] and was the debut production of his company Pranavam Arts. [5] The film features original songs composed by Raveendran and a background score by Mohan Sithara. His Highness Abdullah was the same team's first film in a trilogy of Indian classical arts films, followed by Bharatham (1991) and Kamaladalam (1992).

Contents

The story follows Abdullah (Mohanlal), a low-life Muslim Qawwali singer in Bombay, who is hired by the members of a wealthy royal Hindu family to assassinate their family head, Maharaja Udayavarma (Venu). Abdullah infiltrates the palace under the disguise of a Brahmin classical singer, Ananthan Namboothiri, and tries to assassinate the Maharaja by gaining his confidence.

His Highness Abdullah was released on 30 March 1990. It performed well at the box office, [6] becoming the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year. [7] [8] The film's soundtrack was also well received. The film won two National Film Awards—Best Supporting Actor for Venu [9] and Best Male Playback Singer for M. G. Sreekumar for the song "Naadaroopini". [10] Raveendran won the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director – Malayalam.

This movie was loosely remade (or freemade) as Aadhavan by K S Ravikumar in 2009

Plot

Ravi Varma, his father Prabhakara Varma, Rajaraja Varma, and his father Kesava Pillai, seek methods to kill King Udaya Varma Thampuran to usurp his wealth. Udaya Varma's wife Bhagirathi Thampuratti has fallen into depression after the untimely death of their son Unni. She is locked up at home and looked after by Udaya Varma's daughter Radha. Ravi Varma and the group fear that Udaya Varma might will his wealth to Radha, being his adopted daughter, who is believed to be born of an illicit relationship of Thampuran's relative with another servant. The group is helped by Cheriyachan Thampuran, the blind uncle of Thampuran, who also eyes King's wealth. He advises the group on the plans to eliminate the King upon the condition of sharing the wealth with him.

As per his advice, Ravi Varma, the King's eldest nephew, travels to Mumbai in search of a killer. There he meets Jamal who helps him. He introduces Ravi Varma to Abdullah, who is a singer in Mumbai. Abdullah is in need of money and, upon persuasion from Jamal, comes to Kerala planning to kill Thampuran. Abdullah disguises himself as Ananthan Namboothiri and meets Thampuran stating that he is Ravi Varma's friend who wants to study the palace. Thampuran does not like this, however, he allows him to stay a couple of days at the palace. Bhagirathi Thampuratti thinks Ananthan is Unni and shows stages of recovery from a mental disorder with his presence.

Once, the day Thampuran asks Ananthan to leave arrives, he sings the famous "Pramadhavanam" song, which impresses Thampuran and he starts liking him. Radha falls in love with him. Ananthan is even permitted to dine with Thampuran after having developed a strong relationship with him. Gupthan, the King's younger nephew, on finding that Radha is in love with Ananthan, misleads Ramanattukara Ananthan Namboodirippad, a famous musician, telling him that Ananthan has portrayed him as a good for nothing fellow. Enraged by hearing this, Namboodirippad travels to the palace and competes with Ananthan, singing the famous "Devasabhathalam", after which he understands that Gupthan mislead him and is highly impressed with Ananthan.

Ravi Varma and the group wants Thampuran to be killed immediately. Ananthan one day realises that Thampuran is an old friend of his father. Thampuran also tells Ananthan that Radha was brought up by him as his daughter after the demise of Unni. Thampuran also requests Ananthan to marry her. Ananthan, unable to kill Thampuran pleads to the group that he cannot kill him. The group gets angry and Ravi Varma travels to Mumbai a second time to find another killer. He comes back with Kabir, a goon from Bombay to kill Thampuran. Thampuran identifies that Ananthan is a Muslim named Abdullah when he accidentally sees Ananthan and Jamal performing daily Namaz.

Ananthan tells Thampuran that he is surrounded by enemies from his own family, and he can save him. But Thampuran refuses. The next morning, Thampuran is found to have disappeared. Kabir and his other goons/henchmen try to find Thampuran and indulge in a fight with Ananthan. Ananthan overpowers him and the group and they all, along with all the greedy relatives, run away from the palace. After the fight is over, Ananthan releases Thampuran, whom he had locked up in a room in order to save him from Kabir. Thampuran shockingly realises that Ananthan is his friend's son and feels sorry for having disbelieved him. He requests Ananthan to stay in the palace as Unni and marry Radha. He names Radha as the successor to all his wealth. Ananthan accepts the request from Thampuran.

Cast

Production

His Highness Abdullah was produced by Mohanlal and was the debut production of his company Pranavam Arts. [11]

Music

His Highness Abdullah
Soundtrack album by
Raveendran
ReleasedMarch 15, 1990 (1990-March-15) [12]
RecordedJanuary 1990
StudioAVM "RR" Recording Theatre, Chennai
Genre Film soundtrack
Label Tharangini

The film score was composed by Mohan Sithara while the songs were composed by Raveendran, with lyrics written by Kaithapram. All songs are in Malayalam, except the Sufi-type song "Tu Badi Masha Allah", which is set in a mix of Hindi and Urdu.

TrackSong TitleSinger(s)Other notes
1"Pramadhavanam" K. J. Yesudas Picturised on Mohanlal.

Raagam: Jog [13]

2"Devasabhathalam"K. J. Yesudas, Raveendran, Sharreth Another version, in which M. G. Sreekumar replaces Raveendran Master, was also recorded. But Raveendran's version was selected in the movie. The song is picturised on Mohanlal and Kaithapram.

Raagam: Raagamaalika (Hindolam, Hanumatodi, Panthuvarali, Abhogi, Mohanam, Shanmukhapriya, Sankarabharanam, Kalyani, Chakravakam, Revati) [14]

3"Naadaroopini" M. G. Sreekumar M. G. Sreekumar won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer. The song is picturised on Kaithapram.

Raagam: Kanada [10]

4"Gopika Vasantham"K. J. Yesudas, K. S. Chithra Duet song picturised on Mohanlal and Gautami.

Raagam: Shanmukhapriya

5"Devasabhathalam"K. J. Yesudas, M. G. Sreekumar, SharrethRaagam: Raagamaalika (Hindolam, Thodi, Panthuvarali, Abhogi, Mohanam, Shanmukhapriya, Sankarabharanam, Kalyani, Chakravakam, Revati)
6"Tu Badi Maasha Allah"K. J. Yesudas, Chorus A Hindi Qawwali song picturised on Mohanlal & Miss Kim. Lyrics by Madhu (Bihar).

Raagam: Patdeep [8]

Reception

His Highness Abdullah performed well at the box office, and the top-grossing Malayalam film of the year. [7] [15] [16] The film was a success in Tamil Nadu too. [17] NKS of The Indian Express praises the film writing, "Rich with a fest of light classical songs, and taking its own time to stress the clash and play of emotions that is helped greatly by sensitive performances from Mohanlal and Nedumudi Venu, the film is a clean gripping entertainment for the family." Praising Mohanlal's performance he writes, "Mohanlal [...] takes a challenging role in His Highness Abdullah and not only acquits himself well but shows he is an actor of some range". [18]

Awards

Remakes and inspirations

The film was remade in Tamil as Mettukudi (1996) and in Kannada as Balagalittu Olage Baa (2002). [20] [21] The 2009 Tamil film Aadhavan, starring Suriya and its 2016 Bangladeshi remake titled Shikari, starring Shakib Khan were reported to be based on this film. [22] The core plot of the 2015 Kannada film Raja Rajendra was reported to be based on this film. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raveendran</span> Indian composer

Madhavan Raveendran, , fondly known as Raveendran Master, was a popular South Indian music composer and playback singer from Kerala. He composed songs for more than 150 films primarily for the Malayalam and Tamil film industries. He also composed a few albums, including Vasantha Geethangal, Ponnonatharangini and Rithugeethangal. Raveendran successfully composed melodies based on Hindustani Ragas also.

<i>Aaraam Thampuran</i> 1997 film by Shaji Kailas

Aaraam Thampuran is a 1997 Indian Malayalam-language action drama film directed by Shaji Kailas, written by Ranjith and produced by Revathy Kalamandhir. It stars Mohanlal in the title role with Narendra Prasad, Manju Warrier, Sai Kumar, Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Cochin Haneefa and Srividya in supporting roles. The story follows Jagannadhan (Mohanlal), a former Mumbai-based enforcer who buys an old kovilakam named Kanimangalam and shifts the balance of power in that village, and he comes to be known as Aaram Thampuran. The film features original songs composed by Raveendran.

<i>Parinayam</i> (1994 film) 1994 Indian film

Parinayam is a Malayalam language period drama film, directed by Hariharan and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair. The key characters are played by Mohini, Manoj K. Jayan and Vineeth. The film also has a cast of character artists including Thilakan, Nedumudi Venu, Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Jagathy Sreekumar, Sukumari, Jagannatha Varma, Valsala Menon, Bindu Panicker, Bahadoor, and Shanthi Krishna.

<i>Bharatham</i> 1991 Malayalam musical-drama film directed by Sibi Malayil

Bharatham is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language musical drama film written by A. K. Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil. It stars Mohanlal, Urvashi, Nedumudi Venu, Lakshmi, and Murali. The film was produced by Mohanlal through his production house Pranavam Arts. The film features original songs composed by Raveendran and a background score by Johnson. Bharatham is interpreted as a modern-day adaptation of the Ramayana from Bharatha's perspective. How, in the absence of his elder brother, Gopinathan takes the responsibility of the family and hides his griefs is the core of the story.

<i>Vinodayathra</i> 2007 Indian film

Vinodayathra is a 2007 Indian Malayalam-language comedy drama film written and directed by Sathyan Anthikkad, and starring Dileep and Mukesh along with Meera Jasmine, Murali, Innocent, Ganapathi S Poduval, KPAC Lalitha, Nedumudi Venu, Seetha and Parvathy in supporting roles. Few scenes of the film were reported to be inspired by the 2001 Korean film My Sassy Girl. The film became a blockbuster at the box office and completed more than 175 days in theatres and it has over the years attained a cult status.

<i>Chandralekha</i> (1997 film) 1997 Indian Malayalam-language comedy film by Priyadarshan

Chandralekha is a 1997 Indian Malayalam-language comedy film written and directed by Priyadarshan and produced by Fazil. It stars Mohanlal, Sukanya, Pooja Batra, Sreenivasan, Nedumudi Venu, and Innocent. The film's title is a portmanteau of the two female lead characters' names—Chandra and Lekha. Berny-Ignatius composed the songs, while the film score was composed by S. P. Venkatesh. The film's core plot was inspired by the 1995 Hollywood film While You Were Sleeping.

<i>Kalippattam</i> 1993 Malayalam movie

Kalippattam (transl. Toy) is a 1993 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by Venu Nagavalli and starring Mohanlal, Urvashi, Thilakan, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Jagathy and Nedumudi Venu. Mohanlal also sang a song ("Vazhiyoram") with Chithra for the film. The story is about the love between a violinist played by Mohanlal and a terminally ill girl played by Urvashi. The music and background score were composed by Raveendran.

<i>Mr. Brahmachari</i> 2003 Indian film

Mr. Brahmachari is a 2003 Indian Malayalam-language action comedyfilm directed by Thulasidas and written by J. Pallassery from a story by Mahesh Mithra. It was produced and distributed by M. Mani through the company Aroma Movie International.

<i>Vartha</i> 1986 film directed by I. V. Sasi

Vartha (transl. News) is a 1986 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by I. V. Sasi and produced by P. V. Gangadharan. The film stars Mammootty, Mohanlal, Rahman, Seema, Venu Nagavally, K. P. A. C. Lalitha and Prathapachandran. The film has musical score by A. T. Ummer. The film was successful at the box office. The film was remade in Tamil as Palaivana Rojakkal (1986), and in Hindi as Jai Shiv Shankar (1990), which never released.

<i>Thenum Vayambum</i> 1981 Indian film

Thenum Vayambum is a 1981 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Ashok Kumar and written by John Paul, starring Nedumudi Venu, Prem Nazir and Sumalatha, along with Mohanlal and Ranipadmini. The film features music composed by Raveendran.

<i>Alexander the Great</i> (2010 film) 2010 Indian film

Alexander the Great is a 2010 Indian Malayalam-language comedy-drama film directed by Murali Nagavalli and scripted by C. Balachandran. It stars Mohanlal, Bala Kumar and Meenakshi Dixit. The film as described by the director, is a "comical racy entertainer". It was released on 7 May 2010. It is loosely based on the 1988 American comedy-drama film Rain Man.

<i>Megham</i> 1999 Indian film

Megham (transl. Cloud) is a 1999 Indian Malayalam-language comedy-drama film directed by Priyadarshan, written by T. Damodaran, produced by Suresh Balaje and distributed by Mohanlal through Pranavam Movies. It stars Mammootty, Dileep, Priya Gill, Pooja Batra, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Sreenivasan, Nedumudi Venu, Captain Raju and Cochin Haneefa. The music was composed by Ouseppachan.

<i>Adiverukal</i> 1986 film by P. Anil

Adiverukal is a 1986 Indian Malayalam-language social problem film directed by P. Anil and written by T. Damodaran from a story by Peruvanthanam Sukumaran. It was produced by Mohanlal and Century Kochumon under the company Chears Films. The film stars Mohanlal, Karthika, Sukumari and Jagathy Sreekumar. The film has musical score and songs composed by Shyam.

<i>Kizhakkunarum Pakshi</i> 1991 Indian film

Kizhakkunarum Pakshi is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language musical tragedy drama film written and directed by Venu Nagavalli and produced by P. K. R. Pillai. It stars Mohanlal, Shankar, Murali, Rekha, Jagathy Sreekumar, Ashokan and Innocent. The music and background score of the film was composed by Raveendran

<i>Swathi Thirunal</i> (film) 1987 Indian film

Swathi Thirunal is a 1987 Indian Malayalam-language biographical film co-written and directed by Lenin Rajendran. The film is based on the life of Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma, the Maharaja of Travancore. It stars Anant Nag in the title role, with Srividya, Nedumudi Venu and Murali in other important roles. The cinematographer was Madhu Ambat.

<i>Aham</i> (film) 1992 Indian film

Aham (transl. Self) is a 1992 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Rajeevnath and written by Venu Nagavally from a story by Rajeevnath. The film stars Mohanlal, Urvasi, and Ramya Krishna. The soundtrack was composed by Raveendran and cinematography was handled by Santhosh Sivan and Venu. It was produced on ₹46 lakhs.

<i>Nadodimannan</i> 2013 Indian film

Nadodimannan is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language satirical action comedy film directed by Viji Thampi, starring Dileep, Sayaji Shinde, Nedumudi Venu, Ananya, Archana Kavi and Mythili.with Asif Ali in Archived footage Cameo appearance. Dileep and Viji Thampi collaborated after 17 years in this movie. The film is a satire that portrays how corruption and favoritism engulfs a place and how it is curbed.

Bhoomika is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by I. V. Sasi and produced by John Paul and M. G. Soman. The film stars Jayaram, Suresh Gopi, Sai Kumar, Mukesh and Urvashi in the lead roles. The film has musical score by Raveendran.

Vishnulokam is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language romantic drama film directed by Kamal, written by T. A. Razzaq, and produced by Sanal Kumar and G. Suresh Kumar. The film stars Mohanlal, Shanthi Krishna, Urvashi, and Murali. The songs featured in the film were composed by Raveendran, while Johnson provided the background score.

Kinnaram is a 1983 Malayalam comedy film directed by Sathyan Anthikkad. The film is the story of two bachelor friends who fall in love with the same girl. The film stars Nedumudi Venu, Sukumaran and Poornima Jayaram in the lead roles.

References

  1. ↑ Kumar, P. K. Ajith (28 June 2015). "Remembering a master storyteller". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  2. ↑ B. S., Shibu (20 May 2020). "A Fruitful Friendship: Mohanlal and Sibi Malayil". The New Indian Express . Archived from the original on 26 May 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  3. ↑ "Mohanlal, Gautami team up for a trilingual". The Hindu . 14 October 2015. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  4. ↑ "Actors who are successful producers". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  5. ↑ "Happy Birthday Mohanlal: Here are His 5 Must Watch Movies". News18 . 21 May 2020. Archived from the original on 16 June 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  6. ↑ Subramanian, Anupama (24 May 2016). "High expectation for Mohanlal's trilingual". Deccan Chronicle . Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  7. 1 2 Sharadhaa, A. (8 May 2013). "When the autowale grab all the limelight". The New Indian Express . Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  8. 1 2 Nair, Vipin (17 February 2018). "Where do Malayalam films get their love of Hindi songs from?". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  9. 1 2 Aravind, C. V. (20 February 2017). "Nedumudi Venu: Malayalam cinema's man for all seasons". The News Minute . Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 Kumar, P. K. Ajith (21 May 2020). "'For each individual, their favourite Mohanlal film would be different'". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  11. ↑ "25 years, 25 landmarks". Rediff.com . 3 September 2003. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  12. ↑ "His Highness Abdullah - Tharangni". Bandcamp . Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  13. ↑ Kumar, P. K. Ajith (31 March 2015). "Silver milestone for a golden song". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  14. ↑ Menon, Akhila (17 March 2017). "7 Performances That Prove Mohanlal Is The King Of Song Sequences". FilmiBeat. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  15. ↑ B. S., Shibu (13 April 2020). "For Kerala's Tinseltown, it's a lost Vishu". The New Indian Express . Archived from the original on 16 June 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  16. ↑ "H for His Highness Abdullah (1990)". Rediff.com . 20 April 2012. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  17. ↑ "Thamizh Talkies: Union of stars". The New Indian Express . 23 September 2019. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  18. ↑ NKS (29 June 1990). "His Highness Abdullah". The Indian Express . p. 7. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  19. ↑ Soman, Deepa (9 December 2017). "If I had tried to imitate Yesudas, I would have reached nowhere: M G Sreekumar". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  20. ↑ "'Muthu' to '36 Vayathinile': Five blockbuster Tamil films that were remade from Malayalam movies". The Times of India . 19 March 2020. Archived from the original on 25 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  21. ↑ "Films for 2003-04 subsidies". Viggy. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  22. ↑ "Bangladeshi film Shikari to be screened in Malaysia | Daily Sun". daily-sun. November 2016. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  23. ↑ Narayana, Guruprasad (6 February 2015). "ಹಿಸ್ ಹೈನೆಸ್ಸ್ ರಾಜ ರಾಜೇಂದ್ರ" [His Highness King Rajendra]. Kannada Prabha (in Kannada). Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.