Kerala - Kochi   

Championing the cause of the dispossessed

Ashwaroodan

In the film Ashwaroodan directed by Jayaraj, the hero and villain behave similarly in one respect. Preceding or following each of their action, they spew out long-winded and lofty dialogues profusely interspersed with references to mythological characters. Suresh Gopi appears as the hero, Veerabhadran. The role of Marthandan, the arch villain, is played by Saikumar, who has established himself as the superstar among villains of present day Malayalam cinema.

Scripted by Mahesh Sajeev, the background of story is in the High Ranges. When Veerabhadran is a boy, a court case is on between his father, Viswanathan, and the Kurup family over the ownership of 1,800 acres of land. Viswanathan wins the case but is treacherously murdered by the Kurup family. The murder is committed in such a way that everyone thinks that he had been gored to death by a rogue elephant. Veerabhadran's family also learns that before his death, Viswanathan had transferred all the land to the Kurups.

Viswanathan was the benefactor of Adivasis and others living in the area. Everyone approached him for settling their disputes. Veerabhadran takes on the mantle of his father.

Enter Marthandan to whom the Kurups plan to sell the land. But their attempt to oust the Adivasis from the land is foiled by Veerabhadran. And with Marthandan determined to buy the land by hook or crook, a clash between Veerabhadran and Marthandan becomes inevitable.

Seethalakshmi, a young woman (Padma Priya) is fighting for the cause of the Adivasis through her organisation. When she is outlawed by her orthodox family for her campaign, Veerabhadran comes to her rescue. Later, he marries her. After marriage, the character of Seethalakshmi turns to that of a meek wife ever willing to do her husband's bidding.

Other than Captain Raju, the film also features Jaganatha Varma, Saiju, and yesteryear heroine Nandita Bose.

The film is produced by D.Rama Naidu for Suresh Productions. Songs by Vayalar Sarathchandra Varma are set to music by Jassie Gift. Venugopalan wields the camera. The art director is Nemom Pushparaj. The film's co-director is Satish Poduval.

G. Jayakumar

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