Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja (film)

Pazhassi Raja
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHariharan
Written byM. T. Vasudevan Nair
Based onLife of Pazhassi Raja
Produced byGokulam Gopalan
StarringMammootty
Narrated byMohanlal (Malayalam)
Kamal Haasan (Tamil)
Shah Rukh Khan (Hindi)
CinematographyRamanath Shetty
Edited byA. Sreekar Prasad
Music byIlaiyaraaja
Production
company
Distributed bySree Gokulam Release
Release date
  • 16 October 2009 (2009-10-16)
Running time
200 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam
Budget₹20 crore[1]
Box officeest. ₹49 crore[2][3]

Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja is a 2009 Indian Malayalam-language epic period drama film based on the life of Pazhassi Raja, a king who fought against the East India Company in the 18th century. The film was directed by Hariharan, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and produced by Gokulam Gopalan. It stars Mammootty in lead role with an ensemble supporting cast. The music score and soundtrack were created by Ilaiyaraaja, while its sound design is by Resul Pookutty.[4]

The film won National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam, Best Background Score, Best Audiography and Special Mention (for Padmapriya). It received numerous other accolades, including eight Kerala State Film Awards and seven Filmfare Awards South.

Pazhassi Raja was produced at a cost of ₹20 crore, making it the most expensive film made in Malayalam until that time.[5] It is the first Malayalam film to get a home video release in the Blu-ray format. Originally filmed in Malayalam, Pazhassi Raja was dubbed in Tamil as well as Hindi. The film released on 16 October 2009 across Kerala with 150 prints; it ran for 150 days in theatres and was the highest-grossing film in Malayalam cinema until 2013 when the record was broken by Drishyam.[5] It is often regarded as a classic in Malayalam cinema.[6] The film received an overwhelming response and it has emerged as one of the top grossers in Kerala's box office history.[7][8][9]

  1. ^ P K Krishnakumar. "Mollywod pins it's hope on summer releases". The Economic Times.
  2. ^ "Pazhassi Raja DVD sales create records! | Regional News - Yahoo! India Movies". 22 May 2010. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  3. ^ Vipin, Manu. "Hariharan- MT Vasudevan prepare for Randamoozham". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Pazhassi Raja". The New Indian Express. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Pazhassi Raja: Costliest Malayalam film". The Times of India. 15 October 2009. Archived from the original on 7 November 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  6. ^ "10 Malayalam films to watch before you die". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Pazhassi Raja". The New Indian Express. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Kerala Box Office (Oct 21-Nov 30, 2009)". Sify. 31 August 2011. Archived from the original on 15 April 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  9. ^ "'Pazhassi Raja' hits 130 theatres in Kerala". Chennai, India. 16 October 2009.