Vellinakshatram (2004 film)
| Vellinakshatram | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Vinayan |
| Produced by | Vinayan |
| Written by | Vinayan |
| Starring |
Prithviraj Sukumaran Jayasurya Jagathy Sreekumar |
| Music by | M. Jayachandran |
| Cinematography | Shaji Kumar |
| Edited by | G. Murali |
Release dates |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
Vellinakshatram(English: Silver Star) is a 2004 Malayalam comedy horror film by Vinayan starring Taruni Sachdev, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Meenakshi, Jagathy Sreekumar, Karthika Mathew, Thilakan, Jagadeesh, Salim Kumar and Siddique in lead roles. It has been dubbed in Hindi under the title Tantra Mantra.
Plot
Vinod (Pritviraj) is in love with Aswathy (Karthika Mathew) a member of the Lakshmipuram royal family, which has many dark secrets. When Aswathy's mother refuses 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 two uncles, Pooradam Thirunal Valiya Koyi Thampuran (Jagathi Sreekumar) and Pooradam Thirunal cheriya Koyi Thampuran (Jagadeesh), and their wives. Later a child is born to them, but Aswathy dies mysteriously during the delivery. Her grandmother is bedridden by now. The baby is called Ammu (Taruni Sachdev) and is looked after by the members of the family who start thinking that the little girl is possessed by an evil spirit. Vinod hires Indu(Meenakshi) to babysit Ammu. Later the family members understand that Indu is also possessed by an evil spirit.
The Pooradam Thirunal uncles meet an exorcist, Vallyankattu Thirumeni, (Thilakan) to get a solution for their troubles. The exorcist gives them an enchanted plate to be buried in the original deserted Lakshmipuram palace, the root cause for all the problems. When they try to bury the enchanted plate, they are frightened by the ghosts & become insane. Dr.Sundarasen (Salim Kumar),a psychiatrist comes to the palace to treat them.
Their brother, Mahendra Verma (Siddique) returns from Dubai upon hearing his brothers' illness. He falls for the beauty of Indu & try to seduce her only to realise that she is a ghost. He & his brothers, along with the Doctor, goes to Vallyankattu Thirumeni to learn the reason behind these mysterious happenings.
In a flashback, it is revealed that in the days of Tippu 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 (Pritviraj) was the brave general of the king & Indu was his wife Indumathi Devi & Ammu, their daughter. The British Governor falls for the beauty of Indumathi Devi & tries to bribe the king saying that he will make an alliance with his kingdom if he convinces Indumathi to sleep with him.
The king knowing about Chandrachoodan, tricks him & sends him to nearest nation to convey his message on the day of his daughter's birthday. Aswathy was a princess & a close friend to Indumathi. She tricks Indumathi & brings her to the palace where the governor was awaiting for her arrival. Indumathi is shocked to learn the betrayal by Aswathy & the king.She tries to kill the governor by pulling the King's sword. But the king manages to snatch the sword and decapitates Indumathi. They decide to bury her body along with her daughter,who was alive, inside the palace itself. The king orders to kill Chandrachoodan as he returns from his quest thereby putting everything to an end.
As the child was killed on the day of her birthday, she returned as a vengeful spirit to take revenge on the king. The King, Chandrachoodan, Indumathi Devi & Ammu take rebirth & this generation Mahendra Verma is the king. First, Ashwathy was killed prior to her delivery as she betrayed Indumathi Devi in her past. In this birth Mahendra Verma continuously used to get nightmares & was informed that a child will be born in their family with "Karthika" as its star & that the child will be the cause of his death. And when the child is born, Mahendra Verma will experience a physical disability.As per the prophecy a girl child is born with the same star to his sister, but kills the child unknown to 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. During the birth of Ammu he lost his hearing ability on one side but did not realize its cause. Mahendra Verma sends his men to kill Ammu & Vinod but they escape.
They arrange for a Pooja to exorcise Indumathi. The exorcist successfully manages to control the spirit of Indumathi, but faints after the pooja. Ammu reaches there & gets angry on seeing Mahendra Verma. In spite of others' efforts from saving him, she manages to kill Mahendra Verma & thus her soul finds peace.
Now a normal Ammu, joins hands of Vinod & Indu & they live happily ever after.
Cast
- Prithviraj Sukumaran– Vinod Varma / Chandrachoodan
- Meenakshi- Indu / Indumathy Devi
- Taruni Sachdev (child artist)- Ammu Vinod Varma
- Karthika Mathew- Aswathi Varma Thampuratti
- Jagathi Sreekumar- Pooradam Thirunal Valiya Koyi Thampuran
- Jagadeesh- Avittam Thirunal Cheriya Koyi Thampuran
- Bindu Panicker - Bahagyalakshmi Thampuratti
- Praseetha Menon
- Siddique- Mahendra Verma / King Manaveda Varma
- Salim Kumar-Psychiatrist Dr. Sundaresan
- Thilakan- Valliyankattu Thirumeni
- Jayasurya-Indu's fiancee
- Rajan P. Dev-Melpadathu Valiya Thirumeni
- Sukumari
- Valsala Menon
- Narayanankutty
- Girish
- Santhosh
- Indrans - Palace Manager
- Yamuna
- Priyanka
Soundtrack
The films soundtrack contains 8 songs, all composed by M. Jayachandran. Lyrics by S. Ramesan Nair an 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 |
Reception
Deccan Chronicle said, "The scene stealer is undoubtedly the Mumbai girl, young Taruni. Jayasurya’s guest appearance could well have been avoided. The less said the better about the rest of the cast in this film that is neither a horror thriller nor a comedy. Sadly, there is nothing in this film that will keep it from sinking".[1]
The film was a box office success.[2]