Chanakyan (1989) User Reviews (6)

Revenge- Kamal Hassan style

[chanakya666 · 9/10 · 27 May 2005]

The plot of the movie is quite familiar : the poor man meets rich girl ..rich girl falls in love.. poor man says no ....rich girl nags on .. poor man agrees... and evil father-in-law makes life miserable for poor man.But don't let that stop you from watching the movie - it is refreshingly interesting.That is mainly because of the trio of Kamal Hassan,Thilakan and Jayaram. They fit in so well into their roles as if they were born into them. Kamal Hassan puts up an extremely brilliant performance , both as Johnson the unemployed church choir violinist and as Johnson the intelligent avenger who weaves the web around his enemy with infinite accuracy.Thilakan too puts up a great show as MadhavaMenon, the chief minister of Kerala(!)whose daughter Renu(Urmila) is in love with Johnson.He takes every trick in the book to make Johnson leave his daughter alone but as they say Love is blind ( ..and silly) and so he goes for the extreme measure .He ruins Johnson's family .. makes them commit suicide and leaves a very battered Johnson to rot in a railway track. Johnson gets a double shock as he learns that Renu committed suicide.

What does he do? Unlike the ordinary hero who would either drink and die or takes up an axe to hack the villain,he decides to ruin MadhavaMenon's life slowly and steadily.He uses Jayaram to mimic Mr Menon's voice and switches his election campaign ... first on radio and then on TV .. then he makes huge withdrawals from banks from the CM's fund ... and finally traps the CM in a nail biting climax. Jayaram's love interests and Madhu as the investigating officer consist the further part of the movie. The movie Chanakyan also introduces Urmila Matonkar into filmdom but she doesn't have much to do except look pretty.

And of course there is that theme music that follows Kamal Hassan around as he goes on in search of his prey.The music is simply scintillating and it makes you feel so very involved in the film. Mohan Sithara can take credit for that.

Overall it is a good bet if you are interested in a good revenge-seeker film and I give it a 9/10 ( the one point taken of due to the excessive dosage of drama) and be sure to watch it on a stormy Saturday evening..

Ahead of its time

[Shadowking1001 · 8/10 · 18 October 2021]

This is a well thought out story that is superbly done considering when this movie was actually made. As usual, Haasan shows himself to be a creative and pioneering artist, while once again, delivering an outstanding performance.

Gripping thriller

[you_can_do_it · 10/10 · 30 May 2007]

Fantastic movie! One of the most different revenge movies made in India. Normally, the protagonist makes use of his brawns, rather than brains to avenge the villains. Kamal himself has acted in a dozen action thrillers of the same type. But Chanakyan is a mind blowing film which handles 'revenge' in an extremely different way. Kamal, Jayaram and Thilagan have given a knock out performance. Urmila Matongkar looks gorgeous.

Years after his family gets massacred by a politician, Johnson returns with a masterplan to destroy his him. The only difficulty is - his enemy is none other than the Chief minister of Kerala! Revealing more of the story isn't good...So guys, get the DVD and watch it!

Brilliant Film

[rejath · 10/10 · 6 March 2011]

One of the best thrillers of Indian cinema. Thats Chanakyan.Its an absolutely brilliant film. Backed by a fantastic screenplay & scintillating performances,Chanakyan is a must watch. It's a treat to watch Kamal Haasan & Thilakan perform. The film features one of the best climax ever. One of the major highlights of the film is it's background score by Mohan Sithara, which is truly exceptional. Hats off to the captain of the film T.K.Rajeev Kumar.The most shocking aspect of this film is that the producer Navodaya Appachan incurred losses owing to the origin of cassette piracy when it released.I don't mind watching this film a hundred times. It's an evergreen film which proves to be a spine chilling thriller every time you watch it !

Excellent piece of film-making

[superhitmaker · 10/10 · 20 December 2007]

This movie, dear readers, is simply an undiscovered gem. India is not known for making thrillers. The songs, dances and the melodrama combined with the poor shot-taking make our thrillers lifeless, boring and above all quite an embarrassing watch. Chanakyan, however, is something quite different. Written by Saab John and produced by the (undiscovered genius) Jojo, Chanakyan is a textbook on how to make compelling thrillers. The premise is simply brilliant. A man takes revenge on the top politician by using the services of a mimicry artist. On first glance when you read it, I am sure, it would seem ridiculous. But so do the premises of major Hollywood blockbusters. It is in the execution and crafting of the premise that the film distinguishes itself. I will not spoil the fun by revealing how it all turns out but please do watch this for its brilliance. The theme music by Mohan Sitara is simply awesome.

A thriller first of its kind.

[garlin86 · 10/10 · 4 March 2014]

'Chanakyan' has a significant relevance in Malayalam cinema and may be in Indian cinema too. It is a revenge story and first of its kind. The cinema not only reveals the acting perfection of Kamal Hassan and Thilakan but also shows how technology can be used to deceive a whole state. The film came when TV was becoming popular as a household device and Doordarshan was a strange and astonishing entertainment medium to the common people. The film boasts of using technological experiments in the content of the story which one can hardly think at that time. T.K.Rajeev Kumar surprised everyone with this film. Urmila Mandotkar made debut in malayalam with this film. Jayaram also gave a good performance.