User reviews

One of my all time favourites and a truly magnificent movie. Great casting,sets,costumes,cinematography,music & innovative direction by Hariharan. MT Vasudevan Nair has worked wonders with the script & dialogues. It can be said that he successfully re-wrote history by turning "chadiyan chandu" of kerala folklore into a modern day hero. The portayal of Chandu by Mammootty was so complete that its his face that comes to mind whenever one reads about this historical character in story books or academic texts. Captain Raju too, arguably played the role of his life as "Aringodar". The kalari payat scenes have been beautifully picturised and appear very realistic. And ofcourse the two songs by Yesudas have become perennial favourites. I don't think there's anything about this movie that can termed even remotely negative. The copyright holders should urgently think of releasing this film on DVD. It would be a great tribute to one of the best movies ever made in India.

One of the greatest film in the history of Indian cinema. Mammooty lived as the "chathiyan Chanthu". A must watch.

This film made the Malayalam industry proud. One of the best performance by Mammootty. Story-wise and direction are extraordinary.

Historical Dailoge delivary Direction Songs Fight All good.

I tried finding a DVD copy of this film but was unsuccessful. i highly suggest that the producers of this movie decide to remaster the video and audio for future generations. the copy of it that I saw was a very grainy print on VHS, which unfortunately is how most people watch the movie for the first time. its strange how fast the technical quality of movie prints in India have been improving in recent years. Malayalam cinema is always a few years behind obviously, but i wish that current technology were available in the late 1980s in Kerala. This is not the sort of movie that can be re-made. i am all but certain that the spirit would be ruined. The last thing i want to see is some scrawny lad doing hong kong kung fu in the kalari. there is no perfect movie, but this comes close. when a story manages to upturn legend, bond us with a silent hero, and entertain us along the way, it has done its job and then some. i wish there were more like this.

The Cult Classic Epic Saga of an Antagonist from Kerala Folklore twisting him to a Modern day Hero !

This Movie made in 1989 with a budget of 3 Crore Rupees (the most expensive movie in Malayalam at that period) was no less than a Magnum Opus with powerful script from legendary M. T. Vasudevan Nair , Directorial Expertise from Hariharan and a National Award Winning Sterling Performance from Mammootty as Chathiyan Chandhu.

Mammookka.. What an inspiration to youth actors.... Awesome movie. . Waiting to see again mammookka in this role..... MT Vasudevan Nair as always inspires us. .

When We take top 3 movies in Mollywood. One will be Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha. Best Historic movie in the history of Mollywood.

Actors and directors is very good Dailoge delivery is very good.

Terrific movie & one of my all time favourites. Everything about this movie is in superlatives. Great sets, casting, cinematography, music etc. M.T.Vasudevan Nair has worked wonders with the script & dialogues, and direction by Hariharan is innovative. Mammootty's portrayal of the central character "Chandu" was so realistic that whenever one reads or talks about this historical character from the Northern ballads,it's Mammootty who springs to mind. Captain Raju too did a great job as the much misunderstood martial arts Guru "Aringodar". In fact, there were fantastic performances all around -Balan K.Nair, Suresh Gopi, Madhavi, each one of them "lived" their characters. Another lasting factor of this film are the two songs by Yesudas which have become perennial favourites. I hope the copyright holders of this movie will urgently start working on its DVD version. It would be a great tribute to one of the best movies ever made in India.

Best movie from malayalam. Must watch it. Mammootty is superb.

The film is based on a legend about the Chekavar warriors.An alternative version of epic battle between two legendary Chekavar's through villain's perspective.

The film is set in 16th-century northern Kerala. The plot unfolds at Puthooram, the house of great Kannappan Chekavar (Balan K. Nair). Kannappan Chekavar adopts the son of his estranged sister when the boy loses both his parents and brings him to Puthooram to live and learn with his cousins. The orphan boy, Chandu, a quick learner, earns the love and admiration of his uncle, while he is loathed by his cousin Aromal (Suresh Gopi).

Nearly 35 years since it's original release, I happened to catch this Award winning classic on the big screen during it's re-release. I am not familiar with the folk tale itself with just an information about how the writer M. T. Vasudevan Nair re-imagined it from Chandu Chekavar's pov. The beauty lies in how well the writing allows each of the main characters to flourish without compromising on them to glorify the misunderstood warrior.

The sword fighting duels stood out and the action choreography need to be lauded. Back to the character arcs, starting with Chandu himself, director Hariharan captures his plight when Chandu is denied a simple deserving praise right from his childhood and how he continues to be the one on the losing end, no matter how many battles he wins. Be it appeasing his guru to losing the one he loved as well as the women who loved him. Mammootty excelled in his role of Chandu.

The other stand out performance was from Madhavi as Unniyarcha and she does betray but the writing also highlights her predicament where she had the right to safeguard herself, which in a way justifies her betrayal. Similarly Suresh Gopi's Aromal who is blinded by his jealousy towards Chandu, going to any extent to hurt him, yet the character doesn't remain one toned. He is arrogant but he is still the proud heir. I liked how each of the characters played out in it's tragic tale of a warrior, reshaping his life and forcing him to live it. This is exactly why the climax works strongly. Kudos to the writing that made this film still relevant after 35 years.

Well created... Nice story..... Megastar mammootty done well.......🔥🔥🔥

Legendary MT vasudevan nair has rewritten the sung story from a different angle. Only a genius can write it with such perfection and convincing. And Hariharan has picturized the masterpiece script to screen with utmost perfection. Everything he could get for this film was best in its way whether its actors, music, camera, visuals, songs etc. And last but not least...Extra ordinary acting by Mammootty. A script with such a literature content...dialogues which should have its own presentation style...strong emotional content of the character... Mammootty has done all this flawlessly with cent percent perfection which made him eligible for a national award for best actor.

Truly a classic which will remain as a pride of malayalam cinema for ever.

Mollywood is awesome. Other industries can't even dare to touch the films they are making.

Historical move Direction Actors Creation fight all good.

A must watch movie from Malyalam. What an Actor Mammootty sir. Just ruled the entire movie.

Direction Script Dailogs Screen prasence Songs Fights all good.

World classic every cinema lover should watch this.. Must watch

Megastar mammootty excellent..

excellent movie... highly recommended. the acting of bharath mammotty is excellent. The best part of this movie goes to its screenplay which was done by award winner M T. The music in this film was a great hit. This is one of the best movies in Malayalam. This is a historical story which portraying the life of chanthu in a different way. in history chanthu was accused of being a cheater, but here he is the protagonist. this film had a great twist at the end. Overall this is the one the best Indian movies which bagged several national awards.through this movie the director made a benchmark in historical film making. the fighting scenes also superb.

Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha / A Northern Story Of Valor (1988) :

An Absolute Masterpiece Crafting of Historical Epic. Traditional Cinema at its Finest. No matter how much people and critics shout about parallel cinema, new wave cinema, experimental cinema and path-breaking cinema, this traditional cinema will always be the bestest. There is no other magic like this. I don't understand Malyalam language but first two minutes into the film, and i was hooked. A melodious song appears in the start telling a past story and while reading the subtitles I was into it. Right this moment i knew that there's is no escape for me for next two and half hours. What a great piece of writing it is. The film offers an alternative version of the fight between two legendary Chekavars from Chanthu's perspective. It is a reinterpretation of Chandu's life and depicts him as an unlucky and misunderstood but ultimately honourable man rather than the traitorous character as known in folklore. I don't know the history so i'd better stay away from arguments of historical accuracy but whatever i have seen in 160 minutes has simply won my heart. I always believe that such great historical tales only needs to be told in correct manners and then there's no stopping to it. Look at Maya Bazaar and Mughal E Azam. Who hates these films? And who can ever forget these films? Today i am adding 3rd one in my list and that's Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha. People can go mad about commerical potboilers like Magadheera and Bahubali but for me they are nowhere close these masterpiece films. Four unforgettable things about this film are- Mammootty's performance, terrific writing of conflicts, Immortal Music and Hariharan's Direction. Hands down, no words. This is a textbook on historical genre. Watch it to learn and understand why traditional cinema will always have its head above anything else. In short, One of the Greatest Film of the 80s Decade.

RATING - 9/10*

By - #samthebestest.

What an excellent historical ever green movie, all time blockbuster 🔥🔥movie story, acting legend mammootty(mammookka)sir & others no words!!excellent screen play brilliant director hariharan Sir, & mt vasudevan nair writing is outstanding!! Don't miss it😍

What a movie & excellent in every portion amazing work acting🔥 direction 🔥 script writing 🔥🙏❤

Greatest historical movie, no.1 historical movie in malayalam 💯. Any malayalees can can't miss this movies .