Chathurangam (transl. Chess) is a 2002 Indian Malayalam-language political action drama film directed by K. Madhu and written by Babu Janardhanan. It stars Mohanlal, Lalu Alex, Nagma and Navya Nair. The soundtrack was composed by M. G. Sreekumar and Shyam. The plot follows Attiprackal Jimmy, a politician who aspires to become an MLA with the support of minister Kora. The film was released on 20 December 2002 and was the most anticipated Christmas release. Despite the hype, the movie failed commercially. The main reason cited for the failure was the existing Narasimham (2000) hangover and the audience couldn't relate to Mohanlal donning the life of a common politician. Over the years, the movie has attained a cult status and is still widely watched in television.
Chathurangam (2002 film)
Mohanlal Viswanathan is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam film industry besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Mohanlal has a prolific career spanning over four decades, during which he has acted in more than 400 films. Mohanlal's contributions to the Malayalam cinema have been praised by his contemporaries in the Indian film industry. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri in 2001, and Padma Bhushan in 2019, India's fourth and third highest civilian honours, for his contributions to Indian cinema. In 2009, he became the first actor in India to be awarded the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel in the Territorial Army. Mohanlal was named as one of "the men who changed the face of the Indian Cinema" by CNN-News18.
Mohanlal in 2015
Mohanlal and Madhu at AMMA General Body meeting, 2008
Mohanlal with Amitabh Bachchan
Mohanlal at the 17th International Film Festival of Kerala in 2012