Veeraputhran is a 2011 Malayalam historical film directed by P. T. Kunju Muhammed

P. T. Kunju Muhammed

P. T. Kunju Muhammed is a noted director and producer in Malayalam parallel film industry. Magrib was his first film venture. He received a number of awards for his movies at the state level...

 based on a story written by N. P. Mohammed

N. P. Mohammed

N. P. Mohammed , popularly known by his initials N.P., was a well known Malayalam novelist and short story writer from Kerala state, South India. He, along with his contemporaries like M. T. Vasudevan Nair, O. V. Vijayan, Kakkanadan, and Kamala Das ushered in a modernist movement in Malayalam...

, which is based on the life of freedom fighter Mohammed Abdul Rahiman

Mohammed Abdul Rahiman

Muhammad Abdur Rahiman was a Muslim politician from Kerala, India and a leader of the Khilafat Movement. He was born at Azhikode, Ernakulam, Kodungallur in 1898, in the Kingdom of Cochin, India. Abdul Rahiman Sahib was an orator and writer.-Education:His Primary education was from Veniyambadi and...

 (1898 – 1945). The film focuses mainly on the revolutions in Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 during British Rule against the British Kingdom. The film has Narain

Narain (actor)

Narain is an Indian film actor, who appears in Malayalam and Tamil films.- Personal life:Narain was born in Thrissur, Kerala to Malayali parents. His father is Ponnani Kizhakke Kalathil T.M.Ramakrishnan Nair and his mother is Shantha Nair...

 as Mohammed Abdul Rahiman and Raima Sen

Raima Sen

-Early life:She is the daughter of Moon Moon Sen and the granddaughter of legendary actress Suchitra Sen. Her sister, Riya Sen, is also in the Bollywood industry. Their father Bharat Dev Varma is a member of the royal family of Tripura. Her paternal grandmother, Ila Devi, was the princess of Cooch...

 as Rahiman's wife Kunhi Beevathu. The cast also includes Lakshmi Gopalaswamy

Lakshmi Gopalaswamy

Lakshmi Gopalaswamy is a South Indian film actress and a classical dancer, qualified in Bharatanatyam. She has acted in several Malayalam, Tamil, and Kannada films. Her debut Malayalam film Arayannangalude Veedu alongside Mammootty won her the Kerala State Film Award for the best supporting actress...

, Siddique

Siddique (actor)

Siddique is a Malayalam film actor, producer, and television compere. He started his film career doing comedy roles and later performed in a variety of roles.-Early career:...

, Kalabhavan Mani

Kalabhavan Mani

Kalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious...

, Sai Kumar, Devan

Devan (actor)

Devan is an Indian film actor and politician. He started his film career as the producer of the technically brilliant, but box-office flop movie Vellam and then opted to become an actor. Devan is known for his handling of serious roles, though he started his career with supporting roles...

, Valsala Menon, and Sajitha Madathil.

Plot

The film is about the eventful history of Malabar

Malabar District

Malabar District was an administrative district of Madras Presidency in British India and independent India's Madras State. The British district included the present-day districts of Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, Palakkad , and Chavakad Taluk of Thrissur District in the northern part of...

 during India's independence struggle

Indian independence movement

The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...

. The film primarily focusses on the life of Mohammed Abdul Rahiman

Mohammed Abdul Rahiman

Muhammad Abdur Rahiman was a Muslim politician from Kerala, India and a leader of the Khilafat Movement. He was born at Azhikode, Ernakulam, Kodungallur in 1898, in the Kingdom of Cochin, India. Abdul Rahiman Sahib was an orator and writer.-Education:His Primary education was from Veniyambadi and...

, a frontline freedom fighter and Congress

Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...

 leader, known for leading the Khilafat Movement

Khilafat Movement

The Khilafat movement was a pan-Islamic, political campaign launched by Muslims in British India to influence the British government and to protect the Ottoman Empire during the aftermath of World War I...

.. It covers the period in Malabar history starting with the arrival of Abdul Rahiman in Kerala at the age of 23, after discontinuing his education in Aligarh

Aligarh Muslim University

Aligarh Muslim University ,is a residential academic university, established in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Mohammedan Angelo-Oriental College and later granted the status of Central University by an Act of the Indian Parliament in 1920...

, up to his demise in 1945. The story travels through Rahiman Sahib's desperate failure in the election of 1934, the thrilling win that reclaims his position in the election of 1937, and the departure of his soul mate, whose wardrobe he carries with him as an un-detachable remembrance.

Cast

• Narain
  Narain (actor)
  Narain is an Indian film actor, who appears in Malayalam and Tamil films.- Personal life:Narain was born in Thrissur, Kerala to Malayali parents. His father is Ponnani Kizhakke Kalathil T.M.Ramakrishnan Nair and his mother is Shantha Nair...
  
   as Mohammed Abdul Rahiman
  Mohammed Abdul Rahiman
  Muhammad Abdur Rahiman was a Muslim politician from Kerala, India and a leader of the Khilafat Movement. He was born at Azhikode, Ernakulam, Kodungallur in 1898, in the Kingdom of Cochin, India. Abdul Rahiman Sahib was an orator and writer.-Education:His Primary education was from Veniyambadi and...
  
  
• Sarathkumar  as Vimal Menon
• Raima Sen
  Raima Sen
  -Early life:She is the daughter of Moon Moon Sen and the granddaughter of legendary actress Suchitra Sen. Her sister, Riya Sen, is also in the Bollywood industry. Their father Bharat Dev Varma is a member of the royal family of Tripura. Her paternal grandmother, Ila Devi, was the princess of Cooch...
  
   as Kunhi Beevathu
• Lakshmi Gopalaswamy
  Lakshmi Gopalaswamy
  Lakshmi Gopalaswamy is a South Indian film actress and a classical dancer, qualified in Bharatanatyam. She has acted in several Malayalam, Tamil, and Kannada films. Her debut Malayalam film Arayannangalude Veedu alongside Mammootty won her the Kerala State Film Award for the best supporting actress...
  
  
• Siddique
  Siddique (actor)
  Siddique is a Malayalam film actor, producer, and television compere. He started his film career doing comedy roles and later performed in a variety of roles.-Early career:...
  
  
• Kalabhavan Mani
  Kalabhavan Mani
  Kalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious...
  
  
• Sai Kumar
• Devan
  Devan (actor)
  Devan is an Indian film actor and politician. He started his film career as the producer of the technically brilliant, but box-office flop movie Vellam and then opted to become an actor. Devan is known for his handling of serious roles, though he started his career with supporting roles...
  
  
• Valsala Menon
• Sajitha Madathil

Production

When asked why did he make a film on Rahiman Sahib, the director said, "Mohammed Abdu Rahman Sahib has the kind of persona that can be approached by an artist. I thought that even in the current scenario, the politics of those days is significant. I also wanted to remind viewers about the struggles of those times."

The shooting of Veeraputhran started at Kamakkantakam Tharavad at Parappil in Kozhikode

Kozhikode

Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...

 on 9 May 2011.

Leading actors as well as newcomers play the 150-odd characters of the film. Narain

Narain (actor)

Narain is an Indian film actor, who appears in Malayalam and Tamil films.- Personal life:Narain was born in Thrissur, Kerala to Malayali parents. His father is Ponnani Kizhakke Kalathil T.M.Ramakrishnan Nair and his mother is Shantha Nair...

 plays Mohammed Abdul Rahiman

Mohammed Abdul Rahiman

Muhammad Abdur Rahiman was a Muslim politician from Kerala, India and a leader of the Khilafat Movement. He was born at Azhikode, Ernakulam, Kodungallur in 1898, in the Kingdom of Cochin, India. Abdul Rahiman Sahib was an orator and writer.-Education:His Primary education was from Veniyambadi and...

 and Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

 actor Raima Sen

Raima Sen

-Early life:She is the daughter of Moon Moon Sen and the granddaughter of legendary actress Suchitra Sen. Her sister, Riya Sen, is also in the Bollywood industry. Their father Bharat Dev Varma is a member of the royal family of Tripura. Her paternal grandmother, Ila Devi, was the princess of Cooch...

 makes her Malayalam debut with the role of Kunhi Beevathu, Abdul Rahman's wife. Prithviraj

Prithviraj Sukumaran

Prithviraj Sukumaran credited mononymously as Prithviraj, is an Indian film actor and producer best known for his work in Malayalam cinema....

 was originally cast to play the role of Abdul Rahiman but since he could not allot bulk dates for the film, he was replaced by Narain. The director says, "Yes, I had matched pictures of him with Mohammed Abdu Rahman Sahib and I waited for him for a while. When it wasn't happening, Narain was cast instead. I believe that Prithviraj did not lose anything by not doing my film and I didn't lose anything either by not casting him." About his preparations, Narain says, "Although there is a lot of literature about Abdul Rahman, there are practically no visuals. I had to create the character, based on the memories of a very old person who had interacted with him." The cast also includes Lakshmi Gopalaswamy

Lakshmi Gopalaswamy

Lakshmi Gopalaswamy is a South Indian film actress and a classical dancer, qualified in Bharatanatyam. She has acted in several Malayalam, Tamil, and Kannada films. Her debut Malayalam film Arayannangalude Veedu alongside Mammootty won her the Kerala State Film Award for the best supporting actress...

, Siddique

Siddique (actor)

Siddique is a Malayalam film actor, producer, and television compere. He started his film career doing comedy roles and later performed in a variety of roles.-Early career:...

, Kalabhavan Mani

Kalabhavan Mani

Kalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious...

, Sai Kumar, Devan

Devan (actor)

Devan is an Indian film actor and politician. He started his film career as the producer of the technically brilliant, but box-office flop movie Vellam and then opted to become an actor. Devan is known for his handling of serious roles, though he started his career with supporting roles...

, Valsala Menon, and Sajitha Madathil.

Controversies

Veeraputhran was accused of giving indications that Mohammed Abdul Rahiman was poisoned to death while official history states that he had a natural death. Writer Hameed Chennamangalur, from whose ancestral family house Rahman Sahib had his last dinner and later collapsed at a nearby market, said the insinuation in the film that his food was poisoned "not only distorts history but defames my ancestors." Asked about the row, director P. T. Kunju Muhammed told that he had not tried to distort history in the movie. "History is not a monopoly of anyone and there can be different interpretations. I have conducted an investigation in my own style by eliciting views of eminent historians and the local people," he said.

Critical reception

The film opened to much positive critical reviews. Keerthy Ramachandran of Deccan Chronicle rated the film and called it a "promising historical work of art." Paresh C Palicha of Rediff said, "Veeraputhran may have been made with noble intentions, but it lacks the emotional resonance of the director's previous works." he gave the movie a rating of . Almost all reviewers were unanimous in praising Narain's performance as Mohammed Abdul Rahiman Sahib.