Yoddha

Sangeeth Sivan's 1992 Malayalam film follows an unemployed young man swept from Kerala to Nepal who has to protect a young Lama pursued by a dangerous cult. The film mixes comedy, action and the supernatural, a combination that was unusual for Malayalam cinema at the time. Mohanlal's performance gives the film its humour by writing the hero as reluctant and inept; his relationship with the child actor Siddharth Lama is at the centre of the story. The music, an early work by A. R. Rahman, is what the film is most remembered for. Shooting in Nepal gives it a real sense of place. The villain is thinly written and the final section is rushed. Who it's for: viewers who like nineties Malayalam cinema and adventure comedy. Who it's not for: anyone wanting consistent genre construction, or who will find the supernatural elements excessive.