Yodha (1992 film)

Yodha
CD cover
Malayalam	യോദ്ധ
Directed by	Sangeeth Sivan
Produced by	Saga Films
Screenplay by	Sasidharan Arattuvazhi
Story by	Sangeeth Sivan
Starring	Mohanlal Madhoo Siddharth Lama Jagathy Sreekumar Puneet Issar Urvashi
Music by	A. R. Rahman
Cinematography	Santosh Sivan
Edited by	A. Sreekar Prasad
Production company	Saga Films
Distributed by	Saga Films
Release date	3 September 1992 (1992-09-03)
Running time	149 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Yodha (theatrical release name: Yoddha; pronounced yōddha) is a 1992 Malayalam sword & sorcery film scripted by Sasidharan Arattuvazhi and directed by Sangeeth Sivan. The film stars Mohanlal, who plays Thaiparambil Ashokan, the saviour destined to rescue the Rimpoche of a Nepalese Buddhist monastery from practitioners of black magic. The score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman.

In an unknown location in the Nepalese Himalayas, a young monk (played by Siddharth) is about to be crowned the Rinpoche of the monastery, when a gang of black magicians led by an unnamed character (played by Puneet Issar) kidnap him. It is revealed that the leader of the black magicians wishes to make a human sacrifice of the Rinpoche to attain invincibility. The other monks in the monastery understand that the Rinpoche's saviour will arrive from across the Himalayas to rescue him from the clutches of the black magicians. In the meantime, the young Rinpoche manages to escape from the clutches of the magicians and runs away to Kathmandu.

At the other end of the subcontinent, in a small village in Kerala, Ashokan (Mohanlal) is an unemployed youth who, with the other members of his club, whiles his time away competing with his cousin Appukuttan (Jagathi Sreekumar) and his club in a series of trivial competitions. Appukuttan finds himself on the losing side every time, adding to his insecurity complex, which leads him to suspect Ashokan of having an affair with his (Appukuttan's) fiancée Damayanti (played by Urvashi).

When an astrologer predicts to his mother, Sumathi (played by Sukumari), that Ashokan is likely to commit a murder if he remains in Kerala, Ashokan is bundled away to Nepal to stay with his uncle Captain (retired) Krishnankutty Menon (M. S. Thripunithura), whom he hasn't met since childhood. Unbeknownst to Ashokan, Appukuttan flies to Nepal beforehand and establishes himself in Krishanankutty Menon's (Kutty Mama) house, masquerading as Ashokan. Ashokan is cast out onto the streets of Kathmandu, where he meets the Rimpoche and forms a friendship with the young lad. Appukuttan attempts to connive his way into marrying Kutty Mama's daughter, Ashwati (Madhoo) — a researcher into Nepalese traditions and black magic at a university in Kathmandu. But Ashokan, with the Rimpoche's assistance, manages to cast doubt into the mind of Kutty Mama and win over Ashwati.