Urumi (film)

Urumi (Malayalam: ഉറുമി) is a 2011 epic Indian historical drama film directed, filmed and co-produced by Santosh Sivan and written by Shankar Ramakrishnan. It stars Prithviraj Sukumaran, Prabhu Deva, Genelia D'Souza, Amol Gupte, Jagathy Sreekumar, Nithya Menon, and Alexx O'Nell in lead roles and features Tabu, Arya and Vidya Balan in extended cameos. The soundtrack includes songs composed by Deepak Dev.

The film is set in the early 16th century, when Portuguese sailors dominated the Indian ocean. The story follows Chirakkal Kelu (Prithviraj), seeking to avenge the death of his father at the hands of the sailors, and his cohorts Vavvali of Nagapattinam (Prabhu Deva), princess Ayesha of Arackel (Genelia D'Souza) and princess Bala of Chirakkal (Nithya Menon). The plot incorporates the intrigues of the Chirakkal Royal House, where Kelu serves as Commander-in-Chief, and the assassination of prince Bhanu Vikraman (Ankur Khanna). The plot also incorporates such actual historical figures as Estêvão da Gama, Vasco da Gama and Chenichery Kurup.

Urumi

The urumi (Malayalam: ഉറുമി urumi; Sinhalese: එතුණු කඩුව ethunu kaduwa; Hindi: aara; Tamil: சுருள் பட்டாக்கத்தி surul pattakahthi, lit. curling blade) is a sword with a flexible whip-like blade from India. Originating in what are now southern India and Sri Lanka, it is thought to have existed as far back as the Maurya dynasty. It is considered one of the most difficult weapons to master due to the risk of injuring oneself. It is treated as a steel whip, and therefore requires prior knowledge of that weapon. For this reason, the urumi is always taught last in Indian martial arts.

Term

The word urumi is of north Keralan origin. In the state's southern region it is more commonly called a chuttuval, from the words for coiling or spinning (chuttu) and sword (vaal). Alternative Tamil names for the weapon are surul val (curling sword) and surul katti (curling knife).

Anatomy

The urumi hilt is constructed from iron or brass and is identical to that of the talwar, complete with a crossguard and frequently a slender knucklebow. The typical handle is termed a "disc hilt" from the prominent disc-shaped flange surrounding the pommel. The pommel often has a short decorative spike-like protrusion projecting from its centre. The blade is fashioned from flexible edged steel measuring three-quarters to one inch in width. Ideally it should be the same as the wielder's armspan, usually between 4 feet to 5.5 feet. Multiple blades are often attached to a single handle. The Sri Lankan variation can have up to 32 blades and is typically dual-wielded, with one in each hand.

Film

A film, also called a movie, motion picture or photoplay, is a series of still images which, when shown on a screen, creates the illusion of moving images due to the phi phenomenon. This optical illusion causes the audience to perceive continuous motion between separate objects viewed rapidly in succession. A film is created by photographing actual scenes with a motion picture camera; by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques; by means of CGI and computer animation; or by a combination of some or all of these techniques and other visual effects. The word "cinema", short for cinematography, is often used to refer to the industry of films and filmmaking or to the art of filmmaking itself. The contemporary definition of cinema is the art of simulating experiences to communicate ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty or atmosphere by the means of recorded or programmed moving images along with other sensory stimulations.

The process of filmmaking is both an art and an industry.

Prabhu Deva

Prabhu Deva Prasad Sundaram (born 3 April 1970) known simply as Prabhu Deva is an Indian film director, dance choreographer and actor, who has worked in Tamil, Telugu, Bollywood, Malayalam and Kannada films. In a career spanning twenty-five years, he has performed and designed a wide range of dancing style and has garnered two National Film Awards for Best Choreography.

Beginning with a series of acting roles in the 1990s and early 2000s, Prabhu Deva featured in several commercially successful films including Kadhalan (1994), Minsara Kanavu (1997) and VIP (1997). After further critically acclaimed performances in the comedy Kaathala Kaathala (1998) and the family drama Vanathai Pola (2000), Deva then failed to recreate the success of his earlier films and his box office value began to decline and he subsequently made appearances in supporting roles and low budget Telugu language films. He then successfully ventured into direction with the 2005 Telugu film Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana, and the success of the project prompted further offers for Deva as a director. He then went on to make highly profitable films in Telugu, Hindi and Tamil languages such as Pokkiri (2007), Wanted (2009), Rowdy Rathore (2012) and Singh is Bling (2015).

Nithya Menen

Nithya Menen is an Indian film actress and playback singer. She has acted in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada language films, as well as an English film.

Early life

Nithya Menen was born in Bengaluru, Karnataka to a Malayali family and studied journalism at the Manipal Institute of Communication. She once said in an interview that she never wished to become an actress but a journalist, as she was "an idealist", but felt journalism was "not what it used to be". She then decided to become a filmmaker as she could express her ideas "better through films", and enrolled for a course in cinematography at the FTII Pune. During the entrance examination, she met Nandini Reddy, who "brainwashed" and convinced her to take up acting. Vamshidhar Reddy would later turn director and sign Nithya for the lead female role in her first project.

Career

Menen appeared first on screen as a child artist when she was ten in the Indian English language film, The Monkey Who Knew Too Much (1998), playing the younger sister to Tabu's character. The 2008 off-beat film Aakasha Gopuram, directed by National Film Award-winning director K. P. Kumaran, marked her debut in a leading role, in which she was paired with Mohanlal. She was in the midst of her 12th class exams when she was offered the role, after Mohanlal had spotted her on the front cover of a tourism magazine, Stark World Kerala. Her performance was well received, with critics writing that she shows "sparkle in her debut venture" and "makes her entry in an impressive role", though the film, based on the Norwegian play The Master Builder, got mixed reviews and was a financial failure. She next made her Kannada debut with the film Josh. She played a supporting role in the film, which received rave reviews, and became a commercial success as well, with her performance garnering her a nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category at the 57th Filmfare Awards South.