4 the People
| 4 the People | |
|---|---|
 DVD Cover | |
| Directed by | Jayaraj |
| Screenplay by | Iqbal Kuttippuram |
| Story by | Jayaraj |
| Produced by | Sabu Cherian |
| Starring | Arun Cherukavil Bharath Arjun Bose Padma Kumar Narain |
| Cinematography | R. D. Rajasekhar |
| Edited by | Anthony |
| Music by | Jassie Gift |
| Distributed by | Johny Sagariga Film Company |
Release date |
|
Running time | 136 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Budget | ₹4 million[1] |
| Box office | ₹30 million[1] |
4 the People is a 2004 Indian Malayalam-language vigilante thriller film directed by Jayaraj and written by Iqbal Kuttippuram from a story by Jayaraj.[2] It stars Arun Cherukavil, Bharath (in his Malayalam debut), Arjun Bose and Padma Kumar in the title roles, along with Narain in supporting role. The plot follows four engineering students who leads a double-life as members of a vigilante group called 4 the People who physically incapacitates corrupt public servants.
The songs were trendsetters and pioneered a new style of composition in Malayalam cinema. 4 the People was a critical and commercial success at the box office and developed a cult following in Malayalam cinema. The film was dubbed in Tamil as 4 Students.[3][4][5] The film was remade in Telugu as Yuvasena (2004). It is followed by two sequels By the People (2005) and Of the People (2008).
Plot
Aravind (Arun), Vivek (Bharath), Eshwar (Arjun Bose) and Shafeek (Padma Kumar) are four engineering students from economically struggling families that were victims of society's corruption in one way or the other. Enraged by various injustices happening around them, the group take the law into their own hands and form the secretive clique called 4 The People that targets corrupt officials. They create an identity for themselves with their attire and mode of operation. They dress up in all black and ride bullet motorcycles. They even set up a website for the public to lodge their complaints.
From the complaints lodged they chose an official and cut their dominant arm to send a message to other officials and expose them in media with relevant evidences that they collect before attacking a target. The group gains a lot of public support and are regarded as heroes. Their actions also lead to government officials refusing to take bribes in fear of someone lodging a complaint against them to 4 The People. Soon, the police are on their track. A young cop Rajan Mathew (Narain) is in hot pursuit of the gang who are now targeting a corrupt minister.
The foursome attempt to kill the minister, but fail. Seeing the brutality of the police, the students come to the support of the foursome. One of the students kills the minister and is joined by three more students. It is concurrently revealed that these four students were benefited from 4 The People's influence in the society. They escape with the help of other students who were present there and forms another vigilante group- a gang of four.
Cast
- Arun Cherukavil as Aravind Sebastian
- Bharath as Vivek
- Arjun Bose as Eeswar Iyer
- Padma Kumar as Shafeek
- Narain as Rajan Mathew IPS (Credited as Sunil Kumar)
- Gopika as Divya Anand
- Pranathi as Teena
- Babu Annur as MP Mahadevan
- Adhitya (Jai) as Rajath Kumar
- Chandra Banu as Suanathan A.C.P.
- Ani as Sidharthan G.I.
- Antony Mathew as Alexander Punnoose D.I.G.
- Unni Shivapal as MP's Son
Soundtrack
| 4 the People | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 27 January 2004[6] | |||
| Recorded | 2003 | |||
| Studio | Pooja Sound, Ernakulam | |||
| Genre | Film soundtrack | |||
| Label | Johny Sagariga T-Series | |||
| Jassie Gift chronology | ||||
| ||||
Soundtrack was composed by Jassie Gift. The songs "Lajjavathiye" and "Annakkili" became popular. Jassie Gift later reused "Lajjavathiye" as "Mandakiniye" for Kannada film Hudugaata.[7] In these songs, Jassie Gift utilised and popularised Rap and Hip-hop in Kerala.[8]
Malayalam
| # | Song | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Lajjavathiye" | Jassie Gift |
| 2 | "Ninte Mizhimuna" | Jassie Gift, Jyotsna, Chorus |
| 3 | "Lokasamastha" | Deepankuran, Jassie Gift |
| 4 | "Annakkili" | Prathap Chandran, Chorus |
| 5 | "For the People" | Farhad, Rama Varma, Chorus |
| 6 | "Lajjavathiye" (Western) | Jassie Gift |
| 7 | "Annakkili" | Jassie Gift, Chorus |
4 Students (Tamil version)
| # | Song | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Lajjavathiye" | Jassie Gift |
| 2 | "Annakkili" | Jassie Gift |
| 3 | "Undhan Vizhimudhal" | Jassie Gift, Jyotsna |
| 4 | "Poovaale Indha" | Harish Raghavendra |
| 5 | "For the People" | Farhad, Rama Varma |
Release
The satellite rights of the film's Tamil dubbed version were sold to Star Vijay.
Sify wrote that "Jayaraj's 4 The People is a trendsetter and a welcome change in the placid superstar driven Malayalam film industry".[9] Nowrunning said that "Though the storyline is wafer-thin, the narration is fast paced and the film is technically brilliant".[10][11]
Box office
It became one among the highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year, grossing ₹3 crore against a budget of ₹40 lakh.[1]
References
- ^ a b c "Year 2004 — a flashback". The Hindu. 31 December 2004. Archived from the original on 26 August 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
- ^ "For the People". Sify. Archived from the original on 24 April 2022.
- ^ "4 Students review. 4 Students Tamil movie review, story, rating - IndiaGlitz.com".
- ^ "4 Students". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 15 October 2006. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
- ^ "BizHat.com - 4 Students Review. Bharath, Gopika, Pranathi, Arun, Padmakumar, Arjun, Taarika, Sunil". movies.bizhat.com. Archived from the original on 9 March 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
- ^ "Audio CD". AVDigital. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- ^ Vijayasarathy, R. G. (11 June 2007). "Hudugaata: Only for Ganesh fans". Rediff.
- ^ "Rapper's delight". 3 April 2019.
- ^ "4 the People". Sify. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018.
- ^ "4 the People Review | 4 the People Malayalam Movie Review by NR". March 2004.
- ^ "4 the people Movie review Webindia123.com". webindia123.
External links
- 4 the People at IMDb