Commissioner is a 1994 Indian Malayalam-language actioncrime thriller film directed by Shaji Kailas, written by Ranji Panicker, and produced by M. Mani. It stars Suresh Gopi as Police Commissioner Bharath Chandran IPS, and also features Ratheesh, Shobana, Vijayaraghavan, M. G. Soman, Rajan P. Dev, K. B. Ganesh Kumar, N. F. Varghese, Karamana Janardanan Nair, and Maniyanpilla Raju in pivotal roles. The background score was composed by Rajamani. The film follows Commissioner Bharath Chandran's investigation into the murder of Justice Mahendran, which eventually leads him to confront the corrupt Mohan Thomas, a Delhi-based businessman who is involved with illegal businesses such as money laundering, illegal drug trade, and counterfeit money operations. Commissioner was a major commercial success. It is a cult film among Keralite audiences. The Telugu dubbed version Police Commissioner was a major commercial success. The sequel Bharath Chandran I.P.S. was released in 2005, directed by Ranji Panicker. In 2012, a crossover film The King & the Commissioner, with the characters from The King, Commissioner and Bharath Chandran I.P.S. was released. But it was mainly panned by critics and audiences alike.
Plot
The movie opens with Kozhikode city police commissioner Bharathchandran, an honest but brash cop, busting a gold smuggling racket in. Bharath clearly has an issue with authority and breaths fire each time he encounters a political arm bender, such as Kunju Moideen Sahib, whose gang was involved in the bust. But it his mentor and guardian angel I.G. Balachandran, who has been evidently shielding him from the wrath of the political brass. The story takes a break from Bharathchandran to introduce the main antagonist Mohan Thomas, a Delhi based business tycoon, with strong political clout and a clear sociopathic agenda. It is revealed that Mohan Thomas had entrusted Sahib with the gold, which was confiscated by Bharathchandran and is in fact the kingpin heading an unholy nexus of politicians, criminals and various officials including two high ranking cops, Rajan Felix, I.G. Vigilance and Menon, A.I.G. , who are involved in criminal activities like instigating communal riots and large scale distribution of counterfeit currency. Bharathchandran and Mohan Thomas are set on a collision course when Mohan and Co. brutally murder Justice Mahendran, chairman of the Poovanthura commission, possessing evidence that could potentially incriminate Rajan Felix and Menon, for their direct involvement in communal riots at Poovanthura. Bharathchandran is not only assigned to investigate the homicide but also made police commissioner of Thiruvananthapuram city. Assisted by ASP Prasad Menon and ASP Mohammed Iqbal, two dynamic but brash officers, Bharathchandran tries to solve the mystery, but soon to hit a dead-end. Until Bharathchandran's fiancée Indu, who is also a lawyer, tips him off about the news clip on an assault on a drunk police constable Gopinathan, a trade union leader, tipoff, that Sahib had actually attacked Gopinath because of Gopinath's comment on counterfeit currency. With this vital clue Bharathchandran unearths more dirt on Mohan Thomas & Co. Further Bharathchandran arrests Srilatha Varma, Mohan's legal advisor and mistress, but is brutally murdered in a hotel elevator by Wilfred Vincent Baston, a Goan hitman, who had also murdered Justice Mahendran. Bharathchandran is successful in nabbing Antony Ignatius Pimento, Wilfred's right-hand man and zeroes in on Wilfred. Then he stages a coup by arresting both Rajan Felix and Menon, who are brutally tortured to reveal details on their alliance with Mohan Thomas and also sheds light on their agenda. Iqbal is killed brutally in an attempt to arrest Wilfred Vincent Baston. This enrages Bharathchandran, who later brutally kills Wilfred and then Mohan Thomas at an outhouse by torching the whole house, thus taking law into his own hands
Cast
Suresh Gopi as City Police Commissioner Bharathchandran I.P.S
The film was released as a Vishu release in April, 1994, and was a major commercial success in theaters. This movie was the top grossed Malayalam movie in 1994 and also highest record breaking collected movie at that time. It remains an iconic film in Suresh Gopi's career. Its audio track, with its dialogues was also high in demand. When dubbed and released in Andhra Pradesh as Police Commissioner, it emerged as a major success.
Sequels
A sequel to this film, Bharathchandran I.P.S., was released in 2005, directed by Renji Panicker himself, which was also a commercial success. The film received an A certification from the regional censor board for violence and profanity.
