Kalikkalam 1990

The film follows a burglar played by Mammootty, a man who moves through different towns under a string of aliases—Shankar, Antony, Tony Louis, Gauthaman, Pappan, Vasudevan, Ramakrishnan—yet remains essentially kind, using the illegal money he acquires to help the poor and orphans. In the opening, he fakes himself as an Income Tax officer Sankar and, with the help of a newly posted police officer Murali as Shekharan, raids a jewelry shop and makes off with the stolen gold. When Shekharan later discovers he has been cheated, he sets out to bring Sankar to justice, employing a mix of tricks and traps that ultimately fail to pin the burglar down. Throughout the pursuit, the film also peels back the layers of the burglar’s character, showing how his wealth is often used for acts of charity rather than personal gain, painting him as a paradoxical hero whose illegal deeds fund genuine good in the community.

Along the way, the burglar befriends Jamal, a poor young man, a relationship that adds emotional resonance to the story; Jamal is portrayed by Sreenivasan. The two form a bond, and the burglar extends financial help to Jamal, underscoring the thief’s generosity even as he remains an elusive target for law enforcement. The plot thickens when the burglar hints to the police about his next target: the finance institution known as Gopuram, which houses the illicit money of minister Velayil Chandy. The loot is seized despite police protection, but the cunning thief—going by the alias Ramakrishnan in this phase—executes a slick ruse and escapes with the cash, illustrating his penchant for outsmarting the system. He even uses a fake drug-tortion ploy, dispatching drugs to Shekharan’s office, though he devotes the proceeds to his own advantage rather than succumbing to the drug trade’s worst consequences.

As the chase continues, Shekharan works to locate Sankar by tracing phone calls, eventually closing in on Sankar’s residence; yet Sankar narrowly escapes capture. The escalating tension is amplified by a clash between Shekharan and Ambalakkad Krishnan, a publisher who publishes false news about the SI and his family; this publication leads to the SI’s suspension after a physical confrontation with Ambalakadan. The romance subplot deepens when Annie—played by Shobana—begins to take Tony Louis’s affair seriously, prompting the burglar to reveal his true identity and step away from her life to avoid complicating matters.

The pressure mounts as circumstances force Shekharan into a precarious position, falsely accused of murdering Ambalakkadan. With the evidence pointing elsewhere, Sankar becomes the sole person who can clear Shekharan’s name and restore the officer’s good standing. In a climactic turn, Sankar confesses his crimes, unraveling the tangled web of deception he spun throughout the story. The film thus ends on a note that balances moral complexity with a sense of closure, presenting a thief whose generosity challenges the more rigid boundaries of law and justice, and a police officer whose dedication to the truth persists even when the system seems to falter.

Key characters and their actors include the burglar, a man of many names portrayed by Mammootty; the vigilant officer Murali as Shekharan; Jamal, brought to life by Sreenivasan; Annie, played by Shobana; Devassy, portrayed by Oduvil Unnikrishnan; the minister’s confidant in criminal finance, Velayil Chandy, played by Innocent; and Ambalakkad Krishnan, brought to the screen by C I Paul. The storytelling style blends action with moral nuance, offering a sprawling, character-driven drama that stays true to its core themes while never losing sight of its gritty, suspenseful pace.