K. Madhu directed the new CBI film titled “CBI 5: The Brain”, the fifth and the latest part of a mystery series that stars Mammootty as CBI Officer Sethurama Iyer has been released on Netflix after its initial release in the theatres on 1st May 2022.
This comes after the film received high praises for that same old Mammootty touch and the cast is the same it is, which is a huge thing in a film series. In a time when the sequels or the subsequent parts of a film star different actors or introduce different new actors for diversity and audience attraction, CBI has been so very consistent.
The first major pointer is that all of the films have been directed by the same actor K. Madhu and the cast has been the same starring Mammootty as the lead role and the supporting cast Mukesh & Jagathy Sreekumar being the same as well.
It is a huge deal for India specifically Malayalam Cinema that there’s a consistent audience attention-grabbing film that is the fifth part of its series and still it delivers and matches the passion the audience gives them and goes to the theatres to watch it. Mammootty has been praised highly for keeping the same old CBI Officer touch that he first gave.
Oru CBI Diary Kurippu (1988)
In 1988 with Oru CBI Diary Kurippu was released which was a smash hit at that time and also has the highest IMDB rating of 8.2 among all the subsequent sequels. The lead actor played by Mammootty is inspired by a real-life officer “Radha Vinod Raju”. The film was remade in Telugu as Nyayam Kosam and Hindi as Public Police with Raaj Kumar.
The immediate success of the film can be made out that during a time when Malayalam Cinema did not find much audience in neighboring states, the film ran for a whole year in Tamil Nadu. The film instantly developed a cult following making it one of the best Malayalam films ever.
Jagaratha (1989)
The smash-hit was followed by another film in the series in 1989 titled “Jagratha” starring the same cast with Mammootty playing the lead role. The film was also a commercial success and the unique plot and investigative thrill element of the film made it one of the best thrillers out there.
Sethurama Iyer CBI (2004)
After came, Sethurama Iyer CBI in 2004 which was a trendsetter because it gave Mammootty a title that had so much weight. It made him “Man Of The Year” after the film became the highest-grossing film of the year that ran in the theatres for 200 Days.
Nerariyan CBI (2005)
The incredible success of the first three installments of the series, it prompted the director K. Madhu to write another film with the same old cast, let it be production, music. The film did well commercially and received good critical reviews. The film contained some supernatural elements in it so the director and the screenplay writer had to do a lot of research for it.
CBI 5: The Brain (2022)
After 17 years, the same old team with a change in the music director came back and did not disappoint. The audience wanted a good flick that they can watch and feel nostalgic and that’s what they got. The reviews for the film say that it’s good and it’s an effort that should be lauded. The film lacked script and the audience felt that it wasn’t that great or not a worthy sequel. However, the film grossed over 37 Crores worldwide.
All In all, this is a series that should be noticed by any movie lovers because the way these movies were written and the cast that helps together like cement is something you don’t see a lot these days, and the productions, or might I say, the films are just brilliant ignoring the last one but hey, not everything is perfect but full points to the team and Mammootty!
A Fact Before The End
Originally, the CBI Officer played by Mammootty was supposed to be a rough and tough cop but after Mammootty’s suggestion, it was made out to be a simple-looking Brahmin who uses his brain more than force.