Mammootty returns as Sethurama Iyer

CBI 5: The Brain, the fifth film in the series, directed by K Madhu and written by SN Swamy, releases on May 1

Sethurama Iyer returns on May 1. With his trademark mannerisms, measured way of speaking, composure and quick thinking, the sleuth is Kerala’s most famous crime investigator on screen.

As CBI 5: The Brain, the fifth sequel to the Mammootty-starrer Oru CBI Diary Kurippu (1988), is all set to reach cinemas, the anticipation to watch the veteran crime buster at work has only increased among audiences.

The same trio, comprising scenarist SN Swamy, director K Madhu and thespian Mammootty, have headlined all films of the series.

Madhu maintains that the success of the series is due to teamwork. “I made Oru CBI Diary Kurippu soon after the blockbuster action film Irupatham Noottandu, also written by SN Swamy. Oru CBI... was a complete change from that film. The softspoken Sethurama Iyer was born thanks to Swamy’s writing and imagination. Mammootty suggested some of the gestures that we associate with the character, such as the way he folds his hand behind him and how the character hardly ever raises his voice,” recalls Madhu.

Oru CBI... crossed language barriers when it released in 1988; the director points out how it ran for 200 days in Safire Theatre in Chennai. “That’s a film that has stood the test of time. Some of its dialogues have found its way into many films subsequently.”

Then came Jagratha (1989), again a murder mystery that is solved by Sethurama Iyer. Next in the series were Sethurama Iyer CBI (2004) and Nerariyan CBI (2005). Each time the trio delivered and Madhu insists he would not want to choose a favourite among the five.

In CBI 5:The Brain, Sethurama Iyer joins hands with his old comrades-in-arms Chacko and Vikram, played by Mukesh and Jagathy Sreekumar respectively. The late Sukumaran had played the corrupt Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySp) Devadas in two of the films ( Oru CBI Diary Kurippu and Jagratha) in the series . Saikumar plays his son Sathyadas in the third film.