CBI (film series)


The CBI film series consists of four Malayalam films directed by K. Madhu and written by S. N. Swami featuring Mammootty as Sethurama Iyer, a Central Bureau of Investigation officer. The series started off in 1988 with Oru CBI Diary Kurippu. The character Sethurama Iyer is said to have been inspired by a police officer named Radhavinod Raju, who in 2009 was appointed as the first chief of India's National Investigation Agency.

Films

The films depicts a team of three CBI officers led by Sethurama Iyer investigating into a murder case. All the films feature Mammootty as Sethurama Iyer. The other two members of the team vary in the series. All the four films so far released have Vikram, the character played by Jagathy Sreekumar as a CBI officer. But he is not part of the three-men team in the third film but appears in the film for a short length. Chacko played by Mukesh appears in the first film but is not part of the team. But Chacko becomes part of the team from the second film onwards. Harry played by Suresh Gopi is present in the first movie as part of the team, but later transferred to Madras in the second sequel.
The films of the franchise are:
  1. Oru CBI Diary Kurippu, featuring Mammootty, Suresh Gopi and Jagathy Sreekumar as CBI officers. Mukesh plays the role of police constable Chacko, a relative of the murdered woman.
  2. Jagratha, featuring Mammootty, Mukesh and Jagathy Sreekumar as CBI officers.
  3. Sethurama Iyer CBI, featuring Mammootty, Mukesh and Vineeth Kumar in the CBI team and Jagathy Sreekumar in a special appearance.
  4. Nerariyan CBI, featuring Mammootty, Mukesh and Jagathy Sreekumar as CBI officers.
The production of the 5th movie of the series titled "Black Investigators" is under progress.

Characters

Characters that appear throughout the franchise:
Sethurama Iyer is the main fictional character and the protagonist of the CBI film series. The character was played by Mammootty in the first four films. He is an investigative officer of the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Indian equivalent of the American Federal Bureau of Investigation. Iyer's popularity is attributed to the fact that he uses his brain rather than brawn to solve cases.