[2][3] It features an ensemble cast including Prithviraj Sukumaran, Arya, Prabhu Deva, Genelia D'Souza, Nithya Menon, Vidya Balan, Jagathy Sreekumar, Alex O'Nell and Sasi Kallinga.

The plot incorporates the intrigues of the Chirakkal Royal Family, where Kelu serves as commander-in-chief, its rivalry with the house of Arackal, and the assassination of prince Bhanu Vikraman (Ankur Khanna).

[8] It won two Kerala State Film Awards, for Best Background Music (Deepak Dev) and for Best Sound Recordist (M. R.

When Krishna Das and his friend Thanseer visit the property, they are kidnapped by the tribal men and taken to a cave deep in the forest.

Prologue: In the early 16th century, Portuguese sailors under Vasco da Gama captures a Muslim pilgrim ship and take all the passengers as prisoners.

During their hunt, they rescue the princess of Chirakkal, Bala, from a group of abductors, armed with Portuguese pistols, who apparently have been organised by her cousin, Bhanu Vikraman.

Ayesha, with the help of Kelu and Vavvali, manages to rescue all the women locked up in Chirakkal and smuggle them to a secret cave in Puthur.

With princess Ayesha, Kelu and Vavvali set out to the villages in the kingdom and succeed in garnering support from the common folk against the Portuguese.

Meanwhile, with the help of minister Kurup, Bhanu Vikraman conspires against his uncle and joins forces with Estêvão da Gama.

As a mark of respect for his allegiance to the Portuguese crown, the empire offers Kurup the post of the Governor General of the Laccadives.

"I have travelled across the world while shooting for films and documentaries and I have seen first hand the displacement and exploitation, the side effects of globalisation being suffered by the people who live in close contact to nature.

[14] Shankar Ramakrishnan, who wrote the story and screenplay for Urumi after conducting extensive research, said that the film presents history from a different perspective.

"Even a small child in Kerala perceives Vasco da Gama as an explorer, who made the first-ever colonial invasion in any part of the world.

Shankar Ramakrishnan added that the title is not just suggestive of Kelu's weapon urumi, but "the feeling of vengeance that we carry in our hearts".

[15] "Whenever you travel to Goa or Fort Kochi or such places, you will always find a suite in the name of Vasco da Gama who is revered as a discoverer of India.

Hence, I thought it would be interesting to make a film that would show the small peppercorn changing the entire history of India.

[17] Santosh Sivan and Prithviraj Sukumaran have acknowledged the vital role played by the script writer Shankar Ramakrishnan in the shaping of the film.

Ramakrishnan, who had been working for some time as film-maker Ranjith Balakrishnan's associate director, had scripted a tale for a competition based on the medieval history of Kerala.

Finally, I told him the one-line story of a boy who wanted to kill Vasco da Gama and the movie took off smoothly from then on.

[19] Shankar spent two years gathering the material for his script and doing research to flesh out his characters, some of whom are familiar names in Indian history.

[citation needed] The 16th century costumes were designed by debutant Eka Lakhani, with make-up by Ranjith Ambady.

[13] Urumi was filmed by three cinematographers – Santosh Sivan (who is the director of photography as well), renowned wild-life photographer Alphonse Roy, and national award-winning Anjuli Shukla.

Sunil Babu, the set designer for movies such as Ghajini, Lakshya and Ananthabhadram, was art director for the film.

[27][28] It earned accolades as "arguably one of the best historical fantasies Malayalam cinema has ever seen" and was critically acclaimed at film festivals around the world.

[5] Sarswathy Nagarajan describes, "It is a decisive turn for Malayalam cinema because 'Urumi,' while broadening the horizons of Mollywood, is also an attempt to reach out to a global audience.

Redefining the traditional qualities of period dramas, Urumi is sure to become a movie that will be respected and adored by Mollywood for its creative panache, tremendous performances, and great technical wizardry.

[35] The Tamil version released by Kalaipuli S Dhanu's V Creations opened to positive reception by critics as well as audiences.

[36][37] "The Hindu" wrote of the Tamil version, "From the very first scene of this film to the last, director-cum-cinematographer Santosh Sivan proves to be on top of this technical masterpiece.

The songs, waterfall sequences and the war scenes evoke a feel of realism due to its stunning visuals and brilliant re-recording.

[42] The songs and the background score for the film were composed by Deepak Dev, with lyrics by Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, Rafeeq Ahammed and Engandiyur Chandrasekharan.