By the People (2005 film)

By The People is a 2005 Indian Malayalam-language vigilante thriller film directed by Jayaraj and starring Narain. It is the sequel of 4 the People (2004) and the prequel of Of the People (2008). The film marks the debut of Surabhi Lakshmi.

Plot
Two years after the events in 4 the People, Rajan Mathew (Narain) is working an administrative job after being transferred for killing Vivek among the four-member group, and the remaining three members- Arvind Sebastian (Arun), Eshwar (Arjun Bose) and Shafeek (Padma Kumar) are imprisoned. College Students in a band named Pulse, including a porter Sudhakaran (Vinayakan), auto driver Sathyan (Sreejith Ravi) and a one leg cripple (J Kutty), inspired by the four, form a more aggressive team to fight corruption by resorting to killing corrupt individuals, their group being named "By the people". Angered by the suicide of a student who is mocked and refused a loan for her studies, they eventually kill the corrupt bank manager who abetted it. Soon enough more corrupt individuals are killed, and Rajan Mathew is reinstated as S.P. to nab the group. The team learn about Rajan's reinstatement, and decide to kidnap him, building trust with his wife through their ally Kamini (Surabhi Lakshmi).

Rajan's investigation leads to a powerful kingmaker and minister Paramasivam (Vincent Asokan) who controls the media and political parties. Rajan videotapes conversations between Paramasivam, godman Harihar ji and other tycoons to expose them. But his superiors being corrupt, he is sold out, and soon is attacked for the videotape, his pregnant wife is murdered, and Rajan is crippled, with the videotape lost. He is now transferred as Jail Superintendent where the remaining three of the 4 the people team are incarcerated. Rajan realises that the system is corrupt and his own superiors betrayed him.

Four students of lead an attack on Paramasivam at his vacation house, with the idea of bombing it when he arrives, but they are trapped and get killed. Rajan learns of this, and soon joins hands with By the people as their prime advisor, to fight corruption and avenge themselves. The first victim is inspector Thomas, Rajan's corrupt superior, who is killed when a roller coaster he inaugurates goes off track, being rigged by the team.

In comes investigating officer Balan Nambiar, who soon arrives at the doors of By the people, following the clues left by trails of their deeds, but with no evidence against them. He figures that the next victims will be Hariharji and Paramasivam, and tries to protect them. Soon enough, Hariharji is killed by the team at a resort. Rajan's video tape is incidentally found by a Junkyard owner, who hands it over to the media. It is publicized but is not accepted by court as evidence and Paramasivam is acquitted.

The team then plots to eliminate Paramasivam at a rally, in a staged manner with backup from everyone. Kamini is nabbed while trying to bomb the minister, followed by the cripple, Sathyan, Sudhakaran and others who are either shot or nabbed by Balan. Despite warning, Paramasivam continues with the rally till it reaches a Portugal cultural festival event. Rajan then hurriedly releases the incarcerated 4 the people team, who arrive incognito at the venue and assassinate Paramasivam point blank and break away. Balan pursues them but finds them lodged behind bars, with no evidence that they had ever left the cells.As he leaves, he commends Rajan for his clever tactics in annihilating the members of the caucus by leaving no trace of the act, bidding him 'Hasta la vista', the punch line of the band Pulse.

Cast

 * Narain as Rajan Mathew IPS (credited as Sunil)
 * Mangala as Malli Makam
 * Sreejith Ravi as Sathyan
 * Vinayakan as Sudhakaran
 * J Kutty as Pulse/By the people team member
 * Satheesh Poduval as Balan Nambiar
 * Surabhi Lakshmi as Kamini
 * Arun as Aravind Sebastian
 * Arjun Bose as Eeswar Iyyer
 * Padmakumar as Shafeek
 * Vincent Asokan as Paramasivam
 * Krishnan Potti as Harihar ji
 * M.B. Raja
 * Gangatharan
 * Kaithapram Santhosh- By the people team member
 * Samad - By the people team member
 * Nishchal - By the people team member
 * Binoy - By the people team member
 * Pallavi Krishna
 * Sravana

Production
After the success of 4 the People, Jayaraj started work on this film. Actor Narain was cast in the lead.

Soundtrack
The music is by Pravin Mani and all the songs have been sung by and featured on Tamil pop band S5, comprising Anaitha Nair, Benny Dayal, Suvi Suresh, Bhargavi Pillai and Arjun Sashi. The Tamil hit single "Malarey" features as a Malayalam song.

Box office
The film was a box office failure and the director's fourth consecutive failure. The film's failure is attributed to Jayaraj "half-heartedly" trying to "rework" the "magic" of 4 the People with this film. Jayaraj called the film a "failed experiment".