Chef Nandagopal, while publicly known as the chef of the popular Nandu's Food Court, is also 'Lokpal' (Peoples' Protector), who fights corruption. The film does a flashback to Nandagopal's backstory which involves "attempted murder, a juvenile home and unrequited love"[6]
Cast
Mohanlal as Nandagopal / Baljeet Singh/ Ramaswamy Iyer/ Rockstar Alex Jackson/ Gangster Williams
The film is produced by S. L. Vimal Kumar, Balan Vijayan, and M. Vijayakumar, under the banner of Happy & Ruby Cinemas.[5] The film was launched on 10 September 2012 with a pooja ceremony organised at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Kochi, India. The movie was filmed in Kochi.
Release
The film was released on 31 January 2013 in 80 screens across Kerala.[1][2][3] The distribution rights for Lokpal were bought by Maxlab Cinemas and Entertainments. Lokpal's premiere was held on 22 January 2013 in Kalabhavan theatre, Trivandrum, Kerala.
Critical reception
The film received negative reviews from critics. Paresh C Palicha of Rediff gave the movie 1.8/5, commenting that "It is hard to believe that Lokpal is the work of the director Joshiy who has given some good films in the past, which is a huge letdown."[7] Moviebuzz of Sify gave the movie a verdict of "Pathetic", stating that "Lokpal is the kind of film that has been made with some kind of arrogance, without even scant regard for the viewer. Watch some of the yesteryear gems from Mohanlal instead of wasting time on this one."[8] Unni R Nair of Kerala9 gave the movie 2/5, saying that "Lokpal is unimpressive, just because the script plays foil. Is watchable for the sake of Mohanlal."[9][unreliable source?] Parvathy Nair of SansCinema gave the movie 1/4, commenting that "Lokpal is a missed opportunity, with the only highlight being the presence and performance of Mohanlal."[10][unreliable source?]