Aavanazhi

V. Sasi">I. V. Sasi, written by T. Damodaran. The film deals with social and political issues of that time. It stars Mammootty, Geetha, Seema, Sukumaran, Captain Raju, Janardanan, Jagannatha Varma, Innocent, Thikkurisi Sukumaran Nair, Sreenivasan and Sankaradi.

Aavanazhi
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	I. V. Sasi
Written by	T. Damodaran
Produced by	Sajan
Starring	Mammootty Geetha Sukumaran Janardhanan Seema Nalini
Cinematography	Jayaram V.
Edited by	K. Narayanan
Music by	Shyam
Production company	Saj Productions
Release date	12 September 1986 (1986-09-12)
Running time	152 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Aavanazhi was the highest grossing Malayalam film at the time and was an industry hit. It was remade in Kannada as Anthima Theerpu, in Tamil as Kadamai Kanniyam Kattupaadu, in Telugu as Marana Sasanam and in Hindi as Satyamev Jayate. I. V. Sasi made two sequels — Inspector Balram in 1991 and Balram vs. Taradas in 2006.

"Karadi" Balram is an honest CI, who is frustrated after several personal setbacks, including a failed affair of the heart, has turned to drinking and womanizing. Balram is assigned to nab Satyaraj, who evaded the clutches of the cops after murdering Chackochan, a contractor. Balram successfully arrests him, but in court, Satyaraj is represented by Adv. Jayachandran, where he is acquitted by the court, but Balram decides to frame in several other criminal charges pending against him. Usha, Balram's ex-lover, is now married to Jayachandran. Balram falls in love with Seetha, a prostitute, whom he decides to marry. Meanwhile, Radha, a young lady, is determined to avenge herself on Balram, who she believes to have killed her brother while in police custody, but Satyaraj was the one who killed him, on instruction from Vincent. Falsely implicated, Balram had been suspended, but has been reinstated. Though Seetha tries to convince Radha of the truth, she is not ready to accept it. To gain her revenge over Balram, Radha decides to offer Satyaraj a safe stay away from the police eyes. Balram's open fight with Satyaraj forms the rest of the plot.

The film was released on 12 September 1986, in 20 theatres. In 2005, Nana Magazine wrote that Mammootty has played cop in a total of 25 films from Yavanika to Balram vs Tharadas, but his most memorable police role is that of Inspector Balram from I. V. Sasi's Avanazhi. The film was a major commercial success. It was the highest grossing film at the time. The film ran for more than 200 days in theatres in Kerala.

All the remakes of the film were commercial successes.

The movie had two sequels; a 1991 film Inspector Balram and a spiritual successor, Balram vs. Tharadas in which Mammootty reprises his roles from two films, Inspector Balram from Aavanazhi and Tharadas from Athiratram.

The film is considered to be one of I.V. Sasi's best works. The film remains to be the only Malayalam Industry hit with a policeman as its central character. The protagonist Inspector Balram remains to be one of the most iconic characters in Malayalam cinema.