| Malikappuram | |
|---|---|
| File:Malikappuram film poster.jpg | |
| Directed by | Vishnu Sasi Shankar |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Abhilash Pillai |
| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Mammootty |
| Music by | Ranjin Raj |
| Cinematography | Vishnu Narayanan |
| Edited by | Shameer Muhammed |
| Distributed by |
|
Release date |
|
Running time | 121 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
Malikappuram is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language action-adventure drama film[1] directed by Vishnu Sasi Shankar, written by Abhilash Pillai and starring Unni Mukundan, Alphy Panjikaran, Deva Nandha and Sreepath in the lead roles.[2]
Malikappuram was released theatrically on 30 December 2022. The film received positive reviews from audiences.[3]
Plot[edit | edit source]
Kalyani alias Kallu is a devotee of god Ayyappan, and is enthusiastic to visit the Sabarimala temple. As per the religious beliefs, Kallu has a small window of two years to visit the temple as she is 8 years old. Her grandmother narrates legends and stories of Lord Ayyappan to her, which she loves a lot. Her father, Ajayan, has mortgaged their house, and it is on the verge of being seized by the bank. Furthermore, he has also borrowed a big sum from a local usurer and acquitance, Ambadi. He is unable to repay both the loans.
The bank has issued a seizure notice, which Ajayan hides from his family. Ajayan promises Kallu to take her to Sabarimala and that both will do the initial rituals for the pilgrimage, which is supposed to happen a few weeks from thereon. Ambadi publicly harasses and roughs up Ajayan, which is witnessed by Kallu. A humiliated Ajayan subsequently commits suicide out of disgrace. The bank eventually seizes Ajayan's house, and Kallu’s grandmother moves in with Ajayan’s elder sister. Kallu and her mother move in with Ajayan’s friend and neighbor, Unni. Kallu becomes frustrated with the fact that she is unable to go to Sabarimala, and yells at her good friend and classmate Piyoosh, Unni’s son.
Piyoosh finds that it is impossible to dissuade Kallu from pursuing her journey to Sabarimala, and decides to accompany her. Both the kids board a bus to Pamba, and en route they meet Mahi, a local goon who is also a paedophile and trafficker. Under the pretense of heading to Sabarimala, he is on the lookout for young kids. His eyes fall on both Kallu and Piyoosh. Piyoosh senses that something is off and tries to persuade Kallu to stop the journey and go back home, but to no avail. Meanwhile, Unni and Kallu's mother inform the police about the missing duo.
Later, a man named Ayyappan boards the bus, who also seems to be heading to Sabarimala, and gets acquainted with the kids. Mahi introduces himself as the kids’ guardian uncle to Ayyappan, which Ayyappan later finds out to be false and suspects that he has some malicious intentions. After hearing their story, Ayyappan promises the kids that he will accompany them to Sabarimala. Ayyappan intimidates Mahi and an infuriated Mahi is determined to incapacitate Ayyappan and kidnap the girl. On reaching Pamba, from where they have to walk by foot to reach the shrine, the trio discover that the police have restricted entry for the remainder of the day, as a measure to control the crowd, and they will not be able to visit the temple. But an adamant Kallu leaves Ayyappan with no choice except to take a route through the forest.
Mahi’s accomplice who has been following them, informs Mahi about their movements, and he sends all of his henchmen to beat up Ayyappan and kidnap Kallu. During the journey, Ayyappan is alerted, he successfully overpowers Mahi and his people. During the fight, Kallu is shown to be hallucinating about Ayyappan being the actual embodiment of Ayyapan, and later reveals to him that she has seen him in her dreams, and shows him the drawings she made about them, which show a man who looks just like Ayyappan. The following day, Ayyappan disappears into the crowd and the kids enter the shrine. As Kallu begins to worry and look for him, he shows up and encourages her to climb the steps, to fulfill her father's wish. Later, the police hands the kids over to Unni and they are taken home.
It is then revealed that Ayyappan is actually CPO D. Ayyappadas, working at the police station in Pamba. He was alerted of the missing children and knowingly boarded the bus after having seen Kallu's photo. Later by hearing out their stories, he decided to make their wish come true of visiting Sabarimala temple. Circumstances that followed made the kids believe that he was Ayyappan, himself. The police meanwhile apprehended Mahi and his men, who happened to be on Tamil Nadu criminal records.
Cast[edit | edit source]
- Unni Mukundan as CPO D. Ayyappadas
- Deva Nandha as Kalyani "Kallu" Ajayan
- Sreepath Yan as Piyush Unni
- Saiju Kurup as Ajayan / Ajayakumar
- Ramesh Pisharody as Unni
- Manoj K. Jayan as CI Haneef
- Renji Panicker as Head Master Chandrappan Pillai
- Alphy Panjikkaran as Saumya, Ajayan's Wife and Kallu's Mother
- Manohari Joy as Ajayan's Mother and Kallu's Grandmother
- T. G. Ravi as Pattada
- Sreejith Ravi as Ambadi
- Sampath Ram as Mahi
- Ajay Vasudev as Chettiyar
- Thushara Pillai as Jaya, Ajayan's Sister
- Kalabhavan Jinto as SI
- Aswathy Abhilash as Lakshmi Teacher
Production[edit | edit source]
The shooting of the film began on 12 September 2022 after the pooja ceremony at Erumely Sree Dharmasastha Temple.[4] The film was censored with a U-certificate one week prior to its release.[5][6]
Music[edit | edit source]
| Malikappuram | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | 17 December 2022 |
| Genre | Feature Film Soundtrack |
| Label | Anto Joseph Film Company |
| Producer | Ranjin Raj |
The film score and the songs are composed by Ranjin Raj.[7] The lyrics are written by Santhosh Varma and B.K.Harinarayanan.[2] The album consists of eight songs.[8] The first song "Ganapathi Thunayaruluka" was released on 17 December 2022.[9]
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Kaliyuga" | Ranjin Raj | 1:04 |
| 2. | "Ayyappan - Intro" | Ranjin Raj | 1:07 |
| 3. | "Boothanaadha" | Ranjin Raj | 1:00 |
| 4. | "Ganapathi Thunayaruluka" | Anthony Daasan, Madhu Balakrishnan | 3:39 |
| 5. | "Harivarasanam" | Prakash Puthoor | 5:46 |
| 6. | "Ambadi Thumbi" | Vineeth Sreenivasan, Theertha Subash, Vaiga Abhilash | 3:11 |
| 7. | "Nangeli Poove" | Ranjin Raj | 3:46 |
| 8. | "Onnam Padi Mele" | Vineeth Sreenivasan | 2:00 |
| Total length: | 21:33 | ||
Release[edit | edit source]
The film was released in theatres on 30 December 2022.[10] The Telugu and Tamil language dubbed versions were released on 26 January 2023.[11] The film premiered on Disney+ Hotstar on 15 February 2023.[12]
Reception[edit | edit source]
Box office[edit | edit source]
The film collected ₹15.8 crore (US$2.2 million) on its 11th day.[13] In its fourth week, the film grossed ₹50core(US$6.3million) and became the biggest hit of Unni Mukundan's career.[14][15][16]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Malikappuram Movie Review : Kids' movie on faith. Times of India. 9 January 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Unni Mukundan's next 'Malikappuram' starts rolling". The Times of India. 12 September 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ↑ "'Malikappuram' Twitter review: Netizens call the Unni Mukundan starrer 'Mollywood's 'Kantara'". Times of India. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ↑ "Makers of 'Malikappuram' launch the first look poster on Unni Mukundan's birthday!". The Times of India. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ↑ "Unni Mukundan's Malikappuram With A Clean U Certificate; Film All Set To Hit Theatres". xappie News. 23 December 2022.
- ↑ "ക്ലീൻ യു സർട്ടിഫിക്കറ്റ് നേടി ഉണ്ണി മുകുന്ദൻ ചിത്രം 'മാളികപ്പുറം' ; ഡിസംബർ 30നു തിയേറ്ററുകളിൽ". Zee News. 24 December 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ↑ "History of Malikappuram: Mammootty lends his voice to the Unni Mukundan starrer". India Times. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ↑ "Malikappuram (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Youtube Music. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ↑ "NEWSFirst song of Unni Mukundan movie Malikappuram released". Kerala Kaumudi. 17 December 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ↑ "Unni Mukundan Announces Release Date Of His Next Malayalam Film Malikappuram". News 18. 24 December 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ↑ "Unni Mukundan starrer 'Malikappuram' Telugu version gets a release date". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
- ↑ "Malikappuram, The Romantics, African Queens, The Night Manager, Unlocked: OTT releases this week". The Week. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
- ↑ "'Malikappuram' box office day 11: Unni Mukundan starrer mints Rs 15.8 crores". The Times of India. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ↑ "'മാളികപ്പുറം' 50 കോടി ക്ലബ്ബില്; ഉണ്ണി മുകുന്ദന്റെ കരിയറിലെ ഏറ്റവും വലിയ ഹിറ്റ്". Mathrubhumi. 21 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ↑ "'Malikappuram' box office collection: Unni Mukundan starrer enters the 50- crore club". 22 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ↑ "മുടക്ക് 3.50 കോടി; ബോക്സ്ഓഫിസിൽ 50 കോടി വാരി മാളികപ്പുറം". Manorama. 21 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
External links[edit | edit source]
- Malikappuram on IMDb