Chaappa Kurish

Chaappa Kurish
Theatrical Poster
Directed by	Sameer Thahir
Produced by	Listen Stephen
Written by	Sameer Thahir Unni.R
Starring	Fahad Fazil Vineeth Sreenivasan Roma Remya Nambeesan Nivetha
Music by	Rex Vijayan
Cinematography	Jomon T. John
Studio	Magic Frames
Distributed by	Central Pictures
Release date(s)	July 15, 2011 (2011-07-15)
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Chaappa Kurish (Malayalam: ������ ������, English: Head or Tail) is a 2011 Malayalam thriller film co-written and directed by Sameer Thahir and starring Fahad Fazil, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Roma, Remya Nambeesan and Nivetha in the lead roles. The film started production in April 2011 at Ernakulam and released on 14 July to notabily mixed reviews.

The film marks the directorial debut of Sameer Thahir who has cinematographed films like Big B and Daddy Cool.

Plot

The film puts the scanner on the strangeness of reality in a busy city(Kochi) in Kerala, teeming with life. It deals with issues that are real, contemporary and quite complex.

The film revolves around the lives of two persons in extremes. On the one end is Arjun (Fahad Fazil), who is excavating riches by being in the booming construction business in Kochi. He wants to be successful at any price. He moves around in plush chauffer driven cars, uses state-of-the-art phones, and flirts with the telemarketing ladies. And, has a full-fledged affair with his subordinate Sonia (Remya Nambeesan), even though he is preparing to be engaged to his family friend's daughter Ann (Roma).

At the other end there is Ansari (Vineeth Sreenivasan), who lives in a slum and works in a supermarket doing odd jobs that include cleaning toilets, sweeping floors and being an errand boy for his supervisor. He is diminutive, almost a dwarf and looks like he is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. His lifestyle is frugal and unchanging. A major chunk of his earnings go home by old fashioned money order. Ansari has a soft corner for his co-worker Nafiza (Nivetha), and she reciprocates his feelings.

The film reaches a turning point the moment Sonia learns that Arjun is getting engaged to Ann. A fight occurs between the two and in the heat of the moment he forgets to take his cell phone which had slipped out of his hand. The phone accidentally reaches the hands of Ansari and he keeps that as a treasure. Arjun gets upset over the loss of the phone. As the phone contains some obscene clips, Arjun tries to recover it from Ansari. He is afraid of a possible You Tube version of those photos. Arjun makes several calls to his missed phone but Ansari always kept it switched off. Arjun got terribly frustrated.

Finally, Ansari attends the call, but not ready to give the phone back to Arjun. Ansari undergoes a total change in his character after the phone incident and Nafeeza notices it. Under pressure from Nafiza, Ansari opens up. Realising the seriousness of the matter, Nafiza asks Ansari to return the phone to its owner.

Meanwhile, battery of the phone becomes empty. Ansari is financially incapable of buying a charger for the sophisticated handset. So he takes the phone to a shop. This is the turning point of the film. After tracing the clippings, the shop owner uploads the video on the You Tube. As it spreads like wild fire, it affects Arjun's marriage. At this stage, the film takes the main diversion.

It's a long winding chase that Arjun embarks on, since Ansari soon gets intoxicated by the dope of contentment that he derives from being in charge. The climatic showdown between the two is all the more vicious and bloody, as they literally tear themselves apart, before finally settling down and resignedly going their separate ways.

Cast

• Fahad Fazil as Arjun
• Vineeth Sreenivasan as Ansari
• Roma as Ann
• Remya Nambeesan as Sonia
• Nivetha as Nafiza

Production

Title

"Chappa Kurishu" means Head or Tail in Malayalam. Sameer Thahir says: "While I was writing the script itself, giving shape to the main male leads, Arjun and Ansari, i knew that they were the two sides of the same coin. So I thought of �Heads and Tales� as the title. But I wanted it in the colloquial lingo. It's called 'Changum Chappayum' in Kollam, 'Thalayum Valum' in Kottayam, 'Raja Kozhi' in Thrissur and 'Chaappa Kurish' in Cochin. And I belong to Cochin."^[1]

Casting

The director says: "As the script took shape, Vineeth Seenivasan and Fahad Fazil, two wonderful actors, seemed to fit perfectly as the characters of Ansari and Arjun. In the movie they are one and the same but stand at two extremes just like the head and tail of a coin."^[1]

Filming

Chappa Kurishu was launched by actor Kamal Haasan at the 100th day function of Traffic. The film was produced by Listin Stephen who also produced Traffic. It was director Anwar Rasheed who introduced Sameer Thahir to Listin.^[1] The film started production in April 2011 at Ernakulam.

Controversies

By the Release of the Trailer itself Chaappa Kurishu has kick started controversies. There is some similarities between trailer title insets of American drama film 21 Grams directed by [[Alejandro Gonz�lez I��rritu]] and written by Guillermo Arriaga, released in 2003.^[2] The director says: "It was a blunder on my part. I did not give much thought to it while I adopted those lines. Now that it has been asked, it is actually doing good to the movie. So I really don�t mind."^[1]. Moreover, the film has been accused of stealing the idea from the Korean movie Handphone

Another controversy was a two-minute smooch between Remya Nambeesan and Fahad Fazil which was first ever on a Malayalam film. However, the scene is highly relevant to the context. Remya says: "An actress should always be ready to take risks if her character demands so. Even when I was aware that the two- minute intense scene could create waves, I was sure that it was inevitable as it suited the plot. A sense of necessity made me accept that scene. I think director Sameer Tahir brought out the best in me. In fact, I enjoyed doing the scene".^[3] The director says: "We live in the 21st century and this is no big deal any more. Kissing and making love is part of life. That scene is very relevant to the script. And it is very aesthetically done. It�s part of the movie�s soul. So there is no reason why I should not include that."^[1]

Reception

The film received notably mixed reviews, but men from the film field and industry did not forget to praise the movie as a whole since it was the first of its kind in the Malayalam film Industry. Speaking to Fahad, he said that lot of directors including Priyadarshan, Sathyan Anthikad and Lal Jose called him over the phone and appreciated the performance. "Arjun � my character in Chappa Kurishu is not a role that an actor gets often. I am very lucky and very fortunate," says Fahad. He added the presence of a good director who chips in when needed and a good crew helped him a lot. "Any actor can come out big under such circumstances." Fahad defended the hot scenes in the movie, the first of it's kind in Malayalam: "I was not ashamed at all in acting that scene. Our tag line itself says based on 1000 true stories. Many people who called me said they knew people who became victims, by accident or other ways of such MMS. There is cinema in all experiences and there is scope for emotions everywhere. It is a great feeling that people accept when we capture such emotions and reflect it in the screen. The smooch was an essential part of Chappa Kurishu and we went on with it." As of 16 Nov 2011 Chaappa Kurish holds a rating of 7.2 on IMDB. ^[4]

Critical Reception

Chaappa Kurish received mixed reviews from critics. However everyone praised the Off beat treatment of the film. Keerthy Ramachandran of Deccan Chronicle gave the film a rating of 2 out of 5 stars saying "The film is a dark riveting account of the lives of two men who lead extremely contrasting lives. As the name suggests it is all about the heads and tails of life."^[5] Veeyen of nowrunning.com rated the film 2.5/5 and said "It's a brave and genuinely heartfelt directorial effort from a young director, who has clearly won the toss this time around." ^[6] Rediff.com gave the film a score of 2.5 out of 5 saying "Chaappa Kurishu, Samir Thahir's debut as a director holds promise but leaves us with a feeling that it could have been better." ^[7] Sify on its review said that "Chappa Kurishu shocks the viewers for sure, but sadly for all the wrong reasons." ^[8] Indiaglitz rated the film 5/10 and wrote: "The generous dose of skin show sequence, violent action and the need for amore tighter scripts will tell on its business and restrict its appeal further to limited audiences."^[9]

Box office

Chaappa Kurish failed to make opening in boxoffice and was declared flop by trade.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Behind The Camera: Chappayum Kurishum Screenil". Yentha.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
2. ^ "Chaappa Kurish trailer, a rip off of Hollywood flick 21 Grams". Sanscinema.com. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
3. ^ Keerthy Ramachandran. (18 July 2011). "Risque�-taking Remya Nambeesan". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
4. ^ "Chappa Kurishu (2011) - IMDb". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2004191. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
5. ^ "Chappa Kurishu: Engrossing thriller". Deccan Chronicle. http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/showbiz/others/chappa-kurishu-engrossing-thriller-239. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
6. ^ "Chappa Kurishu: Review". nowrunning.com. http://www.nowrunning.com/movie/9036/malayalam/chappa-kurishu/review.htm. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
7. ^ "Review: Chappa Kurishu has it moments - Rediff.com Movies". Rediff.com. http://www.rediff.com/movies/review/south-review-chappa-kurishu/20110718.htm. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
8. ^ "Movie Review:Chappa Kurishu". Sify.com. http://www.sify.com/movies/malayalam/review.php?id=14974688&ctid=5&cid=2428. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 
9. ^ "IndiaGlitz - Chappakurisu Malayalam Movie Review". IndiaGlitz. http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/malayalam/review/13410.html. Retrieved 16 November 2011. 

External links

• Chaappa Kurish at the Internet Movie Database