- Christian Brothers (film)
-
Christian Brothers Directed by Joshiy Produced by A. V. Anoop
Maha SubairWritten by Udayakrishna
Siby K. ThomasStarring Mohanlal
Suresh Gopi
Dileep
Sarath Kumar
Lakshmi Rai
Kanika
Lakshmi Gopalaswamy
Kavya MadhavanMusic by Deepak Dev
Rajamani(Background Score)Cinematography Anil Nair Editing by Ranjan Abraham Studio AVA Productions
Varnachithra Big ScreenDistributed by Varnachithra Big Screen Release date(s) March 18, 2011 (India)
March 25, 2011 (UK, USA, Australia)
March 31, 2011 (Gulf)Running time 180 minutes Country India Language Malayalam Budget 15 Crores
Box office 35 crore (US$7.1 million)
Christian Brothers is a 2011 Malayalam family drama film[1] directed by Joshiy. The major highlight of the film is that Mohanlal, Dileep , Suresh Gopi,and Sarath Kumar and are coming together in this movie. The female lead roles have been played by Lakshmi Rai, Kanika, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy and Kavya Madhavan.
The film revolves around a retired and well-to-do army officer, Palamattathu Varghese Mappila (Saikumar), and his family. His family comprises two sons, Christy (Mohanlal) and Jojy (Dileep). While Christy works as an informer in Mumbai, Jojy is sent abroad to study theology. The film is scripted by Udayakrishna-Siby K. Thomas duo while musical score was composed by Rajamani and songs are composed by Deepak Dev. The film was released on 18 March 2011 all over India with 154 theatres in Kerala and 90 theatres all over India outside Kerala and 70 prints outside India in Gulf countries, Europe and USA making it the widest release ever for a Malayalam cinema.[2] The movie which opened with breath-taking initials has broken several box office records and has garnered around 30 Crores in total becoming the second highest grossing movie in the history of Malayalam Cinema behind Twenty:20.[3][4]
Contents
Plot
The film is about Palamattathu Varghese Mappila (Saikumar), a wealthy, retired captain of the Indian Army. He has four children, Christy (Mohanlal), Joji (Dileep), Jessy (Lakshmi Gopalaswamy) and Stella (Kanika). Christy is a high profile police informer who is working in Mumbai and getting high amounts as remuneration. His brother Joji goes to Italy to study theology, but later opts out of it after he falls in love with Meenakshi (Kavya Madhavan), daughter of the state home minister (Devan). His family has no clear idea about the nature of Christy's activities before Christy's brother-in-law tells a lie about him as Christy finds about brother-in-law's relationship between rowdies and cases which he was arrested for sex-racketing . All these come as a shock to Varghese Mappila. Varghese Mappila kicks Christy out of their house believing the brother-in-law. Joji is having a relationship with Meenakshi. Her parents come to know about that. And while returning home she is being kidnapped. For regaining the daughter her father calls Christy. Christy finds that his brother-in-law was the person who kidnapped Meenakshi. He fights with his brother-in-law and safely brings Meenakshi back to her home. The next day, police finds that Christy's brother-in-law was killed. Police arrests Christy for the crime. Christy's friend (Sarath Kumar) brings him out of the jail. Meanwhile, a police officer (Suresh Gopi) marries Stella. Christy helps Joji to marry Meenakshi by bringing her out of her house. Both Christy and the police officer finds the killer of their brother-in-law who was Joji. Knowing that the killer was Joji, Christy tells the police officer to arrest him instead of his beloved brother Joji.
Cast
- Mohanlal as Palamattom Christi Varghese Mappila alias Sherson
- Dileep as Joji Varghese Mappila
- Suresh Gopi as Joseph Vadakkan IPS
- Sarath Kumar as Andrews Bandra akan Kareem Lala
- Lakshmi Rai as Sofie
- Saikumar as Captain Varghese Mappila
- Kaniha as Stella
- Lakshmi Gopalaswamy as Jessy
- Kavya Madhavan as Meenakshi
- Jagathy Sreekumar as Kochuthomma
- Suraj Venjaramood
- Biju Menon as Hariharan Thampy
- Vijayaraghavan as Kunnel Kumaran Thampy
- Suresh Krishna as George Kutti
- Devan as Sudhakaran
- Salim Kumar as Purushothaman
- Harisree Ashokan
- Subair as Manoj Varma
- Kaviyoor Ponnamma
- Anand as assitant one
- Kunchan
- Shobha Mohan
Production
After several pre-production controversies regarding the huge budget, the film started its production on 11 January 2010.[5] First schedule of the film occurred at various locales in Kerala from January through September 2010. Palamattam tharavadu, where the major parts of the film are set was shot from Netto's bungalow near Edakochi.[6] The second schedule, which mainly included picturisation of a song, commenced in London the same month.[7] The principal photography completed by the end of 2010.
Release and rights
The film released worldwide with a total of 310 prints on 18 March; 154 centres in Kerala and 90 centres outside Kerala and 70 centres overseas making it the widest release for a Malayalam Movie.[8][9] The Satellite rights have been sold to Asianet for a record sum of 3.5 crores.
Home video
AP International released the movie on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in india on 2011
Reception
Critical response
The film received mostly mixed reviews upon release.[10] Neethu Reghukumar of Bangalore Mirror gave a positive review and said, "The much-anticipated Christian Brothers proved to be worth the wait. Finally, Mohanlal fans have something to rejoice as he has made a rollicking start this year. Back in his elements, Lal steals the show, firing on all cylinders. However, at no stage the multi-starrer film does appear as a one-man show.[11]
M. Ashitha of Deccan Herald commented, "True, too many cooks spoil the broth. Despite having the luxury of actors like Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Dileep and Sarath Kumar together in the movie, Christian Brothers turns out not to be a disappointment. The film, heavily depending on the star power, is a good entertainment."[12]
Paresh C. Palicha of Rediff.com stated, "Christian Brothers is a typical multi-starrer that is made with an eye at the box office with not much depth in the subject. But you still get entertained."[13]
Sify.com's reviewer rated the film as a "Racy Entertainer" and stated, "Christian Brothers is a loud and high voltage thriller, for which you don't have to use your brains much. It could have definitely been more enjoyable if it was shorter by some twenty minutes or so, but even in the current form it could make you smile as the end credits start rolling. It's absolutely a no logic-popcorn fun and perhaps not meant to be taken too seriously."[14]
Veeyen of Nowrunning.com stated, "Christian Brothers is a plain rework of the several family feud sagas that the script writers themselves have cooked up in the past. Its sole selling point is then the star power that it has, and the mammoth star cast should hopefully make its sailing almost smooth."[15]
The reviewer of Indiaglitz.com commented, "Ace scriptwriters Uday Krishna-Sibi K. Thomas and senior director Joshiy has faithfully repeated their trademark recipes that made the big hit Twenty:20 for their new multistarrer Christian Brothers. And evidently the movie has turned out into a power packed entertainer with plenty of thrills, songs and other masala fares. The only problem with the movie seems to be that it has nothing ground breakable about its plot and also its length which extends to a little more than three hours."[16]
The reviewer of Varnachitram said, "Christian Brothers will be loved by the fans of Mohanlal, Dileep and Suresh Gopi. For others its only a watchable fare. It is no Twenty:20. Though it tries too hard to be one, it only ends up as a pale imitation."[17]
Box office
Despite receiving mixed reviews,[18] Christian Brothers set a new record on the opening day of March 18, 2011 with grossing
2.75 crores on the first day of release beating the
1.64 crores set by Twenty:20 in 2008. The film also set a new record on the first week by grossing around
8 crores in 7 days from Kerala alone, beating the
6.5 crores set by Twenty:20 in 2008.[19] Film analyst Sreedhar Pillai has tweeted that Christian Brothers got a share of
5 crores in 10 days which means the film has grossed above
10.5 crores in 10 days.[20] Malayalam film magazine Vellinakshatram has reported that Christian Brothers set a new record by grossing
15 crores from two weeks.[21] The film has been declared as a blockbuster hit by the trade pundits with reference to its huge collection. Sify has reported that Christian brothers got record share of
8.5 crores from 25 days which means the film has grossed above
21 crores in 25 days.[22] In total the film collected 35 crores in 70 days from the major screens only, becoming the second highest grossing movie in the history of Malayalam Cinema behind Twenty:20
Controversies
Even before the official announcement, Christian Brothers ran into troubles and controversies as it went against the norms and restrictions of the Producers Association. The film was announced as a big budget film but the Association had set a norm that no Malayalam film should have a budget of more than
3.5 crore. The Association hence refused to give a clearance for the film’s shoot. The producers of Christian Brothers meanwhile stated that given the star-cast and the subject of the film, it is not possible to make it at a lesser budget. Following the interests from stars, exhibitors and theatre-owners, the film was given a clearance despite its budget, which mas many times the restriction set by the Association.[23]
Another controversy originated when Tamil actor Arjun registered a complaint with Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) about using his name and photographs in connection with Christian Brothers without his consent or knowledge.[24] Arjun commented that no one has approached him to act in Christian Brothers and all this has happened without his consent or knowledge.[23] However, the issue was resolved when there came an official clarification that Arjun will not be a part of the film, as has been announced earlier.[25]
In February 2010, it was reported that the producer of Christian Brothers excluded veteran Malayalam actor Thilakan from the film at the request of the FEFKA, the predominant film technicians association. Thilakan had been earlier signed for the role played by Saikumar in the film.[26] The exclusion was reportedly due to Thilakan acting in a film by director Vinayan, who till recently headed the rival association MACTA. On February 3, 2010, Thilakan publicly protested against the unofficial ban enforced on him by FEFKA and blamed a major actor for engineering the ban. The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) issued a show cause notice to Thilakan for bringing the issue into the public domain. Thilakan accused AMMA, of which he too is a member.[27] The issue gained political colours soon, when several political parties came out openly in support of Thilakan.[28] Controversy led to the dismissal of the actor permanently from AMMA association after being asked several times by the AMMA's committee, to issue an unconditional apology, which he refused.[29] He stated that unless and until he gets justice regarding why he was removed from the role in the film, he would not give an apology.
Soundtrack
Christian Brothers Soundtrack album by Deepak Dev Released 11 March 2011 Recorded Kodandapani Studio, Chennai Genre Film soundtrack Length 18:31 Label Satyam Audios The soundtrack features four songs composed by Deepak Dev with lyrics by Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri. The songs as well as choreography received largely negative reviews.[11] However, the songs managed to top the music charts in the initial weeks.[30]
Track # Song Singer(s) Duration 1 "Karthaave" Shankar Mahadevan, Rimi Tomy 4:33 2 "Kannum" Shankar Mahadevan, Shweta Mohan 5:06 3 "Mizhikalil Naanam" Nikhil, Ranjith, Rimi Tomy 4:32 4 "Sayyaave (Composers Version)" Shankar Mahadevan, Shweta Mohan 4:20 References
- ^ "Scripting blockbusters". The Hindu. March 4, 2011. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-fridayreview/article1507837.ece. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
- ^ "Christian Brothers to release in more than 200 cinemas". Sanscinema.com. http://www.sanscinema.com/2011/02/christian-brothers-to-release-in-more-than-200-cinemas/. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
- ^ http://kaumudiglobal.com/innerpage1.php?newsid=5337
- ^ http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?contentId=9443155&tabId=3&BV_ID
- ^ "Christian Brothers to start shooting". Realbollywood.com. January 6, 2010. http://www.realbollywood.com/news/2010/01/christian-brothers-start-shooting.html. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
- ^ "All in the family". The Hindu. April 23, 2010. http://www.hindu.com/fr/2010/04/23/stories/2010042351230200.htm. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
- ^ "Christian Brothers shooting in London". Oneindia.in. September 16, 2010. http://entertainment.oneindia.in/malayalam/top-stories/2010/christian-brothers-mohanlal-140910.html. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
- ^ "Release Date of Christian Brothers Announced-18 March 2011". Spiderkerala.net. http://www.spiderkerala.net/resources/5776-Release-Date-Christian-Brothers-Announced.aspx. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
- ^ "Christian Brothers Releases In 244 Cinemas". SansCinema. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
- ^ http://malayalam.webdunia.com/entertainment/film/topmovies/1103/28/1110328018_1.htm
- ^ a b "All guns blazing! Christian Brothers". Bangalore Mirror. March 18, 2011. http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/76/2011031820110318200043240e92002ad/All-guns-blazing-I-Christian-Brothers-I.html. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
- ^ "Many stars, great show". Deccan Herald. March 22, 2011. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/146993/many-stars-poor-show.html. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
- ^ "Reivew: Christian Brothers is entertaining". Rediff.com. March 18, 2011. http://www.rediff.com/movies/review/south-review-christian-brothers/20110318.htm. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
- ^ "Movie Review: Christian Brothers". Sify.com. March 18, 2011. http://www.sify.com/movies/malayalam/review.php?id=14965505&ctid=5&cid=2428. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
- ^ "Christian Brothers Review". Nowrunning.com. March 19, 2011. http://nowrunning.com/movie/7098/malayalam/christian-brothers/3009/review.htm. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
- ^ "Christian Brothers review". Retrieved March 20, 2011
- ^ "Review: Christian Brothers". Varnachitram. March 20, 2011. http://varnachitram.com/2011/03/20/review-christian-brothers/. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
- ^ http://malayalam.webdunia.com/entertainment/film/topmovies/1103/28/1110328018_1.htm
- ^ http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/4144/hitchart.jpg/
- ^ http://twitter.com/sri50
- ^ http://img689.imageshack.us/i/ogaaap9n8rep8os1nr4ksqu.jpg/
- ^ http://www.sify.com/movies/boxoffice.php?id=14967836&cid=14625530
- ^ a b "Christian Brothers runs into troubled waters". Screen India. November 20, 2009. http://www.screenindia.com/news/Christian-Brothers-runs-into-troubled-waters/542730/. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
- ^ "Arjun to register a complaint against Christian Brothers". Nowrunning.com. November 13, 2009. http://nowrunning.com/news/news.aspx?it=27434. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
- ^ "Arjun no longer a part of Christian Brothers?". Nowrunning.com. November 2, 2009. http://nowrunning.com/news/news.aspx?it=27135. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
- ^ "Denied role in film, Thilakan to stage sit-in". The Hindu. February 5, 2010. http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/kerala/article101276.ece. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
- ^ "Actor Thilakan to stage sit-in over ban". Gulf Times. February 5, 2010. http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=341253&version=1&template_id=40&parent_id=22. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
- ^ "Thilakan issue spills on to political domain". Press Trust of India. February 20, 2010. http://www.ptinews.com/news/527887_Thilakan-issue-spills-on-to-political-domain. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
- ^ "AMMA wants thilakan to apologize". Kerals.com. February 16, 2010. http://www.kerals.com/kerala/amma-wants-thilakan-to-apologize/. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
- ^ "Can Mohanlal pull it off?". The Times of India. March 18, 2011. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-18/news-interviews/29144385_1_malayalam-film-starrer-suresh-gopi. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
External links
Categories:- 2011 films
- Indian films
- Malayalam-language films
- Christian films
- Mohanlal
- 2010s Malayalam-language films
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