With Onam approaching, the box office is laden with an interesting array of films. As Kunchako Boban leads the line with Jamuna Pyari, Indian film lovers (if not UAE-based ones) have interesting options this week.
Last week in India, Mohanlal action thriller Loham (out in the UAE this weekend, the only new Malayalam film) kick-started the festive mood. Now Mammootty fans in India can look forward to director Kamal’s Utopiayile Rajavu, a political satire written by P.S. Rafeeq.
Mammootty plays C.V. Swathanthran, an ordinary individual who dreams of an utopian world. Television host Jewel Mary marks her film debut as a social activist.
“There is an element of fantasy with animal characters woven into this story and so it involved computer graphic effects,” said Kamal. Other members of the cast include KPAC Lalitha, Joy Mathews, Indrans and T.G. Ravi. Ouseppachan has composed the music and Neil D’Cunha is the director or photography. Produced by Noushad Alathoor and Haseeb Haneef, Utopiayile Rajavu, releases in Kerala on August 27.
Pitted against Mammootty’s film is Boban’s Jamuna Pyari. Directed by Thomas Sebastian and written by P.R. Arun. Boban plays auto-rickshaw driver Kuttan whose journey involves a search for Jamuna Pyari. Who is Jamuna Pyari? Check out this family entertainer that also introduces Gauri Suresh as Boban’s onscreen love interest to find out. The supporting cast includes Joy Mathews, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Aju Varghese, Neeraj Madhav and Anu Mol. Veteran actress Roja Selvamani returns to Malayalam cinema after a long time. Gopi Sundar has scored the music. Cinematography is by Anishlal R.S. Jamuna Pyari is produced by Jaison Elamkulam.
Joining the fray is Lijo Jose Pellisery’s Double Barrel (out on September 3 in the UAE) a gangster comedy that comes loaded with an ensemble cast. Look out for Prithviraj, Indrajit, Sunny Wayne, Arya, Asif Ali, Vijay Babu, Chemban Vinod Jose, Isha Sharwani, Rachna Narayanakutty, Parvathy Menon, Pearly Maaney and Swati Reddy.
Calling it an experimental film, Pellisery revealed that Double Barrel is a comic spoof with larger-than-life characters. Prashanth Pillai has composed the music. Cinematography is by Abhinandan Ramanujan. Pellisery turns producer under his new banner, Amen Movie Monastery, and has co-produced this venture with August Cinema (founded by Prithviraj, cinematographer-director Santosh Sivan), Shaji Nadesan and Tamil actor Arya).
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Debutant director Basil Joseph’s Kunjiramayanam is about a village where people hold onto old beliefs and myths.
Based on Deepu Pradeep’s story, this comedy features the Sreenivasan brothers, Vineeth and Dhyan, in the lead.
Vineeth plays Kunjiraman, a native of the village who is working in Dubai. What happens when he comes back to his village and how his life is affected by the myths forms the rest of the story. Dhyan plays Kunjiraman’s cousin Lalu. The film was shot in a remote village on the Palakkad border and features villagers acting for the first time. Aju Verghese, Mamu Koya, Srinda Ashab, Arya, Sneha Unnikrishan and Neeraj Madhav will be seen in supporting roles. Justin Prabhakar is the music composer. Vishnu Sharma is the cinematographer.
