Arabikkatha
| Arabikkatha | |
|---|---|
 Central Home Entertainment DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Lal Jose |
| Written by | Dr. Iqbal Kuttippuram |
| Produced by | Hassan Sainullabdeen |
| Starring | Sreenivasan Indrajith Sukumaran Zhang Chu Min Jayasurya Samvrutha Sunil Shivaji Guruvayoor Jagathy Sreekumar Saleem Kumar Nedumudi Venu Suraj Venjarammoodu |
| Cinematography | Manoj Pillai |
| Edited by | Ranjan Abraham |
| Music by | Bijibal |
| Distributed by | Balaji Movies Sagar Release |
Release date | 15 July 2007 |
Running time | 150 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
Arabikkatha (lit. 'Arabian tale') is a 2007 Indian Malayalam language film directed by Lal Jose and written by Ikbal Kuttipuram. The film was a critical success[1] and a commercial success in India[2] and the United Arab Emirates.[3] It deals with differences within the Communist movement,[4] and was produced against a background of real-life splits in the ruling Communist Party in Kerala state, India.[5]
Plot summary
The film narrates the story of "Cuba" Mukundan (Sreenivasan). He is a staunch leftist who lives for the movement. Machinations of a corrupt politician Karunan (Guruvayoor Sivaji) who perceives Mukundan as a threat to his political career force Mukundan to take up a job in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Even in Dubai, he finds that Kunjunny Muthalaly (Jagathy Sreekumar) who was in league with Karunan is in Dubai, exploiting the helpless labourers who migrate to the Persian Gulf region, performing menial jobs and physical labor in order to support their families back home. He has always had a soft corner for People's Republic of China as a result of his leftist leanings and when he meets Zhang Chu Min (Zhang Chu Min), a Chinese girl, she quickly finds a special place in his heart as she symbolizes China to him. Later even after realising that she is an anti communist and is there to make money for the treatment of her boyfriend who fought against the Chinese Government, he gives her his earnings saying a communist never keeps money more than his requirements. Mukundan, with the help of his friends Anwar (Indrajith Sukumaran), Maya (Samvrutha Sunil), and Karim (Salim Kumar), exposes the machinations of Karunan and Kunjunny Muthalaly. Finally Mukundan returns home to work for the political cause which has been his life and love.
The movie depicts Mukundan who lives in rural Kerala being catapulted into Dubai, the gleaming world of commerce and industry that gives employment opportunity to workers from Kerala. Mukundan who finds himself in present society where sticking to any ideology without any compromises is perceived as something of an anachronism.
Cast
- Sreenivasan as Sakavu "Cuba" Mukundan
- Indrajith as Anwar
- Sadiq as Abbas
- Zhang Shu MI as Zhang Chu Min
- Samvrutha Sunil as Maya
- Saleem Kumar as Karim
- K. T. C. Abdullah as Abdullah "Ikka"
- Guruvayoor Sivaji as Sakhavu Karunan
- Jayasurya as Sidharthan
- Jagathy Sreekumar as Kunhunni "Mothalali"
- Nedumudi Venu as "Society" Gopalan, Mukundan's father
- Moideen Koya as Vishwam Kathalikkadu
- Atlas Ramachandran as "Coat" Nambiar
- Kozhikode Narayanan Nair as Ravunni Mash
- Suraj Venjaramood as James
- Augustine as Varghese
- Satheesh Menon as Pakistani Supervisor
- Manikandan Pattambi
Soundtrack
Arabikkatha's songs and background score are composed by Bijibal, who made his debut through this film. The lyrics were written by Anil Panachooran, who was also a debutant. The music album has 7 songs:
| Track | Song Title | Singer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Thirike Njan" | Dr. K. J. Yesudas |
| 2 | "Tharakaramalarukal" | Vineeth Sreenivasan, Sujatha Mohan |
| 3 | "Thaane Paadum Veene" | Rajeev Kodampally, Soumya .T.R |
| 4 | "Chora Veena" | Anil Panachooran |
References
- ^ "Arabikatha takes the cake". The Hindu. 15 July 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
- ^ "'Arabikatha' turns out to be a success tale". The Hindu. 18 July 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
- ^ "Hit Malayalam film showing in Doha today". Gulf Times. 12 October 2007. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
- ^ "Arabikatha a tale on Communism's strife". newindpress.com. New Indian Express Group. 10 July 2007. Archived from the original on 22 April 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
- ^ "Movie throws light on split in ruling party". Gulf Times. 16 July 2007. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
External links
- Arabikkatha at IMDb