Charlie (2015 Malayalam film)
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| Charlie | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Martin Prakkat |
| Screenplay by | Martin Prakkat Unni R. |
| Story by | Unni R. |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Jomon T. John |
| Edited by | Shameer Mohammed |
| Music by | Gopi Sunder |
Production company | Finding Cinema |
| Distributed by | Playhouse Release, Tricolor Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 129 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Box office | est. ₹42 crore (US$5.0 million)[2] |
Charlie is a 2015 Indian Malayalam language romantic drama film directed by Martin Prakkat and written by Prakkat and Unni R.[3] Produced by Prakkat, Joju George and Shebin Becker, the film stars Dulquer Salmaan and Parvathy.[4] The music is composed by Gopi Sundar, while Jomon T. John handles the cinematography. The film released on 24 December. It won 8 awards at the 46th Kerala State Film Awards, including Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Cinematography.
Plot
Tessa (Parvathy) is a graphic artist who runs from home to avoid her marriage. With the help of her friend she rents a room. Initially she hates her room which is a complete mess, but then she learns that the room was previously occupied by a carefree vagabond, (Dulquer Salmaan). When she starts cleaning up the place, she discovers a photo and a sketchbook of this man. The sketches depict the previous New Year's Eve, when a small-time thief (Soubin Shahir) tries to rob the man's room. In a turn-of-events, the man joins him, and they both go on the rooftop of a home. There, they are shocked by what they see inside. That was the last page of the sketch, and the story is left unfinished, which piques her curiosity about the rest of the story, as well as the previous occupant of the room.
Intrigued, Tessa starts finding the people in the man's sketches. Backtracking his steps, she meets the man's "father" (who is more of a friend), a boat servant, and Mariya (Kalpana), a physically abused woman. Charlie takes Mariya out to sea for her birthday. Unfortunately, Mariya commits suicide and he becomes heartbroken. Following up on more clues, Tessa gets news that the man is staying in a hotel and rushes to meet him. However she just misses him by a few seconds. Later a helper boy in the hotel explains to her that the little girl with Charlie was Mariya's daughter.
One day, she meets the thief depicted in that man's sketches and inquires about the day's events. He informs her that his sir (Charlie) stopped a woman from hanging herself, and followed her when she escaped from the scene on the bike. They find the house and finally identify the girl as Doctor Kani (Aparna Gopinath). She then meets Kani and inquires about her story. Kani explains that she was depressed over her broken relationship when she did her first independent operation leading to death of a 10 year old girl. Further hooked by the media, she was desperate and about to commit suicide on new year eve and was distracted by that man. He takes her to a home maintained by Kunjappan (Nedumudi Venu) and she was living there then on. Kunjappan a hopeless romantic is waiting for his teenage love Thresia to show up.
Tessa's mother finds her and takes her home. While a depressed Tessa was on her way back home, the man then returns with Kunjappan's long lost love, who is a nun now. Kani informs him about Tessa, and he admits knowing about Tessa and her search for him. Charlie informs Kani that he will be attending the Thrissur Pooram function, and Tessa can find him there if she's looking for him. Finally, Tessa finds him performing in a magic show. Afterwards, he spots her, approaches, and asks her if she wants to have drinks. At she first introduces herself as Shruti Raman, and lets him think that he has met the wrong person. While the festival starts Charlie's antics makes her tell him that she is Tessa and he too reveals his name to be 'Charlie'. As the credits rolls, they are seen wandering together towards a new journey in life.
Cast
- Dulquer Salmaan as Charlie
- Parvathy as Tessa
- Aparna Gopinath as Kani
- Nedumudi Venu as Kunjappan
- Chemban Vinod Jose as Mathai/Pathrose
- Kalpana as Queen Mary/ Mariya
- Soubin Shahir as Sunikuttan/ Mr D'souza
- Neeraj Madhav as Ansari
- P. Balachandran as Usman ikka
- K.P.A.C.Lalitha as Rahel Ammachi
- Seetha as Tessa's mother
- Reshma Sebastian as Shahina (Tessa's friend)
- Master Minon as Balan Pillai/Room Boy
- Ramesh Pisharody as Sojan
- Jayaraj Warrier as Vaattu Jose
- Surjith as Aadu Abootty
- Renji Panicker as Panicker Doctor (Guest Appearance)
- Joy Mathew as Umer (Guest Appearance)
- Tovino Thomas as Georgy (Guest Appearance)
- Nassar as magician (Guest Appearance)
Production
Principal photography began on 25 May 2015 in Idukki. IBTimes reported that it will be an experimental film and each actor will be spotted in a new look. The film was shot at various locations in Kochi, Munnar and Gujarat.[3] The filming was completed by September 2015.[5]
Music
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
The film's soundtrack was composed by Gopi Sunder and the lyrics were written by Rafeeq Ahamed. The songs were released on 7 December 2015.[6] "Chithirathira" sung by Vijay Yesudas was released separately on 21 December.[7] A promotional video of Dulquer Salmaan singing "Chundari Penne" was released on 24 December.[8]
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Akale" | Malgudi Shubha | 3:59 |
| 2. | "Pularikalo" | Shakthisree Gopalan, Md. Maqbool Mansoor | 5:46 |
| 3. | "Puthumazhayai - Version I" | Shreya Ghoshal | 4:33 |
| 4. | "Oru Kari Mukilinu" | Vijay Prakash | 4:41 |
| 5. | "Sneham Nee Naadha" | Rajalakshmi | 4:05 |
| 6. | "Puthumazhayai - Version II" | Divya S. Menon | 4:33 |
| 7. | "Chithirathira" | Vijay Yesudas | 4:39 |
| 8. | "Chundari Penne" | Dulquer Salmaan | 3:55 |
| Total length: | 36:11 | ||
Reception
Box office
The film collected ₹2 crore on the first day from Kerala box office,[9] and grossed ₹14.4 crore in 22 days of release.[10] The film collected ₹42 crore from worldwide box office in its final run at the theatres, with ₹22.40 crore from Kerala, ₹6.7 crore from rest of India, ₹11 crore from UAE & GCC, and ₹2 crore from UK, US and other regions.[11]
Critical reception
Describing the film as a "tantalizing love tale", Vishnu Varma of The New Indian Express rated it 4 stars out of 5 and stated, "‘Charlie’ is a feel-good movie, but it does not stop there. It plays around brilliantly with raw emotions centered around a character who wants to be free."[12] Litty Simon of Malayala Manorama rated it 3.25 out of 5, concluding "Dulquer's Charlie is a simple, feel good film that will make you smile this festive season. Although not an out-an-out entertainer, Charlie has the elements to be tagged as a wacky entertainer, filled with all what is needed - celebration, surprises, patience, faith, care, and above, all love!"[13] Website Nowrunning gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5, stating "Charlie could be termed an audacious attempt but grandiose visions don't necessarily translate into well-crafted cinema. Pared down expectations could make it a reasonable weekend watch."[14]
Awards
- Best Director - Martin Prakkat
- Best Actor - Dulquer Salmaan
- Best Actress - Parvathy
- Best Screenplay - Unni R., Martin Prakkat
- Best Cinematography - Jomon T. John
- Best Art Director - Jayashree Lakshmi Narayanan
- Best Sound Mixing - M. R. Rajakrishnan
- Best Processing Lab - Prasad Colour Lab, Mumbai, J. D. & Kiran
- Best Actress - Parvathy
- Best Cinematography - Jomon T. John
- Best Actress - Parvathy
- Best Supporting Actress - Kalpana (posthumously awarded)
- Best Cinematography - Jomon T. John
- Best Actress - Parvathy
- Best Supporting Actor - Chemban Vinod Jose
- Best Cinematography - Jomon T. John
References
- ^ "CHARLIE (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ^ James, Anu (5 March 2016). "'Charlie' worldwide box office collection: Martin Prakkat movie becomes Dulquer Salmaan's highest grosser ever". International Business Times. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
- ^ a b "'Charlie' First Poster: Dulquer Salmaan Spotted in Trendy New Look". International Business Times. 15 June 2015.
- ^ "Dulquer starts shooting for 'Charlie'". Sify. 15 June 2015.
- ^ "Dulquer Salmaan wraps up 'Charlie', starts shooting for Rajeev Ravi's next". International Business Times. 25 September 2015.
- ^ "Charlie: Listen to songs of Dulquer Salmaan-Parvathy starrer". IBTimes. 8 December 2015.
- ^ "Gopi Sunder continues top form in new 'Charlie' song". Malayala Manorama. 21 December 2015.
- ^ "Video out: Dulquer sings 'Chundari Penne' for 'Charlie'". Malayala Manorama. 25 December 2015.
- ^ സ്വന്തം ലേഖകൻ (30 December 2015). "ചാർളിയോ ലോഹമോ മുന്നിൽ ?". Malayala Manorama. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- ^ Onmanaorama Staff (18 January 2016). "'Pavada' rules box office; 'Two Countries', 'Charlie' running successfully". Malayala Manorama. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
- ^ James, Anu (5 March 2016). "'Charlie' worldwide box office collection: Martin Prakkat movie becomes Dulquer Salmaan's highest grosser ever". International Business Times. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
- ^ "Charlie movie review: Dulquer Salmaan-Martin Prakkat weave a tantalising love tale". The Indian Express. 29 December 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- ^ "'Charlie' review: In search of the free-spirited one". Retrieved 28 December 2015.
- ^ "Charlie Review - Now Running". Nowrunning. 25 December 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
- ^ "Kerala State Film Awards 2015". Anu James. International Business Times. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ^ "Vanitha Film Awards 2016: Prithviraj, best actor; Parvathy bags best actress award"
- ^ "Vanitha Film Awards 2016"