China Town (2011 film)
| China Town | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Poster | |
| Directed by | Rafi Mecartin |
| Written by | Rafi Mecartin |
| Produced by | Antony Perumbavoor |
| Starring | Mohanlal Jayaram Dileep Kavya Madhavan Poonam Bajwa Suraj Venjaramoodu Dipa Shah Pradeep Rawat Captain Raju |
| Narrated by | Jagathy Sreekumar |
| Cinematography | Azhagappan |
| Edited by | Don Max |
| Music by | Jassie Gift |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Aashirvad Release through Maaxlab |
Release date |
|
Running time | 142 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Budget | ₹8 crore (US$960,000)[1] |
China Town is a 2011 Malayalam black comedy thriller film written and directed by the duo Rafi Mecartin. Starring an ensemble cast including Mohanlal, Jayaram, Dileep, Kavya Madhavan and Poonam Bajwa in the lead roles while Dipa Shah, Pradeep Rawat, Captain Raju, Suraj Venjaramoodu and Shankar play other pivotal roles, while Jagathi Sreekumar made a cameo.
The film released on 14 April 2011.[2][3] Despite receiving mixed reviews, it became a major commercial success at the box office.[4]
Plot
Four friends bought a casino and were celebrating the profit with their family when an underworld don, Gowda (Pradeep Rawat), who used to have a monopoly on the casinos in Goa, intrudes. Xavier (Mohanlal), one of the friends, held out against the don. Although he was killed, he managed to hold off the gang long enough for all of their wives to escape with the children. Wilson Gomus (Captain Raju) is the only of the friends to survive and he settled in Goa with his daughter, Emily.
Xavier's son, Mathukutty (Mohanlal) became a local goon. His brother had eloped with a girl from the medical college and he lives with Rosamma (Kavya Madhavan). He was attending a retreat to get rid of his thuggish ways. Another son of one of the friends was Zachariah (Jayaram), a man thirsty for money. Another was Binoy (Dileep) a lovesick youth who was the victim of six failed loves. Gomus sends each of them a letter stating that he had bought a Casino and wanted to share the profit between the sons of his friends.
The three meet Gowda, who places them in prison under a false case. They get out by selling their casino. They meet again on several occasions and finally Gowda is arrested.The film has a good ending.
Cast
- Mohanlal as Mathukutty and Xavier
- Jayaram as Zachariah
- Dileep as Binoy
- Pradeep Rawat as Gawda
- Kavya Madhavan as Rosamma
- Poonam Bajwa as Emily
- Dipa Shah as Chandini
- Suraj Venjaramoodu as Chandran Valanjavazhi
- Captain Raju as Wilson Gomus
- Shankar as Jayakrishnan
- Shanavas as Zachariah's father
- Jose as Young Wilson Gomus
- Jagathi Sreekumar as Jaggu Bhai
- Ranjini Haridas as herself (cameo appearance).
- Maya Viswanath
- Bindu Asokan
- Lakshmi
- Indulekha as Binoy's lover
- Deepu Karunakaran
- Priya Roy as Gawda's daughter,Sreedevi
Production
China Town started its production on 20 December 2010.[5] The filming occurred mainly at the Ramoji Rao Film City, Hyderabad. The set made by art director Boban. Some parts were filmed from Ooty, Goa and Ernakulam.
Reception
Critical reception
Veeyen of Nowrunning.com rated the film 2/5 and said "Despite the spectacular star cast Chinatown, is yet another comedy from Rafi Mecartin. It's a mishmash of second hand ideas that have long had their run in movies."[6] Paresh C. Pallicha of Rediff.com also gave the film a 2/5 rating and said, "The film virtually piggybacks on the stars to get the momentum as there is no script to speak of. The duo Rafi Mecartin that was known for their comical writing in the nineties has now reached a stage where they borrow dialogues from email forwards. That's the sorry state of the film. It will be futile to dwell on the performance of the actors as there is no solid material to back them. This one's a no-brainer and can be watched if you are not looking for thought-provoking stuff."[7] The reviewer of Sify.com said, "Chinatown works fine, if you leave your brains back home. It belongs to the 'don't think too much about what is happening' kind, which defies logic but leaves you in splits at times.".[8]
Box office
The film was made at a budget of ₹10 crore (US$1.2 million).[1] It got a distributor's share over ₹5.5 crore (US$660,000).[9] And grossed ₹9.2 crore (US$1.1 million) within one month. The Economic Times called it a "Blockbuster film".[4]
Soundtrack
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
The film's soundtrack is composed by Jassie Gift. The lyrics are by Anil Panachooran and Santhosh Varma. The audio release function was held at Kadavu Resorts, Kozhikode, on 2 March 2011. Jassie reused soundtrack "Gaganave Baagi" sung by Shreya Ghoshal of the Kannada film Sanju Weds Geetha for the song "Arike Ninnalum".[10]
| # | Song | Singer(s) | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Arike Ninnalum" | M. G. Sreekumar, K. S. Chithra | 4:44 |
| 2 | "Innu Penninu" | Jassie Gift, Manjari, Rajalakshmi | 5:29 |
| 3 | "Aaraanu Koottu" | Afsal, Pradeep Palluruthy, Jassie Gift | 4:24 |
| 4 | "Mohapattam" | Afsal, Jassie Gift, Ranjith, Rijiya | 5:01 |
| 5 | "Aaraanu" | Kavalam Sreekumar | 5:07 |
References
- ^ a b "2011 was troublesome for Malayalam films". IBN Live. 4 January 2012.
- ^ "വിഷു ചിരിയുടെ വെടിക്കെട്ടായി ചൈനാ ടൗണ" (in Malayalam). Oneindia.in. 9 March 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
- ^ "ചൈനാടൗണ് ഒരുങ്ങുന്നു" (in Malayalam). Blivenews.com. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
- ^ a b Manoj Nair (21 May 2011). "Malayalam movies: Non-linear narratives are making the box-office ring louder". India Times. Economic Times.
- ^ "Mohanlal's Chinatown to start on Dec 16". Nowrunning.com. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
- ^ "Chinatown Review". Nowrunning.com. 15 April 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
- ^ "Review: Chinatown has no substance". Rediff.com. 15 April 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
- ^ "Movie Review: Chinatown". Sify.com. 15 April 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
- ^ Express News Service (9 August 2011). "Mollywood Progress Report 2011". Kochi. The New Indian Express.
- ^ "Sanju Weds Geetha audio released on 17-Nov-2010 by Puneet Rajkumar". Sanju Weds Geetha audio released on 17-Nov-2010 by Puneet Rajkumar
External links
- China Town at IMDb