Guppy (film)
Guppy | |
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![]() Theatrical-release poster | |
Directed by | Johnpaul George |
Written by | Johnpaul George |
Produced by | Mukesh R. Mehta A. V. Anoop C. V. Sarathi |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Girish Gangadharan |
Edited by | Dilip Dennis |
Music by | Vishnu Vijay |
Production companies | E4 Entertainment A. V. A. Productions Yopa Cinemas |
Distributed by | E4 Entertainment |
Release date |
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Country | India |
Language | Malayalam |
Budget | 3.10 Crores |
Guppy is a 2016 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Johnpaul George. It stars Chethan Jayalal and Tovino Thomas in the lead roles, along with Sreenivasan, Rohini, Sudheer Karamana, Dileesh Pothan, and Alencier Ley Lopez in supporting roles.[1] The film was released on 5 August 2016.
The film revolves around the unexpected rivalry that starts between a teenager, Guppy and the engineer who comes for the construction of the village dream project. Centered on the theme of hope, the film peruse the ruins 'wounded' ego cause in the lives of people.
Plot
Named after the angel, Michael, rather known as Guppy, is the sole support to his ailing mother. A talented artist, the teenager earns a living by rearing and selling the ornamental fish – Guppy. He takes great care of his disabled Mother. He wants nothing but the best for her, be it the happiness in her life or the fully automatic wheelchair that he aspires to gift her someday. Her son fills her only prayers to the Almighty, that he may be guarded in all his ways. The little mischiefs that his gang gets into and the occasional glimpses from the teenage beauty, Amina, make his day. Their small fishing village, lately, is under a lot of excitement. Their dream project just got sanctioned – a railway overbridge, to bypass the railway gate en route. With great zeal, the people await the engineers from Road and Bridges Development Corporation.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Himalayas, a rider starts his journey leaving his dear ones and 'Malu', heading for the village. He arrives at the small roadside stall where the boy works, stopping for a tea. Like the others present, Guppy, gets prejudiced with the unconcerned lifestyle of a rider, for people here strive hard to subsist. Gaps in communication and probably his biased views, offend the individual with the tea hence given. The experience ends on a bad note for the two, with both their egos getting hurt. Little did Guppy know the rider was here to stay, for he is Er. Thejus Varkey in charge of building the bridge. A near miss accident the next day give Guppy his upper hand and the teen gang loot the engineer for damages, when there actually is none.
Days pass by and the rest of the team arrive. Works start with initial planning and sketching. The engineer befriends the local village officer and convince him to slash the price per pair, the office pays to the boy. Being forced an apology, Guppy’s self-esteem urge him otherwise. The engineer find the boy near the office jeep, with flat tires, waiting for him. Instincts send the boy running, while the engineer chases after him and slap him, driving the rest of the gang to attack in defence. With a stone, Guppy smash that hand of the engineer that slapped him. Later, the team find their tent vandalized, burnt to ashes, leading Thejus to send back his team till he finish the unresolved task.
Thejus takes his time off, studying the canals and former civil undertakings. The secretive plan takes shape. The illegal pisciculture of the boy in the blocked drainage, causing floods during rain, along with the roadside stall where he works, are to be destroyed by the police, as part of the expansion of roads for the bridge. Giving no time to shift, the tank is mercilessly wrecked sending the fish down the drain, all the way. The engineer’s revenge is complete and the harm is done. From his meager savings, Guppy hire an outlaw to hurt the man in return. Something then happens, the boy didn’t expect. The engineer is stabbed, from the front, horrifying the kid.
Guppy now know, things spiraled out of hand. The engineer’s silence to the police frightens him even more, for the revenge will be something worse. Left all alone, helplessly watching his dreams slipping away and awaiting his assured fate, his pride and courage all drain out. His fear does not go unnoticed by his mother, to whom he reveal nothing. Thejus on the other hand, lonely on the hospital bed, is in pain, but not physically. He too awaits to regain strength, to meet the boy.
Amina, the girl fancied by the gang, lives with her grandparents as her parents are both dead. The grandfather (whom she calls Uppooppa) works as the temporary gate operator at the railway gate, hoping to make her an engineer one day. Once the overbridge is commissioned, he will lose his job and at his age, is unable to find another. His mannerisms always irritated the team and he couldn’t make friends with any. The solution to the poor man’s problems, thought out by his slender perspective, was to drive the team away. He was the one who punctured the tires of the office jeep and destroyed their tent. When nothing seemed to work, at the end of his pitiful rope, face covered, he stabbed the engineer. But now the thoughts scare him. He is admitted in the hospital with chest pain and regrets his actions.
Thejus came to build the bridge and leave, intending no one no harm. Coming to know of the surrounding political scams, village officer’s illicit relationship, the peon’s corruption or even the guest house caretaker’s laziness; nothing bothered him. But, the wounded ego set him on a path chasing after a small child, probably not much older than his own, spending all his energy to drench the kid in pain. He realize that his very presence chocked the lives of two innocent souls and their dependents. The bridge, on the other hand, is just a political stunt targeting the vote bank; with nothing fruitful coming out of it for the society. Stating ‘technically unfeasible’, he stops the million-rupee project; delaying the construction for at least another ten years. He meets Uppooppa to say that he understands and he will help with Amina’s dreams; forgiving him for his insanity. Revealing the courage to correct his deeds, he rebuilds Guppy’s tank and gift it in grandiose; before leaving the place empty-handed. Guppy, relieved from his worries, run home to his mother with the happy news. Leaving him all alone, he finds her having breathed her last; another gift, the long-awaited wheelchair, still on its way.
It has now been days since the boy left. The old man, Tinku as he is fondly called, come back after weeks of caring for an old lady, who might have been his long-lost mother. He happened to have read about Thejus Varkey, who filled the news some years back. He was the engineer who constructed the much anticipated Omallur Bridge. On the day of the inauguration, his family met with an accident – killing his parents, wife and his 7-year-old daughter. Riding was his way out of his grief. To him, every child that he met was his daughter Malu; refusing to leave her with the dead. This railway bridge was likely the only work he undertook since.
Thejus is shown once again riding through the Himalayas with his dear 'Malu', never having been so relieved and content, with the happy child Michael in his care. Like an answer to the prayers of his mother, Michael will never be left alone and so will be Thejus.
Cast
- Chethan Jayalal as Guppy (Michael)
- Tovino Thomas as Engineer Thejus Varky
- Sreenivasan as Upooppa
- Rohini as Guppy's mother
- Alencier Ley Lopez as Paappan
- Sudheer Karamana as Lalichan
- Dileesh Pothan as Krishnan, village officer
- Sudhi Koppa as Chink Divakar
- Noby as Oanachan
- K. L. Antony Kochi as Tinku
- Poojappura Ravi as Chinnappan
- Nandhana Varma as Aamina
- Devi Ajith as Aamina's grandmother
- Vijilesh as Pappoy
- Arun Paul as Abu
Production
The film is jointly produced by E4 Entertainment and A. V. A. Productions, in association with Yopa Cinemas.[2]
Soundtrack
Untitled | |
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The soundtrack features songs composed by Vishnu Vijay. The lyrics were penned by Vinayak Sasikumar, Rafeeq Ahamed, and Johnpaul George.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Singer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Gabrielinte" | Vinayak Sasikumar, | Anthony Daasan | 3:35 |
2. | "Athiraliyum" | Rafeeq Ahmed | Vijay Yesudas, Lathika | 4:10 |
3. | "Virinja Poonkurunne" | Vinayak Sasikumar, | Vishnu Vijay | 1:18 |
4. | "Thaniye" | Vinayak Sasikumar, | Sooraj Santhosh | 4:57 |
5. | "Thira Thira" | Madhuvanthi Narayan, Suchith Suresan, Vijayan Ambalapuzha | 3:38 | |
Total length: | 16:58 |
Release
Guppy was originally scheduled to release on 29 July 2016, but due to some procedural issue in getting the film censored, the release was postponed to and released on 5 August 2016.[3] The film was released in 72 theaters across Kerala.
Critical reception
The film received positive reviews from critics.
Times of India gave a rating of 3/5 and mentioned that director and scriptwriter Johnpaul George deserves credit for weaving the beautiful tale[4]
The Hindu mentioned that in Guppy director Johnpaul George is visibly eager to bring on screen everything he ever wanted to shoot and ends up packing in just a little too much.'[5]
Malayala Manorama gave a rating of 3/5 and said that 'While it's a thumbs up for the maiden directorial venture, one is too tempted to sing 'beauty, beauty everywhere, but a good number of edits short of being a fine film'[6]
'Lensmenreviews' notable Malayalam film critic gave a rating of 4/5 and said that' Guppy 'invites you to its plot and shows you its world. The characters, their dilemmas, the streets, that auto rickshaw etc. stays with you for some strange reasons[7]
Entertainment website Sify with its inherent honesty, debutant director Johnpaul George’s Guppy is a good film that has its fine moments[8]
The power of the screenplay in getting the audience involved, choosing between sides and later making them regret their choice is worthy of mention.
Awards
The film won 5 awards for 2016 47th Kerala State Film Awards which was announced on 7 March 2017.
- Best Child Artist - Chethan Jayalal
- Best Background Music - Vishnu Vijay
- Best Male Singer - Sooraj Santhosh
- Best Costume Designer - Stephy Savier
- Special Mention - Girish Gangadharan
Home Media
'Guppy' garnered excellent reviews after the DVD release which prompted lead actor Tovino Thomas asking through Facebook about re-releasing the movie in theaters again.[9] The lead actor said that after the release of the DVD, he has been receiving a lot of messages from people who regret missing out on the movie in theaters.[10]
See also
References
- ^ "Tovino in Guppy". Malayala Manorama.
- ^ "Tovino starrer 'Guppy' will be produced under E4 Entertainment banner". International Business Times.
- ^ James, Anu (26 July 2016). "Tovino Thomas, Chethan Jayalal's 'Guppy' movie release date postponed". International Business Times. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
- ^ Sidhardhan, Sanjith. "Guppy Movie Review". Times of India.
- ^ Praveen, S.R. "Flab smothers a warm story". The Hindu.
- ^ "'Guppy': A fishy tale in kaleidoscopic view". Malayala Manorama.
- ^ "'Guppy invites you to its plot and shows you its world'". Lensmen Reviews.
- ^ "'Guppy': Review". Sify.
- ^ "'Shall we re-release Guppy?' asks Tovino Thomas". Sify.
- ^ "'Tovino asks Malayalis to promote good films'". Times of India.