''Neyyattinkara Gopante Aaraattu'' or simply ''Aaraattu'' (; ), is a 2022 Indian
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
-language
action film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
co-produced and directed by
B. Unnikrishnan
Unnikrishnan B (born 14 August 1970) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, distributor and exhibitor who works in the Malayalam film industry.
Early life
Unnikrishnan. B. was born on 14 August 1970 in Pathanamthitta district in Kerala, I ...
and written by
Udaykrishna. The film stars
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeare ...
with
Shraddha Srinath
Shraddha Rama Srinath known Professionally as Shraddha Srinath (born 29 September 1990) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films. She debuted with the Malayalam film '' Kohinoor'' and gained wide acclai ...
,
Ramachandra Raju
Ramachandra Raju, better known as Garuda Ram, is an Indian actor who primarily appears in Kannada and Tamil films. He rose to fame for his role as the antagonist Garuda in the '' K.G.F film series A film series or movie series (also referred to a ...
,
Siddique,
Vijayaraghavan
Vijayaraghavan (born 20 December 1951) is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He is popular for his character roles. He is the son of popular drama and cinema artist N. N. Pillai. He got his break by playing the iconic ...
,
Saikumar, and
Nedumudi Venu
Kesavan Venugopal (22 May 1948 – 11 October 2021), better known by his stage name Nedumudi Venu, was an Indian actor and screenwriter from Kerala, who predominantly worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 500 films, primarily in Ma ...
in supporting roles.
Rahul Raj
Rahul Raj (born 17 March 1978) is an Indian music composer. He has composed and produced Film score, scores and soundtracks for Malayalam language, Malayalam, Telugu language, Telugu and Tamil language, Tamil movies. He is an alumnus of the pr ...
composed the film's original songs and
background score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...
.
The film was released on 18 February 2022 produced by RD Illuminations where it received mixed to negative reviews from critics.
Plot
In Muthalakotta, a village in
Palakkad
Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...
, people are financially recovering from the
2018 floods
Eighteen or 18 may refer to:
* 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19
* one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018
Film, television and entertainment
* ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short s ...
through gaining self-sufficiency via numerous farming ventures. Four youngsters and an elderly person arrive at the village during the flood and help them. Following the flood, the group decides to stay back in the village. They take over majority of the farming from the villagers and start an
ashram
An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or a ...
for
yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
and
spiritual practices
A spiritual practice or spiritual discipline (often including spiritual exercises) is the regular or full-time performance of actions and activities undertaken for the purpose of inducing spiritual experiences and cultivating spiritual developme ...
. With the new
state government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
mandate of turning any empty and unused land into farming land, the villagers, along with the
RDO RDO may stand for:
* Radom Airport, Poland, IATA code
* Radio Dom Ostankino, Russian broadcaster and member of the European Broadcasting Union
* Ranidel de Ocampo (born 1981), Filipino basketball player
* Raster Document Object (.rdo), a file forma ...
officer Anjali, beseech the wealthiest man in the village, Edathala Mathai, to give his 18-acre land to the government.
To avoid losing the plot and to start a township by changing the land category, he decides to lease his property to the slick Neyyattinkara Gopan, who plans to level the land under the guise of
fish farming
upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Fish farming or ...
. However, Gopan is revealed to be actually siding with the villagers. He helps the villagers in farming which angers Mathai, and is involved in helping villagers solving their problems. Mathai sends goons to thrash Gopan, but he thrashes them. Gopan exposes Mathai's involvement in
money laundering
Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...
,
hawala scam
The Hawala scandal, also called the Jain Diaries case or the hawala scam, was an Indian political and financial scandal involving payments allegedly sent by politicians (black money) through four hawala brokers, namely the Jain brothers. It was a ...
s. Mathai's sons questions Sathyasheelan, who introduced them to Gopan and reveals that Gopan's real name is
Col.
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
Suryachandra Lal, who had lost his parents when they were killed in a train journey by Muthalakotta Battalion (4 youngsters and Guruji), who are involved in many crimes.
The Muthalakotta Battalion arrived at Muthalakotta with a fake identity in order to save themselves. After the revelation, The youngsters kill Sathyasheelan. Gopan conducts a show with
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
as the chief guest, where he defeats the group and gets them arrested by the
NIA. The youngsters and Guruji are killed in a shootout conducted by the NIA. Soon, a cop reveals that Gopan is not Col. Suryachandra Lal and that the actual Suryachandra Lal is in army hospital undergoing treatment for depression. Gopan is then revealed to be a high profile
secret agent
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...
codenamed ''Agent X'' who works for the Central Government and participates in many secret missions with many different identities.
Cast
Production
Development
In May 2020, director
B. Unnikrishnan
Unnikrishnan B (born 14 August 1970) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, distributor and exhibitor who works in the Malayalam film industry.
Early life
Unnikrishnan. B. was born on 14 August 1970 in Pathanamthitta district in Kerala, I ...
shared a picture of him having a meeting with screenwriter
Udaykrishna, cinematographer
Jomon T. John
Jomon T. John (born 17 February 1982) is an Indian cinematographer and producer who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. Jomon made his debut with ''Chaappa Kurishu'' (2011). Jomon won the 2015 Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematogra ...
, editor
Shameer Muhammed
Shameer Muhammed is an Indian film editor and Film producer, producer predominantly working in Malayalam cinema. He was an alumnus of Chethana Media Institute, Thrissur. He worked as a spot editor in several movies and his debut as an independen ...
and some technical crew for revealing that they are in the pre-production work of a film amid the
COVID-19 lockdown in India
On the evening of 24 March 2020, the Government of India ordered a nationwide lockdown for 21days, limiting movement of the entire 1.38billion (138 crore) population of India as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 pandemic in India. It wa ...
. In October, it was revealed that
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeare ...
would play the leading role in the film which has a rustic story where he plays the role of a villager. Filming was said to begin in mid-November after Mohanlal completes filming of ''
Drishyam 2
''Drishyam 2: The Resumption'', or simply ''Drishyam 2'' is a 2021 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film written and directed by Jeethu Joseph and produced by Antony Perumbavoor through the company Aashirvad Cinemas.A sequel to their 2 ...
''.
The film marks the first collaboration between Unnikrishnan and Udaykrishna. Unnikrishnan said that he, Mohanlal, and Udaykrishnan were originally working on another project with a dark subject. Its final discussion were going on before the shoot of ''Drishyam 2'', but with surging COVID-19 cases it became near impossible to shoot the film at that time which required to be shot at multiple locations. It was then Mohanlal suggested that they work on a "festive kind of film" as a change against the increasing number of darker films produced during that time and Udaykrishna developed a story that shaped into ''Aaraattu''.
Unnikrishnan said that ₹30 lakh will be allotted for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
precautions, and the film would have a larger than usual crew by
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
standards, which would take 60 days to shoot.
Cast and crew agreed to work with a reduced remuneration considering the COVID-19 crisis. Unnikrishnan said that, in a normal scenario the film would have cost ₹30 crore. Title of the film was announced in November 2020. Vijay Ulaganath was reported as the cinematographer instead of John.
The film was produced by the production houses
RD Illuminations
Unnikrishnan B (born 14 August 1970) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, distributor and exhibitor who works in the Malayalam film industry.
Early life
Unnikrishnan. B. was born on 14 August 1970 in Pathanamthitta district in Kerala, I ...
, Hippo Prime Motion Pictures, and Movie Pay Media's.
Casting
''Aaraattu'' was Unnikrishnan's first film to feature as many as 45 characters. Mohanlal plays Neyyattinkara Gopan, whom Unnikrishnan describes as a "loud character from the get-go".
[ Mohanlal was confirmed in the film in October 2020.][ In the same month, ]Shraddha Srinath
Shraddha Rama Srinath known Professionally as Shraddha Srinath (born 29 September 1990) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films. She debuted with the Malayalam film '' Kohinoor'' and gained wide acclai ...
was confirmed in the female lead role, who plays an I.A.S officer serving as Revenue Division Officer. Shraddha was acting in a Malayalam film after a break of five years. Ramachandra Raju
Ramachandra Raju, better known as Garuda Ram, is an Indian actor who primarily appears in Kannada and Tamil films. He rose to fame for his role as the antagonist Garuda in the '' K.G.F film series A film series or movie series (also referred to a ...
was confirmed in January 2021.
Filming
The crew has planned to shoot the film in Palakkad
Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...
and Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
. Vijay Ulaganath was the cinematographer. The filming was done following the COVID-19 protocols and safety measures. The film began principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
on 23 November 2020 in Palakkad district. Shraddha Srinath joined the set on the following day. Varikkasseri Mana
Varikkasseri Mana (Malayalam: വരിക്കാശേരി മന), alternatively known as Varikkumanchery Mana, is one of the oldest traditional aristocratic Namboothiri family houses (illam) in Kerala. Built in Kerala architectural style ...
served as a location for the film. Some significant portions were shot at Ottapalam
Ottapalam, (also spelled Ottappalam) is a town, taluk and municipality in the Palakkad district, Palakkad District, Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ottapalam taluk. Ottapalam is located about 36 km from district head ...
and Ooty
Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north west of Coimbatore and so ...
. The two day shoot at the Palakkad Town railway station
Palakkad Town railway station (code: PGTN) is a railway station that serves city of Palakkad,Kerala and falls under the Palakkad railway division of the Southern Railway zone, Indian Railways. City is served by two railway stations, Palakkad ...
costs 23.46 lakhs for renting six coaches
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Coac ...
from Indian Railways
Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...
. Mohanlal's character drives a vintage black Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3 with 2255 on the number plate, a reference to Mohanlal's iconic line from his 1986 film ''Rajavinte Makan
''Rajavinte Makan'' () is a 1986 Indian Malayalam-language gangster film directed and produced by Thampi Kannanthanam and written by Dennis Joseph. It stars Mohanlal as crime boss Vincent Gomes, and also features Suresh Gopi, Ratheesh, Ambika a ...
''. Mohanlal completed his portion by 11 February 2021, with one day shoot left to be shot in March second week. Composer A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
appeared in a song sequence along with Mohanlal in March. It was filmed at Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
. Filming was completed in late March 2021.
Music
The original songs and background score of the film were composed by Rahul Raj
Rahul Raj (born 17 March 1978) is an Indian music composer. He has composed and produced Film score, scores and soundtracks for Malayalam language, Malayalam, Telugu language, Telugu and Tamil language, Tamil movies. He is an alumnus of the pr ...
. Lyrics for the songs were written by B. K. Harinarayanan, Rajeev Govindan, Fejo, and Nikesh Chembilode. A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
has done a cameo and performed a song in the film.[ Unnikrishnan said that it was difficult to hire Rahman for the film since he rarely appears in films. He appears in a pivotal portion in the film. The final mix of the film was going on in November 2021.
]
Release
''Aaraattu'' was released worldwide theatrically on 18 February 2022. Originally scheduled for 20 August 2021, the premiere was postponed due to closure of theatres in Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
because of COVID-19 pandemic in India
The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , according to Indian government figures, India has the second-highest n ...
. Then, the film's release date was pushed to 13 October 2021, but it was again postponed due to the same reason. it was then moved to 10 February 2022, but delayed again.
Reception
Critical response
The film received generally mixed to negative reviews from critics and audience.
''OTTplay
HT Media is an Indian mass media company based in Delhi, India. It has holdings in print, electronic and digital media.
HT Media's flagship newspaper is the ''Hindustan Times'', the second most widely read English newspaper in India after ''The ...
'' gave the film 3/5 and wrote "All-out Mohanlal show works only when it doesn’t take itself too seriously"
''The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'' rated the film 3/5 and wrote "Aaraattu is not a clever film, but if you are looking for a ‘return to the theatre’ family entertainer, this might serve your purpose."
''The News Minute
''The News Minute'' is an Indian digital news platform based in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was founded by Dhanya Rajendran, Chitra Subramaniam and Vignesh Vellore in 2014. Apart from Karnataka, it also has bureaus in the states of Telangana, And ...
'' Sowmya Rajendran gave the film 1.5/5 star rating and called it "loud, bombastic and boring." ''The New Indian Express
''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naid ...
'' rated the film 3/5 and called the film test." ''Malayala Manorama
''Malayala Manorama'' is a morning newspaper in Malayalam published from Kottayam, Kerala, India by the Malayala Manorama Company Limited. Currently headed by Mammen Mathew; it was first published as a weekly on 22 March 1888, and currently has ...
'' called the movie "a charade of old master pieces" referring to the references to old Malayalam movies of Mohanlal. ''The Week
''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's edi ...
'' also gave the movie a 2.5/5 star rating and called it "unoriginal mish-mash of classic 'Mohanlal moments' and tropes.
In popular culture
The term ''AARAADUKAYAANU'' has become a new catchphrase among Malayalis. Upcoming music producer Tony Tarz uploaded the edited reaction video of a Mohanlal fan Santhosh Varkey to the movie Aaraattu by adding rap bits to an auto-tuned version of his phrase ‘Aaradukayanu’. The video quickly garnered over 1.5 million views on 5 August 2022 in Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
and memes also trended related to the rap song.
References
External links
*
*
* {{Instagram, aarattumovieofficial, Aaraattu
2022 films
2022 action films
Films directed by B. Unnikrishnan
Films scored by Rahul Raj
Indian action films
2020s Malayalam-language films
Films shot in Palakkad
Films shot at Varikkasseri Mana