''Chapters'' is a 2012
Malayalam film
Malayalam cinema is an Indian cinema, Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, ...
written and directed by debutant director Sunil Ibrahim. Dialogues by Duo writers
M R Vibin and Suhail Ibrahim. The film features an
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to ...
consisting of
Sreenivasan
Sreenivasan (born 6 April 1956) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, dubbing artist and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Sreenivasan has starred in over 225 films. Sreenivasan wrote the screenplays of films such as ' ...
,
Nivin Pauly
Nivin Pauly (born 11 October 1984) is an Indian actor and producer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. He is a recipient of several awards including two Kerala State Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards South, Filmfare South awards. ...
,
Hemanth Menon
Vineeth Suresh (born 19 April 1989) popularly known as Hemanth Menon by his stage name, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil movies.
Career
He made his debut in 2010 with the film '' Living Together''. He has sinc ...
, Vijeesh,
Dharmajan,
Vineeth Kumar
Vineeth Kumar is an Indian actor and director in Malayalam cinema. He came into the industry as child artist in the 1988 movie ''Padippura''. His directorial debut ''Ayal Njanalla'' was released in 2015.
Early life
Vineeth Kumar was born in P ...
,
Shine,
Aju Varghese
Aju Kurian Varghese (born 11 January 1985) better known as Aju Varghese is an Indian actor and producer who appears in Malayalam cinema. He made his debut in 2010 in ''Malarvadi Arts Club'', directed by his college classmate Vineeth Sreenivas ...
,
Riya Saira
Riya Saira is an Indian actress and dubbing artist in the Malayalam film Industry. She made her debut in 2012 through the Malayalam film '' 22 Female Kottayam''. Saira was spotted by Aashiq Abu
Aashiq Abu (born 12 April 1978) is an Indi ...
,
Rejith Menon
Rajith CR, better known as Rajith Menon, is an Indian actor who made his debut through the 2007 Malayalam movie '' Goal''.
Personal life
Rajith Menon did his schooling in Abu Dhabi Model School, and continued his bachelor's degree in mechani ...
,
Gauthami Nair,
K. P. A. C. Lalitha and
Lena
Lena or LENA may refer to:
Places
* Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso
* Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada
* Lena, Norway, a village in ...
. In a narrative structure similar to
hyperlink cinema
Hyperlink cinema is a style of filmmaking characterised by complex or multilinear narrative structures with multiple characters under one unifying theme.
History
The term was coined by author Alissa Quart, who used the term in her review of the f ...
, the film consists of four "chapters", each related to the other in some or the other way.
The film is produced by Shafeer Sait under the banner of Qurban Films in association wit
Campus Oaksand features music composed by
Mejo Joseph
Mejo Joseph is a music director from Malayalam Cinema. He made his debut in the blockbuster Malayalam movie '' Notebook''. He has given a splendid performance in Vaarikkuzhiyile Kolapathakam which starred Amith Chakalakkal
Personal life
Me ...
, whilst cinematography is handled by Krish Kymal and the film is edited by V. Saajan. Campus Oaks is an entertainment company, conceptualised and driven by students of the 1995 batch of
NSS Engineering College, Palakkad.
The film was released on 7 December to positive reviews.
Plot
The film is narrated in text book format with every new link to the story is presented as a new chapter.
The first chapter talks about four friends, Krishna Kumar, Anwar, Joby and Kannan, who are unemployed and in need of quick money. To make some money for Krishna Kumar's sister's wedding, they venture out for a risky adventure that will make them rich. It all works out well until the end when their plan goes all awry.
The second chapter is about a long bus journey. Sethu, a middle-aged man, is on his way to the hospital, where his young son awaits a surgery and chemotherapy. Because he is carrying a huge sum of money for his young son's cancer treatment, Sethu is nervous and suspicious of his fellow passengers. Meanwhile, he strikes up a conversation with an old lady sitting next to him who reveals that she has a son who is in jail.
In the third chapter, we see another group of six youngsters. Arun, Vinod aka Choonda, Kaanu and Jincy is heading for a journey to a hill station, to register a marriage - that of Shyam and Priya. When the group return to their car after stopping for a brief while, they find a dead body in it. The group disperses in panic.
In the fourth and final chapter, we see an anxious lady, Annie waiting by her son's bedside in the hospital awaiting her husband's arrival. She is astonished when he arrives with the money, but refrains from taxing him with further questions. She does manage to convince him however that the money that he has brought in should better be left where it truly belongs.
The final scenes explain how the different chapters are interlinked. Though some of the characters never meet, there is a link that connects them all.
Cast
*
Sreenivasan
Sreenivasan (born 6 April 1956) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, dubbing artist and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Sreenivasan has starred in over 225 films. Sreenivasan wrote the screenplays of films such as ' ...
as Sethu
*
Nivin Pauly
Nivin Pauly (born 11 October 1984) is an Indian actor and producer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. He is a recipient of several awards including two Kerala State Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards South, Filmfare South awards. ...
as Krishna Kumar
*
Hemanth Menon
Vineeth Suresh (born 19 April 1989) popularly known as Hemanth Menon by his stage name, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil movies.
Career
He made his debut in 2010 with the film '' Living Together''. He has sinc ...
as Anwar
*
Aju Varghese
Aju Kurian Varghese (born 11 January 1985) better known as Aju Varghese is an Indian actor and producer who appears in Malayalam cinema. He made his debut in 2010 in ''Malarvadi Arts Club'', directed by his college classmate Vineeth Sreenivas ...
as Kaanu
*
Lena
Lena or LENA may refer to:
Places
* Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso
* Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada
* Lena, Norway, a village in ...
as Annie
*
Vineeth Kumar
Vineeth Kumar is an Indian actor and director in Malayalam cinema. He came into the industry as child artist in the 1988 movie ''Padippura''. His directorial debut ''Ayal Njanalla'' was released in 2015.
Early life
Vineeth Kumar was born in P ...
as Arun
*
Sadiq
Sadiq is a male name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Ja'far al-Sadiq, the 8th-century Muslim scholar and scientist, considered as an Imam and founder of the Ja'fari school of jurisprudence by Twelver and Isma'ili Shi’as, and a major fi ...
as Krishna Kumar's father
*
Gauthami Nair as Priya, Krishna Kumar's sister
*
Manikandan Pattambi
Manikandan Pattambi ( ml, മണികണ്ഠൻ പട്ടാമ്പി) is an Indian television, stage, and film actor. He's best known for his roles in Malayalam television. He became famous for his character ''Sathyasheelan'' in the si ...
* Vijeesh as Joby
*
Dharmajan Bolgatty
Dharmajan Bolgatty (born 1976) is an Indian actor, producer, comedian, politician and entrepreneur, who works in Malayalam films, television, and stage shows. He began his career as a comedian appearing in sketch comedies on stage, later foraye ...
as Kannan
*
Riya Saira
Riya Saira is an Indian actress and dubbing artist in the Malayalam film Industry. She made her debut in 2012 through the Malayalam film '' 22 Female Kottayam''. Saira was spotted by Aashiq Abu
Aashiq Abu (born 12 April 1978) is an Indi ...
as Jincy
*
Rejith Menon
Rajith CR, better known as Rajith Menon, is an Indian actor who made his debut through the 2007 Malayalam movie '' Goal''.
Personal life
Rajith Menon did his schooling in Abu Dhabi Model School, and continued his bachelor's degree in mechani ...
as Shyam
* Manikandan as Chandrappan
*
Shine Tom Chacko
Shine Tom Chacko (born 15 September 1983) is an Indian actor and former assistant director who works in Malayalam cinema. After working as an assistant to director Kamal for about 9 years, he forayed into acting through the film. ''Gaddama''. ...
as Vinod aka Choonda
*
K. P. A. C. Lalitha as the elderly woman
*
Kalabhavan Shajon
Shaji John, professionally credited by his stage name Kalabhavan Shajohn is an Indian actor, director and comedian who works primarily in Malayalam cinema. He started his career as a mimicry artist in Kalabhavan, Kochi. Making his debut in 199 ...
as the conductor of the bus
* Dhananjay as Kannan
*
Vanitha Krishnachandran
Vanitha Krishnachandran is an Indian film and television actress. She acted during the 1980s in nearly 170 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films along with several Malayalam and Tamil Television serials.
Personal life
Vanitha was ...
*
M R Vibin
Release and reception
A special screening of the film was held in the first week of December 2012. Theaterbalcony.com. Retrieved 10 December 2012. The film released in theatres on 7 December.
* Paresh C Palicha of
Rediff.com
Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City.
, it had more than 300 e ...
stated, "The director succeeds in creating vivid characters (around 20 of them) and giving them believable motives for their actions so that they remain vivid in our memory. All said and done, Chapters shows promise."
*
Sify.com
Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...
's reviewer gave the verdict as "Average" and said, "''Chapters'' is an experiment, which can be appreciated only for its narrative style that is relatively new in this part of the globe."
* Aabha Anoop of The Hindu stated, "A logical and well-knit script is what makes debutant director Sunil Ibrahim’s Chapters another notable venture in the Malayalam cinema scene today. Set somewhere in the High Ranges, it could be noted for its cinematography. All the actors have played their part well, though none deserves a special mention. Producer Shafeer Sait may be appreciated for his willingness to experiment. Music by Mejo Joseph for Rafeeque Ahamed’s lyrics, however, does not score well. Chapters could be watched for the sheer novelty of presentation."
References
{{Reflist
2012 films
2010s Malayalam-language films
Indian anthology films
Indian nonlinear narrative films
Films shot in Palakkad
2012 directorial debut films
Films directed by Sunil Ibrahim