Christy (2023 Film)

''Christy'' is a 2023 Indian Malayalam-language romantic drama film directed by Alvin Henry in his directorial debut and written by Benyamin and G. R. Indugopan. The film features Mathew Thomas and Malavika Mohanan in the lead roles. The film is based on a true story.

It was released in theatres on 17 February 2023. It received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

2007 : In Poovar Roy, a 12th-standard student who is not interested in studies and usually skips classes to enjoy himself with his friends. He also goes out to a dance troupe called "Poovar Boys". He lives with his father's sister for his studies. Roy's mother knows about his lack of diligence in his studies and tells him to return home if he does not study well. His aunt opposes and decides to send him for tuition under a higher secondary teacher named Christy. When Roy comes to Christy's home, he sees her sitting in the room like a crazy woman and tearing up all the photos. Seeing that, he gets scared and goes home, saying that she is crazy and he won't go there for tuition. The next day, while leaving the church, Christy meets him and tells him to come for tuition tomorrow.

While in school, Roy comes across a teacher who informs him that it is only because of his mother's pleas that he is allowed to attend the exams. Due to this, he decides to go to Christy's home for tuition. As Roy waits for her, she arrives with her father, and he mentions that they had a mutual divorce, so there weren't many problems. Even though Christy distributed sweets, she didn't seem to be happy. Then it is revealed that Christy and her father are not on good terms. He used to borrow money from her even when she wasn't interested in giving, and she was married without her consent. One day, Roy's friends began to gossip and make stories about Christy and Roy. As a result, Roy fell in love, and even during the tuition, instead of concentrating on what she teaches, he used to stare at her as if he likes her. As the days passed, the friendship between Christy and Roy became closer, and he passed the exams smoothly.

Now, Roy has entered college and decides to reveal his love to Christy. When he reaches her home, he learns that Christy is leaving for an interview for a school in the Maldives. Her father and Roy accompany Christy to the interview, and she successfully clears the interview. When she says to her father that she needs 2 lakhs, her father dashes out in anger. During the return journey by bus, Roy proposes to Christy that he loves her and wishes to marry her. Hearing all this, she gets shocked and doesn't give a reply. Then the day arrives for Christy to join the job in Mali, and she leaves for it. Roy arrives at the airport with his friend, but by then, she had boarded the plane from the airport.

Later, once Roy is traveling on a bus, Christy calls him. When he tries to call back, his phone doesn't have enough balance, so he gets off the bus and goes to a nearby mobile shop. He still couldn't make the call even after recharging. Inquiring with them, he learns that it costs a lot of money per minute to call there. A few days pass by, and Roy's birthday arrives. That day, Christy calls him and asks him to meet her colleague at the library to collect his birthday gift. But Roy is surprised to see Christy herself come with a gift for him. Then, he takes her to his home. When she tells him to open the gift, he asks for a kiss before opening it. Opportunely, he holds them together and kisses her, then she gets shocked. All of a sudden, due to shyness, anger, and sadness, she runs away from there. She had given a camera as a birthday gift to him. For the next few days, Christy didn't even talk to Roy. The first picture Roy clicks on the camera is of Christy, and he gifts the picture to her. After that, they forget all their problems and start to hang out again as they did in the past, resulting in a day-by-day increase in Roy's love for Christy.

Roy reaches Rashid's house in an auto. He tries to meet Rashid, but he is sleeping, and the maid tells him to come at 10 o'clock. Although he told her that it was urgent, she didn't allow him to meet Rashid.

With no other choice, he returns to the airport. Without enough hotel bookings or dollars, the counter staff can't permit him to go there. Even if they accept him, Thomas, the immigration officer, will not let anyone pass without proper proof. He pleads to be allowed to go there even if he is not accepted by immigration. The manager takes pity on him and tells him to let him in.

After returning home, Roy uses a camera gifted by Christy to take pictures of the fish struggling to return to the sea.

Cast

Production

Principal photography of the film began on 21 September 2022
with a pooja held at Hotel Geethu International in Poovar near Thiruvananthapuram.
Christy is the directorial debut of Alvin Henry. Writers Benyamin and G.R. Indugopan wrote the screenplay of this film. Sajai Sebastian and Kannan Satheesan produced the film through the production company Rocky Mountains Cinemas. Anend C. Chandran was the cinematographer, Sameera Saneesh was the costume designer and Govind Vasantha composed the music.
The film was shot in Poovar and Maldives.

Soundtrack

Govind Vasantha is the music director of the movie. He has composed four songs for the film and also did the background scores for the movie.

Release

The teaser of the film
was released
on January 26.
After that the trailer
was released on February 10 and the film released in theatres on 17 February 2023. The digital rights of the film is acquired by Sony LIV and started streaming from 10 March 2023.

The screenplay of the film published by Manorama Books released on 14 February 2023 during the audio launch of the film in Thiruvananthapuram.

Reception

The film received mixed responses upon release. S. R. Praveen from ''The Hindu'' said that the film "portrays a unique relationship convincingly, but the shoddy writing and a poor third act does no justice to the soul of the story." Rating the film 3 in a scale of 5, ''The Times of India''s reviewer appreciated Malavika Mohanan's performance but felt that the "message conveyed by the film is questionable, and perhaps not even acceptable." ''Cinema Express''s critic rated the film 3.5 in a scale of 5 and wrote that the film "is one of those love stories that spend enough time exploring the mental landscape of its principal characters." A reviewer from ''Malayala Manorama'' wrote that the film is a "celebration of unconditional love." Rating the film 2.5 in a scale of 5, ''India Todays reviewer appreciated the lead performances but felt that the film's portrayal of the romantic relationship as one-sided.

References

External links

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* {{Rotten Tomatoes

2023 films
2023 romantic comedy films
Indian romantic drama films
2020s Malayalam-language films
2023 directorial debut films
High school films
Indian teen romance films
Films shot in the Maldives
Films shot in Thiruvananthapuram
Films scored by Govind Vasantha