''Helen'' is a 2019 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
survival
Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...
thriller film directed by
Mathukutty Xavier
Mathukutty Xavier is an Indian film Director and Screenplay Writer who predominantly works in Malayalam Cinema. He has won the 67th National Award for Best Debut Film of a Director. His first film was ''Helen''. The film is remade into Hindi t ...
(in his directorial debut) and produced by
Vineeth Sreenivasan
Vineeth Sreenivasan (born 1 October 1984) is an Indian playback singer, actor, film director, screenwriter, producer, lyricist, creative director and dubbing artist. He predominantly works in the Malayalam cinema. He is the son of actor an ...
under the companies Habit of Life and Big Bang Entertainments.
The film stars
Anna Ben
Anna Ben is an Indian actress who works in Malayalam cinema. The daughter of screenwriter Benny P. Nayarambalam, she made her acting debut with ''Kumbalangi Nights'' in 2019. Anna has since starred in the dramas ''Helen'' (2019) and ''Kappela ...
in the title role, while
Lal
Lal ( fa, لعل, hi, लाल, bn, লাল, ur, لال, ps, Lāl) is an Indo-Iranian surname and given name, which means "darling", "precious", or "beloved", from the Sanskrit ''lala'' ("cajoling").''Dictionary of American Family Names''F ...
,
Noble Babu Thomas
Noble Babu Thomas (born 30 May 1984) is an Indian film producer, screenwriter, and actor who works in Malayalam films. He started his career as a film producer and founded the film production company Big Bang Entertainments in 2015. His debut pro ...
,
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 ...
,
Rony David
Dr.Rony David is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam cinema, mainly in supporting roles. He made his debut in the 2007 film ''Chocolate''. He is also a physician who practiced at KIMS Hospital
KIMS Hospital is the largest independent pr ...
and Binu Pappu appears in supporting roles. It was written by Alfred Kurian Joseph,
Noble Babu Thomas
Noble Babu Thomas (born 30 May 1984) is an Indian film producer, screenwriter, and actor who works in Malayalam films. He started his career as a film producer and founded the film production company Big Bang Entertainments in 2015. His debut pro ...
and Mathukutty Xavier. Its soundtrack was composed by
Shaan Rahman
Shaan Rahman (born 30 December 1979) is an Indian composer and singer, best known for his compositions in the Malayalam cinema. Shaan made his debut as a music director in the 2009 film ''Ee Pattanathil Bhootham'' directed by Johny Antony. He g ...
.
''Helen'' was released on 15 November 2019. The film won two National Film Awards –
Best Debut Film of a Director and
Best Make-up Artist (Ranjith Ambady) – and Ben won the
Kerala State Film Award – Special Jury Award
The Kerala State Film Award – Special Jury Award is an award presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards
The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the ...
. It was remade into
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
as ''
Anbirkiniyal'' (2021), and in
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
by the same director as ''
Mili'' (2022).
Plot
Helen is a
B.Sc Nursing graduate and attends
IELTS
The International English Language Testing System (IELTS ), is an international standardized test of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers. It is jointly managed by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia an ...
coaching classes intended for a job abroad. She works part-time at a restaurant named The Chicken Hub, inside a plush mall. She lives with her father, Paul, an insurance agent. He does not like her going abroad. Paul is a conservative
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
and has disagreement with Helen associating with non-Christian friends. Unbeknownst to Paul, Helen has a
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
boyfriend, Azhar, who is in search of a job.
One night, while Azhar is riding Helen to her home, they are stopped by police who penalise him for not wearing a helmet and drunken driving, they both are brought to the police station. Paul is summoned to the station. Paul is in dismay of seeing his daughter and does not talk to her despite her several attempts of creating conversation.
The next night after work at the Chicken Hub, Helen's manager Jayashankar unknowingly locks her in the freezer room. At -18 °C, Helen has to survive in the freezing cold and tries everything to keep herself alive. She tries to block the exhaust fan but ended up dislocating her leg. She starts to get frostbite and bleeding through her nose.
Her father starts getting worried that Helen has not reached home. He searches for Helen with the help of his neighbor. They call all her co-workers but they all said they do not know anything. Azhar, who was on his way to
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 ...
half-heartedly, returns and also joins the investigation.
They go to the police station to file a complaint but they are greeted by the SI Ratheesh Kumar, whom they met yesterday. He suspects Azhar. Paul tries to defend him and this causes a feud between the sub-inspector and the search party. He deliberately tries not to help them by not sharing the last tower location of Helen he got from Cyber cell.
They get a clue that Helen might have had a problem with the auto drivers in front of the mall. They all reach there to enquire. The auto driver whom they suspected denied the allegation. At this point, they meet a watchman of the mall who says that Helen might not have left the mall because he usually notices her going in and out.
They rush to the Chicken Hub and opens the freezer. In the end, after 5 hours, they find Helen. She is taken to the hospital just before she had the last stage of
hypothermia
Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe h ...
. Then Paul enquires with the watchman that how was he sure about the fact that Helen didn't leave the mall. Helen smiles at him every time she comes in and out of the mall. He did not see her go out on the day of her missing.
Helen reunites with her father and boyfriend. The doctor says that she is out of danger and she needs physiotherapy later. He continues that its difficult for any common man or woman to survive that cold weather and Helen is a brave girl. When the watchman asks Paul what his daughter's name is, Paul proudly replies, "Helen".
Cast
*
Anna Ben
Anna Ben is an Indian actress who works in Malayalam cinema. The daughter of screenwriter Benny P. Nayarambalam, she made her acting debut with ''Kumbalangi Nights'' in 2019. Anna has since starred in the dramas ''Helen'' (2019) and ''Kappela ...
as Helen
*
Lal
Lal ( fa, لعل, hi, लाल, bn, লাল, ur, لال, ps, Lāl) is an Indo-Iranian surname and given name, which means "darling", "precious", or "beloved", from the Sanskrit ''lala'' ("cajoling").''Dictionary of American Family Names''F ...
as Paul, Helen's father
*
Noble Babu Thomas
Noble Babu Thomas (born 30 May 1984) is an Indian film producer, screenwriter, and actor who works in Malayalam films. He started his career as a film producer and founded the film production company Big Bang Entertainments in 2015. His debut pro ...
as Azhar
*
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
SI Ratheesh Kumar
*
Rony David
Dr.Rony David is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam cinema, mainly in supporting roles. He made his debut in the 2007 film ''Chocolate''. He is also a physician who practiced at KIMS Hospital
KIMS Hospital is the largest independent pr ...
as Jayashankar
*
Binu Pappu
''Binu Pappu'' (born December 13, 1982), is an Indian actor and assistant director primarily working in the Malayalam movie industry. He is the son of legendary actor Kuthiravattam Pappu. He is mainly noted for his performances in the movies He ...
as
CI Ravi Prakash
* Bonny Mary Mathew as Littu
* Jayaraj as Mall security
*
Vineeth Sreenivasan
Vineeth Sreenivasan (born 1 October 1984) is an Indian playback singer, actor, film director, screenwriter, producer, lyricist, creative director and dubbing artist. He predominantly works in the Malayalam cinema. He is the son of actor an ...
as Kanchan, Jail convict (cameo)
* Kookal Raghavan as Raghavan
* Lakshmi Marikar as Helen's friend
* Lali Marikar as Azhar's mother
* Thrissur Elsy as Devamma
* Adinadu Sasi as
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
Sudevan
* Vinu Vijayakumar as Jins Babu
* Srikant Murali as Doctor
*
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
as man who hits Azhar's bike in accident
* Nazrudeen Valiyaveettil as North Indian Mall
security guard
A security guard (also known as a security inspector, security officer, or protective agent) is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets (property, people, equipment, money, etc.) from a variety ...
*
Malavika Wales
Malavika Wales is an Indian actress and classical dancer. She is from a Malayali family from Thrissur. She made her acting debut in ''Malarvaadi Arts Club''.
Personal life
Malavika was born to late P. G. Wales and Sudina Wales at Thrissur. She ...
Production
According to Mathukutty Xavier, he wanted to make a survival thriller as there were not many Malayalam films made on that genre since the 1992 film ''
Malootty
''Malootty'' is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language survival drama film directed by Bharathan, starring Jayaram, Urvashi, and Shamili. The story is set in the 1980s, in which a girl is trapped in a drill hole and survives after many hours. The title ...
''. The story was inspired from an incident that had taken place abroad. While writing, they had visited
meat freezers in
Aroor
Aroor is a census town at the northern end of Alappuzha district and the southern suburb of the city of Kochi in the state of Kerala, India. It is a seafood related industrial area of Alleppey district, and acts as the Southern entry point ...
and
Alappuzha
Alappuzha or Alleppey () is the administrative headquarters of Alappuzha district in States and territories of India, state of Kerala, India. The Kerala Backwaters, Backwaters of Alappuzha are one of the most popular tourist attractions in Indi ...
and met workers who had stuck in freezers for 5–6 hours. Eventually, a girl getting trapped in a meat freezer became its basic thread. Similar incidents reported in newspaper were referred and formed a fictional plot. Characters such as the girl's father and boyfriend were brought in to make it emotionally connected to the audience. Their motive was to target family and youth audience. After completing the script Xavier went to meet
Vineeth Sreenivasan
Vineeth Sreenivasan (born 1 October 1984) is an Indian playback singer, actor, film director, screenwriter, producer, lyricist, creative director and dubbing artist. He predominantly works in the Malayalam cinema. He is the son of actor an ...
for his feedback. On hearing the script halfway through, Vineeth expressed interest in producing the film.
On 1 August 2019, Vineeth Sreenivasan announced the film with Anna Ben in the lead role and a title poster was released. It was reported
Lal
Lal ( fa, لعل, hi, लाल, bn, লাল, ur, لال, ps, Lāl) is an Indo-Iranian surname and given name, which means "darling", "precious", or "beloved", from the Sanskrit ''lala'' ("cajoling").''Dictionary of American Family Names''F ...
would play Helen's father and
Noble Babu Thomas
Noble Babu Thomas (born 30 May 1984) is an Indian film producer, screenwriter, and actor who works in Malayalam films. He started his career as a film producer and founded the film production company Big Bang Entertainments in 2015. His debut pro ...
was paired opposite Anna.
It was reported to be a
woman-centric film, in which Anna plays a girl who works in a fast food joint in Kochi.
Soundtrack
On 1 November 2019, the first song of the film titled "Pon Thaarame" sung by
Vineeth Sreenivasan
Vineeth Sreenivasan (born 1 October 1984) is an Indian playback singer, actor, film director, screenwriter, producer, lyricist, creative director and dubbing artist. He predominantly works in the Malayalam cinema. He is the son of actor an ...
and
Divya S. Menon was released. Composed by
Shaan Rahman
Shaan Rahman (born 30 December 1979) is an Indian composer and singer, best known for his compositions in the Malayalam cinema. Shaan made his debut as a music director in the 2009 film ''Ee Pattanathil Bhootham'' directed by Johny Antony. He g ...
, its lyrics were written by
Vinayak Sasikumar
Vinayak Sasikumar (born 13 June 1994) is an Indian lyricist, who works in Malayalam cinema.
Personal life
He was born in Trivandrum, Kerala to S. Sasikumar and Asha Sasikumar. At the age of 12, he started writing poetry. Later, he moved to Ch ...
,
Vineeth Sreenivasan
Vineeth Sreenivasan (born 1 October 1984) is an Indian playback singer, actor, film director, screenwriter, producer, lyricist, creative director and dubbing artist. He predominantly works in the Malayalam cinema. He is the son of actor an ...
and
Manu Manjith
Manu Manjith is an Indian lyricist and poet in Malayalam language. He is also a Homoeopath. He began his film career with the Malayalam film ''Ohm Shanthi Oshaana'' in 2014. He is a frequent collaborator of Shaan Rahman since 2014.
Filmography
...
.
Release
The film was released on 15 November 2019. Funtastic Films headed by
Visakh Subramaniam and
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 ...
was in charge of the film's distribution.
Reception
Rating 4 out of 5 stars, Sajin Shrijith of ''
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 ...
'' wrote: "It’s one of those rare survival dramas where innovative ideas are strongly backed by nail-biting tension and emotional stakes." He praised Anna Ben's performance: "Anna Ben, who made a terrific debut in ''Kumbalangi Nights'', proves with ''Helen'' that she is not a one-hit-wonder." ''
Sify
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 ...
'' rated the movie 4 out of 5 stating: "''Helen'' is the kind of movie that start affecting you slowly and shakes up totally by the time the end titles start rolling." Also praising Aju Varghese's performance, the review concluded: "Watch out for a brilliant show from Aju Varghese, who is doing a character that has a different shade from usual."
Anna M. M. Vetticad
Anna Mercy Mathews Vetticad, commonly known as Anna M. M. Vetticad, is an Indian film critic and journalist. She has been in the field of journalism since 1994. Vetticad has also hosted her own interview show, ''Star Trek'', on Headlines Today ...
of ''
Firstpost
''Firstpost'' is an Indian online news and media website. The site is a part of the Network 18 media conglomerate owned by Reliance Industries, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC-TV18.
The ''Network 18'' group was originally owned by Raghav ...
'' awarded 3.5 in a scale of 5 and gave the verdict: "''Helen'' is right up there with the best of 2019." Anjana George of ''
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 it 3.5 out of 5 stars and commented: "A heart rending survival drama." She praised Anend C. Chandran's cinematography and Shaan Rahman's music: "With a lot of close-up shots and colourful visuals, Anend C Chandran's cinematography amps up the movie's pace. Shaan Rahman comes up with some fab music." She also added: "''Helen'' is a typical family film from the Vineeth Sreenivasan school of filmmaking which is enjoyable and empathetic. The feel-good movie, though a survival drama, would definitely bring a smile to the faces as the curtains come down." Litty Simon of ''
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 ...
'' said that "... Mathukutty Xavier's Helen played by Anna Ben is all set to make thousands of movie-goers her staunch fans in the coming days." She added: "The storytelling is easygoing and naturalistic. Some thrilling moments in the film make us believe that the director is definitely here to stay." She also praised its editing and cinematography: "Shameer Muhammed's crisp editing and Anand C. Chandran's cinematography helped develop this heart-warming tale of survival."
Awards
Remakes
The film was remade in
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
as ''
Anbirkiniyal'' (2021). It was also remade in
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
as ''
Mili'' (2022) by the same director. It was also remade into
Odia
Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to:
* Odia people in Odisha, India
* Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family
* Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...
as ''
Monalisa
The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known ...
'' (upcoming film) by
Ashok Pati
Ashok Pati is an Indian Odia and Bengali and Bangladesh screenplay, story writer, actor and director.
Filmography
Assistant director (Odia)
* Rakhi Bhijigala Akhi Luhare
* Suna Palinki
* Laxmi Pratima
* Kie Pochhi Daba Maa Akhira Luha
* S ...
. Lohit H. of Friday Films acquired the remake rights for
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
, which is to be directed by debutants Arunkumar M. and Sabu Aloysius. Lasya Nagaraj was confirmed to play the central character. The film will also have a
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
remake starring
Anupama Parameswaran
Anupama Parameswaran (born 18 February 1996) is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil films. She rose to fame with her debut film ''Premam'' (2015) in Malayalam. She later went onto star in films such as ''A ...
.
Prasad V. Potluri will be producing the film which will be directed by debutant Hanuman Chowdary.
References
External links
*
{{Vineeth Sreenivasan
2010s Malayalam-language films
2010s survival films
2019 thriller films
Best Debut Feature Film of a Director National Film Award winners
Films about father–daughter relationships
Films scored by Shaan Rahman
Films shot in Kochi
Indian survival films
Indian thriller films
Malayalam films remade in other languages