''Iyobinte Pusthakam'' () is a 2014 Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

-language

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by Amal Neerad. It stars an ensemble cast including

Fahadh Faasil Fahadh Fazil (8 August 1982) is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema and has appeared in few Tamil and Telugu films. He has acted in more than 50 films and has received several awards, including a Nati ...

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 ...

Jayasurya Jayasurya (born August 1978) is an Indian actor, distributor, Sponsor, Model, film producer, playback singer, and impressionist, who works in the Malayalam films. He has appeared in more than 100 films and has won several awards, including a N ...

Isha Sharvani Isha Sharvani is an Indian-Australian contemporary dancer and actress. She is known for her stylistic Indian contemporary and aerial dance performances. She has also starred in Bollywood, Malayalam and Tamil movies. Early life Isha was born in ...

Jinu Joseph Jinu Joseph (born 21 December 1975) is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films. He is better known for his roles in ''Sagar Alias Jacky Reloaded'', ''Chaappa Kurishu'', ''Bachelor Party'', ''Ustad Hotel'', ''Iyobinte Pusthakam'', ''Rani P ...

, Chemban Vinod Jose, Vinayakan,

Padmapriya Padmapriya (born Padmalochani; died 16 November 1997) was an Indian actress who worked in Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. Her first movie was in Telugu, ''Adapillala Tandri'' (1974). In Kannada, she debuted with ''Bangarada Gudi'' ...

Sreejith Ravi Sreejith Ravi (born 19 May 1976) is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Malayalam films and also in Tamil films. He is the son of actor T. G. Ravi. Early life Sreejith is the son of actor and industrialist T. G. Ravi and V. K. Subh ...

T.G Ravi T. G. Ravindranathan (born 16 May 1944), popularly known as T. G. Ravi, is an Indian actor, mainly noted for his roles as a villain in Malayalam cinema. He along with Balan K. Nair played most of the negative roles in Malayalam cinema during ...

, Amith Chakalakkal,

John Vijay John Vijay (born 20 November 1976) is an Indian actor who plays supporting roles in Tamil films. He has also worked in a few Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada films. Career John Vijay did his M.Sc. in Visual Communication from Loyola College ...

Soubin Shahir Soubin Shahir (born 12 October 1983) is an Indian actor and director who works in Malayalam cinema. He began his film career as an assistant director in 2003 and worked under several directors. Soubin made his acting debut in 2013 with a suppo ...

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 ...

Aashiq Abu Aashiq Abu (born 12 April 1978) is an Indian film director, producer, actor, and distributor, who works in Malayalam cinema. He is best known for his films such as '' Daddy Cool'' (2009), ''Salt N' Pepper'' (2011), '' 22 Female Kottayam'' (201 ...

makes a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

as P.J. Antony. Faasil and Neerad co-produced the film. The movie was scripted by Gopan Chithambaran with dialogues written by Syam Pushkaran. The film is a period drama set in the mid-20th century in

Munnar Munnar () is a town and hill station in the Idukki district of the southwestern Indian state of Kerala. Munnar is situated at around above mean sea level, in the Western Ghats mountain range. Munnar is also called the "Kashmir of South Indi ...

, Western Ghats. It follows the life of Iyob and the sibling rivalry between his sons Aloshy, Ivan and Dimitri who are named after the characters from

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

's ''

The Brothers Karamazov ''The Brothers Karamazov'' (russian: Братья Карамазовы, ''Brat'ya Karamazovy'', ), also translated as ''The Karamazov Brothers'', is the last novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky spent nearly two years writing '' ...

''.

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 a ...

commenced in March 2014 at

Vagamon Vagamon ( ml, വാഗമൺ) is an Indian hill station and a revenue village primarily located in Peerumedu taluk of Idukki district (majority area including Vagamon town), and also Meenachil taluk and Kanjirappally taluk of Kottayam ...

in Idukki

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 ...

, India. ''Iyobinte Pusthakam'' was released on 7 November 2014. The film was highly critically acclaimed and was a box-office success. It received five Kerala State Film Awards and three

Kerala Film Critics Association Awards The Kerala Film Critics Association Awards are presented annually by the Kerala Film Critics Association to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Malayalam language film industry of India. The awards were instit ...

Plot

The film starts with the message "The aged aren't always wise, nor do the elderly always understand justice" (

Job Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...

32:9). The story is narrated by the communist leader, and is set in 1900 in

in the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

. Harrison is a British businessman who comes to Munnar to cultivate tea. He finds an able boy amidst his workers and names him 'Iyob'. Harrison holds Iyob close and helps him marry Annamma. Harrison's wife leaves him and returns to England; later he sees Kazhali and becomes interested in her. When Harrison finds out Kazhali's relation with Thacho, one of his servants, he orders Iyob to kill Thacho. Iyob corners Thacho and is about to kill him when Thacho jumps off the cliff and dies. Afterwards, Harrison takes Kazhali as his mistress and she becomes pregnant. During the First World War, Harrison's business is affected and he leaves for Britain but dies on the way to Cochin, not even setting sail. Knowing this, Iyob throws Kazhali out of the house, simultaneously beating her, and takes over all assets of Harrison by using the power of attorney given by Harrison. Annamma, without her husband's knowledge, meets Kazhali, who now has a daughter, Martha, regularly talking with her, and she also takes her youngest son, Aloshy. Aloshy and Martha become good friends. However, Annamma falls ill and dies. She is greatly mourned by all, including Kazhali and her daughter, Martha; both look on the funeral from afar. Iyob has three sons Dimitri, Ivan and Aloshy. Dimitri and Ivan are ruthless like Iyob whereas Aloshy is kind and compassionate like his mother. His two closest friends are Chemban and Martha. Chemban's parents are killed in their house by a fire set by Aloshy's family because of their illness. Aloshy leaves the house as a child after seeing his brothers rape and kill a girl who was a servant there. He runs away to Cochin and stays there. After some years Aloshy joins the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

. After the Royal Indian Navy mutiny of 1946 he returns to his father and brothers in Munnar, but is upset by the wrongdoings of his father and brothers. He reunites with both Martha and Chemban, rescuing the latter and his wife from a beating by his brothers' henchmen. Chemban and his family leave to be safe. Martha and Aloshy become close again after they escape from a rampaging elephant. They fall in love. Iyob finds out Aloshy was dismissed from the navy because he defected and became a part of the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

. In a fit of anger, he orders Aloshy to leave. Aloshy meets Martha and says he will come back for her. He leaves for Cochin, but on his way he is attacked by Dimitri and Ivan who try to kill him, but Aloshy survives and is found by his childhood friend Chemban. At this time Iyob's health deteriorates and his sons overpower him making pacts with Angoor Rawther, a rich Tamil merchant despite opposition by Iyob. Dimitri and Ivan find out Aloshy is alive with Martha. One night, Ivan went to Dimitri's room for blocking him from beating his wife Rahel. In a fit of anger, Dimitri asks Ivan why has he entered his room without his permission. Then he understood that Ivan had spent nights with Rahel in his absence. Rahel then hits Dimitri on his head with a metallic flower vase. Ivan kills Dimitri with the vase after taking it from Rahel. This is witnessed by Iyob, who realises everyone has been cheating him. It is revealed that Rahel is daughter of Thacho whom Iyob killed and she is taking revenge using Ivan. She also tries to kill him by poisoning his food. Iyob escapes from home and ends up under Aloshy's shelter. Iyob reveals that all the assets of Harrison belongs to Kazhali and he was cheating them the whole time. Aloshy is arrested by the police but is liberated by the narrator who was against Ivan and Angoor. Ivan knowing that all the assets will be lost, decides to kill Aloshy, but he despises Rahel when he come to know about her real intention. Rahel makes a deal with Angoor to kill everyone in his way including Ivan and all the assets and Rahel will be his. Iyob and Martha try to escape through the forest, but Iyob is shot down by Angoor. Aloshy finds Martha sinking into a swamp and tries to help her. Ivan and Angoor come towards them, when Angoor tries to shoot Ivan he runs out of bullets and Aloshy stabs Angoor with a

ramrod A ramrod (or scouring stick) is a metal or wooden device used with muzzleloading firearms to push the projectile up against the propellant (mainly blackpowder). The ramrod was used with weapons such as muskets and cannons and was usually held ...

and Ivan shoots Angoor's associate, when Ivan tries to kill Aloshy he is killed by Chemban and Aloshy kills Angoor. Desperate of the situation Rahel shoots herself. Afterwards, Aloshy and Martha are seen leaving Munnar. At the end of the film the narrator is arrested by the police and he remarks that people like Aloshy would make the life of people much prosperous than it is now.

Cast

as Aloshy Gomber *

as Iyob *

as Angoor Rawther *

as Martha *

as Ivan * Chemban Vinod Jose as Dimitri * Vinayakan as Chemban *

as Rahel *

as Ganapathy Iyer *

as Kazhali *

TG Ravi T. G. Ravindranathan (born 16 May 1944), popularly known as T. G. Ravi, is an Indian actor, mainly noted for his roles as a villain in Malayalam cinema. He along with Balan K. Nair played most of the negative roles in Malayalam cinema during t ...

as The Communist Leader **

as The Communist Leader (Younger) * Sal Yusuf as Harrison * Rita Mathen as Harrison's English wife *

as Narayana (Ivan's henchman) * Amith Chakalakkal as Nizam Rawther *

Pauly Valsan Pauly Valsan is an Indian actress who has been acclaimed for acting in Malayalam films and plays. She debuted in Malayalam film industry with the supporting roles in the 2008 movie ''Annan Thambi'' In 2017, she won the Kerala State Film Award for ...

as Thresya * Saritha Sunil as Cheeru *

Hima Shankar Hima Shankar (born 2 June 1987) known as Hima Shankar Sheematty, is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films and short films. She has also directed and performed in many theatrical works. She took a part in the reality show Bigg Boss M ...

as Migrant * Surjith Gopinath as Laser * Professor Aliyar as office comrade *

Anil Murali Anil Murali (12 April 1964 – 30 July 2020) was an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 200 films. He started out in the film industry as a villain before later taking on character roles. He died on 30 July 2020, as a re ...

as Mathuppilla Police * Chethanlal as young Chemban *

Amala Paul Amala Paul (born 26 October 1991) is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. She made her acting debut by appearing in a supporting role in the Malayalam-language film ''Neelathamara'', and she later became no ...

as a Tribal Dancer (

Cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

) * Reenu Mathews as Annamma (guest appearance) *

as P. J. Antony (

) *

Dileesh Pothan Dileesh Philip (born 19 February 1980), also known as Dileesh Pothan is an Indian film director, actor and producer, who works in Malayalam cinema. He made his directorial debut with the 2016 comedy drama film '' Maheshinte Prathikaaram'', st ...

as the Tea Shop

Owner Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...

(

) *

Shebin Benson Shebin Benson (born 27 November 1995) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Malayalam films. Shebin made his debut in Aashiq Abu movie '' Idukki Gold'' in 2013, Later he appeared in Mammootty starrer Varsham. His first movie as a male ...

as teen Aloshy * Vishnu Unnikrishnan as Young Iyob * Nebish Benson as young Aloshy

Critical reception

''Iyobinte Pusthakam'' opened to highly positive reviews from critics. The film was praised for its cinematography, performances and background score. Padmapriya was lauded for her stunning act by many critics. Menaka of Bioscope rated it "Must-Watch", calling it "a well-conceived and executed story of rivalry, hatred, vengeance, love, comradeship, cunning and killing". She appreciated the performances of the actors Fahadh Faasil, Jayasurya and Chemban Vinod Jose and commended the direction and cinematography of Amal Neerad.

Soundtrack

Accolades

; 2014 Kerala State Film Awards * Best Cinematography: Amal Neerad * Best Makeup Artist: Manoj Angamali * Best Sound Design: Thapas Nayak * Special Jury Mention: Yakzan Gary Pereira &

Neha Nair Neha Nair is an Indian playback singer and composer. Her debut was a duet with Job Kurian in the film '' Ritu'', with music composed by Rahul Raj. She is a guest singer in the Malayalam rock band Avial. Personal life She currently resides i ...

(music direction) ;

* Best Film: ''Iyobinte Pusthakam'' * Best Director: Amal Neerad * Best Costume Designer: Sameera Saneesh ; 2016 Indian International Film Awards Utsavam * Best Performance in a Negative Role:

;

Asianet Film Awards The Asianet Film Awards is an award ceremony for films presented annually by Asianet, a Malayalam-language television network from the south-Indian state of Kerala. Asianet says that awards ceremony has been instituted to honour both artis ...

* Best Film: Amal Neerad, Fahadh Faasil * Best Character Actress(Nominated):

References

External links

* *
''Iyobinte Pusthakam''
at M3DB {{Amal Neerad 2014 films 2010s Malayalam-language films Films set in 1900 Films set in the British Raj Films shot in Munnar Films with screenplays by Syam Pushkaran Films directed by Amal Neerad