''Kho-Kho'' is a 2021 Indian Malayalam-language

sports drama A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport, sporting event, athlete (and their sport), or follower of sport (and the sp ...

film written and directed by

Rahul Riji Nair Rahul Riji Nair is an Indian film director, scriptwriter, producer and actor active in the Malayalam film industry. His debut feature film '' Ottamuri Velicham'' won 4 awards at the 2017 Kerala State Film Awards, including Best Feature Film. R ...

starring

Rajisha Vijayan Rajisha Vijayan is an Indian actress, who primarily appears in Malayalam films, in addition to a few Tamil films. She hosted several television shows in Malayalam before making her acting debut in the 2016 film '' Anuraga Karikkin Vellam,'' f ...

Mamitha Baiju Mamitha Baiju is an Indian actress works primarily in Malayalam films. She made her debut in 2017 through '' Sarvopari Palakkaran''. She rose into fame playing the roles of Alphonsa in '' Operation Java'' (2021), Anju in ''Kho Kho'' (2021) and ...

and produced by First Print Studios. The film received a TRP (Television Rating Points) of 12.7 points (as per U+R BARC data) during its World Television Premiere, making it the highest ever for a female-centric Malayalam film. The film also entered the list of Top 15 Malayalam films with the highest TRPs at that time.

Synopsis

The story revolves around Maria Francis, a

Kho kho Kho kho or kho-kho is a traditional Indian sport that dates back to ancient India. It is the second most popular traditional tag game in the Indian subcontinent after kabaddi. Kho kho is played on a rectangular court with a central lane connec ...

school coach. The film tells the story of the formation of a team of

kho kho Kho kho or kho-kho is a traditional Indian sport that dates back to ancient India. It is the second most popular traditional tag game in the Indian subcontinent after kabaddi. Kho kho is played on a rectangular court with a central lane connec ...

players in a school where only girls study and the events that follow. In the end she is very happy and proud to learn that the most promising player of her former Kho Kho school team has gotten into the national Kho Kho team.

Cast

as Maria Francis, a former athlete and a physical education teacher *

as Anju, captain of school Kho Kho team * Renjit Shekar Nair as Peon Shivaprasad, manager of the team * Venkitesh VP as Ben, Maria's husband who is a former athlete and a businessman * Vettukili Prakash as Francis, Maria's father *

as Vinod * Arjun Ranjan as Sports Official * Sreejith Babu * Jeo Baby (cameo) * Geethi Sangeetha (cameo)

Production

In August 2020,

announced that the next venture will be a sports movie one which will star

in the lead role. After the

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, Rajisha Vijayan returns with another sports film.

played the lede role of a

Kho Kho Kho kho or kho-kho is a traditional Indian sport that dates back to ancient India. It is the second most popular traditional tag game in the Indian subcontinent after kabaddi. Kho kho is played on a rectangular court with a central lane connec ...

coach in the movie. Tobin Thomas is the cinematographer, Sidhartha Pradeep is the music director and Christy Sebastian is the editor.

Awards

; Kerala Film Critics Award 2020 * Best Supporting Actress :

* Special Jury Award :

Music

The film's soundtrack album and score was composed by music director Sidhartha Pradeep. The Malayalam lyrics on the album were penned by writers

, Arjun Ranjan and Vinayak Sasikumar, and the English rap lyrics by Aditi Nair R. The album was launched on 24 March 2021 by 123 Musix.

Release

The film was released on 2021 April 14. On 20 April, the film was withdrawn from the theatures due to covid crisis.

Reception

Sujit Chandrakumar of

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 se ...

described Kho Kho as "an inspirational sports drama". Writing for Cinema Express, Sajin Shrijith lauded the film as a predictable but empowering sports drama. "The film doesn’t bring anything new to the table in terms of storytelling. But at the same time, one wonders how many new ways can one narrate a sports drama, especially when motivation is its primary intention". He rated it as a film worth watching. In a review for

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 Ragh ...

Anna MM Vetticad wrote,"Kho Kho stumbles intermittently when it gets too didactic or veers away from its slice-of-life narrative style. Nonetheless, it achieves a charming overall sweetness and positivity".

References

External links

* * {{Facebook, khokhomalayalammovie 2021 films 2021 drama films 2020s Malayalam-language films 2020s sports drama films Indian sports drama films