''Love Action Drama'' is a 2019 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
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
film written and directed by
Dhyan Sreenivasan
Dhyan Sreenivasan (born 20 December 1988) is an Indian actor, and film director who works in Malayalam films. He made his acting debut with ''Thira'' (2013), directed by his elder brother Vineeth Sreenivasan. in his directorial debut.
Produced 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 ...
, the film stars
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 South awards. Nivin auditioned for ...
and
Nayanthara. Its music 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 ...
. The film was released in theatres across
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
on 5 September 2019 and was released internationally on 13 September 2019.
Plot
Dinesh, a wealthy bachelor who is overconfident of himself tries to impress Shobha with the help of his best friend Sagar and hopes to marry her someday.
The movie takes place in a series of flashbacks, starting with Dinesh reminiscing about his first meeting with Shobha and their relationship. Dinesh comes from a very rich background and as such doesn't work, he is always engaged with partying and drinking with his friends. He's upset that his cousin Swathi is getting married. They were supposedly in a relationship until Swathi learned through google (when they were still kids) that people who are blood-relatives tend to have babies with higher probability in genetic disorders and breaks up with Dinesh (when they were still kids).
Dinesh is still upset about it and wants to break up the wedding at any cost. Shobha is one of Swathi's friends and she seems to like Dinesh on sight. Shobha definitely seems to find his antics funny, not getting mad when she gets hurt as a result of Dinesh's plan to hurt the bridegroom. He mistakenly enters Shobha's room and spills coconut oil on the floor (while drunk) hoping the bridegroom will get hurt and the marriage will be cancelled. Later, Dinesh is asked to accompany Shobha's friends in the hospital for her overnight stay and has a conversation with her. Shobha advises Dinesh to move on, get a haircut, shave and attend the wedding, saying some other girl is sure to fall for him. They flirt throughout the wedding and she indirectly invites him to meet up with her when he's in Chennai.
Dinesh finds a way to temporarily shift to Chennai with his friend&cousin Sagar, to woo Shobha. He hangs out with Shobha and her friends at first and things seem to be going fine for them. One day, Dinesh and Sagar start a fight during Shobha's friend Priya's birthday party and Shobha asks them to stay away. Her friends criticize her for introducing vagabonds to their group. Shobha learns that Dinesh is not pursuing master's like he told her, but is just wasting time drinking and spending money without a care in the world. Shobha, although wealthy too, works hard and runs her own business. Dinesh sets about trying to get back into Shobha's good graces. He starts with her friends first, and wins their trust. Shobha agrees to a relationship and potential marriage to Dinesh, placing one condition that he should give up smoking and drinking. Dinesh agrees to her condition but ends up getting drunk that very night. Shobha and Priya catch him in the act (he rents a house opposite to hers) and storms away in anger.
Dinesh manages to convince Shobha by donning on
Sabarimala (religious oath to abstain from indulging alcohol-related activities for 41 days) and they get back together. This time, Dinesh becomes suspicious and too possessive of Shobha because she's always busy with work and avoids the topic of settling down, moving in together as well as eventually getting married then building a family. Some random guy implies to Dinesh that Shobha dates around a lot and he starts following her to find out what she's actually doing for a few days. Dinesh confronts the guy and he vaguely implies how beautiful girls like Shobha always have plenty of guys admiring her and it's common to throw away a partner when a better one comes around. Enraged, Dinesh gets rid of the chains and bracelet (religious constraint) and drinks an entire bottle of vodka. Sagar admits him to the hospital and calls Shobha and Priya. Shobha hits Dinesh and he walks away in anger. A few days later, Shobha calls and proposes marriage, to which he agrees.
Shobha's father doesn't like Dinesh, after tricking and finding out that Dinesh still drinks despite several promises made to Shobha, but doesn't say no to the match because Shobha has faith "he will take care of" her. Two days before the wedding, Dinesh is approached by a stranger who has a few photographs of himself and Shobha together, stating Shobha cheated him after getting a better match in the form of wealthy Dinesh. This is where the flashbacks end as Dinesh is contemplating what to do next. He already calls off the wedding through a phone call with Shobha. When his mom asks Dinesh to meet and discuss in person the reason for calling off the wedding, Dinesh reminds Shobha's father about his failed marriage when he tries to give them advice. This pushes Shobha to give up changing him and she leaves with her father.
Dinesh is leaving the city with Sagar when he finds out through a selfie, drunkenly posted on
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
by the stranger, Suman that he and the guy who implied Shobha dates a lot and another of Shobha's friend's husband are all friends. Turns out these three guys planned and ruined Dinesh and Shobha's relationship on purpose. Priya's ex-husband is mad that his marriage ended mainly because of Shobha. Initially, he and Priya have been so in love but because she spends most of the day with Shoba instead of him even after getting married, this creates tension between them. He had even expressed to her his discomfort feelings regarding this matter, however, she does not change and this frustration and disappointment lead him to slap Priya and Shobha came in just in time to see that and she forcibly brought Priya out of their home to keep her away from him permanently. Hence, he plotted this plan in revenge to make Shobha feel the pain he experienced after the separation.
Shobha and her friends are called to the police station after Dinesh beats those three guys up. Dinesh begs for forgiveness and expresses that he needs her, saying he's wrong to suspect her. Shobha resists at first, stating she doesn't trust him anymore and that faith in the relationship is crucial. She soon agrees, mentioning the same 'no drinking & smoking' conditions to which Dinesh agrees, and tells him to convince her father. Later, Dinesh begs Shobha's father for forgiveness.
Cut to Present: Dinesh takes an alcoholic drink and smokes a cigarette with Sagar before entering the marriage hall where he marries Shobha.
Cast
*
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 South awards. Nivin auditioned for ...
as Dinesh P.
*
Nayanthara as Shobha
*
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 Suman/Rohan
*
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 Sagar
*
Prajin Padmanabhan as Ravi Krishna
*
Durga Krishna as Swathy
*
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 Shobha's father
*
Mallika Sukumaran as Lalitha (Dinesh's mother)
*
Renji Panicker
Renji Panicker (born 23 September 1960) is an Indian actor, scriptwriter, director, film producer, and journalist best known for his Malayalam films. He made his debut as a director with '' Bharatchandran IPS'' in 2005.
Early life
He did hi ...
as Swathy's father
*
Basil Joseph
Basil Joseph (born 28 April 1990) is an Indian film director and actor who works in the Malayalam film industry. He directed three films, ''Kunjiramayanam'' (2015), ''Godha'' (2017) and ''Minnal Murali'' (2021). All three films were a huge suc ...
as DJ B (Brijesh)
*
Dhyan Sreenivasan
Dhyan Sreenivasan (born 20 December 1988) is an Indian actor, and film director who works in Malayalam films. He made his acting debut with ''Thira'' (2013), directed by his elder brother Vineeth Sreenivasan. (cameo in a song)
*
Jude Anthany Joseph
Jude Anthany Joseph (born Sijo Joseph) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor, who works in Malayalam film industry. His directorial debut was with ''Ohm Shanthi Oshaana'' in 2014, which won the Best Film with Popular Appeal and Ae ...
as Shinoj
*
Biju Sopanam
Biju Sopanam (born 4 January 1970) is an Indian television, theatre, and film actor. He is best known for portraying the character of Balachandran Thampi in the popular sitcom ''Uppum Mulakum'', broadcast on Flowers TV.' He made his movie debu ...
as Dinesh's uncle
*
Dhanya Balakrishna
Dhanya Balakrishna (born 6 August 1989) is an Indian actress who has appeared mostly in Telugu films along with Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam films. After making her debut in A. R. Murugadoss's ''7aum Arivu'' (2011), she appeared in ventures in ...
as Priya
*
Motta Rajendran
A. Rajendran,(born 1 June 1957) credited as Motta Rajendran or ''Naan Kadavul'' Rajendran, is an Indian stunt double and actor working mainly in Tamil cinema. He debuted in 2003 with the Tamil film ''Pithamagan'' and has worked as a stunt doub ...
as SI Rajendar
*
Vaiyapuri
Vaiyapuri (born 23 October 1968 as Ramakrishnan) is an Indian actor who has worked in Tamil-language films. He rose to fame by appearing in supporting roles in the late 1990s and early 2000s, often portraying supporting comedic characters. His ...
as a doctor
*
Sunder Ramu as Venkit Mohan
* Gayathri Shan as Kala
* Vismaya as Vismaya
* Dwayin Wayanad as young Dinesh
* Vasisht as young Sagar
*
Seetha as Shobha's mother (photo)
*
Bhagath Manuel
Bhagath Manuel (born November 26, 1986) is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam cinema. He made his debut in Vineeth Sreenivasan's '' Malarvadi Arts Club''. He is known for his performance in '' Doctor Love'' and ''Thattathin Marayathu
...
(cameo in a song)
*
Deepak Parambol
Deepak Parambol (born November 1, 1988) is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films.
Deepak Parambol made his acting debut in ''Malarvaadi Arts Club'' (2010), directed by Vineeth Sreenivasan. He is notable for his roles in '' Thattathin ...
(cameo in a song)
* Harikrishnan (cameo in a song)
* Geevarghese Eapen (cameo in a song)
* Jeevika as Shobha's Friend
Production
''Love Action Drama'' marks the directorial debut of the actor
Dhyan Sreenivasan
Dhyan Sreenivasan (born 20 December 1988) is an Indian actor, and film director who works in Malayalam films. He made his acting debut with ''Thira'' (2013), directed by his elder brother Vineeth Sreenivasan. , and his second screenplay after ''
Goodalochana
''Goodalochana'' () is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language comedy drama film directed by Thomas Sebastian and written by Dhyan Sreenivasan from a story by Anoop Joseph. The film stars Dhyan Sreenivasan, Aju Varghese, Sreenath Bhasi and Hareesh ...
''. The film also marks the debut production of
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 ...
under their newly formed
production company
A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and v ...
Funtastic Films. It was during the time of ''
Adi Kapyare Kootamani'' (2015) that Subramaniam and Aju decided to co-produce the film.
''Love Action Drama'' was announced in July 2017, during the fifth anniversary of ''
Thattathin Marayathu
''Thattathin Marayathu'' () is a 2012 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Vineeth Sreenivasan, starring Nivin Pauly and Isha Talwar. The supporting cast includes Aju Varghese, Manoj K. Jayan, Sunny Wayne, Sreer ...
''. The film, according to Dhyan, is a modern-day take on the 1989 film ''
Vadakkunokkiyantram
''Vadakkunokkiyantram'' () is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language black comedy film written and directed by Sreenivasan who also stars in the film along with Parvathy. The film is about the marital discord caused by a husband's othello syndrome. T ...
'' written, directed and starring his father
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's and Nayanthara's characters were named Dineshan and Shobha after the names of the lead characters in ''Vadakkunokkiyantram''.
It was
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 ...
who suggested the name of Nayanthara and she immediately agreed after hearing the screenplay.
Dhyan completed the screenplay by November 2017. The filming was expected to begin by the end of the year, but had to wait for the lead actors' availability.
In February 2018, Aju said that the shoot would begin by July 2018, once Nivin completes filming ''
Kayamkulam Kochunni
Kayamkulam Kochunni (born 1818) was a heroic outlaw from Kayamkulam, who lived during the late 19th century. He was active in the Travancore area in the present-day Kerala, India. He is said to have stolen from the rich and given to the poor. L ...
''. He also revealed that Nivin was planning to lose weight for the role.
A
pooja function for the film was held at Anjumana Devi Temple in
Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
on 14 July 2018, with
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 ...
beginning the same day.
The first schedule ended on 27 July 2018.
After a delay, the second schedule began in February 2019 and the entire filming process was completed by early June 2019.
Music
The music 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 ...
, with lyrics written by
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
...
, Preeti Nambiar, B. K. Harinarayanan, Santhosh Varma, and
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 ...
. The song teaser of "Kudukku" crossed 13 million views within its release. The audio rights were acquired by
Muzik247
Muzik 247 based out of Chennai, acquires music rights for South Indian Cinema films, mainly Tamil, Malayalam and Tulu. The company was founded in 2012 by Naveen Bhandari, and has achieved a large market share of the Malayalam film music.
About ...
.
Release
Theatrical
''Love Action Drama'' was released in theatres across
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
on 5 September 2019 and in rest-of-India in the following day and was released internationally on 13 September 2019.
Reception
Box office
The film got mixed to negative reviews from critics but was a commercial success at the box office. The film collected ₹1.3 crore from Kerala box office on its first day of release.
The film grossed from 46 screens in the opening weekend (12 – 15 September) in the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
and in four weeks. In the opening weekends in other territories in the following weeks, it grossed () from six screens in Australia, () from 34 screens in the United States, () from 8 screens in New Zealand, and (₹4.7 lakh) from four screens in Canada. It grossed NZ$19,378 (₹8.58 lakh) in New Zealand in two weeks, A$25,361 (₹12.1 lakh) in Australia in three weeks, and US$53,887 (₹38.15 lakh) in the US in five weeks.
Critical response
''
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 ...
'' rated 3 in a scale of 5, and said: "as a simple fun-filled movie, Love Action Drama stands out. There are things that keep us interested in proceedings as Dhyan Sreenivasan focuses on making an out-an-out entertainer than delivering so-called realistic or sensible content. As a debutant director, Dhyan has managed to make an enjoyable film with ease". Calling the film "entertaining",
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 3 out of 5 and wrote, "Love Action Drama is a romantic comedy that is a fine watch that ensures some good laughs and some fine moments".
Anna Mathews 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 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Love Action Drama is a simple, in fact, old fashioned tale, but it has many laugh out loud moments and, apart from the lead acts, who have great charisma and chemistry, Aju Varghese who plays Sagar, Nivin Pauly’s cousin and confidante, adds great entertainment". Rating 3 out of 5, Manoj Kumar R. of ''
The Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...
'' said: "Dhyan smartly weaves some effective observations on the
battle of the sexes into an entertaining romantic comedy, which feels more like pop-corn blockbuster than a comment on the complexity of today's relationships".
''
Deccan Chronicle
''Deccan Chronicle'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded by Rajagopal Mudaliar in the 1930s & currently owned by Samagrah Commercial Pvt Limited. It is published in Hyderabad, Telangana, by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited ...
'' rated 3 out of 5 and wrote: "Dhyan's direction is above average and the film hardly offers any boring or dead sequence ... Delicious visuals in Chennai and decent music make it a worthy one-time watch. 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 ...
'' rated 2.5 out of 5, stating "It's obvious that the goal of the film is only to entertain us and not be too intellectual. Even so, there has to be a certain degree of emotional conflict to get us invested in the drama". Behindwoods.com rated 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote: "Love Action Drama is a watchable entertainer with elements appealing to youth and family audiences". Sowmya Rajendran of ''
The News Minute
''The News Minute'' is an Indian digital news platform based in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was founded by Dhanya Rajendran, Chitra Subramaniam and Vignesh Vellore in 2014. Apart from Karnataka, it also has bureaus in the states of Telangana, An ...
'' rated 2 out of 5 and stated "LAD is like a stuck record, playing the one line story of the film over and over again". ''
Gulf News'' critic said "'LAD' is all frills with little substance", adding that "there seems to have been an urge to fill it with as many commercial elements possible. The resulting cocktail tastes insipid".
''
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'' wrote: "Even for a movie which doesn't take itself too seriously, which is a good thing, the lack of seriousness in having a solid script hurts it sorely. This is especially evident in the second half, when even the peppy song numbers and the jokes thrown in mechanically at regular intervals fail to excite". ''
HuffPost
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' wrote: "Dhyan Sreenivasan is definitely inspired by his brother
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 ...
's sense of humour in cinema. But unlike him, Dhyan is more inclined towards the social media troll/meme version of comedy. So, what we get are already seen and heard, just that Dhyan copy-pastes it at various scenes. It's easy and lazy writing. Few of the gags work, most fall flat".
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 ...
from ''
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 ...
'' awarded 1.5 in a scale of 5 and said: "Love Action Drama taps his
ivin Pauly'sversatility with a narrative that repeatedly breaks its own mood by jumping from extreme intensity to extreme frivolity without warning often within the same scene. The switches are fun at first because they signal the writer-director's keenness that we not take his film too seriously. Fair enough. The technique wears thin though as Love Action Drama's lack of substance becomes increasingly obvious and it wanders about aimlessly, wanders again, then wanders some more".
References
External links
*
* {{IMDb title, 7117870
2010s Malayalam-language films
Films scored by Shaan Rahman
Indian romantic comedy films
2019 directorial debut films
2019 films
2019 romantic comedy films