Malikappuram

''Malikappuram'' is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language action adventure drama film directed by Vishnu Sasi Shankar and written by Abhilash Pillai. The film stars Unni Mukundan, Deva Nandha and Sreepath in lead roles, with Saiju Kurup, Ramesh Pisharody, Sampath Ram, T. G. Ravi, Sreejith Ravi, Manoj K. Jayan, and Renji Panicker in supporting roles. The plot centres around Kallu, an eight-year-old girl who is a devotee of Ayyappan and desires to visit Sabarimala Temple.

The principal photography commenced in September 2022 and the film was wrapped up in November 2022. The major part of the film was shot at various locations in Pathanamthitta, including Sabarimala Temple and Erumeli. The Cinematography was done by Vishnu Narayanan, with editing handled by Shameer Muhammed. Ranjin Raj composed the soundtrack for the film.

''Malikappuram'' was released theatrically on 30 December 2022 and received positive reviews from critics and emerged as a box office success, becoming the highest grosser in Unni Mukundan's career, grossing over against the budget of . It was featured at the 54th IFFI Indian panorama section.

Plot

Kalyani (Kallu) is a devotee of the famous deity Ayyappan and is enthusiastic to visit the Sabarimala temple. As per religious beliefs, Kallu has a small window of two years to visit the temple as she is 8 years old. Her grandmother narrates the life of Lord Ayyappan to her, which she loves a lot. Ajayan is Kallu's father who has mortgaged their house and it is on the verge of being seized by the bank. Furthermore, Ajayan has also borrowed a huge sum from a local usurer and acquaintance Ambadi, and is unable to repay both the loans.

The bank has issued a seizure notice, which Ajayan hides from his family. Ajayan promises Kallu to take her to Sabarimala and that both will do the initial rituals for the pilgrimage, which is supposed to happen a few weeks from thereon. Ambadi publicly harasses and roughs up Ajayan, which is witnessed by Kallu. A humiliated Ajayan subsequently commits suicide out of disgrace. The bank eventually seizes Ajayan's house and Kallu’s grandmother moves in with Ajayan’s elder sister. Kallu and her mother move in with Ajayan’s friend and neighbor Unni. Kallu becomes frustrated with the fact that she is unable to go to Sabarimala because of her father's death and yells at her classmate and Unni's son Piyoosh.

Piyoosh finds that it is impossible to dissuade Kallu from pursuing her journey to Sabarimala, and decides to accompany her. Both the kids board a bus to Pamba, and en route they meet Mahi, a local goon who is also a pedophile and trafficker. Under the pretext of heading to Sabarimala, he is on the lookout for young kids. His eyes fall on both Kallu and Piyoosh. Piyoosh senses that something is wrong and tries to persuade Kallu to stop the journey and head back home, but to no avail. Meanwhile, Unni and Kallu's mother informed the police about the missing children.

Later, a man named Ayyappan boards the bus, who also seems to be heading to Sabarimala, and gets acquainted with the kids. Mahi introduces himself as the kids’ guardian uncle to Ayyappan, which Ayyappan later finds out to be false and suspects that he has some malicious intentions. After hearing their story, Ayyappan promises the kids that he will accompany them to Sabarimala. Ayyappan intimidates Mahi and an infuriated Mahi is determined to incapacitate Ayyappan and kidnap the girl. On reaching Pamba, from where they have to walk to reach the shrine, the trio discovers that the police have restricted entry for the remainder of the day as a measure to control the crowd and they will not be able to visit the temple, but an adamant Kallu leaves Ayyappan with no choice except to take a route through the forest.

Mahi’s accomplice who has been following them, informs Mahi about their movements, and he sends all of his henchmen to beat up Ayyappan and kidnap Kallu. Ayyappan is alerted of impending danger, where he successfully overpowers Mahi and his people. During the fight, Kallu visualizes Ayyappan as the actual embodiment of the deity Ayyappan and later reveals to him that she has seen him in her dreams, and shows him the drawings she made from them, which shows a man who looks just like Ayyappan. The following day, Ayyappan disappears into the crowd and the kids enter the shrine. As Kallu begins to worry and look for him, he shows up and encourages her to climb the steps to fulfill her father's wish. Later, the police hand the kids over to Unni and they are taken home. Due to the circumstances which followed, the kids believe that he was the deity Ayyappan himself.

It is then revealed that Ayyappan is actually CPO D. Ayyappadas, working at the police station in Pamba. He was alerted of the missing children and knowingly boarded the bus after having seen Kallu's photo. After hearing out their stories, he decided to make their wish come true by visiting the Sabarimala temple. Meanwhile, the police apprehended Mahi and his men, who happened to be on Tamil Nadu criminal records.

Cast

Production

Filming

The principal photography of ''Malikappuram'' commenced on following a pooja ceremony at Erumely Sree Dharmasastha Temple. K. Ananthagopan, then president of the Travancore Devaswom Board, performed the switch-on ceremony, and S. Sudarshan gave the first clap. Members of the Pandalam royal family had visited the shooting location shortly after it began. The film was shot in places like Konni, Kalleli, Lahai, Pamba, and Sabarimala Temple in Pathanamthitta district and Erumely in Kottayam district. The filming was completed in November 2022.

Music

The film score and the songs are composed by Ranjin Raj. The lyrics are written by Santhosh Varma and B.K.Harinarayanan. The album consists of eight songs. The first song "Ganapathi Thunayaruluka" was released on 17 December 2022.

Release

Theatrical

The film was censored with a U certificate one week prior to its release. The film was released in theatres on 30 December 2022. The Telugu and Tamil language dubbed versions were released on 26 January 2023.

Home media

''Malikappuram'' premiered on Disney+ Hotstar on 15 February 2023 in Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. On the occasion of Vishu, it was shown on Asianet on .

Controversies

Since the release of the film on December 30, 2022, it has been heavily promoted by right-wing groups and severely criticised and denounced as an attempt to promote the Hindutva agenda in Kerala by left-wing groups. In response to the controversy, Vishnu Sasi Shankar has clarified that they didn't want to make a political statement with the film but only to make a film that everyone could enjoy. The opening credits of the film show all the leaders across the political spectrum.

Reception

Critical reception

''Malikappuram'' received positive reviews from critics.

Gopika S of ''The Times of India'' gave a rating of 3 out of 5 and wrote that "Unni Mukundan was a good choice for the role and he easily gains a superhero image among the kids. The music by Ranjin Raj is apt for the setting". ''123Telugu'' stated that: "Malikappuram clicks here and there. The movie largely benefits from the lead cast’s superior performances, and emotions work in parts. Had the movie team designed a few more exciting moments, the film’s range would have been enhanced".

Sowmya Rajendran of ''The News Minute'' noted that ''Malikappuram'' is certainly a disruption in the new wave that Malayalam cinema is witnessing, which is questioning traditional understandings of gender, caste, class, and religion with new ways of storytelling. Sanjith Sidhardhan of ''OTT Play'' rated the film 2.5 out of 5 and wrote, "''Malikappuram'' qualifies as a timepass watch, thanks to its decent second half, elevated by a delightful performance by Unni Mukundan." ''Mathrubhumi'' wrote, "Vishnu Narayanan's camera played a huge role in preparing the right frames and the film cannot be complete without talking about the performances of the children who played Kalyani and Piyush."

Box office

''Malikappuram'', which was made on a budget of '','' was a commercial success at the box office. It grossed in the third week and in the final week of January, becoming a commercial success.

Accolades

References

External links

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*{{Rotten Tomatoes, malikappuram

2020s Malayalam-language films
Indian action adventure films
2022 action adventure films
2022 films
Films set in Kerala
Films about God
Films scored by Ranjin Raj
Films shot in Pathanamthitta
Films shot in Erumely