''Money Ratnam'' (English translation: ''Money Diamond'') is a 2014 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 ...

comedy thriller Comedy thrillers are a hybrid genre that draw subject matter generally from comedy and thrillers. Criteria They often include a darker tone, relative to other genres, of humor. List of comedy thriller films * '' The Big Fix'' (1978) * ''Charad ...

film, directed by debutant Santhosh Nair starring

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 Natio ...

and

Niveda Thomas Nivetha Thomas (born 2 November 1995) is an Indian actress who appears in Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil language films. She made her film debut as a child artist in the 2008 Malayalam film '' Veruthe Oru Bharya'', for which she won the Kerala Sta ...

. Touted to be a

road movie A road movie is a film genre in which the main characters leave home on a road trip, typically altering the perspective from their everyday lives. Road movies often depict travel in the hinterlands, with the films exploring the theme of alienatio ...

, which is loosely adapted from Hindi movie

Ek Chalis Ki Last Local ''Ek Chalis Ki Last Local'' (English: ''Last Local of 1:40'') is a 2007 Indian Bollywood adventure comedy thriller directed by Sanjay Khanduri, starring Abhay Deol opposite Neha Dhupia in lead roles. The film released on 18 May 2007, and recei ...

, it narrates a story that happen in a 24-hour time frame during a journey from Munnar to Marayur. Scripted by Anil Narayanan and Ajith C. Lokesh, the music department was handled by Prashanth Pillai, while the camera was helmed by Neel D. Kunha. ''Money Ratnam'' is the 100th film of the production house Century Films. The film's locations include Udumalpet, Pollachi, Ernakulam, and Sholayar. It released on 26 September 2014 as an

Onam Onam ( ) is an annual Indian harvest festival celebrated predominantly by the Hindus of Kerala. A major annual event for Keralites, it is the official festival of the state and includes a spectrum of cultural events. Onam commemorates Vamana ...

release.

Plot

Neil John Samuel is a showroom executive in Ernakulam. After the New Year party, fortunately Neel gets a bag of money. With the money, Neil reaches a village in Tamil Nadu. Four people with an intention to buy diamonds also arrive at the same spot. All are connected with the cash which is in the hands of Neil.

Cast

as Neil John Samuel *

as Pia Mammen *

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 his ...

as Isaac *

Chembil Ashokan Chembil Ashokan is an actor in the Malayalam film industry. He is from Chembu - Vaikom. He has played many notable characters in Malayalam cinema. Filmography Television *Kadamattathu Kathanar (JaiHind TV) *Bhasi Bahadoor (Mazhavil Manorama ...

as Joppa *

Sasi Kalinga V. Chandrakumar, better known by his stage name Sasi Kalinga, was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in '' Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha'' (2009), ''Pranchiyettan & the Saint'' (2010), ''Indian Rupee ...

as Karim *

Leema Babu Leema Babu is an Indian actress who has appeared in Malayalam and Tamil language films. Career Lima made her acting debut as the younger version of Navya Nair's character in the Tamil film, ''Rasikkum Seemane'' (2010), before appearing as Bha ...

as Divya *

Joju George Joseph George, better known as Joju George (born 22 October 1977) is an Indian actor, playback singer and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has acted in Malayalam films and worked on Tamil projects as well. In 2015, he won the ...

as Makudi Das *

Sunil Sukhada Sunil Sukhada is an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He debuted in a small role in the film '' Best Actor''. His first full length role was as the supermarket manager in '' Chappa Kurishu'' (2011). He won a special mention in the Kerala state ...

* Aarthi (cameo appearance) * Kochu Preman * Balu Varghese * Dinesh Nair *

Jaffar Idukki Jaffar Idukki is an Indian actor, impressionist, and comedian, who predominantly works in the Malayalam cinema. Started his career with the 2007 film ''Kaiyoppu'', he has acted in about hundred films and has performed in a number of comedy sta ...

* Archana Menon as Neil's mom * Reena Basheer * Ambika Mohan as Nun

Home video

Manorama Music released the VCD, DVD and Blu-ray of the movie on 5 December 2014.

Critical reception

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, "''Money Ratnam'' has its moments, offers a few laughs, does not give you one of those splitting headaches and is your money’s worth".

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 ...

gave 3 stars out of 5 and wrote, "The film is not logically perfect, but it sure brings out the slapstick comedian in Fahad, hitherto untapped...the director shows good promise and the film is worth a watch, solely for the humour".

Rediff Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 e ...

gave 2.5 stars out of 5 and called the film "an above-average, unpretentious entertainer".

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, "Despite...minor hiccups, it is a comedy film, entertaining and engaging throughout".

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=4069184 2014 films Films shot in Tamil Nadu Films shot in Kochi Films shot in Palakkad Films shot in Pollachi Films shot in Coimbatore 2010s Malayalam-language films