''Poppins'' is a 2012 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 ...
-language
anthology film
An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme ...
directed by
V. K. Prakash
V. K. Prakash (born 12 October 1960) is an Indian film director and actor. He makes films, music videos, and commercials, and works predominantly in Malayalam, but has also directed Telugu, Marathi, Kannada and Hindi films. Prakash's debut featu ...
. It stars ten lead actors, appearing as five couples; the characters are played by
Kunchacko Boban
Kunchacko Boban (born 2 November 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer. Sometimes referred to as Chackochan, he works in the Malayalam film industry and has acted in more than 90 films in more than two decades. He is a member of the List ...
and
Nithya Menen
Nithya Menen (born 8 April 1988) is an Indian actress and singer who has acted in more than 50 feature films and in six different languages: Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, English, and Telugu.In her acting career, Nithya has won three Film ...
,
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 ...
and
Meghna Raj
The Meghna River ( bn, মেঘনা নদী) is one of the major rivers in Bangladesh, one of the three that form the Ganges Delta, the largest delta on earth, which fans out to the Bay of Bengal. A part of the Surma-Meghna River System, ...
,
Indrajith and
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'' ...
,
Shankar Ramakrishnan
Shanker Ramakrishnan is an Indian film screenwriter, director, producer and actor, who works primarily in the Malayalam cinema.
Career
He started his career immediately after completing post-graduation from the School of Management Studies, C ...
and
Mythili
Brighty Balachandran (born 24 March 1988), better known by her stage name Mythili, is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films. She made her debut in the 2009 Malayalam film '' Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha'' which ...
, and
Siddique and
Ann Augustine
Ann Augustine (born Anate Augustine 30 July 1989) is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films. She is the daughter of Malayalam actor Augustine. She made her debut in Lal Jose's ''Elsamma Enna Aankutty'' (2010).
Early life and educatio ...
. The film was shot with two cameras at the same time handled by
Jomon T. John
Jomon T. John (born 17 February 1982) is an Indian cinematographer and producer who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. Jomon made his debut with ''Chaappa Kurishu'' (2011). Jomon won the 2015 Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematogra ...
and Arun.
The film is an
adaptation
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
of the
Sahitya Akademi
The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...
award-winning play ''18 Natakangal'' by Jayaprakash Kuloor. Prakash had already adapted this play into a
Kannada film
Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. The 1934 film '' Sati Sulochana'' directe ...
titled ''
Aidondla Aidu
''Aidondla Aidu'' is a 2011 Indian Kannada language anthology drama film directed by V. K. Prakash and produced by Vachan Shetty and Sujitha Prakash. The film is based on the extracts from ''18 Natakangal'', a Sahitya Akademi award-winning colle ...
''. The story is centred on man-woman relationships, which is weaved into a single story encapsulating the struggles of a filmmaker, exploring different facets of the institution called marriage. Nithya Menen and Padmapriya reprised their role from the Kannada film.
Plot
All the tales revolve around the relationships between a husband and wife and although each explores different facets of the marital relationship, at their core they involve communication and the consequences of misconception.
Cast
*
Kunchacko Boban
Kunchacko Boban (born 2 November 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer. Sometimes referred to as Chackochan, he works in the Malayalam film industry and has acted in more than 90 films in more than two decades. He is a member of the List ...
as Major Prathap Varma
*
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 ...
*
Indrajth as Kanthan
*
Siddique
*
Meghana Raj
Meghana Sunder Raj Sarja (born 3 May 1990) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Malayalam and Kannada films along with a few Telugu language, Telugu and Tamil language, Tamil films. She made her acting debut in the 2009 Telugu film ''B ...
*
Nithya Menen
Nithya Menen (born 8 April 1988) is an Indian actress and singer who has acted in more than 50 feature films and in six different languages: Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, English, and Telugu.In her acting career, Nithya has won three Film ...
*
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'' ...
as Kantha
*
Ann Augustine
Ann Augustine (born Anate Augustine 30 July 1989) is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films. She is the daughter of Malayalam actor Augustine. She made her debut in Lal Jose's ''Elsamma Enna Aankutty'' (2010).
Early life and educatio ...
as Ann
*
Shankar Ramakrishnan
Shanker Ramakrishnan is an Indian film screenwriter, director, producer and actor, who works primarily in the Malayalam cinema.
Career
He started his career immediately after completing post-graduation from the School of Management Studies, C ...
as Hari
* Master Dhananjay
* Baby Nayanthara
*
P. Balachandran
Padmanabhan Balachandran Nair (2 February 1952 – 5 April 2021) was an Indian writer, playwright, scenarist, director, and actor. He was known for his work in Malayalam literature and Malayalam cinema.
Career
Balachandran is best known for ...
*
Saiju Kurup
Saiju Kurup (born 12 March 1979) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema and occasionally in Tamil cinema. He is credited as Anirudh in Tamil movies. He debuted in ''Mayookham'' (2005) by Hariharan. As of June 2021, he h ...
as Job
*
Mythili
Brighty Balachandran (born 24 March 1988), better known by her stage name Mythili, is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films. She made her debut in the 2009 Malayalam film '' Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha'' which ...
as Gowri
*
Sreelatha Namboothiri
Sreelatha Namboothiri (born Anjilivelil Vasantha) is an Indian actress and playback singer who works in Malayalam cinema and television. She has acted in more than 300 films. ''Khadeeja'' in 1967 was her debut movie.
Early life
Sreelatha was ...
*
Indrans
Indrans is an Indian actor and former costume designer, who appears in Malayalam films.His mentor was Shiyas M S, a law college student. He started his film career as a costume designer and actor in 1981 and got a breakthrough in 1994 with the ...
*
Nandhu
Nandalal Krishnamoorthy better known by his stage name Nandu is an Indian actor primarily working in Malayalam films. Although he has been in the industry for more than 30 years, he is acclaimed for his performance in Mohanlal' s ''Spirit'', dir ...
* Maya Vishwanath
*
Parvathy Nair
Parvati Nair (born 5 December 1992) is an Indian model and actress who works in the South Indian film industry. Born into a Malayali family in Abu Dhabi, she trained as a software professional from Manipal Institute of Technology. She started ...
Production
It is a new thought, that the director wanted his critically acclaimed film ''
Aidondla Aidu
''Aidondla Aidu'' is a 2011 Indian Kannada language anthology drama film directed by V. K. Prakash and produced by Vachan Shetty and Sujitha Prakash. The film is based on the extracts from ''18 Natakangal'', a Sahitya Akademi award-winning colle ...
'' to be made into
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 ...
. After completing ''
Trivandrum Lodge
''Trivandrum Lodge'' is a 2012 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by V. K. Prakash, written by Anoop Menon, and produced by P. A. Sebastian. The film stars Jayasurya, Anoop Menon and Honey Rose, and features P. Balachandran and P. Jay ...
'', the director wanted to try a different ''
Aidondla Aidu
''Aidondla Aidu'' is a 2011 Indian Kannada language anthology drama film directed by V. K. Prakash and produced by Vachan Shetty and Sujitha Prakash. The film is based on the extracts from ''18 Natakangal'', a Sahitya Akademi award-winning colle ...
''.
The director was selective with choosing hardworking young and character suiting actors,
Kunchacko Boban
Kunchacko Boban (born 2 November 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer. Sometimes referred to as Chackochan, he works in the Malayalam film industry and has acted in more than 90 films in more than two decades. He is a member of the List ...
and
Nithya Menen
Nithya Menen (born 8 April 1988) is an Indian actress and singer who has acted in more than 50 feature films and in six different languages: Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, English, and Telugu.In her acting career, Nithya has won three Film ...
were chosen to play a pivotal couple, and
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 ...
and
Meghana Raj
Meghana Sunder Raj Sarja (born 3 May 1990) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Malayalam and Kannada films along with a few Telugu language, Telugu and Tamil language, Tamil films. She made her acting debut in the 2009 Telugu film ''B ...
were chosen to play a supporting couple, this is the second time the pair have come together first being the director's ''
Beautiful
Beautiful, an adjective used to describe things as possessing beauty, may refer to:
Film and theater
* ''Beautiful'' (2000 film), an American film directed by Sally Field
* ''Beautiful'' (2008 film), a South Korean film directed by Juhn Jai-h ...
''.
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 ...
was cast again after V. K. Prakash's ''
Trivandrum Lodge
''Trivandrum Lodge'' is a 2012 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by V. K. Prakash, written by Anoop Menon, and produced by P. A. Sebastian. The film stars Jayasurya, Anoop Menon and Honey Rose, and features P. Balachandran and P. Jay ...
'', in which he played the lead role.
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'' ...
and
Nithya Menen
Nithya Menen (born 8 April 1988) is an Indian actress and singer who has acted in more than 50 feature films and in six different languages: Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, English, and Telugu.In her acting career, Nithya has won three Film ...
were chosen to reprise their roles from the Kannada film ''Aidu Ondla Aidu''.
The shooting of the film began on 10 June 2012, in
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
. Jomon T. John is the cinematographer. The film was shot in Bangalore and
Trivandrum
Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...
in two schedules.
Soundtrack
The audio release of poppins by
V. K. Prakash
V. K. Prakash (born 12 October 1960) is an Indian film director and actor. He makes films, music videos, and commercials, and works predominantly in Malayalam, but has also directed Telugu, Marathi, Kannada and Hindi films. Prakash's debut featu ...
was a star-studded affair with the entire cast and other guests attending the function. Among the entire cast,
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 ...
,
Meera Nandan
Meera Nandan is an Indian actress who appears mainly in Malayalam films. She also appeared in a few Tamil and Telugu films.
Early life
Meera Nandan was born as Meera Nandakumar on 26 November 1990 as the daughter of Nandakumar and Maya at P ...
, Aparna Nair and Sarayu were present. Ratheesh Vegha's music was the highlight of the day. He had also penned the lyrics of the songs,
G. Venugopal
Gopinathan Nair Venugopal (born 10 December 1960), popularly known as G. Venugopal, is an Indian playback singer known for his works in Malayalam films. He started his singing career in the film '' Odaruthammava Aalariyam'' (1984). Since then h ...
and Sithara lent their voices for the songs. The Audio release was officially carried out by East Coast Vijayan and the CD was first given to
Shankar Ramakrishnan
Shanker Ramakrishnan is an Indian film screenwriter, director, producer and actor, who works primarily in the Malayalam cinema.
Career
He started his career immediately after completing post-graduation from the School of Management Studies, C ...
by
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 ...
. East Coast Vijayan had coordinated the entire function than held on 24 November 2012.
Nithya Menon
Nithya Menen (born 8 April 1988) is an Indian actress and singer who has acted in more than 50 feature films and in six different languages: Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, English, and Telugu.In her acting career, Nithya has won three Film ...
sings the Malayalam version of the same song she sang for in "Aidu Ondla Aidu".
Reception
The film opened to negative reviews from critics and audiences alike.
Sify.com
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 ...
gave the verdict "Below Average" and said, "''Poppins'' is a lazy film, which takes the viewer for a ride. Unlike the sweet that it has named after, this one is disturbingly tasteless and has been made without much honesty." Paresh C Palicha of
Rediff.com
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 ...
rated the film two out of five start and concluded his review saying that the film is a "very bland one."
"Review: This Poppins is bland"
/ref>
References
{{V. K. Prakash
2012 films
Indian films based on plays
Indian romantic comedy-drama films
2010s Malayalam-language films
Malayalam remakes of Kannada films
Films shot in Bangalore
Films shot in Thiruvananthapuram
Films directed by V. K. Prakash
2012 romantic comedy-drama films