''Sulaikha Manzil'' is a 2023 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

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 directed by Ashraf Hamza under the banner Chembosky Motion Pictures. It stars Lukman Avaran,

Anarkali Marikar Anarkali Marakkar (born 8 February 1997) is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Malayalam films. She made her debut in 2016 in the film ''Aanandam''. Early life Anarkali was born to Nias Marikar and Lali P. M. Her father is a photog ...

and

Chemban Vinod Jose Chemban Vinod Jose is an Indian actor, film producer, and screenwriter, who predominantly works in Malayalam films. He is a physiotherapist by profession.spoof film, spoof-like manner, which can be related to the visual grammar of popular Malayalam music albums of the 2000s (a music single by singer Saleem Kodathur is used as the backing track, which can be traced back to the era). It can be seen that the lead actors of the movie (except Lukman Avaran) are acting in the song, where Haala is in love with a guy named Ashiq against her family's will, and eventually Ashiq dies in a road accident. Haala's brother Sameer is an

NRI NRI or Nri may refer to : * Kingdom of Nri, an Igbo kingdom that flourished between the 10th century and early 20th century * National Radio Institute, a now defunct post-secondary vocational correspondence school * National Resources Inventory * N ...

, who works in the

UAE 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 th ...

has been in search of a groom for Haala for many years. Haala and Sameer are not on good terms for undisclosed reasons, and she rejects every proposal brought by Sameer. She finally agrees to marry Ameen, who also works in the

. Sameer and Ameen meet each other in the UAE and arrange the marriage on very short notice. Ameen is visibly confused about the short notice but agrees anyway. Ameen wants to get acquainted with Haala before marriage, but she does not seem to care. Ameen calls her the day before marriage and discovers she hasn't even saved his contact information on her phone and he discusses the matter with his friend Anwar. Meanwhile, Haala discusses with her cousin Amina that she just lacks the "excitement" but is okay with the marriage. Ameen called Haala again, but she couldn't answer the phone. When she returned the call, Ameen said he wanted to meet her, and Haala agrees. But she couldn't make it as she was trapped with her relatives. Angered, Ameen calls Haala and scolds her while she is on speakerphone, and Amina and Bathool get involved. Amina asks Haala whether she wants to call off the wedding. Bathool, Haala's sister-in-law, however, suggests waiting sometime, and if Ameen calls back and says sorry, Haala should hear him. Haala agreed to this, and Ameen called back and expressed his regret. Now that both are happy, Ameen asked her again, and she said to come to her house secretly in the evening. Ameen couldn't escape from his house but managed to get in a car with his friends and drive to Haala's house. He met Haala in her backyard and discussed his concerns. Haala said she can't get close with someone on such short notice, but she is trying. Ameen agrees initially but eventually starts a fight. Ameen decided to call off the wedding, and Haala is seen confused. Ameen and friends got in the car, but got stuck as it partially fell into a drainage canal. Guests and relatives from Haala's house came to the rescue and learned it was Ameen. They invited him to the house, and Ameen couldn't resist. At Haala's house, celebrations have begun as Ameen came to the house unexpectedly and surprisingly. They asked Ameen to perform on stage, but a depressed Ameen stood still. Ameen decides to announce his decision but suddenly learns that everyone is so happy and he doesn't want to spoil the mood. He abandons his decision to call off the wedding at the moment and meets Haala. Haala asks why he changed his mind, and Ameen replies that he doesn't want to ruin people's happiness and will disclose the matter to Haala's family once he gets home. Haala clears Ameen's mind and says Ameen's decision to not ruin others' happiness is the best quality that she imagined in her life partner, and they both return happily. The next day, at Haala's house, the

Nikkah In Islam, nikah is a Islamic marriage contract, contract between two people. Both the groom and the bride are to consent to the marriage of their own free wills. A formal, binding contract – verbal or on paper – is considered integral to ...

ceremony is about to begin. The priest asks Sameer whether he had his sister's permission for the wedding. Sameer remained silent, and the priest insisted that he do it formally in front of everyone. Sameer, overwhelmed with feelings, walks towards Haala and hugs her, and breaks the ice between them.

Cast

Production

The first look poster was released in February 2023 and second look poster was released with the release date. Later teaser was released.

Reception

Athira M critic of ''

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 ...

'' stated that "overall, there isn't a lot to get enthused about the film other than the performances and the feel-good moments thrown in here and there". Archana Anoop of '' Onmanorama'' stated that "The film's biggest plus has to be Vishnu Vijay's soulful music, which captures the essence of Malabar Muslim weddings." Critics from ''

Manorama News Manorama News is a free-to-air Malayalam-language news channel operated and owned by Malayala Manorama Television (MMTV). The channel, based at Aroor, near Cherthala, Alappuzha Alappuzha or Alleppey () is the administrative headquarters of ...

'' and ''

Mathrubhumi ''Mathrubhumi'' is a Malayalam newspaper that is published from Kerala, India. It was founded by K. P. Kesava Menon, an active volunteer in the Indian independence movement, Indian freedom struggle against the British Raj, British. The word "M ...

'' gave mixed reviews.

Music

Music was composed and produced by

Vishnu Vijay Vishnu Vijay is an Indian music composer and a prolific flautist who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. His film music career began with the 2016 Malayalam film ''Guppy''. His other works include ''Ambili'' (2019) and ''Thallumaala'' (202 ...

. Lyrics were penned by

Muhsin Parari Muhsin Parari is an Indian film director, writer and lyricist, who works in Malayalam films. Career He started his career by directing the music album ''Native Bapa'' (2012), in which actor Mamukkoya played the lead. He worked as assistant di ...

and Dr. Shamshad Hussain. The soundtrack accompanied for the film has six songs in number. The song '''Jil Jil Jil''' features stanzas from '''Aararum Manassil Ninnorikkalulm''' - a yesteryear

Mappila Paattu Mappila songs (or ''Mappila Paattu'') are a folklore Muslim song genre rendered to lyrics, within a melodic framework ( Ishal), in Arabi Malayalam by the Mappilas of the Malabar region in Kerala, India. Mappila songs have a distinct cultural ide ...

written by T. K. Kuttiyali and composed by

T. K. Ramamoorthy Trichirappalli Krishnasamy Ramamoorthy (15 May 1922 – 17 April 2013) was an Indian Tamil music composer and violinist. Ramamoorthy was known as ''Mellisai Mannar'' ( ta, மெல்லிசை மன்னர்; "The King of Light Music") ...

. The album features one remix version and one re-recorded version of '''Ethra Naal','' a music single by singer Saleem Kodathur with additional lyrics penned by Muhsin Parari. Vijay,

Pushpavathy Poypadathu Pushpavathy P R, also known as Pushpavathy Poypadathu is an Indian singer, composer and lyricist. Trained in Carnatic Vocal, Pushpavathy holds a Post Graduate Diploma (Ganapraveena) from Chembai Memorial Government Music College, Palakkad and ...

, Ahi Ajayan, Varsha Renjith, Meera Prakash and Muhsin Parari gave vocals for the tracks featured in the album. The soundtrack is influenced by traditional

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

musical styles of

Northern Kerala North Malabar refers to the geographic area of southwest India covering the state of Kerala State, Kerala's present day Kasaragod district, Kasaragod, Kannur district, Kannur, and Wayanad District, Wayanad districts, and the taluks of Vatakara, K ...

. It was released on 9 May 2023 by

Think Music Think Music is an Indian music label headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu that specialises in South Indian film soundtracks. Overview Think Music India was started in 2007 and sold its first 46 titles including ''Vel'' (2007) and ''Paiyaa'' ...

. The soundtrack album received positive feedback from music listeners and critics, appreciating Vishnu Vijay for his compositions and Muhsin Parari for the catchy and fresh lyrics.

Track listing

Promotional track

A promotional song titled ''"Olam Up"'' written and composed by Dabzee was released on 22 April 2023. The song was performed by Dabzee, Fathima Jahaan and

. The song was written in native Malabar slang, and music style influenced by traditional

Mappila songs Mappila songs (or ''Mappila Paattu'') are a folklore Muslim song genre rendered to lyrics, within a melodic framework ( Ishal), in Arabi Malayalam by the Mappilas of the Malabar region in Kerala, India. Mappila songs have a distinct cultural ...

with elements of Hip hop music incorporated. The track gathered positive reviews.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 26733635, Sulaikha Manzil 2023 films 2020s Malayalam-language films Indian romantic comedy films