Thoppil Joppan

''Thoppil Joppan'' is a 2016 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film directed by Johny Antony, starring Mammootty in the title role as a Kabaddi player. The film also features Mamta Mohandas, Andrea Jeremiah, Renji Panicker, Sudheer Sukumaran, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Harisree Ashokan, Alancier Ley Lopez, Saju Navodaya and Sreejith Ravi among others.

Plot

While Joppan's ( Mammootty) friends take a bath, each of them narrates a flashback concerning Joppan. Joppan is an adept Kabbadi player, and during an informal victory parade, he falls for Annie's (Andrea Jeremiah) beauty. Annie, an estate supervisor's daughter, does not initially reciprocate Joppan's feelings, but Joppan attains her love by saving her younger brother's life. Their love becomes the talk of the town and Joppan's father reprimands him. Joppan renounces his family and locals, except Annie, and assures her that he will return for her after becoming an affluent man.

In the course of time, Annie grows into a woman. Abruptly, Annie's father dies and Annie is taken to Mettupalayam by her kindred. Joppan returns to town and meets his friends. The Mercedes-Benz and the cash case are the proof of his affluent status. He asks for Annie and helplessly witnesses her marriage. Broken, he finds relief in alcohol. The friends finish the flashback and take a final dip in the lake.

Joppan brings back his Kabbadi team and wins many trophies. Joppan and his friends pass the time by watching '' Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'' and drinking. The vicar, a marriage broker, Joppan's mother and friends compel him to seek a bride. He at last consents but sees a girl with modern views. Later on in the parish, amidst a downpour, Maria (Mamta Mohandas) sneaks into Joppan's umbrella and later witnesses his street duel with SI George Thomas, a law enforcement officer. Joppan and Maria then coincidentally meet each other in different ways. Joppan discovers qualities of Annie in Maria and falls for her. However, Joppan ends up helping her to elope with Thomaskutty. His friends and family believe that Joppan has married Maria, but when they acknowledge the truth, his desperate mother implores him to attend a retreat. Thus, Joppan and his friends go to a retreat centre. There, Joppan happens to meet Annie, but later discovers that she is with her fiancé, a physically challenged person. After attending Annie's marriage, Joppan angrily comes home, but is met with his mother's order to again visit a potential bride. Reluctantly, Joppan, the broker and his friends go to the girl's home and learns that the girl is Maria. She reveals that Thomaskutty was spineless and cowardly, unlike Joppan, and has left her in the church. In the climax Joppan and Maria confirm their marriage.

Cast

Production

The filming began in Ernakulam in April 2016. Amala Paul signed to play the lead lady. Initially Vedhika and Deepti Sati were each considered for another lead role but replaced by Mamta Mohandas. The actress announced the news via her Facebook page on May 17. Later Andrea Jeremiah replaced Amala .

Music

The music and background score for the film is composed by VidyaSagar, who has worked with Johny Antony in several times. The music release was coincided with an event held at Avenue Center in Kochi. The soundtrack album comprises six songs, with lyrics written by Rafeeq Ahammed and Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma

Reception

Box office

In Kerala, the film collected 1.40–2.06 crore on its opening day. By the end of its first week in theatres, the film had collected an estimated 3.46 crore from Kerala box office. The film collected 8.1 crore in 24 days from Kerala box office. The film collected 4.61 lakhs in its 1st weekend from US box office. The film earned 15.50 in Kerala and its final worldwide gross is estimated to be 22 crore.

Critical

Manoj Kumar R of Indian Express rated the film three out of five and appreciated the story, performance by actors, Vidyasagar's music and its placement in film, characterisation and comedy, saying "Almost 30 minutes into the film, I realised that I have been grinning widely and frequently breaking into a laugh. And this continued till the end of the film." Rating three out of five, in a review for Manorama Online, Amrutha Menon P called the film "a rustic bundle of love and wine" and appreciated the comic performances by actors, music and story and concluded saying "Thoppil Joppan's climax may be predictable, but there too we find ample scope for fun." Calling the film "Right mix of fun, booze and romance", Aravind. K S, in a review for Deccan Chronicle, also gave a rating of three out of five and concluded, saying "Like his previous Achayan roles, Mammootty’s Joppan also
will be a memorable character in his career. Actors Sohan, Alencier, Mamta Mohandas, Jude Anthany Joseph and Saju have come up with good performances. Cinematographer Sunoj and music director
Vidyasagar also have backed the director to come up with a clean family entertainer."

Awards

K.S.Chithra won the Asiavision Awards 2016 for Best Singer Female for the song "Poovithalai Njaan Naadha"

References

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2016 films
2010s Malayalam-language films
Indian romantic comedy films
Films scored by Vidyasagar
2016 romantic comedy films
Films directed by Johny Antony