Directors: Vishnu Sasi Shankar
Writer: Abhilash Pillai
Producer: Priya Venu, Neeta Pinto
Cast: Unni Mukundan, Saiju Kurup, Ramesh Pisharody, Deva Nandha, Sreepath Yan, Sampath Ram, Manoj K Jayan, Alphy Panjikkaran, Renji Panicker, Sreejith Ravi
Crew: Vishnu Sasi Shankar, Priya Venu, Neeta Pinto, Abhilash Pillai, Ranjin Raj, Vishnu Narayanan, Shameer Muhammed
The song "Harivarasanam" from the album became a component of the closing ceremony at the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala after the 1975 release of the religious movie Swami Ayyappan. "Harivarasanam," a song by G. Devarajan and K.J. Yesudas, is regarded as the god's "urakka paatu" or lullaby. Another movie about Ayyappan, Malikappuram, scripted by Abhilash Pillai and directed by newbie filmmaker Vishnu Sasi Shankar, has become a blockbuster in Kerala in 2022, about 50 years and numerous political problems later.
Malikappuram, which debuted on December 30, 2022, is currently playing in theatres. On January 5, the movie surpassed the milestone of grossing Rs 50 crore at the box office, reports Forum Keralam, a tracker for the film industry. Only a few Malayalam movies have so far been able to pull this off.
Malikappuram's breakthrough comes at a time when New Wave Malayalam film is directed towards rationalist, progressive ideas and is experimenting with form and subject. It was made on a small budget of Rs 3 crore. The popularity of this traditional devotional movie is a trend-breaker. We haven't seen a movie of this sort in a while. Director Vishnu Sasi Shankar stated, "We've been making raw, realistic movies for the past few years, and this one fits a storytelling pattern that the public was missing. It's a family movie since it appeals to mothers and kids. Young males typically up the majority of a movie crowd. Older individuals, women, and kids are underrepresented and less likely to see a movie alone. But when a movie does well with families, it gets popular because everyone in the house goes to see it, he added.
Malikappuram stands out in part because its protagonists are kids, which is unusual in Indian cinema, where hero-centric stories are the norm. The movie centers on Kallu (Deva Nandha), an eight-year-old girl who adores Lord Ayyappan and longs to travel to Sabarimala to see him. Her father vows to accompany her on the grueling journey, but tragedy intervenes before he can. Heartbroken Kallu makes the independent decision. Her friend Piyush Unni (Sreepath) joins her as soon as she boards the bus. Unni Mukundan, a strange figure, intervenes to save the unaccompanied youngsters from a criminal who is a part of a child trafficking ring.
The narrative is told from the viewpoint of the children, who describe the lovely forests they pass along the road, the ceremonies held at the Sabarimala Temple, and their impressions of the enigmatic man they believe to be Lord Ayyappan. Malikappuram's popularity also stems from how easily it transitions from dedication to fantasy. A (very, very) low-budget adaptation of the RRR climax involves the mortal Ayyappan fighting the adversary while taking on the form of the Lord (2022). Such a packaging of the supernatural isn't just about religion for a young audience today that is raised on a diet of Marvel and DC superheroes, but also about the escape that mainstream cinema provides. Unsurprisingly, at the beginning of the movie, Ayyappan is referred to as a "superhero."
Malikappuram doesn't express a clear opinion on women visiting Sabarimala. Kallu's family frequently emphasizes that she is "already eight" and that there is limited time left for her to travel to Sabarimala. There are also a few allusions to the controversy surrounding the SC's ruling, although the movie stays away from delving into the viability of the decision. However, due to the timing of its release and the affiliation of Unni Mukundan, the film's principal actor, with the Bharatiya Janata Party, there have been claims that Malikappuram is an effort to advance saffron politics in Kerala.
Shankar is in denial. He emphasized that the decision not to address the Sabarimala controversies was made very clear by the film's creators from the start. "With the movie, we didn't want to make a political statement. We tried to develop a movie that everyone can appreciate," he said, pointing out that the opening credits of Malikappuram honour political figures from all sides of the aisle, including Congressman Oommen Chandy, Kerala's Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and Mohan Bhagwat of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
In reality, the movie was advertised as a family-friendly, non-political movie, according to Shankar. To get the word out, the team used social media and WhatsApp. We only had a couple houseful gigs the first two days, but things started to build up on Sunday. The word-of-mouth advertising was really effective," he added.
In the second half of January, the movie was also dubbed and released in Tamil and Telugu, however neither language version made much of an impression. The positive reviews and strong box office performance from Kerala helped the movie have a fairly respectable opening in the Tamil and Telugu states. Albin noted that the box office receipts for the dubbed versions have fallen short of expectations. This may be the case since viewers in these states prefer the high-budget Pongal and Sankranti releases that debuted in mid-January.
Note
Malikappuram - began out slowly but picked up nicely as the interval approached. The entire second half, the forest fight, the bgm and songs, and the post-intermission emotional scenes are all dedications to Lord Ayyappa in #Malikappuram. The forest combat deserves special attention. screen presence of Unni Mukundan.
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