Ennu Ninte Moideen

Plot

Set in the 1960s and 70s in Mukkam, Kerala, the film tells the tragic love story of Moideen who belongs to a renowned Muslim family and Kanchana Mala who is the daughter of a Hindu Thiyya aristocratic landlord. Since inter-religious marriages were a taboo then, the couple had to part ways as their families objected to their love affair.

Moideen shifted ground to being a socio-political activist and Kanchana Mala lived in her house under strict restrictions for 22 years. Both communicated through letters and language they had developed. Eventually Kanchanmala was caught and beaten mercilessly by her conservative relatives. Balyambra Pottattu Unni Moideen Sahib, Moideen's father stabs him since Moideen does not agree to part ways with Kanchana mala but he miraculously escapes. Moideen reveals to the judge/police that it was an accident and his father was not responsible. This confession transforms Balyambra Pottattu Unni Moideen Sahib's attitude towards his son; however, he dies immediately afterwards due to a heart attack. Eventually, Moideen and Kanchana decide to elope but when Moideen was returning after collecting their passports, he dies in a boating accident. Upon hearing about his death, Kanchana decides to commit suicide but is stopped by Moideen's mother. In the end, Kanchana leaves home to live in Moideen's house, as Moideen's unmarried widow.

Cast

Production

The film is based on the real life love story of Moideen and Kanchanamala, which happened in 1960s in the backdrops of river Iruvanjippuzha and Mukkam village. Vimal first made the story into a documentary film and then developed it into a full-length feature film. In October 2014, Kanchanamala had accused Vimal of "tweaking their story", stating that several incidents had not been shown correctly in the film.

Prithviraj was chosen to play Moideen upon the insistence of real-life Kanchanamala, as she felt that he had a resemblance to Moideen. Tovino Thomas was signed to play Appuettan (Kanjanamala's cousin), who said that Prithviraj suggested him for the role.

The film was launched at Mascot Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram on 9 July 2014. The shoot was supposed to begin in the first week of August 2014 but was postponed due to rain. Though set entirely in Mukkam, the film was not shot there; it was shot mostly in Shoranur and nearby areas.

Soundtrack

The background music for the film was composed by Gopi Sunder who also composed a song. Other songs were composed by M. Jayachandran and Ramesh Narayan. Rafeeq Ahamed penned the lyrics. A poem by renowned poet Changampuzha Krishna Pillai was used in the film.

The song "Mukkathe Penne" was composed within five minutes. Gopi Sunder says, "We were doing the background music when director requested us to create a background song for the movie. Mohammed Maqbool Mansoor, a singer who helps me with the Sufi notes, was there during that time. I hummed this tune to him for which he wrote lyrics. He crooned it and thus the song was born." For the song "Kathirunnu", M. Jayachandran won the National Film Award for Best Music Direction for the first time in his career.

Release

The film released on 19 September 2015 in Kerala and outside Kerala on 2 October. The television satellite right of Ennu Ninte Moideen was purchased for an amount of ₹ 7 crore by Asianet, which is the highest satellite purchasing amount in Malayalam.

Film festival screening

The film was among the seven films selected to be screened in the Malayalam Cinema Today section of the 20th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). However, director R. S. Vimal decided to withdraw the film from the festival as it was not included in the Competition Section.

Critical response

The Hindu wrote that the film "presents a classic case of how a compelling real life incident can be adapted for the screen without compromising on the aesthetics of the medium." Writing for the same newspaper, Baradwaj Rangan stated, "Even with flatly written characters and plodding narration, the film strikes a chord. We respond to the film because few among us have experienced a love so mythic — it's the amative equivalent of cheering for Erik Weihenmayer, the blind man who conquered Everest."

Veeyen of Nowrunning.com rated 3/5 and opined that it is "a slow-burner that invites its viewers to soak themselves in a compelling romantic tale that is prudently drawn from real life." He added: "A pithy, well-acted and remarkably crafted film, this devastating narrative of love, comes across as a true celebration of the tender, expectant spirit that lies deep within it." He further commented on the film maker by stating that "..some brilliant movies are based on such true stories, and Vimal can rest assured that he has done fine justice in adapting the much admired real-life chronicle on to the big screen." Hailing the film as "probably the best love story to have graced the screens in the last decade in Malayalam Cinema," Rejath RG of Kerala Kaumudi described it as " a masterful piece of cinema that is sure to leave a long lasting impression in the hearts of moviegoers." He commented on the filmmaker saying, "R S Vimal has made a gem of a movie, an unforgettable love story of epic proportions."

G. Ragesh of Malayala Manorama rated the film 3.5/5 and described it as "a love saga at its ethereal best". He wrote: "Apart from being an inquiry into the unknown realms of human emotions such as love, revenge and envy the film has a smooth narrative which offers a glimpse into the socio-political milieu of the time." He appreciated Vimal's direction, saying that "the clarity with which the director worked on it [the film] is remarkable."

Describing the film as "one of the best ever love stories made in Malayalam cinema and the best movie of recent times," Akhila Menon of Filmibeat.com gave a rating of 4/5. She wrote: "It is wonderful to watch the classic form of romance back on the screen, in its complete glory." She added that a "well-written script plays the backbone for the film" and "the only minus factor [of the film] is, Kanchanamala gets over-shadowed by Moideen certain points." Kanchanamala became an icon of woman sacrifice for eternal love as per the readings of R. Suresh Kumar in online news paper Azhimukham. Sethumadhavan of Bangalore Mirror rated the film 4/5 and said, "Despite the story being so old, the screenplay is powerful enough to hook the audience and make one ignore a few loose ends. Whenever and wherever cinematic liberty has been taken, it does not come across as jarring." Shyamlee Ahmed of The American Bazaar noted that the "powerful story is a far cry from the modern day puppy love stories coming out of Bollywood" and that the film "will be here to stay in our hearts "ennum" (forever), for its effervescent one of a kind eternal love."

Box office

The film collected approximately ₹81 lakh on the first day of release and ₹1.25 crore in the second day, with Malabar region contributing a major share. It collected ₹6.32 crore in 6 days and ₹10.5 crore when it completed 9 days from Kerala alone. The film collected ₹19 crores from 18 days from Kerala alone. On 14 October 2015, Filmibeat.com reported that the film's gross collection crossed ₹21.8 crore, making it the biggest hit in Prithviraj's career. Within a month of release, the film's collection from Kerala theatres alone was ₹27.2 crore. It grossed about ₹ 32.67 crore and a net ₹ 25.56 crore from Kerala in 42 days; the film's all India gross crossed ₹ 37.50 crore for the same. The film collected an estimated ₹ 45 crore from worldwide box office in its two months of release to become one of the highest grossing Malayalam films of all time.

Accolades

As of 28 March 2016, Ennu Ninte Moideen received 55 wins and 63 nominations.