Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol

Plot

Ulahannan "Unnachan" is a panchayat secretary in Keezhattur panchayat, he lives in a housing colony with his wife Annyamma and children—Jini and Jerry. At his middle age, Unnachan is bored with his monotonous life and no more cares about his wife Annyamma who is a homemaker. Having the same feelings, even she doesn't share bed with him anymore. Unnachan's routine includes a dozing ride in a bus to office, where it is nothing but some loafers sitting around, and often encounters Sicily who flirts with him, and back at home boozing with his neighbours—Venukuttan, Jacobettan, Monai, and Benny every night in the terrace.

On the insistence of his old friend, Unnachan joins his college alumni reunion, where he meets his ex-lover Indulekha. They revive their past college life, where Unnachan was a firebrand political activist. Indulekha, finding hard to relate Unnachan to his old self, eventually finds out about his humdrum and unhappiness. She advises him to reinvigorate himself before leaving. Unnachan decides to redeem his life with love, he seeks the help of Venukuttan, a philanderer who, at the same time deludes his wife as a loving husband. Venukuttan promises to introduce him some of his girlfriends and teach him some of his tricks.

In the meantime, he meets Julie, a seductive NRI girl, who comes to his office and he begins a relationship with her by messaging and calling daily. It envies Venukuttan who finds Julie more attractive than any of his paramours. Unnachan's tryst with Julie makes him nervous when her husband Augustine shows up, Unnachan comes to know that Julie indeed is a flirt herself and he is only one among the others she is contacting.

In the next night while their boozing, Venukuttan teases Unnachan about his relationship with Julie gone in vein. Provoked Unnachan challenges him to call one of his girlfriends in phone and give it to him. After hesitating, Venukuttan calls someone for him. Unnachan talks in a romantic voice, but the attendee asks him is it Unnachan speaking, in a shock he realizes it is Annyamma, furious Unnachan starts shouting at Venukuttan. It is intervened by an attractive voice, Jacobettan is watching a video of a recorded song, it is Annyamma singing at her kitchen. Jacobettan tells him that she is helping the kids with the songs for the annual gathering program of the colony members. Unnachan was surprised, he has forgotten that Annyamma can sing. It remembers him about a young Annyamma.

In the next morning, Unnachan secretly went to church to give an offering to god he promised when he was in trouble with Julie's issue. After the prayer, Ulahannan scents his favourite perfume, it is from a women, he cannot see her face as she is hooded with her sari, Unnachan tells Jacobettan how attractive she is and if he could see her. While walking away from them, someone calls her, she looks and Unnachan see her, it is Annyamma. Unnachan realizes he had a beautiful wife and how he had not bothered about her for a long time.

Annyamma sings the song on the annual function of the colony members. On that occasion, Unnachan falls in love with Annyamma again. Then he tries to impress her to regain her love back, by helping her at homeand leaving office to spend time with her, which eventually become fruitful. It changes Unnchan, he feels overwhelmed and starts to enjoy life thereafter. Meanwhile, Venukuttan meets with an accident and is hospitalized. His mobile phone is kept with Latha at the time. She eventually finds out about his relationships through the calls the messages she receive in his phone.

Jini starts a relationship with her college mate Jithin, a rich boy. She calls and chats with him at home covertly using a mobile phone she gets from him. Jerry accidentally finds out the phone which was hid, but Jini threatens and suppresses him from telling. She even refuses to join in a family trip to their ancestral homes, for the sake of meeting Jithin at college. But then she finally decides to go with them. Meanwhile, Latha starts showing unusual behaviour at home, she is getting numerous phone calls and chatting for long. Venukuttan gets worried about that, besides he is not getting anymore calls.

Annyamma finds out a birthday gift for Jini's hid in the shelf. It was apparently a gift from a lover. And Annyamma worries that her sudden intimacy to Unnachan could have set a bad example to her, Unnachan consoles her by saying that, it could mean nothing more than a gift. Unnachan refuses to ask Jini as she was preparing for her exam in the next morning, as it could embarrass her and effect her exam score. In the mean time, Venukuttan traces her call history and finds out that she was not talking with a stranger but her cousins and relatives. Latha admits she deliberately did that to make him anxious and has told all his paramours that he is dead. Venukuttan then regrets and starts a new relationship with Latha again.

The next day, Jini bunks her class. Unnachan who was already watching her, follows her to a hotel. She meets Jithin in a restaurant. Unnachan sits besides them without them seeing him. Jithin invites her to a hotel room. She refuses and tells him she came to break-up with him. She says that she believes in love after marriage and Jithin is not that type of a boy who thinks like her. While leaving, Jini sees Unnachan and she cries. Then Unnachan consoles her. On that night, Unnachan tells Annyamma that as she worried they have not set a bad example, but a good example to their children.

Development

Mohanlal officially announced an untitled film through his Facebook page on 26 June 2015, to be produced by Sophia Paul of Weekend Blockbusters, scripted by M. Sindhuraj and directed by Jibu Jacob. The project was at its initial phase of development at that time and the screenwriting was not completed. The screenplay by Sindhuraj is loosely based on and inspired from the Malayalam short story Pranayopanishath by V. J. James, but not a "page-to-page adaptation", said Sindhuraj. Pranayopanishath tells the story of a couple in their middle age deciding to start romancing again after 19 years of their mundane married life. According to Jacob, "only the narrative thread is based on the short story. Otherwise, everything is different," and it is a light-hearted story conceived as a family entertainer. Mohanlal plays the character of a Panchayat secretary named Ulahannan, other actors were not signed at the time and was yet to decide.

It was the second time Sindhuraj was adapting fiction by another writer. Sindhuraj read Pranayopanishath when it was first published in Mathrubhumi Azhchappathippu in 2011, he expressed his interest to author James for adapting it for a film. He conceived a new story keeping the basic idea from the short story. Sindhuraj also integrated his own novelette Schoolilekku Poya Penkutty published in Vanitha. By the time he completed the story, someone else bought the right of Pranayopanishath and Sindhuraj decided to step back, but the film did not materialised. Again after waiting for some period he bought the right from James. Sindhuraj got the tagline "My Life is My Wife" during his vacation in Sri Lanka, where he found it written on an auto rickshaw. In 2015, Paul was looking for a story for a project planned with Mohanlal in the lead. Paul showed interest in Sindhuraj's story, Mohanlal also gave a green light after hearing it. Sindhuraj developed the screenplay that year. Jacob was hired to direct the film, making this his second directorial after his debut with Vellimoonga in 2014. He was not confident on directing the film at first, but after the story discussion he was optimistic.

M. Jayachandran and Bijibal was selected for composing the music for the film, while Pramod K. Pillai was chosen as the cinematographer. The former also handled the film scoring. The title, Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol, was officially announced in the third week of September 2016. Title was derived from the Song of Songs (Song of Solomon) of the Hebrew Bible. In an interview in early September 2016, Paul said, the film is a "fun-filled family drama", and they are planning for a late October 2016 release.

Casting

The character of Ulahannan was tailor-made for Mohanlal, according to Jacob. The makers began looking for actors suitable for other characters in June 2015. For the female lead, Meena was on the consideration list, but the production team first approached Vidya Balan, she could not commit due to date conflicts. On 9 December 2015, through their Facebook page, Weekend Blockbusters confirmed the film's female lead as Meena opposite Mohanlal, playing his wife. Jacob also had thoughts of casting a newcomer, but he later admitted that Meena was the perfect choice as he thinks she always looked good with Mohanlal, and have done several successful films pairing up with him.

In March 2016, more cast and crew was revealed; Biju Menon was confirmed to play a government employee, and other cast including Nedumudi Venu, Aju Varghese, Suraj Venjaramood, Kalabhavan Shajon, and Sudheer Karamana. In June 2016, Aima Rosmy Sebastian was confirmed to play Ulahannan's daughter, a class 12 student. Her name came to casting through Aju Varghese, who co-starred in her debut film Jacobinte Swargarajyam (2016). Though Varghese and Venu were not present in the final cast. Sanoop Santhosh plays Ulahannan's seven year old young son. In early July 2016, additional cast of Anoop Menon, Alencier Ley Lopez, and Srinda Ashab was confirmed. Lopez plays the character of Jacobettan, a neighbour to Ulahannan family in the housing colony they live. Anoop Menon was said to play Venukuttan, a government official and close friend of Ulahannan, indicating that Biju Menon was replaced. Srinda Ashab plays his homemaker wife Latha. Their family is also a neighbour of Ulahannan.

In early August 2016, actors Rahul Madhav and Neha Saxena was confirmed in the film, with the former in a cameo role as Ulahannan's brother-in-law and the latter in a crucial role. Saxena plays Julie, an NRI girl who becomes a turning-point in Ulahannan's life. She was offered the role by Paul, who recognised her performance in Kasaba. Her portions were shot in 5 days. Sharafudheen was confirmed in a role in the same month.

Filming

The film was scheduled to start production as soon as the scripting was over. Writer Sindhuraj announced in May 2016 that the production is planned to commence on 20 June 2016 right after Mohanlal complete his ongoing work in Priyadarshan's, Oppam (2016). The filming began on 15 July 2016 in Kozhikode, Kerala. The film, which was untitled (until September 2016), was undergoing production with the working title, Production No:2. The film was set in the backdrop of a housing colony, situated in Bilathikulam. The schedule was expected to last for 25 days.

Over 80 percent of the film was shot at Kozhikode. For the location, they searched for a densely crowded housing colony all over the state until they found the Kesava Menon Nagar in the suburb of Bilathikulam in Nadakkavu, Kozhikode. Another location in Kozhikode was the Chalappuram panchayat where in the film it was renamed as Keezhattur panchayat. Apart from actors, many of the residents of the Kesava Menon Nagar appeared in the film in a song sequence featuring Meena, and have also contributed in the filming process. A scene was set at a bus terminus in Kozhikode, but when Mohanlal arrived, large crowd of spectators gathered and caused a traffic jam, making it difficult to shoot. It compelled them to shift the location, the scene was later shot confidentially at Thamarassery, Kozhikode.

The first schedule of filming ended in mid-August 2016 and resumed the second schedule at the locations in Bilathikulam on 3 September 2016. The filming continued until a breakup in Onam festival. It was resumed shortly, expecting to complete filming in early October 2016. Around this time, another schedule went on in Alappuzha district, where in Kuttanad Ulahannan and Annyamma's ancestral homes are situated. The film was also shot at the locations such as Alappuzha, Mankombu, Nedumudi, Kainakary, Muppalam, and Alappuzha Beach. The filming in Kerala was wrapped on 2 October 2016, leaving only a song sequence left to shoot in outside the state. The remaining footage was shot at Narkanda in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh in few days after the Kerala schedule.

Soundtrack

Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol, the original soundtrack album of the film features songs composed by Bijibal and M. Jayachandran, with former also being the film score composer. Both of them composed two songs each in the four song soundtrack—"Marivillu Mannilneyta" and "Orupuzhayarikil" by Bijibal, "Punnamadakayal" and "Athimarakombile" by Jayachandran. The lyrics were written by Rafeeq Ahammed, Madhu Vasudevan, and D. B. Ajithkumar. Audio launch of the film was held in a function at Taj Hotel in Kochi on 4 December 2016, where the film's audio CD was released. The function was attended by the film crew and other celebrity guests.

The first music video, "Punnamadakayal" from the film debuted in YouTube on the official channel of Weekend Blockbusters on 16 December 2016. The song featured Ulahannan and his family cheering for a Vallam Kali and their other moments. A digital jukebox of the songs were released on YouTube on 20 December 2016. The makers also released a making-video of the song "Athimarakombile" in the video-sharing site, the song was sung by Shreya Ghoshal and Vijay Yesudas. Its music video was released on 25 January 2017, the song was picturised in the locales in Shimla.

Release

Munthirivallikal Thallumbol was originally scheduled to be released on 4 November 2016 as a Diwali release. In late October 2016, the team officially announced about the release getting shifted to 22 December 2016 for a Christmas debut. The postponement was in response to producer Paul's decision to avoid a clash with Mohanlal's own films Oppam and Pulimurugan at the box office. The 154 minutes long film cleared censoring from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on 19 December 2016 with no cuts. However, the projected release was delayed when the Kerala Film Producers Association (KFPA) announced an indefinite strike from 16 December 2016 that halted the screening of Malayalam films, following a dispute with the Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation (KFEF) over revenue sharing. KFEF demanded renewing the theatre revenue sharing to 50:50 ratio over the existing 60:40 proportion (65:35 for non-A/C theatres) for the producers and theatre owners respectively.

After a month, the strike came to an end on 14 January 2017. The film was rescheduled and released in India on 20 January 2017 by Weekend Blockbusters Release. Munthirivallikal Thallumbol had the largest opening for a Malayalam film in the country, released in 337 screens (overtaking 330 screens of Pulimurugan), with 185 screens in Kerala alone. The film released internationally from 9 February 2017 in the United States and Canada. The film released in the United Arab Emirates on 16 February 2017. Distributed by PJ Entertainments, its release in Europe started from 17 February, with 75 screens in the United Kingdom and 17 in Ireland alone.

Critical response

The film received positive reviews from critics. Anu James of the International Business Times wrote "Munthitivallikal Thalirkkumbol will make you fall in love with your spouse all over again ... it has an engaging storyline with many comedy elements that will make the audience remember the good old Malayalam movies", and praised Mohanlal, saying "It's Mohanlal who shines throughout the movie with his charisma and natural performance. From an uninterested husband to the most lovable person, he convincingly transforms setting an example to everyone around him". The reviewer from Sify called the film a "super treat for families!", and wrote, "Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol is an engaging family saga that justifies its tagline "My life is my wife" ... scenarist M. Sindhuraj has come up with a competent script, with honest intentions". Reviewer praised the performance of Mohanlal, saying he "gets into the shoes of Ulahannan in a spectacular way. He is funny, genuine and brilliant, evoking memories of some of his acclaimed films", also mentioned Menon for his "impressive comic timing".

Rating the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, Sanjith Sidhardhan from The Times of India writes, "Munthirivallikal Thalirkumbol is one of the better family-oriented movies to come out in Mollywood in a long time and is worth watching". He added, "the movie's strength is undoubtedly its script and dialogues written by M. Sindhuraj. There are so many times where you feel like the movie would go a predictable path or get preachy but the director and scriptwriter has ensured that they have kept things fresh...". He also praised the versatility of Mohanlal. Manoj Kumar R. from The Indian Express described the film "an extraordinary story of an ordinary family" and rated 3.5 out of 5 stars and called it a "slice of life film". He adds, "without an iota of vulgarity or scenes that make the family audience uncomfortable, Jibu Jacob has dealt with the most controversial topic – infidelity – in the most charming way possible. Everyone in the film has given a convincing performance while Mohanlal and Meena have performed their roles with maturity and nuance".

Rating 3.5 stars out of 5, Mythili Ramachandran from the Gulf News wrote: "This family drama—a cocktail of humour, love, and emotion—wins with a simple and sincere story ... Sindhuraj's story is something many Indian women will connect with". She also praised actors' performance. Writing for Malayala Manorama, Litty Simon awarded 3.25 in a scale of 5 and said: "Jibu [Jacob] has made the characters and their performance as real as it could be. With a great balance of subtle humor and striking reality, the movie appeals to the audience in the best possible way". Simon praised the performance of cast, especially about Mohanlal, and praised the technical side including music, cinematography, and editing. She also added that the film has a "neat narrative" and "perfectly explores the concept of romance from various angles". Firstpost critic Anna M. M. Vetticad rated 3 out of 5 stars and said: "Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol is a pleasant film, both charming and likeable. It is relatable, insightful and entertaining – a blend that is no mean achievement". She praised the casting, saying "even the littlest role seems to have been cast with care" and their performances.

Aneesh K. Mathew from Mathrubhumi was enthusiastic about Mohanlal's performance. He felt the film is entertaining from the beginning to end, and Sindhiraj and Jacob has made a "best family film". V. G. Nakul from Kalakaumudi stated that the "film will reflect some of the characters and situations we are familiar with ... some events which could or can happen in a family, with a simple beginning and an end. In between it remind us some things, and it is the sweetness and beauty in it that makes this film different". He praised the performance of Mohanlal. Writing for Deepika, V. Sreekanth elaborated about how the film tells the love that sprouts in a family is higher than any other love. He praised Mohanlal's performance, and the making, characterization and music, concluding that "the film is well entertaining".

Box office

The film debuted with ₹3.09 crore (₹30.9 million) gross collection from Kerala box office.It grossed ₹3.25 crore (₹32.5 million) on Sunday (Day 3) taking its weekend total to ₹8.70 crore (₹87 million), recording the second (behind Pulimurugan) highest-grossing opening weekend at Kerala box office. It collected around ₹14 crore (₹140 million) from the box office in its opening week, beating Oppam to become the second-highest opening week at Kerala box office, second to Pulimurugan. By day-10, the film grossed a total of ₹19.65 crore (₹196.5 million) from the state and completed 5000 shows, making it the second fastest film to cross ₹20 crore (₹200 million) mark after Pulimurugan. The film grossed ₹30 crore (₹300 million) nationwide in 21 days and completed 10,000 shows from Kerala theatres alone. It completed more than 15,000 shows in Kerala in one month, grossed ₹30 crore (₹300 million) from India and crossed ₹40 crore (₹400 million) in worldwide collection.

The film grossed $50,800 from 11 screens in the Unites States in the opening weekend.