Peruchazhi

Plot

In California, Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kory is trying to raise his dismal poll numbers. Sunny Kurishingal, Kory's chief adviser, is running out of ideas to ensure Kory's victory. Sunny asks Francis Kunjappan, a Public Works Department minister in Kerala and his friend, for advice on hiring a political consultant. Kunjappan, recommends his friend (and political rival) Jagannathan, hoping to rid himself of a threat to his ministerial position. Jagannathan, a young politician and sports enthusiast, knows no English but has a talent for solving serious problems prudently (as Kunjappan knows firsthand). However, Kunjappan thinks that Jaganathan’s unorthodox ideas will fail in the United States. Kunjappan meets Jagannathan and offers him the job for ₹30 crore (₹300 million), enough to realize Jagannathan's dream project of a sports academy. Jagannathan accepts the assignment and flies to the US with his assistants, Pottakuzhi Jabbar and Vayalar Varkey.

They are met by Sunny, who explains their job and the US political system. Unlike India, there are only two major parties: Republican and Democratic. The Democratic Party is leading in California and their candidate, George Hopes, is well-liked by the public. Jagannathan must increase the Republican poll numbers, enabling them to win the election, and decides to use Indian political tactics; he influences the media, recruiting screenwriters to craft effective speeches. He meets a Chinese man, Dupli, who sells counterfeit electronic equipment.

Jagannathan is also looking for a girl to marry. He meets a prostitute, Jessy, and they fall in love. Kory's poll numbers are rising rapidly because of Jagannathan's tactics. One night, though, Sunny and Kory visit him with bad news. Sunny tells him that a compromising video of Kory and a girl has been leaked; although all copies have been destroyed, the original is believed to be in Hopes' locked room. Jagannathan takes the video from Hopes' house, giving Sunny a message that the tape has been destroyed. The election campaign is declared over, and John Kory is certain to win. When Sunny learns that the campaign budget has been overspent, they decide to withhold Jagannathan's fee. Sunny promises that if he makes the campaign cost-effective, he will be considered for a cabinet post.

Jagannathan asks for his fee one last time, saying that he needs it to ransom Jessy's child, but Sunny dismisses him. Knowing that he has been cheated, Jagannathan warns Sunny that he will make Kory lose the election the following day. He comes with the money, but it is not known where it came from. Kory loses the election, which is a shock to the Republican Party. Jagannathan calls Sunny and tells him that he joined Andy and Hopes, who paid his fee. With Dupli's help, Jagannathan replaced the voting machines with duplicates. The video was not destroyed; Jabbar made a copy, which was released to the media. Jagannathan and his friends return to India with Jessy, and he opens his sports academy.

Cast

Writing

Following some unconfirmed reports, Mohanlal officially announced about the film in February 2013. The film was said to be in a comedy genre and Tamil film director Arun Vaidyanathan said to be the director, making his debut in Malayalam cinema. Vaidyanathan got the idea for the script during his stay in the United States, when he watched a debate between two political leaders on television: "It was fun and something unheard of in India. I thought that would make an interesting script". According to Vaidyanathan, Peruchazhi is an original script, although the kind of humour used in the film was influenced by Cho Ramaswamy's 1971 Tamil political satire, Muhammad bin Tughluq, which he consider as still relevant and ahead of its time.

Vaidyanathan wrote two drafts of screenplay, one in English and one in Tamil. He initially had no plan to direct the film in Malayalam, when he met Mohanlal with its English script, he signed the project, after which he planned to make it in Malayalam. Writer-director Ajayan Venugopalan, known for his Malayalam television sitcom Akkara Kazhchakal (set in the US), was chosen to translate the dialogue into Malayalam, he converted the story into a Malayali context. Venugopal said, the story was inspired by real life political stunts that happen in India in the name of democracy. It is "a spoof-cum-satirical take on what happens when an Indian politician gets to lead a Gubernatorial election in the U. S.", the characters are "larger than life" and the film will be a tribute to Mohanlal with many references from his earlier films. He started translation in 2013.

The title Peruchazhi refers to Bandicota (a rodent), about the title Vaidyanathan said: "A bandicoot has its own instincts. For instance, we have no idea where it comes from and where it vanishes to. It just appears and takes what it wants in the process. Jagannathan, the character played by Lal Sir [Mohanlal], is like that. He will do anything to win". He describes Peruchazhi as a spoof about how a politician from Kerala ends up being the chief political adviser to a state election campaign in California and the havoc he creates while chasing success there. Since Vaidyanathan wanted the protagonist to have international appeal, he named him "Ulaganathan" (conqueror of the world) in his original Tamil script; in Malayalam the name was changed to "Jagannathan", its meaning unchanged.

Cast and crew

According to Vaidyanathan, Mohanlal was never in his mind while writing the screenplay, but eventually, after writing he thought Mohanlal will be the apt person, whom he consider "an amazing humourist" with a "great comic timing". Mohanlal agreed to do the film right after briefing the script. Mohanlal's name was suggested by Vaidyanathan's wife, a native of Kerala. He plays Jagannathan, a politician from Kerala, his crooked strategies gave him the nickname "Peruchazi". Vaidyanathan define Jagannathan as a "gentle Chanakyan". Mukesh (plays Francis Kunjappan) was among the first to be signed after Mohanlal.

In October 2013, American actress and former Miss India USA Pooja Kumar was announced as the heroine, which will be her Malayalam debut. She was reported to play an Indian girl born and brought up in the United States. Baburaj and Aju Varghese was also confirmed in the film, they plays comical sidekicks to Mohanlal's Jagannathan. However, in early March 2016, North Indian actress Ragini Nandwani was confirmed as the female lead, the makers zeroed in on Nandwani after considering several actresses. In March 2014, Tamil actor Delhi Ganesh was confirmed making a cameo appearance. Poonam Bajwa was signed for an item number in a song.

In early April 2014, standup comedian turned actor Ashvin Mathew announced through his social networking pages that he has been cast in a small comic role. In the same time, producers Sandra Thomas and Vijay Babu announced that since they are travelling with the crew to the U. S. for the filming, they also appear in the film as a cost-cutting measure. Babu plays Sunny Kurishingal, initially they approached a number of actor who fit the "requisites of a savvy Indian-American". But none of them was ready to afford the length filming schedule in the United States. Hence Babu himself took the part. Taiwanese-American actor John Wusah was cast as Dup Lee after attending an audition in the United States for the role. Shankar Ramakrishnan's role as an American Senator was confirmed in early June 2014. Aneesh G. Menon was confirmed in July 2014, as playing a politician in the film. Vineeth Mohan got his first talking role with this film as Kunjappan's car driver.

Peruchazhi's songs and background score were composed by Arrora (Naveen Iyer). Aravind Krishna was the film's cinematographer, and N. Madhusudhanan was signed to provide visual effects. M. Bawa and Julie Ziah were the art directors. Preethi S. Kanthan designed the costumes, according to Vaidyanathan, Jagannathan's dhoti (designed by Kanthan) was "inspired by Ancient Romen design. The same border is used on the toga worn by Julius Caesar and his ministers. The leaf in the border denotes power". Raymonds provided the coats for the film's characters.

Filming

In an event in September 2013, Mohanlal announced that the film will start in February 2014. In March 2014, it was reported the filming will begin in the second week of April 2014. Principal photography began in mid-April 2014 in Kollam, Kerala. Two sequences in the film—a fight and an item song, which are taking place in the U. S. was shot in a set created inside the compound of The Raviz Hotel, Kollam. The Kollam schedule was completed on 8 May 2014. Filming in Kollam for a film set in America, was criticized by some medias in Kerala. Replying to it Vaidyanathan said in an interview: "If you are making Titanic, you don't have to build an entire ship and make it sink. The news of us shooting in the U. S. got lesser prominence in the media than the shooting in Kerala, which was there for three or four days. There are certain things that we thought would be better if we shot it here [Kollam]. What matters in the end is the content on screen,".

The cast and crew traveled to the United States on 12 May 2014, for a schedule which was expected to wrap on 16 June 2016. Filming took place for around 35 days in America. In the U. S. schedule, most of the crew members were from the U. S. itself, with a total working hour of six hours per day. Los Angeles International Airport was one the location. In early June 2014, Vaidyanathan said that the filming is presently undergoing at Los Angeles and almost 60 percent of the film has been completed. Peruchazhi was filmed almost entirely in Burbank, California, near Hollywood. It is the first Malayalam film shot at the Universal Studios in Los Angeles. The production cost was around ₹4.5 crore (₹45 million) for the U. S. schedule.

Although Peruchazhi is mostly set in the U. S., the film opens and ends in Kerala. For which a number of scenes was shot in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. The film wrapped on 5 July at Sacred Heart College in Thevara, Kochi. Peruchazhi was made with the Auro 11.1 sound format, making it the second Malayalam film to use it; the first was Swapaanam (2014), directed by Shaji N. Karun. According to Sandra Thomas, Peruchazhi costs four times an average Malayalam film. The total production cost of the film is estimated to be ₹10 crore (₹100 million).

Music

The film's original soundtrack and background score was composed by Naveen "Arrora" Iyer. Arrora debuted in Malayalam cinema composing for Peruchazhi who worked as the flautist to A. R. Rahman. The soundtrack consists six tracks sung by Karthik, Arrora, Bombay Jayashri, Blaaze, Jyotsna Radhakrishnan, and Andrea Jeremiah. The lyrics for the songs were written by Rajeev Nair, R. Venugopal, and Blaaze. Peruchazhi, the soundtrack album was released by the label Think Music India on 19 August 2014.

"Po Mone Dinesha" was a song made from Mohanlal's popular catchphrase Ni Po Mone Dinesha from the 2000 film Narasimham. The song had two versions, one sung by Jyotsna Radhakrishnan and the other by Andrea Jeremiah. It was picturised with a dance sequence featuring Poonam Bajwa in a belly dance attire. "Enthu Cheiyyan" is a romantic song sung by Bombay Jayashri and penned by R. Venugopal, the only melody in the soundtrack. "United States of Adipolica" and "Don't Mess With Me" are rap songs, both describing Jagannathan written and rendered by Blaaze. A video song of "Adichu Polikkam" sung by Karthik and Arrora was released in Youtube on 17 August 2014. The song shows Jagannathan, Jabbar, and Varkey getting ready to travel to the U. S.

In their review, The Times of India said, the soundtrack contains "trendy, danceable tracks", the highlight of "Adichu Polikkam" is "its singer, Karthik, and the track, which alternates between a soft anthem and a fast track, makes good use of his versatile voice". Described "Enthi Cheiyyan" as a "soothing song...quite addictive, though, and ends with a classical bit. They said both the versions of "Po Mone Dinesha" are "energetic and upbeat with a catchy beat all through but Andrea's version sounds more robust (sic)", and called "Don't Mess With Me" as "stylish and catchy".

Release

The film's release date was announced in early July 2014 during its final stage of filming. Peruchazhi was released on 29 August 2014 in 500 screens worldwide, the widest release for a Malayalam film until then. The film was distributed by Friday Tickets in Kerala and Fox Star Studios elsewhere in India. Peruchazhi was the first Malayalam film to release simultaneously in the United States and India. PJ Entertainment distributed the film in the Europe, while Achu & Achu's Creations handled the distribution in Australia. The Middle East release was on 4 September 2014, a premiere was held on the same day in the Golden Cinema theatre in Dubai. Peruchazhi was released on DVD on 22 December 2014 by Friday Home Cinema and Empire Video. The film was broadcast on television by Amrita TV; it premiered in Vishu on 14 April 2015.

Marketing

The first-look poster for Peruchazhi was unveiled at Dreams Hotel in Kochi in April 2014, in conjunction with the 111-day celebration of the Friday Film House venture Philips and the Monkey Pen. The film's promotion and advertising department was handled by the company Friday Peeps. A conceptual photoshoot was conducted separately for creating the posters. The film's advertisers mounted a campaign in which Mohanlal's character gradually becomes more detailed. On 21 May 2014, Mohanlal's 54th birthday, Friday Film House released a 34-second trailer. A full-length trailer was released on 1 August 2014 which, according to Zee News, "created a buzz in social media." It was the most viewed Malayalam film trailer which received 150,000 views in 12 hours. Peruchazhi was promoted in train stations served by the Parasuram and Ernad Express, wrapped with the images, logos and posters of the film. The production team introduced a strategy game titled "Be a Peruchazhi" for Android platform on 25 August 2014, developed by the company Raklin.

Critical response

Nicy V. P. of the International Business Times gave the film four stars out of five, calling it a "clean entertainer". She wrote, "The film has a few moments, which will take you back to good old days of Mohanlal film. If you are a Mohanlal fan, the film will be a feast for you and Arun Vaidyanathan has nailed a good political satire for this festive season." Aswin J. Kumar of The Times of India also gave the film three out of five stars: "The attempt at political satire in this film is feeble, mindless and boring. It's more like a mask over disfigurement, for there is hardly any scope for satire in a narrative riddled with superfluous acts of a star who has begun to show signs of insecurity."

Sujit Chandra Kumar of Deccan Chronicle gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of five: "Arun Vaidyanathan has packed [the film] with so much spice that even if one ingredient fails to please, there is still something else for that die-hard fan." Malayala Manorama critic Arathi Kannan also awarded two-and-a-half stars out of five: "'Peruchazhi' is an exaggerated belief of a mediocre idea. And how it ends, reinforces the aforementioned statement! It isn’t so much a political mockery, as a political idiocy. But as for undying loyalties, the star with his 'mundu' action, alternatively 'suited and booted' is quite hoot-inspiring", the director has "randomly put in some Mohanlal nostalgia from yonder. Once, twice, it's okay. The eleventh time, you'd start to think the movie has slowly transformed into an Onam cassette of sorts, a compilation of yesteryear Mohanlal gems".

Paresh C. Palicha of Rediff.com rated two out of five stars, saying "not up to the mark especially since it underutilises an actor of Mohanlal's caliber...it can easily pass off as a television programme, a tribute to the long innings of Mohanlal, one of the most mesmerising actors to grace the Indian screen...every comic sequence is punctuated by a reference to one of Mohanlal's films or lines from one of those films. This strategy becomes cumbersome after a while".

Writing for The New Indian Express, Pramod Thomas criticised the script, saying "the sequences where the intelligence of the protagonist is shown as an election-winning tactic are difficult to chew...the screening of yesteryear scenes from the popular Mohanlal starrers seems to be okay in the beginning, but with weary repetition, even the hardcore fans will lose patience,". The critic from Sify called it "average", and said: "In all fairness, the initial moments of the film are pretty fine and more so, when compared to the rest of the film...Mohanlal's comic lines and sequences from his yesteryear hits are used in plenty especially in the first half, in an impressive way...at times it is fun when logic if defied in films, but least of all it should be entertaining, right?", also criticised the script.

Box office

Peruchazhi had an opening-day gross of ₹3 crore (₹30 million), the highest worldwide opening for a Malayalam film in history. According to Sify, the film's box-office receipts fell over the following weeks. The film released in the United Kingdom on 9 September 2014, grossed a total of $46,265 from 16 stations in two weekends.