''August Club'', also called ''August Club Since 1969'',
[ is a 2013 ]Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
romantic drama film
Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...
directed by K. B. Venu.It tells the story about the nuances in marital life. The film's screenplay is written by Anantha Padmanabhan and is based on his novelette titled ''Venalinte Kalaneekkangal''.[ ''August Club'' marked the debut of both K. B. Venu and Anantha Padmanabhan. The film was produced by V S Atheesh.
]
Plot
''August Club'' is a woman-centric film told from the point of view of Savithri, a young upper middle class housewife. She is the unrivalled chess champion of a nearby local club. She shares a loving and sensual relationship with her husband Nandan, who is a busy business executive. A new member Shishir joins the club and defeats Savithri in the game of chess. Shishir, also a lover of music and poetry like Savitri, is drawn to her.
Cast
* Rima Kallingal
Rima Kallingal is an Indian actress and film producer who primarily works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films.
Early life and work
Born in Thrissur, Kerala, Kallingal began practising dancing when she was three years old. A dancer by professio ...
as Savithri
* Murali Gopy
Muralikrishnan Gopynathan Nair, professionally credited as Murali Gopy, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, playback singer, lyricist, journalist, author, and music composer who works in Malayalam films. He has written films such as '' Ee Aduth ...
as Nandagopan
* Thilakan
Palappurathu Keshavan Surendranatha Thilakan (15 July 1935 – 24 September 2012) was an Indian film and stage actor who appeared in over 200 Malayalam films. Thilakan was known for his elaborate method acting, realistic and spontaneous appeara ...
as KPT Menon
* Praveen Anidil as Shishir
* Sukumari
Sukumari Amma (6 October 1940 – 26 March 2013) was an Indian actress best known for her works in Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning more than five decades, She has appeared in more than 2500 films predominantly in Malayalam, T ...
as Bhagavati Amma
* Mala Aravindan
Mala Aravindan (15 January 1939 – 28 January 2015) was an Indian actor. He was best known for his work as a comedian and character artist in Malayalam films. He has acted in over 500 films.
Early life
Aravindan was born at Vadavucode in th ...
as Lazar
* K. P. A. C. Lalitha
Maheshwari Amma, better known by her stage name K. P. A. C. Lalitha (10 March 1947 – 22 February 2022), was an Indian film and stage actress who worked primarily in the Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry. Considered one of the greatest ...
as Nandan's Amma
* Rakendu
* Sunil Sukhada
Sunil Sukhada is an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He debuted in a small role in the film '' Best Actor''. His first full length role was as the supermarket manager in '' Chappa Kurishu'' (2011). He won a special mention in the Kerala state t ...
as Lona
* Monisha Sagar as Leena Zacharias
* Sasi Kalinga
V. Chandrakumar, better known by his stage name Sasi Kalinga, was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in '' Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha'' (2009), '' Pranchiyettan & the Saint'' (2010), ''Indian Rupee ...
as Cheru
* Unni Thrippunithura as Appan
* Arun as Kishore
* Ganapathi S Poduval
Ganapathi S. Poduval (born 15 March 1995) is an Indian actor who works in the Malayalam film industry. He is well-known for his roles as child artist in the films '' Vinodayathra'' (2007) and '' Pranchiyettan & The Saint'' (2010)''.'' He also ...
as Benny
* Esther Anil
Esther Anil (born 27 August 2001) is an Indian actress who works primarily in Malayalam films, in addition to few Telugu and Tamil films.
Career
She debuted as a child artist in a Malayalam film '' Nallavan'' in 2010. She is best known for h ...
* Krishna
Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...
* Cherthala Lalitha as Reetha
* Tovino Thomas
Tovino Thomas (born 21 January 1989) is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. He made his debut in 2012 with the film ''Prabhuvinte Makkal''. His breakthrough roles were in the films '' ...
as Mahesh (Cameo appearance)
Production
The film is journalist-turned television personality K. B. Venu's directorial debut. It is also the debut attempt at screen-writing for Anantha Padmanabhan, son of writer and filmmaker Padmarajan
Padmarajan Padmanabhan Pillai, better known as P. Padmarajan (23 May 1945 – 23 January 1991) was an Indian film maker, screenwriter and author who was known for his works in Malayalam literature and Malayalam cinema. He was the founder of a ...
.
The film is based on the novelette ''Venalinte Kalaneekkangal'' which was published in the ''Malayala Manorama
'' Manorama'' is a morning newspaper in Malayalam published from Kottayam, Kerala, India by the Malayala Manorama Company Limited. Currently headed by Mammen Mathew, it was first published as a weekly on 14 March 1888, and currently has a rea ...
'' ''Vishuppathippu''. "When I wrote ''Venalinte Kalaneekkangal'', I never thought of converting it into a movie. It was Lal Jose
Lal Jose is an Indian director, actor, producer, and distributor who works in the Malayalam film industry. He started his career as an Assistant director in the Malayalam cinema. His directorial debut was with the 1998 film '' Oru Maravat ...
, my friend, who discovered an inherent cinematic probability," says Ananda Padmanabhan. Though the film is true to the original story, minor modifications have been introduced to broaden its cinematic scope. While the story begins in an urban setting, the narrative meanders to a village of chess players. The inspiration is from Marottichal, a village in Thrissur
Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...
, which is famous for its chess-playing population. The scenarist says, "Though the subtleties of chess were not fully utilised in my novel in order to make it simple for the readers to comprehend, some shrewd complexities have been introduced to the script."
The film was initially titled ''Venalinte Kalaneekkangal'' itself but was later renamed as ''August Club'' which in the movie is a club where the main protagonists meet. K. B. Venu says, "We felt it created bit of a confusion. When the title was written in English, the meaning was altered. Though the name is poetic, we felt it didn't communicate well to the public. So, we decided to change. August Club is a club in the movie where the main protagonists meet. We felt it's catchy and does connect to the movie."
The film was launched on 21 May 2012 with a pooja ceremony which was attended by the crew members along with other actors and major filmmakers including K G George, Mohan, Lal Jose, Murali Gopi, Priyanandan, K. P. A. C. Lalitha
Maheshwari Amma, better known by her stage name K. P. A. C. Lalitha (10 March 1947 – 22 February 2022), was an Indian film and stage actress who worked primarily in the Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry. Considered one of the greatest ...
and B. Unnikrishnan. Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
for the film started in June 2012 and took place entirely at Alappuzha
Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...
in Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
.[
]
Music
The film's music was composed by the music director duo Bennet Veetraag with lyrics penned by Rafeeq Ahmed. "It's gonna be a different feel altogether in this movie," said Veetraag of the duo. There were three songs and Bennet sang two songs. The other singers include Shreya Ghoshal
Shreya Ghoshal (; born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer. Noted for her wide vocal range and versatility, she is one of the most prolific and influential singers of India. Often referred to as the "Queen of Dynamics'' for her remarkable voc ...
, Srinivas Srinivasa (Sanskrit ) is a Hindu name. The term Srinivasa is Vaishnava in origin, the combination of two Sanskrit words, ''Shri'' (श्री) and ''nivasa'' (निवास).
It is a name for males in India as well as a family surname. Shriniv ...
, Vijay Prakash
Vijay Prakash (born 21 February 1976) is an Indian Playback singer and Music director from Karnataka. He has given his voice for predominantly Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu language films, in addition to Hindi, Malayalam and Marathi language ...
, and Veetraag. Thilakan's son Shobi Thilakan has sung a few lines for Thilakan. Jaya Kerr, who just won the worldwide singing competition, sang in this movie for song of "Vaathil Charumo" along with Srinivas Srinivasa (Sanskrit ) is a Hindu name. The term Srinivasa is Vaishnava in origin, the combination of two Sanskrit words, ''Shri'' (श्री) and ''nivasa'' (निवास).
It is a name for males in India as well as a family surname. Shriniv ...
.
Critical reception
K. Padmakumar of ''Malayala Manorama
'' Manorama'' is a morning newspaper in Malayalam published from Kottayam, Kerala, India by the Malayala Manorama Company Limited. Currently headed by Mammen Mathew, it was first published as a weekly on 14 March 1888, and currently has a rea ...
'' gave the film a 2/5 rating, and said, "The limitations of stretching a small story into a full-length movie is always visible" and that "No curiosity is generated till late after half time". Paresh C Palicha writing for Rediff.com
Rediff.com, stylized as rediff.com, is an Indian news, information, entertainment, and shopping website. Founded by Ajit Balakrishnan in 1996, it was the first Indian website to become a mainstream news media organization. It is headquartered i ...
said that the film is "rich in subtext and distinctive characters, hich
Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...
makes for an interesting watch", but was disappointed with a predictable climax. Unni R. Nair of Kerala9.com stated that "''August Club'' stands out as a well-made and well scripted film, with neat, excellent performances by the key players." He labelled the film's screenplay as a "striking" one, background score as "one of the highlights of the film" and the songs as "too good", rating the film 3 of 5.
References
{{reflist
2013 films
2010s Malayalam-language films
Films based on Indian novels
Films shot in Alappuzha
2013 directorial debut films
Films scored by Bennet Veetraag