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 ...
-language
action thriller film
The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...
directed and produced by
Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan Soman Nair (born 30 January 1957) is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He has worked primarily in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam and Hindi cinema, Hindi cinema since 1982, directing over 90 films in multiple Indian languages, ...
. The film is a remake of Tamil film ''
8 Thottakkal
''8 Thottakkal'' () is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language crime thriller film written and directed by Sri Ganesh in his directoral debut. Produced by Vellapandian, the film stars his son Vetri, alongside an ensemble cast including Aparna Balamurali, ...
'' which itself is inspired from
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...
's 1949 film ''
Stray Dog
A free-ranging dog is a dog that is not confined to a yard or house. Free-ranging dogs include street dogs, village dogs, stray dogs, feral dogs, etc., and may be owned or unowned. The global dog population is estimated to be 900 million, of wh ...
''. The film is produced by Four Frames Sound Company, with the cinematography by Divakarmani and music by ''KP''. The film received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
A rookie cop named Rahul loses his service
revolver
A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...
. However, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that the missing revolver is not just a minor hiccup, but rather the focal point of the entire plot. It is intricately connected to many other significant events, including a significant bank robbery and a series of murders.
As the central piece of the script, the missing service revolver plays a vital role in moving the story forward. Its disappearance creates a sense of urgency and mystery, driving Rahul and his team to investigate and uncover the truth behind its disappearance. As they delve deeper into the investigation, they begin to unravel a web of interconnected crimes, all of which lead back to the missing revolver.
As the investigation progresses, it becomes clear that the missing revolver is connected to the murders of several people. With each new development in the case, the missing revolver becomes more and more important, eventually leading to a thrilling conclusion.
Cast
*
Shane Nigam
Shane Nigam is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films. Having made his debut in the 2010 film Thanthonni, he performed as a supporting character in various successful drama films '' Parava'' (2017), '' Kumbalangi Nights'' (2019), and ' ...
Vineeth Sreenivasan
Vineeth Sreenivasan (born 1 October 1984) is an Indian actor, director, producer, dubbing artist, screenwriter, playback singer and lyricist who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He is the eldest son of actor and screenwriter Sreeniva ...
as Musthafa (Extended cameo)
* Siddique as SI Shankararaman / Govindan Nambiar (Fake)
*
Shine Tom Chacko
Shine Tom Chacko (born 15 September 1983) is an Indian actor and former assistant director who works in Malayalam cinema along with a few Telugu language, Telugu and Tamil language, Tamil films. After working as an assistant to director Kamal ...
Jean Paul Lal
Jean Paul Lal, better known by his stage name Lal Jr., is an Indian film director and actor who mainly works in the Malayalam film industry. He is the son of actor-director Lal. His directorial debut movie was ''Honey Bee'' starring Asif Ali ...
as Tony
*
Gayathrie
Gayathrie Shankar is an Indian actress who primarily appears in Tamil films. She made her acting debut with the Tamil film '' 18 Vayasu'' (2018). Her notable films include '' Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom'' (2012), '' Puriyadha Pudhir'' (201 ...
as Veena, a reporter and Rahul's girlfriend
*
Maniyanpilla Raju
Sudheer Kumar (born 20 April 1955), better known by his stage name Maniyanpilla Raju (Malayalam: മണിയൻപിള്ള രാജു), is an Indian actor and producer who works in Malayalam film industry.CI Ayyappan Pillai
* Nibin Navas as News Reporter
* Vijilesh Karayad
* Sandhya Shetty as SP Gracy IPS
*
Sreedhanya
Sreedhanya Thekkedath, known mononymously as Sreedhanya, is an Indian actress and television host who works in predominantly Malayalam-language films and television shows.
Career
Sreedhanya participated in a talk show on Jeevan TV before re ...
as Shankararaman's daughter-in-law
* Geethi Sangeetha
Production
The pooja ceremony of the film was held on 27 October 2022. The first look of the film was released on 5 March 2023. The trailer was released 26 March.
Release
The film was theatrically released on 6 April 2023. The film
was made available for
digital streaming
Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...
on 5 May 2023 on
Disney+ Hotstar
Disney+ Hotstar, also known as JioHotstar or simply Hotstar, is an Indian subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Disney Star. The brand was introduced as Hotstar for a streaming service carrying content from Di ...
.
Reception
Box office
The film collected Rs 750,000 at the Kerala box office on its opening day.
Critical response
The film was released 6 April 2023 in theatres and received lukewarm reviews. Sajin Shrijith, critic of ''
Cinema Express
''Cinema Express'' was an Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language entertainment fortnightly magazine published from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was a part of The New Indian Express, The New Indian Express Group, which also publishes ''Samakalika Mal ...
'', gave 2.5 out of 5 stars and stated that "Oddly enough, despite Priyadarshan's interesting modifications to the original story, the film's failure to make one emotionally invested and its inability to find a fittingly logical resolution to all its threads work heavily against it". Anjana George, critic from ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'', gave 2.5 out 5 stars and wrote that "Nevertheless, the film fails to engage as the characters lack depth." S. R. Praveen, critic of ''
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'', noted that "Priyadarshan's latest tryst with the thriller genre is an average affair". Swathi P Ajith, critic of '' Onmanorama'', noted that "Corona Papers' is a must-watch for those who are interested in mazy suspense thrillers. Sanjith Sidhardhan, critic for ''
OTTplay
HT Media is an Indian mass media company based in Delhi. It has holdings in print, electronic and digital media. HT Media's flagship newspaper is the ''Hindustan Times'', the second most widely read English newspaper in India after ''The Times of ...
'', stated that "For a crime thriller, Corona Papers ends up as a rather tedious watch due to its intent-less characters and meandering storytelling" and gave 2 out of 5 stars.
See also
*
Remakes of films by Akira Kurosawa
A number of Akira Kurosawa's films have been remade.
Note: This list includes full remakes only; it does ''not'' include films whose narratives have been loosely inspired by the basic plot of one or more of the director's films – as ''A Bug's ...