Drama (2018 Film)
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''Drama'' is a 2018 Indian
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
comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
film written and directed by
Ranjith Ranjit or Renjith may refer to: Religion * Anton Ranjith Pillainayagam (born 1966), Sri Lankan Tamil Catholic priest, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Colombo * Malcolm Ranjith (born 1947), Sri Lankan Cardinal of the Catholic Church, Archbi ...
. The cast was led by
Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...
,
Arundathi Nag Arundhati Nag (née Rao; born 1955/1956) is an Indian actress. She has been involved with multilingual Theatre in India, for over 25 years, first in Mumbai where she got involved with Indian People's Theatre Association ( IPTA), and did variou ...
, and
Asha Sharath Asha Sharath is an Indian actress and classical dancer, who predominantly works in Malayalam films and television shows in addition to a few Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films. She is most known for her role as Geetha Prabhakar in the '' Dri ...
, while
Kaniha Divya Venkatasubramaniam Iyer better known by her stage name Kaniha, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema along with a few Tamil, Telugu and Kannada movies. Kaniha made her debut in the 2002 Tamil film ''Five Star'' ...
,
Shyamaprasad Shyamaprasad (born 7 November 1960) is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor who works in Malayalam films. Career Shyamaprasad was born on 7 November 1960 in Palakkad, Kerala, India as the younger son of O. Rajagopal and Santhakumari. H ...
,
Subi Suresh Subi Suresh (23 August 1981 – 22 February 2023) was an Indian Malayalam cinema, Malayalam actress, television host, comedian, and stage-show performer. She is known mainly for her role in popular Malayalam movies such as ''Thaskara Lahala'' ( ...
, Suresh Krishna,
Tini Tom Tini Tom is an Indian actor and comedian. He works in Malayalam films and television. Early life Tini Tom was born in North Paravoor, Kerala, India. His father Tomy T.D. is an engineer. He has a sister Tincy. Tom completed his high school ed ...
, Niranj S.,
Johny Antony Johny Antony is an Indian film director and actor, known for making comedy films in Malayalam cinema. He is from Changanassery in Kottayam district, Kerala. He worked for about a decade as an associate to directors Thulasidas, Taha, Kamal an ...
,
Dileesh Pothan Dileesh Philip (born 19 February 1980), also known as Dileesh Pothan is an Indian film director, actor and producer, who works in Malayalam cinema. He made his directorial debut with the 2016 comedy drama film '' Maheshinte Prathikaaram'', sta ...
,
Baiju Santhosh Baiju Santhosh Kumar is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam films. He began his acting career in 1981, as a child artist in the film '' Maniyan Pilla Adhava Maniyan Pilla''. Since then he has acted in more than 300 films. Acting career He b ...
,
Shaalin Zoya Shaalin Zoya is an Indian actress, dancer and director. She is best known for playing the negative role of ''Deepa Rani'' in Asianet TV's soap opera ''Autograph'' and a supporting role of Jessy in '' Elsamma Enna Aankutty''. Early life Sh ...
, and
Renji Panicker Renji Panicker (born 23 September 1960) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, film producer, and journalist known for his works in Malayalam films. He made his debut as a director with '' Bharatchandran IPS'' in 2005. Early life He di ...
played supporting roles. The
background score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
of the film was composed by
Bijibal Bijibal Maniyil is an Indian music composer and playback singer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. In a career spanning more than twenty years, he has composed for more than 150 feature films, several television commercials and a few d ...
, and Vinu Thomas composed a song.
Alagappan N. Alagappan N is an Indian cinematographer who works primarily in Malayalam Cinema, Malayalam films. He received graduate diploma in cinematography from the M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute in Chennai. In 2013, he made his ...
was in charge of the cinematography. The story is set in a suburb of London.
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 ...
took place in May and June 2018 in
Ashtead Ashtead is a village in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, approximately south of central London. Ashtead is on the single-carriageway A24 road (Great Britain), A24 between Epsom and Leatherhead. The village is on the northern sl ...
and its neighbourhoods in England. Additional scenes were shot 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 ...
and
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
in July and September. The film released in Kerala on 7 November 2018 coinciding with
Deepavali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual ...
.


Plot

Rosamma John Chacko is a widowed mother who has five children Ammini, Philip, Benny, Mercy and Jomon. She moves to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
with Mercy from her hometown
Kattappana Kattappana ( aʈ:ap:ɐna is a municipality in the Idukki district of Kerala, India. It is located 21 km (13.0 mi) southeast of the district headquarters in Painavu and about 140 km (87.0 mi) north of the state capital, Thi ...
. Mercy is a doctor who lives with her husband Dr. Mukundanunni and her two children. Two weeks after Rosamma comes to London, she dies in sleep. Mercy informs her siblings Ammini, the eldest, a nurse who lives in Canada with her husband Anto and her kids; businessman Philip who lives in America with his family; businessman Benny who lives in Australia with his family; and Jomon who lives and is looking for a job in
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
. Philip tells Mukundan than they can share the expense of the funeral. Ammini requests Mercy not to take the body to the mortuary. Mukundan's mother also tells him the body should not be kept in the home for too many days. Mukundan contacts a funeral agency run by Dixon Lopez partnered with Rajagopal. Mukundan requests that they find another home or place to keep the body. Eventually, they rent a house for 10 days and takes the body there. When Mercy's siblings arrive, Dixon and Raju explains their matters and rate. Mukundan agrees to pay the advance and is ready to sign the agreement. The youngest Jomon opposes their decision. He says their mother's last wish was that the funeral must take place in Kattappana beside their late father John Cacko. His siblings except Mercy to oppose his request. An angered Jomon leaves the place and resides in a lodge. Raju reaches the house where the body is kept. Their worker Podiyan leaves for an emergency. He drinks vodka and hallucinates that Rosamma is talking to him. She asks him about his family. Raju tells her that his wife Rekha shut him out of their house because she found out he was
sex talk "Sex Talk" is a song by British pop band T'Pau, written by Carol Decker and Ron Rogers, and produced by Roy Thomas Baker. It was originally released as a single in 1987 under the title "Intimate Strangers", but failed to chart. It was re-titled " ...
ing with her friend. Rosamma tells Raju about her last wish to be buried in Kattappana and asks him to help Jomon make the wish fulfilled and to think of her as his mother, and then all his problems will be solved by God. Raju decides to help Jomon, but all his efforts were wasted. At last, he gets a call from Kunjachayan, his friend and a political leader, who agrees to help him. He contacts assistant engineer Balachandran at Kottayam Municipality. Balachandran makes a surprise inspection at the shopping complex that is being constructed by Philip and Benny and gives a stop memo. Philip and Benny are informed of this news by their contractor and told that they should appear before the chairman within two days. Philip and Benny contact Dixon and inform him that they decided to bury their mother in Kattappana. Dixon then demands the balance amount and they can take the body. They eventually agree to bury the body in London in the morning and leave to Kottayam an afternoon flight. In the meantime, Raju and Jomon forcefully take the body from the rented house to Raju and Rekha's house. Eventually, Rekha understands Raju and forgives him. A flustered Dixon informs the family that the funeral will not happen before 4 PM on the determined day. Philip and Benny decide to leave without attending the funeral. After they leave, Jomon comes and tells the rest that he and Raju did all of this to make their mother's last wish to come true. He invites Mercy and Mukundan to accompany him. He says that Rosamma has given the house in his name and rips up the document in front of them. He said he is ready to give the house to Ammini if she wants to come. Ammini tearfully agrees to accompany him and they bury Rosamma's body besides their father's catacomb. Raju and Rekha also visit the catacomb. Later, Kunjachayan informs Raju that they lied to Balachandran, but there are real problems in the building's construction.


Cast


Production


Filming

The film began
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 ...
on 14 May 2018 in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. On the first day of the shoot, Mohanlal, Baiju Santhosh, Tini Tom, Shyamaprasad, Murali Menon, Arundhathi Nag, Kaniha, and Shalin Zoya performed. Mohanlal had allotted 30 days dates for filming. The film crew in England comprised around 60 personnel. For two weeks, the filming was scheduled at
Ashtead Ashtead is a village in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, approximately south of central London. Ashtead is on the single-carriageway A24 road (Great Britain), A24 between Epsom and Leatherhead. The village is on the northern sl ...
and
Epsom Downs Epsom Downs is an area of chalk downland, chalk upland near Epsom, Surrey; in the North Downs. Part of the area is taken up by the Epsom Downs Racecourse, racecourse; the gallops are part of the land purchased by Stanly Wootton in 1925 and are ...
in
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, and
Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...
in
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
. Filming was undertaken under the
working title A working title is a preliminary name for a product or project. The usage is especially common in film and TV, gaming, music and publishing. It is often styled in trade publications as (wt) and is synonymous with production title and tentative ...
''RIP''. It was unlike the usual practice of Renjith, who name his films prior to filming. For ''Drama'', it was decided two weeks into filming and was announced on 15 June accompanied by a poster. Director M. Padmakumar assisted Renjith in direction and took off after two weeks of filming to work on his new film ''
Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...
''; thenceforth,
Johny Antony Johny Antony is an Indian film director and actor, known for making comedy films in Malayalam cinema. He is from Changanassery in Kottayam district, Kerala. He worked for about a decade as an associate to directors Thulasidas, Taha, Kamal an ...
took over his place in addition to acting. Arun Narayanan and Renjith's son Agnivesh worked as
assistant director The role of an assistant director (AD) on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have ...
s in the film.
Alagappan N. Alagappan N is an Indian cinematographer who works primarily in Malayalam Cinema, Malayalam films. He received graduate diploma in cinematography from the M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute in Chennai. In 2013, he made his ...
was the cinematographer and actress Chinnu Kuruvilla worked as his main assistant. Bobby Kurian, who owns the company Lilypad Motion Pictures UK, was the film's
executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...
in England. The scene where Mohanlal and Asha Sarath ride a car was shot in front of the hotel
Crowne Plaza Crowne Plaza by IHG is a multinational chain of full service, upscale hotels headquartered in the United Kingdom. It caters to the business, leisure and blended travel market usually located in city centers, resorts, coastal towns or near major a ...
Heathrow in
West Drayton West Drayton is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex and from 1929 was part of the Yiewsley and West Drayton Urban District, which became part of Greater London in 1965. The s ...
, where the film crew also lodged. Mazda Mount in Ashtead was the major filming area and a bungalow at the locale was set as Rajagopal's residence, where some of the combination scenes of Mohanlal and Asha was shot. The film's crucial scenes were filmed at a
villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...
in Mazda Mount, which was set as the residence of husband and wife Dr. Mukundhanunni and Mercy. The film was mostly shot in locations away from
Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...
. It was also shot in
Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon ...
and
Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...
. A funeral scene was shot in Ashtead on 21 May. By the last weekend of May, the crew was shooting in
Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...
, Maidstone, at a property named Rianos Wedding & Party Venue, which was transformed into Dixon Lopez
funeral home A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary is a business that provides burial, entombment and cremation services for the dead and their families. These services may include a prepared visitation and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for t ...
, and filming also occurred outside Margaret Preedy Dance Studios at the same location. Filming in England was completed in 45 days, by late June. The entire story of ''Drama'' takes place within 5 days and 95 percent of the film was shot in England. Remaining scenes were shot in
Kuttikkanam Kuttikkanam is a hill station in Idukki district, Kerala state, India. It is above sea level and surrounded by lush green tea plantations. It is within the territory of Peermade. Kanjirappally and Mundakayam are the nearest towns. Histor ...
and
Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...
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 ...
, India, in early July. Mohanlal, Nag, and
Renji Panicker Renji Panicker (born 23 September 1960) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, film producer, and journalist known for his works in Malayalam films. He made his debut as a director with '' Bharatchandran IPS'' in 2005. Early life He di ...
acted in this part. Later, filming was also held in
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
, where it was wrapped on 24 September 2018.


Music

The
background score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
of the film was composed by
Bijibal Bijibal Maniyil is an Indian music composer and playback singer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. In a career spanning more than twenty years, he has composed for more than 150 feature films, several television commercials and a few d ...
. The film features the song, "Pandaraand", composed and
arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestratio ...
by Vinu Thomas, written by B. K. Harinarayanan and sung by Mohanlal. The song is around 3 minutes long and is distributed by the label
Satyam Audios Satyam Audios is an Indian music company headquartered at Kochi, Kerala. Satyam audios are one of the leading music company in Kerala, Ernakulam. They have covered a larger portion of the music labels of Kerala. These label has produced and di ...
.


Release

''Drama'' released 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 ...
on 1 November 2018 on the day of Kerala Piravi.


References


External links

* * {{Ranjith 2010s Malayalam-language films Films directed by Ranjith (director) Films with screenplays by Ranjith Indian comedy-drama films Indian family films Films shot in London Films shot in Surrey Films set in Surrey Films shot in Kent Films shot in Kozhikode Films shot in Dubai Films about funerals 2018 comedy-drama films 2018 films