Peruchazhi
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Peruchazhi'' () is a 2014 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
political satire Political satire is a type of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics. Political satire can also act as a tool for advancing political arguments in conditions where political speech and dissent are banned. Political satir ...
film written and directed by
Arun Vaidyanathan Arun Vaidyanathan is an Indian-American film director who works predominantly in Tamil-language films. He directed his first full-length feature film in Tamil, ''Achchamundu! Achchamundu!'', which released in July 2009. He produced a Tamil ro ...
. The dialogues were co-written by Ajayan Venugopalan. Vijay Babu and Sandra Thomas produced the film for Friday Film House. It features
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 ...
in the lead role, and Sean James Sutton, Ragini Nandwani,
Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It is commonly used as a male given name in India. People with the name Mukesh include: * Mukesh (singer) (1923–1976), Indian playback singer from ...
, Baburaj,
Aju Varghese Aju Kurian Varghese (born 11 January 1985), better known as Aju Varghese, is an Indian actor, producer and singer who appears in Malayalam cinema. He made his debut in 2010 in '' Malarvadi Arts Club'', directed by his collegemate Vineeth Sr ...
, and Vijay Babu appear in supporting roles. Arrora composed 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 ...
and
soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
, while
Arvind Krishna Arvind Krishna (born November 23, 1962) is an American business executive, and the chairman and CEO of IBM. He has been CEO of IBM since April 2020 and chairman since January 2021. Arvind began his career at IBM in 1990, at its Thomas J. Watso ...
and Vivek Harshan did the cinematography and editing. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics. Jagannathan (Mohanlal), an Indian politician is good at solving problems using his wit and unorthodox ideas. To get rid of him, fellow politician Francis Kunjappan (Mukesh) offers him a task he has never done before in the United States which could give him enough money to fulfill his dream of owning a sports academy. Jagannathan ends up being the chief political adviser for a struggling candidate, John Kory (Sean James Sutton), in the
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
governor's election campaign and uses tactics standard in Indian politics to help win the election. Vaidyanathan got the story idea when he watched a political debate on television in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. He originally wrote the screenplay in
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
and English. Ajayan Venugopalan translated it into Malayalam in 2013. The same year the film was announced, he converted it into a
Malayali The Malayali people (; also spelt Malayalee and sometimes known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India, occupying its south ...
context.
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 ...
began in mid-April 2014 in
Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...
,
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 ...
. Set almost entirely in the United States, the majority of the film was shot in
Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...
. Some parts were shot in
Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...
and
Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
, where filming wrapped in July 2014. ''Peruchazhi'' was released worldwide on 29 August 2014 on 500 screens, the widest release for a Malayalam film at the time. It was distributed in Kerala by Friday Tickets, and by
Fox Star Studios Star Studios (formerly known as Fox Star Studios) is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Disney Star (via Disney Entertainment), part of the Disney International Operations segment of ...
in the rest of India. The film had a good opening at the box office however couldn't keep up the collections at the box-office and ended up an average grosser. The film was released on DVD on 22 December 2014.


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 This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...
minister 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 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 is a young politician and a sports enthusiast who 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 Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...
(300 million), enough to realize Jagannathan's dream project of owning 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 the 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 Hope 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 Hope's vault room. Jagannathan takes the video from Hope's house, giving Sunny the 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 has overshot the budget, 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 Hope, who paid his fee. With Dupli's help, Jagannathan replaced the voting machines with duplicates. The video was not completely destroyed as Jabbar had made a copy, which was then released to the media. Jagannathan and his friends return to India with Jessy, and he opens his sports academy.


Cast


Production


Writing

Following some unconfirmed reports,
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 ...
announced the film officially in February 2013. It was said to be a comedy and
Tamil film Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Chen ...
director
Arun Vaidyanathan Arun Vaidyanathan is an Indian-American film director who works predominantly in Tamil-language films. He directed his first full-length feature film in Tamil, ''Achchamundu! Achchamundu!'', which released in July 2009. He produced a Tamil ro ...
was to be the director, making his debut in
Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...
. 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
Cho Ramaswamy Srinivasa Iyer Ramaswamy, better known as Cho Ramaswamy (5 October 1934 – 7 December 2016), was an Indian actor, comedian, editor, political commentator, satirist, playwright, film director and lawyer from Tamil Nadu. He was a popular comedi ...
's 1971
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
political satire, ''
Muhammad bin Tughluq Muhammad bin Tughluq (; ; 1290 – 20 March 1351), or Muhammad II, also named Jauna Khan as Crown Prince, further known by his epithets, The Eccentric Prince, or The Mad Sultan, was the eighteenth Sultan of Delhi. He reigned from 4 February 1 ...
'', which he considers is still relevant and ahead of its time, influenced the kind of humour used in the film. Vaidyanathan wrote two drafts of the screenplay, one in English and one in Tamil. He had no plans initially to direct the film in Malayalam. When he met Mohanlal, he had an English script. After Mohanlal signed on for the project, Vaidyanathan then planned to make it in Malayalam. Writer-director Ajayan Venugopalan, known for his Malayalam television
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
'' Akkara Kazhchakal'' (set in the US), was chosen to translate the dialogue into Malayalam; he converted the story into a
Malayali The Malayali people (; also spelt Malayalee and sometimes known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India, occupying its south ...
context. Venugopal said, the story was inspired by 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 was to be a tribute to Mohanlal with many references from his earlier films. He began the translation in 2013. The title ''Peruchazhi'' refers to the
bandicoot Bandicoots are a group of more than 20 species of small to medium-sized, terrestrial, largely nocturnal marsupial omnivores in the order Peramelemorphia. They are endemic to the Australia–New Guinea region, including the Bismarck Archipela ...
(a rodent). Of 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 ohanlal 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 California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
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, he was not thinking of Mohanlal while writing the screenplay, but eventually after he had finished it he thought Mohanlal would be the right actor because he considers him "an amazing humourist" with "great comic timing." Mohanlal agreed to do the film right after briefing the script. Vaidyanathan's wife, a native of Kerala, suggested Mohanlal's name. He plays Jagannathan, a politician from Kerala, his crooked strategies gave him the nickname "Peruchazi". Vaidyanathan defined Jagannathan as a "gentle Chanakyan."
Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It is commonly used as a male given name in India. People with the name Mukesh include: * Mukesh (singer) (1923–1976), Indian playback singer from ...
, who plays Francis Kunjappan, was among the first actors to be signed after Mohanlal. In October 2013, American actress, and former Miss India USA, Pooja Kumar was announced as the heroine, making her Malayalam film debut. She was reported to be playing an Indian girl born and brought up in the United States. Baburaj and
Aju Varghese Aju Kurian Varghese (born 11 January 1985), better known as Aju Varghese, is an Indian actor, producer and singer who appears in Malayalam cinema. He made his debut in 2010 in '' Malarvadi Arts Club'', directed by his collegemate Vineeth Sr ...
were also confirmed playing 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 other actresses. In March 2014, Tamil actor
Delhi Ganesh Ganesan Mahadevan (1 August 1944 – 9 November 2024), known by his stage name Delhi Ganesh, was an Indian actor who mostly acted in supporting roles in Tamil cinema and serials. He was well known for the versatility of roles he played during h ...
was confirmed to be making a cameo appearance. Poonam Bajwa was signed for an
item number In Indian cinema, an item number or special song is a musical number inserted into a film that may or may not have any relevance to the plot. The term is commonly used within Indian films ( Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu c ...
in a song. In early April 2014,
stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehear ...
turned actor Ashvin Mathew announced through his social networking pages that he had been cast in a small comic role. At the same time, producers Sandra Thomas and Vijay Babu announced that since they were travelling with the crew to the U. S. for the filming, they would also appear in the film as a cost-saving measure. Babu plays Sunny Kurishingal. Initially the producers approached a number of actors 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, playing a politician in the film. Vineeth Mohan got his first speaking role as Kunjappan's driver. Arrora ( Navin) composed ''Peruchazhi'' songs and
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 ...
. Aravind Krishna was the film's cinematographer, and N. Madhusudhanan was signed to provide
visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated as VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action fo ...
. M. Bawa and Julie Ziah were the
art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...
s. Preethi S. Kanthan designed the costumes. According to Vaidyanathan, Jagannathan's
dhoti The dhoti is an ankle-length breechcloth, wrapped around the waist and the legs, in resemblance to the shape of trousers. The dhoti is a garment of ethnic wear for men in the Indian subcontinent. The dhoti is fashioned out of a rectangular p ...
(designed by Kanthan) was "inspired by
ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
design. The same border was used on the toga worn by
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
and his ministers. The leaf in the border denotes power." Raymonds provided the coats for the film's characters.


Filming

At an event in September 2013, Mohanlal announced that the film would begin shooting in February 2014. In March 2014, it was reported that filming would begin in the second week of April 2014. Principal photography actually began in mid-April 2014 in
Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...
, Kerala. Two of the film's sequencesa fight and an item song, which take place in the U. S. were shot on a
set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...
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 criticised by some of the media 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
ollam An or ollamh (; anglicised as ollave or ollav), plural ollomain, in early Irish literature, was a master in a particular trade or skill. Bard Generally, ''ollam'' referred to a professional poet or bard of literature and history, and a membe ...
What matters in the end is the content on screen." The cast and crew travelled to the United States on 12 May 2014, on a schedule which was expected to wrap on 16 June 2016. Filming took place for around 35 days in America. Most of the crew members were from the U. S. and worked six hours per day.
Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles and its Greater Los Angeles, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of California. LAX is located in the Westchester, Los Angeles, Westcheste ...
was one of the locations. ''Peruchazhi'' was filmed almost entirely in
Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...
, near
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. In early June 2014, Vaidyanathan said that almost 60 percent of the filming had been completed. It is the first Malayalam film to be shot at
Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...
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 were shot in
Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
and
Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...
. The film wrapped on 5 July at Sacred Heart College in
Thevara Thevara is a Ward (electoral subdivision), ward of Kochi, Kerala. Location Geography Thevara is part of the mainland Kochi and marks its south-west boundary. It is connected to the water-bound West Kochi via bridges. Thevara is a link to ...
, Kochi. ''Peruchazhi'' was made using 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'' cost four times more than the average Malayalam film. The film's total production cost is estimated to be 10 crore (100 million).


Music

Naveen "Arrora" Iyer composed the film's original
soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
and background score. ''Perruchazhi'' was Arrora's debut as a composer for
Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...
. He had worked before as a flautist for
A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...
. The soundtrack consists of six tracks written by Rajeev Nair, R. Venugopal, and Blaaze. The label
Think Music Think Music is an Indian music label headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu that specialises in South Indian film soundtracks. Overview Think Music India was started in 2007 and sold its first 46 titles including ''Vel'' (2007) and ''Paiyaa'' ...
released the soundtrack album, on 30 July 2014.


Release

The film's release date was announced in early July 2014 during the final stage of filming. ''Peruchazhi'' was released on 29 August 2014 in 500 screens worldwide, the widest release for a Malayalam film at that point. The film was distributed by Friday Tickets in Kerala and
Fox Star Studios Star Studios (formerly known as Fox Star Studios) is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Disney Star (via Disney Entertainment), part of the Disney International Operations segment of ...
elsewhere in India. ''Peruchazhi'' was the first Malayalam film to be released simultaneously in the United States and India. PJ Entertainment distributed the film in Europe, while Achu & Achu's Creations handled distribution in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. The
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
release was on 4 September 2014 — a premiere was held on the same day in the Golden Cinema theatre 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 ...
. Friday Home Cinema and Empire Video released ''Peruchazhi'' on DVD on 22 December 2014. The film was broadcast on television by
Amrita TV Amrita TV is an Indian Malayalam-language free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal an ...
; it premiered in
Vishu Vishu (Malayalam: വിഷു) is a Hindu festival celebrating the Malayali New Year in Kerala, Tulu Nadu, and Mahe of India. Vishu falls on the first day of the month of ''Medam'', the first month of the Solar calendar used in Malabar of ...
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''. Friday Peeps handled the film's promotion and advertising. A conceptual photoshoot was conducted separately to create 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 Zee News is an Indian Hindi-language right-wing news channel owned by Subhash Chandra's Essel Group. It launched on 27 August 1999 and is the flagship channel of the Zee Media Corporation. The channel has been involved in several controve ...
'', "created a buzz in social media." It was the most viewed Malayalam film trailer receiving 150,000 views in 12 hours. ''Peruchazhi'' was promoted in
train station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...
s served by the Parasuram and Ernad Express, using wrap advertising with images, logos and posters of the film throughout the trains. The production team introduced a
strategy game A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous, decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome. Almost all strategy games require internal decision tree-style think ...
app, developed by Raklin, titled "Be a Peruchazhi" for the Android platform on 25 August 2014.


Reception


Critical response

Nicy V. P. of the ''
International Business Times The ''International Business Times'' is an American online newspaper that publishes five national editions in four languages. The publication, sometimes called ''IBTimes'' or ''IBT'', offers news, opinion and editorial commentary on business and ...
'' 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 ''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 the film three out of five stars, noting: "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 ''Deccan Chronicle'' is an English-language daily newspaper based in Hyderabad, India. Founded in 1938, it was initially launched as a Weekly newspaper, weekly and later converted into a daily. The newspaper's name reflects its origins in the ...
'' gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of five, writing: "Arun Vaidyanathan has packed he filmwith so much spice that even if one ingredient fails to please, there is still something else for that die-hard fan." ''
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 ...
'' critic Arathi Kannan also awarded it 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 The mundu (Malayalam: ; ) is a garment worn around the waist in the Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, the Lakshadweep archipelago, and the Indian Ocean island nation of Maldives. It is closely related to sarongs like dhotis and lungis ...
' 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 Onam () is an annual harvest and Hindus, Hindu cultural festival celebrated mostly by the people of Kerala. A major annual event for Malayalis, Keralites, it is the official festival of the state and includes a spectrum of cultural events. H ...
cassette of sorts, a compilation of yesteryear Mohanlal gems." Paresh C. Palicha of Rediff.com rated it two out of five stars, saying the film is "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 ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naidu ...
'', 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 Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology (ICT) company providing telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation integration services, and ...
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 the first half, in an impressive way." He described the second half as "boring" with "inane scenes that go on and on," calling it far from entertaining. He also criticised the "poor" script.


Box office

''Peruchazhi'' had an opening-day gross of 3
crore Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...
(30 million), the highest worldwide opening for a Malayalam film till then. 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 screens in two weekends.


References


External links

* {{Friday Film House 2014 films Indian political comedy-drama films Films shot in Kollam Films shot in California Films about Indian Americans Indian political satire films 2010s Malayalam-language films Films set in California Films about elections 2010s political comedy-drama films Films shot in Kochi Films shot in Thiruvananthapuram Fox Star Studios films Films directed by Arun Vaidyanathan Films about American politicians Films about American politics Films shot in Burbank, California Films shot in Los Angeles