''Rifle Club'' is a 2024 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

action comedy film The action comedy is a film genre that applies to action films where humor plays a much more central role. While early films feature stuntwork and humor, academic Cynthia King wrote that the genre only came into its own as a mainstay of the Americ ...

directed by

Aashiq Abu Aashiq Abu (born 12 April 1978) is an Indian film director, producer, cinematographer, actor, and distributor, who works in Malayalam cinema. He is best known for his films such as '' Daddy Cool'' (2009), '' Salt N' Pepper'' (2011), '' 22 Female ...

and written by

Syam Pushkaran Syam Pushkaran (born 6 September 1984) is an Indian scriptwriter who works in Malayalam cinema. He is known for his collaboration with directors Aashiq Abu and Dileesh Pothan. He made his debut with '' Salt N' Pepper'' (2011), co-written wit ...

, Dileesh Karunakaran, and Suhas. The film is produced by

, Vincent Vadakkan, and Vishal Vincent Tony under the banners of OPM Cinemas and TRU Stories. The film features

Vijayaraghavan Narayanapillai Vijayaraghavan, known mononymously as Vijayaraghavan, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He is known for his character roles. He is the son of drama and cinema artist N. N. Pillai. Early life and f ...

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 ...

Vani Viswanath Vani Viswanath is an Indian actress who predominantly appeared in Malayalam and Telugu films. In 2000, Vani won the Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress for her performance in '' Susanna'', directed by T. V. Chandran. She was termed a ...

Anurag Kashyap Anurag Kashyap (born 10 September 1972) is an Indian filmmaker and actor known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of four Filmfare Awards. For his contributions to films, the Government of France made him a Knight of the Ordre ...

, Suresh Krishna,

Vineeth Kumar Vineeth Kumar is an Indian actor, director and screenwriter known for his work in the Malayalam film industry. He has had a career spanning decades, transitioning from a child artist to an accomplished director. He made his acting debut in 1988 ...

Hanumankind Sooraj Cherukat (born 17 October 1992), known professionally as Hanumankind, is a rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor from Kerala, India. He released his first single "Daily Dose" from his debut EP ''Kalari'' in 2019. He received mainstream p ...

, Ramzan Muhammed,

Unnimaya Prasad Unnimaya Prasad is an Indian actress, assistant director and producer who works in Malayalam cinema. She worked as the casting director of '' Maheshinte Prathikaram'' (2016). Early life Born and brought up in Kochi, Unnimaya studied architec ...

Darshana Rajendran Darshana Rajendran is an Indian actress and playback singer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. Darshana is best known for her performance in the 2022 films—''Hridayam'' and '' Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey''. The latter earned her Filmfare ...

and

Surabhi Lakshmi Surabhi C. M., also known as Surabhi Lakshmi is an Indian film, television, and stage actress who appears in Malayalam films and television. She won the National Film Award for Best Actress in 2016 for portraying the role of a struggling middle ...

. The project was officially announced on 16 March 2024. Principal photography began on 20 March 2024, with filming taking place in

Mundakayam Mundakayam, is a town in Kanjirappally Taluk in the Kottayam District of Kerala. It is the doorway to the high ranges of southern Kerala, and is at the border of Kottayam and Idukki districts. The next nearest town, Kanjirappally, is & Erumely ...

, the Rajahmundry forest,

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 ...

, and

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the central business district of the city of Kochi, Kerala, India. It is the namesake of Ernakulam district. The eastern part of Kochi city is mainly known as Ernakulam, while the western part of it after the Venduruthy Bridge ...

. The production was completed on 19 July 2024. The film's music was composed by

Rex Vijayan Rex Vijayan (born 26 April 1983) is an Indian composer, guitarist, singer, record producer and multi-instrumentalist from Kerala. He is best known for being co-founder and guitarist for the alternative Malayali rock band Avial. He started out hi ...

. It marks the acting debut of rapper

and the Malayalam debut of

. The film was released on 19 December 2024 and received mixed-to-positive reviews. It was a commercial success at the box office.

Plot

In 1991,

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

-based gangster Dayanand Bhare hosts a birthday party for his son Bichu, along with his other son, Bheera. During the celebration, Bichu becomes infatuated with a dancer, Nadiya, and tries to kiss her. Nadiya's partner, Ali, intervenes and strikes Bichu, causing him to fall into a

dumpster A dumpster is a movable waste container designed to be brought and taken away by a special collection vehicle, or to a bin that a specially designed garbage truck lifts, empties into its hopper, and lowers, on the spot. The word is a generic trade ...

multiple levels below. Furious, Dayanand sends his men to capture Ali and Nadiya, forcing the couple to flee to

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and Municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the maj ...

, where they hope to seek refuge with Ali's cousin, Shajahan, an actor preparing for a hunter role in the film ''Vetamrugam''. Shajahan joins a rifle club in

Sulthan Bathery Sulthan Bathery is a major municipal town in the Wayanad district of Kerala, India. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Sultan Bathery taluk and is the most populous and commercially active urban center in the district. Strategic ...

to enhance his

method acting Method acting, known as the Method, is a range of rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, understanding, and expe ...

. The club is led by Kuzhiveli Lonappan and secretary Avaran, whose father, Kaduvachalil Skariya, was a co-founder. The club functions as an extended family of skilled hunters. Ali and Nadiya eventually arrive at the club and are given shelter. Shajahan and Avaran engage in hunting practice in the forest with other members. Bheera tracks the couple to the rifle club. Enraged by Bichu's death and his humiliation by club member Ittiyanam, Bheera launches an attack on the club with his gang. The club members defend themselves, killing all the attackers except Bheera and Dayanand's associate, Chittappa. Dr. Lazar, Ittiyanam's ex-husband, offers to treat Bheera's injuries, but he refuses. Dayanand arrives and takes Bheera away, but Bheera succumbs to his wounds. Vowing revenge, Dayanand organizes another assault on the club. During the attack, Avaran's wife, Sisily, fires a

flare A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala, bengalo in several European countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illuminatio ...

to warn him but fails to get his attention. She then sends their dog with a message, which reaches Avaran and Shajahan in the forest just before the dog is killed by a tiger. Avaran and Shajahan return to the club and repel the attackers. Shajahan overcomes his fears and fights alongside the club members. The confrontation ends with the rifle club confronting Dayanand directly. They ultimately kill him, ensuring the safety of the club and the couple, Ali and Nadiya.

Cast

Production

Development

The film marks the 14th directorial venture of

. On 16 March 2024, he announced his collaboration with

, and

for the project, revealing that the script would be written by

, Dileesh Karunakaran and

Suhas-Sharfu Suhas and Sharfu are an Indian screenwriter duo working in Malayalam cinema. They wrote a total of six films, beginning with '' Varathan'' in 2018. Career They were both engineers before their film careers and met through the short film netw ...

. The film is produced by

himself, along with Vincent Vadakkan and Vishal Vincent Tony under the banners of OPM Cinemas and TRU Stories. The cinematography for Rifle Club will be handled by Aashiq Abu himself. He announced on his social media that he would take on both the direction and cinematography for the film. The film's visuals and pacing are supervised by editor V Saajan. The movie was originally announced with Dileesh Karunakaran and

as the scriptwriters.

joined the writing team after filming had already begun. Interestingly, Sharfu's name appeared in the promotional materials up until the release of Hanumankind's character poster, after that, none of the updates featured Sharfu's name.

Casting

signed on for Rifle Club with director

. The team announced that

, and

lead roles, with

taking the female lead. The film will also feature

, Suresh Krishna, Vishnu Agasthya,

, and

in key roles. Additionally, the director has revealed that the movie will introduce few new faces to the audience.

Filming

Filming began on 20 March 2024, with the primary shoot taking place in Mundakayam, Kottayam district, Kerala. Key scenes were filmed in rugged terrains, with additional shoots in

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry ( ), officially Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and district headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the fifth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the district of Rajahmu ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

, and

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 ...

. Some portions of the film were also shot at Kochi Studio.The filming wrapped up by November 2024. Cinematography was handled by

, and V Saajan was responsible for the editing. The shooting process was kept private, with only a few stills released towards the end of production.

Music

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack was composed, produced and arranged by

Background score

An original soundtrack album composed by

, Yakzan Gary Pereira and

Neha Nair Neha Nair is an Indian playback singer and composer. Her debut was a duet with Job Kurian in the film '' Ritu'', with music composed by Rahul Raj. She is a guest singer in the Malayalam rock band Avial. Personal life She currently resides i ...

, produced by

was released on 15 January 2025.

Release

Theatrical

The film was released on 19 December 2024.

Home Media

The post-theatrical streaming rights were acquired by

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. The film began streaming on the platform from 16 January 2025. The satellite rights of the film are bought by

Asianet Asianet may refer to: JioStar channels * JioStar, is an Indian media conglomerate wholly owned by Disney India. ** Asianet, a Malayalam language general entertainment channel ** Asianet Plus, a Malayalam language general entertainment channel ** As ...

and premiered on 14 April 2025 on the occasion of

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 ...

Controversy

Raja Azeez, son of the late actor

KPAC Azeez Azeez (27 November 1934 – 16 July 2003) was an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 100 films. He came into the movie industry as a villain, and later, he started doing character roles, such as police officer, jailer, and mi ...

, has lodged a complaint against the filmmakers, accusing them of using his father's image in the film without his family's permission. According to Raja, he was approached by someone requesting a photo of his father for a scene in the movie. He agreed and provided the necessary photographs, while also expressing interest in a minor role for himself. However, Raja alleges that the filmmakers went ahead with the movie's release without securing his consent or fulfilling the promise of offering him a role.

References

External links

* {{Aashiq Abu 2020s Malayalam-language films Indian drama films Films shot in Kottayam Films shot in Ernakulam Films shot in Rajahmundry Films shot in Thrissur Indian action films Films directed by Aashiq Abu Films set in Mangaluru Films set in Wayanad Films set in the 1990s Indian black comedy films