Christian Brothers (film)
Encyclopedia
Christian Brothers is a 2011 Malayalam family action drama
film directed by Joshiy. The major highlight of the film is its ensemble cast
which includes Mohanlal
, Dileep
, Suresh Gopi
and Sarath Kumar
in lead roles. The female lead roles have been played by Lakshmi Rai
, Kanika, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy
and Kavya Madhavan
.
The film is about a retired and well-to-do army officer, Palamattathu Varghese Mappila (Saikumar), and his family. His family comprises two sons, Christy (Mohanlal) and Jojy (Dileep). While Christy works as an informer in Mumbai, Jojy is sent abroad to study theology. The film is scripted by Udayakrishna-Siby K. Thomas
duo while musical score was composed by Rajamani and songs are composed by Deepak Dev
.
The film had a worldwide release on 18 March 2011 with 154 theatres in Kerala and 90 theatres all over India outside Kerala and 70 prints outside India in Gulf countries, Europe and USA making it the widest release ever for a Malayalam cinema
.The movie which opened with breath-taking initials has broken several box office records and has garnered around 30 Crores in total becoming the second highest grossing movie in the history of Malayalam Cinema
behind Twenty:20.
. He has four children, Christy (Mohanlal
), Joji (Dileep
), Jessy (Lakshmi Gopalaswamy
) and Stella (Kanika). Christy is a high profile police informer who is working in Mumbai
and getting high amounts as remuneration. His brother Joji goes to Italy to study theology
, but later opts out of it after he falls in love with Meenakshi (Kavya Madhavan
), daughter of the state home minister (Devan
). His family has no clear idea about the nature of Christy's activities before Christy's brother-in-law tells a lie about him as Christy finds about brother-in-law's relationship between rowdies and cases which he was arrested for sex-racketing . All these come as a shock to Varghese Mappila. Varghese Mappila kicks Christy out of their house believing the brother-in-law. Joji is having a relationship with Meenakshi. Her parents come to know about that. And while returning home she is being kidnapped. For regaining the daughter her father calls Christy. Christy finds that his brother-in-law was the person who kidnapped Meenakshi. He fights with his brother-in-law and safely brings Meenakshi back to her home. The next day, police finds that Christy's brother-in-law was killed. Police arrests Christy for the crime. Christy's friend (Sarath Kumar
) brings him out of the jail. Meanwhile, a police officer (Suresh Gopi
) marries Stella. Christy helps Joji to marry Meenakshi by bringing her out of her house. Both Christy and the police officer finds the killer of their brother-in-law who was Joji. Knowing that the killer was Joji, Christy tells the police officer to arrest him instead of his beloved brother Joji.
from January through September 2010. Palamattam tharavadu, where the major parts of the film are set was shot from Netto's bungalow near Edakochi
. The second schedule, which mainly included picturisation of a song, commenced in London
the same month. The principal photography completed by the end of 2010.
rights have been sold to Asianet
for a record sum of 3.5 crores.
and Blu-ray Disc
in india
on 2011
M. Ashitha of Deccan Herald
commented, "True, too many cooks spoil the broth. Despite having the luxury of actors like Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Dileep and Sarath Kumar together in the movie, Christian Brothers turns out not to be a disappointment. The film, heavily depending on the star power, is a good entertainment."
Paresh C. Palicha of Rediff.com
stated, "Christian Brothers is a typical multi-starrer that is made with an eye at the box office with not much depth in the subject. But you still get entertained."
Sify.com
's reviewer rated the film as a "Racy Entertainer" and stated, "Christian Brothers is a loud and high voltage thriller, for which you don't have to use your brains much. It could have definitely been more enjoyable if it was shorter by some twenty minutes or so, but even in the current form it could make you smile as the end credits start rolling. It's absolutely a no logic-popcorn fun and perhaps not meant to be taken too seriously."
Veeyen of Nowrunning.com stated, "Christian Brothers is a plain rework of the several family feud sagas that the script writers themselves have cooked up in the past. Its sole selling point is then the star power that it has, and the mammoth star cast should hopefully make its sailing almost smooth."
The reviewer of Indiaglitz.com commented, "Ace scriptwriters Uday Krishna-Sibi K. Thomas and senior director Joshiy has faithfully repeated their trademark recipes that made the big hit Twenty:20 for their new multistarrer Christian Brothers. And evidently the movie has turned out into a power packed entertainer with plenty of thrills, songs and other masala fares. The only problem with the movie seems to be that it has nothing ground breakable about its plot and also its length which extends to a little more than three hours."
The reviewer of Varnachitram said, "Christian Brothers will be loved by the fans of Mohanlal, Dileep and Suresh Gopi. For others its only a watchable fare. It is no Twenty:20. Though it tries too hard to be one, it only ends up as a pale imitation."
. Despite receiving mixed reviews,Christian Brothers set a new record on the opening day of March 18, 2011 with grossing 2.75 crores on the first day of release beating the 1.64 crores set by Twenty:20 in 2008. The film also set a new record on the first week by grossing around 8 crores in 7 days from Kerala
alone, beating the 6.5 crores set by Twenty:20 in 2008. Film analyst Sreedhar Pillai has tweeted that Christian Brothers got a share of 5 crores in 10 days which means the film has grossed above 10.5 crores in 10 days. Malayalam film magazine Vellinakshatram has reported that Christian Brothers set a new record by grossing 15 crores from two weeks. The film has been declared as a blockbuster hit by the trade pundits with reference to its huge collection. Sify
has reported that Christian brothers got record share of 8.5 crores from 25 days which means the film has grossed above 21 crores in 25 days. In total the film collected 30 crores in 70 days from the major screens only, becoming the second highest grossing movie in the history of Malayalam Cinema
behind Twenty:20
Another controversy originated when Tamil actor Arjun
registered a complaint with Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) about using his name and photographs in connection with Christian Brothers without his consent or knowledge. Arjun commented that no one has approached him to act in Christian Brothers and all this has happened without his consent or knowledge. However, the issue was resolved when there came an official clarification that Arjun will not be a part of the film, as has been announced earlier.
In February 2010, it was reported that the producer of Christian Brothers excluded veteran Malayalam actor Thilakan
from the film at the request of the FEFKA, the predominant film technicians association. Thilakan had been earlier signed for the role played by Saikumar
in the film. The exclusion was reportedly due to Thilakan acting in a film by director Vinayan
, who till recently headed the rival association MACTA. On February 3, 2010, Thilakan publicly protested against the unofficial ban enforced on him by FEFKA and blamed a major actor for engineering the ban. The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) issued a show cause notice to Thilakan for bringing the issue into the public domain. Thilakan accused AMMA, of which he too is a member. The issue gained political colours soon, when several political parties came out openly in support of Thilakan. Controversy led to the dismissal of the actor permanently from AMMA association after being asked several times by the AMMA's committee, to issue an unconditional apology, which he refused. He stated that unless and until he gets justice regarding why he was removed from the role in the film, he would not give an apology.
with lyrics by Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri. The songs as well as choreography received largely negative reviews. However, the songs managed to top the music charts in the initial weeks.
Family film
A family film is a film genre that is designed to appeal to a variety of age groups and, thus, families.In December 2005, Steven Spielberg's 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial came first in a poll of the 100 Greatest Family Films. The genre today generates billions of dollars per annum.Family...
film directed by Joshiy. The major highlight of the film is its ensemble cast
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
which includes Mohanlal
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star...
, Dileep
Dileep (actor)
Dileep is an Indian film actor, mimicry artist and producer best known for his work in Malayalam cinema.Dileep started his career as a mimicry artist in the Cochin Kalabhavan troupe. He later started his film career as an assistant director to Kamal with the film Vishnu Lokam...
, Suresh Gopi
Suresh Gopi
Suresh Gopinathan Nair , often credited as Suresh Gopi , is an Indian film actor who works mainly in Malayalam cinema; he is famous for his roles in police dramas. He is noted for his leading roles as much as his character roles...
and Sarath Kumar
Sarath Kumar
Sarathkumar Ramanathan is an Indian journalist, film actor, politician, body builder and the current president of the South Indian Film Artistes' Association. He started his career in Tamil cinema playing negative roles, and later played minor roles in other movies. He was first chosen for the...
in lead roles. The female lead roles have been played by Lakshmi Rai
Lakshmi Rai
Lakshmi Rai is an Indian film actress and model from Belgaum, Karnataka, predominantly appearing in Malayalam and Tamil films. While most of her Tamil releases performed poorly at the box office, she rose to fame with the popular Malayalam-language films Annan Thambi , 2 Harihar Nagar ,...
, Kanika, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy
Lakshmi Gopalaswamy
Lakshmi Gopalaswamy is a South Indian film actress and a classical dancer, qualified in Bharatanatyam. She has acted in several Malayalam, Tamil, and Kannada films. Her debut Malayalam film Arayannangalude Veedu alongside Mammootty won her the Kerala State Film Award for the best supporting actress...
and Kavya Madhavan
Kavya Madhavan
Kavya Madhavan is an Indian film actress who works in Malayalam cinema. She made her debut in Pookkalam Varavayi as a child artist. In 1999, she became a lead actress in Lal Jose's Chandranudikkunna Dikhil.-Background:...
.
The film is about a retired and well-to-do army officer, Palamattathu Varghese Mappila (Saikumar), and his family. His family comprises two sons, Christy (Mohanlal) and Jojy (Dileep). While Christy works as an informer in Mumbai, Jojy is sent abroad to study theology. The film is scripted by Udayakrishna-Siby K. Thomas
Udayakrishna-Siby K. Thomas
Udayakrishna and Siby K. Thomas are an Indian screenwriter duo working in Malayalam cinema. Most of their works are comedy oriented big-budget commercial entertainers such as Udayapuram Sulthan, C.I.D. Moosa, Runway, Thuruppu Gulan, Twenty:20, Pokkiri Raja, and Christian Brothers...
duo while musical score was composed by Rajamani and songs are composed by Deepak Dev
Deepak Dev
Deepak Devraj, better known as Deepak Dev is an Indian music composer, best known for his compositions in Malayalam cinema, with films such as Chronic Bachelor, Symphony, Udayananu Tharam, Naran, and Puthiya Mukham.-Early years:...
.
The film had a worldwide release on 18 March 2011 with 154 theatres in Kerala and 90 theatres all over India outside Kerala and 70 prints outside India in Gulf countries, Europe and USA making it the widest release ever for a Malayalam cinema
Malayalam cinema
The Cinema of Kerala or Malayalam cinema refers to the film industry in the Indian state of Kerala, which makes films in the Malayalam language. Malayalam movies typically portray social or family issues and are considered more realistic than films from other parts of India. Malayalam cinema has...
.The movie which opened with breath-taking initials has broken several box office records and has garnered around 30 Crores in total becoming the second highest grossing movie in the history of Malayalam Cinema
Malayalam cinema
The Cinema of Kerala or Malayalam cinema refers to the film industry in the Indian state of Kerala, which makes films in the Malayalam language. Malayalam movies typically portray social or family issues and are considered more realistic than films from other parts of India. Malayalam cinema has...
behind Twenty:20.
Plot
The film is about Palamattathu Varghese Mappila (Saikumar), a wealthy, retired captain of the Indian ArmyIndian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
. He has four children, Christy (Mohanlal
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star...
), Joji (Dileep
Dileep (actor)
Dileep is an Indian film actor, mimicry artist and producer best known for his work in Malayalam cinema.Dileep started his career as a mimicry artist in the Cochin Kalabhavan troupe. He later started his film career as an assistant director to Kamal with the film Vishnu Lokam...
), Jessy (Lakshmi Gopalaswamy
Lakshmi Gopalaswamy
Lakshmi Gopalaswamy is a South Indian film actress and a classical dancer, qualified in Bharatanatyam. She has acted in several Malayalam, Tamil, and Kannada films. Her debut Malayalam film Arayannangalude Veedu alongside Mammootty won her the Kerala State Film Award for the best supporting actress...
) and Stella (Kanika). Christy is a high profile police informer who is working in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
and getting high amounts as remuneration. His brother Joji goes to Italy to study theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, but later opts out of it after he falls in love with Meenakshi (Kavya Madhavan
Kavya Madhavan
Kavya Madhavan is an Indian film actress who works in Malayalam cinema. She made her debut in Pookkalam Varavayi as a child artist. In 1999, she became a lead actress in Lal Jose's Chandranudikkunna Dikhil.-Background:...
), daughter of the state home minister (Devan
Devan (actor)
Devan is an Indian film actor and politician. He started his film career as the producer of the technically brilliant, but box-office flop movie Vellam and then opted to become an actor. Devan is known for his handling of serious roles, though he started his career with supporting roles...
). His family has no clear idea about the nature of Christy's activities before Christy's brother-in-law tells a lie about him as Christy finds about brother-in-law's relationship between rowdies and cases which he was arrested for sex-racketing . All these come as a shock to Varghese Mappila. Varghese Mappila kicks Christy out of their house believing the brother-in-law. Joji is having a relationship with Meenakshi. Her parents come to know about that. And while returning home she is being kidnapped. For regaining the daughter her father calls Christy. Christy finds that his brother-in-law was the person who kidnapped Meenakshi. He fights with his brother-in-law and safely brings Meenakshi back to her home. The next day, police finds that Christy's brother-in-law was killed. Police arrests Christy for the crime. Christy's friend (Sarath Kumar
Sarath Kumar
Sarathkumar Ramanathan is an Indian journalist, film actor, politician, body builder and the current president of the South Indian Film Artistes' Association. He started his career in Tamil cinema playing negative roles, and later played minor roles in other movies. He was first chosen for the...
) brings him out of the jail. Meanwhile, a police officer (Suresh Gopi
Suresh Gopi
Suresh Gopinathan Nair , often credited as Suresh Gopi , is an Indian film actor who works mainly in Malayalam cinema; he is famous for his roles in police dramas. He is noted for his leading roles as much as his character roles...
) marries Stella. Christy helps Joji to marry Meenakshi by bringing her out of her house. Both Christy and the police officer finds the killer of their brother-in-law who was Joji. Knowing that the killer was Joji, Christy tells the police officer to arrest him instead of his beloved brother Joji.
Cast
- MohanlalMohanlalMohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star...
as Palamattom Christi Varghese Mappila alias Sherson - DileepDileep (actor)Dileep is an Indian film actor, mimicry artist and producer best known for his work in Malayalam cinema.Dileep started his career as a mimicry artist in the Cochin Kalabhavan troupe. He later started his film career as an assistant director to Kamal with the film Vishnu Lokam...
as Joji Varghese Mappila - Suresh GopiSuresh GopiSuresh Gopinathan Nair , often credited as Suresh Gopi , is an Indian film actor who works mainly in Malayalam cinema; he is famous for his roles in police dramas. He is noted for his leading roles as much as his character roles...
as Joseph Vadakkan IPS - Sarath KumarSarath KumarSarathkumar Ramanathan is an Indian journalist, film actor, politician, body builder and the current president of the South Indian Film Artistes' Association. He started his career in Tamil cinema playing negative roles, and later played minor roles in other movies. He was first chosen for the...
as Andrews Bandra akan Kareem Lala - Lakshmi RaiLakshmi RaiLakshmi Rai is an Indian film actress and model from Belgaum, Karnataka, predominantly appearing in Malayalam and Tamil films. While most of her Tamil releases performed poorly at the box office, she rose to fame with the popular Malayalam-language films Annan Thambi , 2 Harihar Nagar ,...
as Sofie - Saikumar as Captain Varghese Mappila
- KanihaKanika SubramaniamDivya Venkatasubramaniam , best known by her stage name Kanika, is an Indian film actress, occasional dubbing artist, playback singer, and TV anchor. Making her debut in the 2002 Tamil film Five Star, she went on to work in other South Indian film industries, including Telugu, Malayalam and...
as Stella - Lakshmi GopalaswamyLakshmi GopalaswamyLakshmi Gopalaswamy is a South Indian film actress and a classical dancer, qualified in Bharatanatyam. She has acted in several Malayalam, Tamil, and Kannada films. Her debut Malayalam film Arayannangalude Veedu alongside Mammootty won her the Kerala State Film Award for the best supporting actress...
as Jessy - Kavya MadhavanKavya MadhavanKavya Madhavan is an Indian film actress who works in Malayalam cinema. She made her debut in Pookkalam Varavayi as a child artist. In 1999, she became a lead actress in Lal Jose's Chandranudikkunna Dikhil.-Background:...
as Meenakshi - Jagathy SreekumarJagathy SreekumarSreekumar Achary, better known by his stage name Jagathy Sreekumar, is an Indian film actor who has performed in more than 1,000 Malayalam films. He has also directed two films and has written screenplays for two films...
as Kochuthomma - Suraj VenjaramoodSuraj VenjaramoodSuraj Venjaramood is a Malayalam film actor and mimicry artist. He mainly plays comic roles, though he has played some lead roles as well.-Life:...
- Biju MenonBiju MenonBiju Menon is an Indian film actor who has mainly worked in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu films. He appears mostly in supporting roles, but has also acted in antagonistic roles. He made his debut in 1995 in Mannar Mathai Speaking...
as Hariharan Thampy - VijayaraghavanVijayaraghavanVijayaraghavan is an Indian actor who mainly acts in Malayalam cinema. He is popular for his character roles. He is the son of popular drama and cinema artist N. N. Pillai.-Biography:...
as Kunnel Kumaran Thampy - Suresh KrishnaSuresh Krishna (actor)Suresh Krishna is a Malayali film actor, known for his negative and character roles. He is noted for his strong characters in Manju Poloru Penkutti, Christian Brothers, Pazhassi Raja and Kutty Srank...
as George Kutti - DevanDevanDevan was one of the greatest of twentieth century Tamil writers, known for his witty and humorous stories. Many people think of him as the 'Wodehouse' of Tamil writings....
as Sudhakaran - Salim Kumar as Purushothaman
- Harisree AshokanHarisree AshokanHarisree Ashokan is a Malayalam film actor who is known for his comedy roles. He has acted in more than 75 Malayalam films.-Early life:...
- SubairSubairSubair was an Indian film actor in Malayalam cinema industry. He was part of Malayalam films for nearly two decades and has acted in around 200 films.-Personal life:...
as Manoj Varma - Kaviyoor PonnammaKaviyoor PonnammaKaviyoor Ponnamma is a Malayalam film actress. She won the Kerala State Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1971, 1972, 1973, and 1994.Ponnamma was born in Kaviyoor village, near Tiruvalla to a conservative upper-class family...
- Anand as assitant one
- Kunchan
- Shobha Mohan
Production
After several pre-production controversies regarding the huge budget, the film started its production on 11 January 2010. First schedule of the film occurred at various locales in KeralaKerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
from January through September 2010. Palamattam tharavadu, where the major parts of the film are set was shot from Netto's bungalow near Edakochi
Edakochi
Edakochi is one of the oldest localities in south Kochi , India. It is located on the southern banks of the Kochi Backwaters. It is bounded by the Palluruthy to the west, Aroor to the south & Kumbalam to the east. It is famed as the centre of the KCA Cricket Stadium that is currently under...
. The second schedule, which mainly included picturisation of a song, commenced in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
the same month. The principal photography completed by the end of 2010.
Release and rights
The film released worldwide with a total of 310 prints on 18 March; 154 centres in Kerala and 90 centres outside Kerala and 70 centres overseas making it the widest release for a Malayalam Movie. The Satelliterights have been sold to Asianet
Asianet
Asianet Communications Limited is an Indian media conglomerate jointly owned by STAR TV and Jupiter Entertainment. Formed in 1991 and headquartered in the city of Thiruvananthapuram in the south Indian state of Kerala, the company owns several television channels including Asianet, the first...
for a record sum of 3.5 crores.
Home video
AP International released the movie on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
in india
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
on 2011
Critical response
The film received mostly mixed reviews upon release. Neethu Reghukumar of Bangalore Mirror gave a positive review and said, "The much-anticipated Christian Brothers proved to be worth the wait. Finally, Mohanlal fans have something to rejoice as he has made a rollicking start this year. Back in his elements, Lal steals the show, firing on all cylinders. However, at no stage the multi-starrer film does appear as a one-man show.M. Ashitha of Deccan Herald
Deccan Herald
The Deccan Herald is a leading English-language daily newspaper distributed in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is published by the Printers Private Limited and has a number of editions in Bangalore, Hubli, Mysore, Mangalore and Gulbarga....
commented, "True, too many cooks spoil the broth. Despite having the luxury of actors like Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Dileep and Sarath Kumar together in the movie, Christian Brothers turns out not to be a disappointment. The film, heavily depending on the star power, is a good entertainment."
Paresh C. Palicha of Rediff.com
Rediff.com
Rediff.com India is a news, information, entertainment, and shopping portal. It was founded in 1996 as "Rediff On The NeT" and is headquartered in Mumbai, India with offices in New Delhi and New York City, USA....
stated, "Christian Brothers is a typical multi-starrer that is made with an eye at the box office with not much depth in the subject. But you still get entertained."
Sify.com
Sify
Sify Technologies Limited is an Internet service provider established in 1998, based in Chennai, India.-Company profile:...
's reviewer rated the film as a "Racy Entertainer" and stated, "Christian Brothers is a loud and high voltage thriller, for which you don't have to use your brains much. It could have definitely been more enjoyable if it was shorter by some twenty minutes or so, but even in the current form it could make you smile as the end credits start rolling. It's absolutely a no logic-popcorn fun and perhaps not meant to be taken too seriously."
Veeyen of Nowrunning.com stated, "Christian Brothers is a plain rework of the several family feud sagas that the script writers themselves have cooked up in the past. Its sole selling point is then the star power that it has, and the mammoth star cast should hopefully make its sailing almost smooth."
The reviewer of Indiaglitz.com commented, "Ace scriptwriters Uday Krishna-Sibi K. Thomas and senior director Joshiy has faithfully repeated their trademark recipes that made the big hit Twenty:20 for their new multistarrer Christian Brothers. And evidently the movie has turned out into a power packed entertainer with plenty of thrills, songs and other masala fares. The only problem with the movie seems to be that it has nothing ground breakable about its plot and also its length which extends to a little more than three hours."
The reviewer of Varnachitram said, "Christian Brothers will be loved by the fans of Mohanlal, Dileep and Suresh Gopi. For others its only a watchable fare. It is no Twenty:20. Though it tries too hard to be one, it only ends up as a pale imitation."
Box office
The film had a worldwide release on 18 March 2011 with 154 theatres in Kerala and 90 theatres all over India outside Kerala and 70 prints outside India in Gulf countries, Europe and USA making it the widest release ever for a Malayalam cinemaMalayalam cinema
The Cinema of Kerala or Malayalam cinema refers to the film industry in the Indian state of Kerala, which makes films in the Malayalam language. Malayalam movies typically portray social or family issues and are considered more realistic than films from other parts of India. Malayalam cinema has...
. Despite receiving mixed reviews,Christian Brothers set a new record on the opening day of March 18, 2011 with grossing 2.75 crores on the first day of release beating the 1.64 crores set by Twenty:20 in 2008. The film also set a new record on the first week by grossing around 8 crores in 7 days from Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
alone, beating the 6.5 crores set by Twenty:20 in 2008. Film analyst Sreedhar Pillai has tweeted that Christian Brothers got a share of 5 crores in 10 days which means the film has grossed above 10.5 crores in 10 days. Malayalam film magazine Vellinakshatram has reported that Christian Brothers set a new record by grossing 15 crores from two weeks. The film has been declared as a blockbuster hit by the trade pundits with reference to its huge collection. Sify
Sify
Sify Technologies Limited is an Internet service provider established in 1998, based in Chennai, India.-Company profile:...
has reported that Christian brothers got record share of 8.5 crores from 25 days which means the film has grossed above 21 crores in 25 days. In total the film collected 30 crores in 70 days from the major screens only, becoming the second highest grossing movie in the history of Malayalam Cinema
Malayalam cinema
The Cinema of Kerala or Malayalam cinema refers to the film industry in the Indian state of Kerala, which makes films in the Malayalam language. Malayalam movies typically portray social or family issues and are considered more realistic than films from other parts of India. Malayalam cinema has...
behind Twenty:20
Controversies
Even before the official announcement, Christian Brothers ran into troubles and controversies as it went against the norms and restrictions of the Producers Association. The film was announced as a big budget film but the Association had set a norm that no Malayalam film should have a budget of more than 3.5 crore. The Association hence refused to give a clearance for the film’s shoot. The producers of Christian Brothers meanwhile stated that given the star-cast and the subject of the film, it is not possible to make it at a lesser budget. Following the interests from stars, exhibitors and theatre-owners, the film was given a clearance despite its budget, which mas many times the restriction set by the Association.Another controversy originated when Tamil actor Arjun
Arjun Sarja
Arjun Sarja is an Indian film actor and director. Son of Kannada film star Shakti Prasad, he has primarily acted in Tamil films, and also appeared in Kannada and Telugu films. The title "Action King" has been given to Arjun by fans, for the numerous roles he has portrayed in action films. He is...
registered a complaint with Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) about using his name and photographs in connection with Christian Brothers without his consent or knowledge. Arjun commented that no one has approached him to act in Christian Brothers and all this has happened without his consent or knowledge. However, the issue was resolved when there came an official clarification that Arjun will not be a part of the film, as has been announced earlier.
In February 2010, it was reported that the producer of Christian Brothers excluded veteran Malayalam actor Thilakan
Thilakan
Surendranatha Thilakan , known mononymously as Thilakan, is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam cinema and theatre. He was awarded Padma Shri on 25 January 2009.- Theatre:...
from the film at the request of the FEFKA, the predominant film technicians association. Thilakan had been earlier signed for the role played by Saikumar
Saikumar
Saikumar is a popular Malayalam actor. He is known for his handling of serious roles, though he started his career with comedy roles. Of late, he has been doing many negative roles as well.- Career :...
in the film. The exclusion was reportedly due to Thilakan acting in a film by director Vinayan
Vinayan
Vinayan is an Indian film director, mainly of Malayalam movies. He started his career with the film Super Star, in which he used a Mohanlal look-alike in the lead role....
, who till recently headed the rival association MACTA. On February 3, 2010, Thilakan publicly protested against the unofficial ban enforced on him by FEFKA and blamed a major actor for engineering the ban. The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) issued a show cause notice to Thilakan for bringing the issue into the public domain. Thilakan accused AMMA, of which he too is a member. The issue gained political colours soon, when several political parties came out openly in support of Thilakan. Controversy led to the dismissal of the actor permanently from AMMA association after being asked several times by the AMMA's committee, to issue an unconditional apology, which he refused. He stated that unless and until he gets justice regarding why he was removed from the role in the film, he would not give an apology.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack features four songs composed by Deepak DevDeepak Dev
Deepak Devraj, better known as Deepak Dev is an Indian music composer, best known for his compositions in Malayalam cinema, with films such as Chronic Bachelor, Symphony, Udayananu Tharam, Naran, and Puthiya Mukham.-Early years:...
with lyrics by Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri. The songs as well as choreography received largely negative reviews. However, the songs managed to top the music charts in the initial weeks.
| Track # | Song | Singer(s) | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Karthaave" | Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan is an Indian music composer and singer. He is a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio team that composes for Indian films and a playback singer.-Early life:... , Rimi Tomy |
4:33 |
| 2 | "Kannum" | Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan is an Indian music composer and singer. He is a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio team that composes for Indian films and a playback singer.-Early life:... , Shweta Mohan Shweta Mohan Shweta Mohan is an Indian playback singer. She has sung in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi languages.Sung for over 50 movies in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada... |
5:06 |
| 3 | "Mizhikalil Naanam" | Nikhil Nikhil Mathew Nikhil Mathew is a singer from Kerala, India. In 2006, he won the Airtel Super Singer reality show. As the show's winner he won a chance to sing a song for music director Harris Jayaraj - Enadhuyire along with Chinmayee, Sadhana Sargam, Sowmya Raoh for the Tamil film Bheema... , Ranjith Ranjith (singer) Ranjith is an Indian playback singer who originally hails from Kerala. He was brought up in Tamil Nadu and he is very famous for his playback singing in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.... , Rimi Tomy |
4:32 |
| 4 | "Sayyaave (Composers Version)" | Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan is an Indian music composer and singer. He is a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio team that composes for Indian films and a playback singer.-Early life:... , Shweta Mohan Shweta Mohan Shweta Mohan is an Indian playback singer. She has sung in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi languages.Sung for over 50 movies in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada... |
4:20 |
External links
- Christian Brothers at Box Office MojoBox Office MojoBox Office Mojo is a website that tracks box office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. Brandon Gray started the site in 1999. In 2002, Gray partnered with Sean Saulsbury and they grew the site to nearly two million readers when, in July 2008, the company was purchased by Amazon.com through...