Anchakkallakokkan
| Anchakkallakokkan | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ullas Chemban |
| Written by | Vikil Venu |
| Produced by | Chemban Vinod Jose |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Armo |
| Edited by | Rohit V.S. Variyath |
| Music by | Manikandan Ayyappa |
Production company | Chembosky Motion Pictures |
| Distributed by | Dreamz Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 125 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Budget | est. ₹6 crores[1] |
| Box office | est. ₹5.43 crores[2] |
Anchakkallakokkan: Porattu (transl. Boogeyman) is a 2024 Indian Malayalam-language western crime action film directed by Ullas Chemban, in his directorial debut and produced by Chemban Vinod Jose under his banner Chembosky Motion Pictures. The film star Lukman Avaran, Chemban Vinod Jose, and Manikandan R. Achari in prominent roles. Manikandan Ayyappa composed the music and Rohit V.S. Variyath edited the film, while Armo handled the cinematography. Co-written by Ullas and Vikil Venu, the film's narrative follows the investigation of a landlord's homicide and the truths uncovered as events progress.
Development of Anchakkallakokkan began during the COVID-19 lockdown when a friend of Ullas Chemban shared an anecdote about a police officer. Together with Vikil Venu, he completed the script over the following 10 months.
Released on 15 March 2024, the film received generally positive reviews from critics with praise for cinematography, soundtrack, sound mixing and action sequences. Despite this it was a box office disappointment grossing ₹5.43 crore (US$680,000) against a ₹6 crore (US$750,000) crore budget.
Plot[edit]
Chaapra, a planter gets murdered on a night he was drinking with Punnari Rajan and Chippan. Vasudevan, a meek and stammering youth arrives at the village the next day to take charge as police constable. He meets Nadavaramban Peter another policeman at the station. Peter is sympathetic towards Vasudevan and helps him settle into his new job. The investigation starts into the murder and police start questioning all villagers who were involved with Chaapra, including Chaapra’s maid Padmini. Chaapra's two sons ‘Gillappis’ are also out to find their father’s murderer. They create havoc in the village and terrorize the villagers. Punnari Rajan had done a land deal for Chaapra and was due to give him the money from the transaction. He conspires with Maveli Antu, the local politician, to arrange for someone to surrender to the police for the murder since elections are approaching, and they cannot afford to keep the case open. But before the man he arranges reaches the station, Kollan Shankaran turns up at the station and surrenders as the murderer.
It's revealed that Peter Nadavaramban is having an affair with Padmini, and it was he who planned Chaapra's murder at Padmini’s behest. Padmini’s husband was Chaapra’s assistant, but Chaapra cheated and killed him since he had his eyes on Padmini. He starts harassing Padmini and makes her his concubine eventually. To get her revenge, Padmini plots with Nadavaramban, who uses another criminal Kolliyan to stab Chaapra in the night. Vasudevan however is confused about Sankaran’s motive to commit the murder. Sankaran reveals that Peter had killed his daughter in the past when she had an epileptic attack as Peter was trying to molest her. The death gets passed off as unnatural due to her health condition, but Sankaran’s neighbor finds out the truth about the circumstances. Sankara gets himself inside the police station since he wants to kill Peter.
Peter now knows that Vasudevan is also aware of his crimes and wants to finish him off as well. He catches Kolliyan from the forests and strikes a deal to use him to kill Sankaran. Meanwhile, The Gillapies discover Maveli and Punari's misappropriation of their father's funds and retaliate by killing them both. They target Punari with a crude bomb during his speech at a congregation, distracting the police on duty at night. Coincidently Sankaran gets out of the cell with the fake key made by his friend when he comes to do work at the police station and attacks Peter and Kolliyan. A fight ensues with the three of them when Gillapis arrives at the scene to finish off Sankaran after they learn of his surrender. They throw a bomb at the station and the elder Gillapi gets killed when the flames detonate the rest of the bombs with him. The younger Gillapi shoots and kills Sankaran, and a shootout ensues between him, Kolliyan, and Peter. Vasudevan, who was subdued by Peter and tied to a window escapes and revives his original aggressive self finally to fight and kill the 3 of them.
In the end, it is revealed that Vasudevan’s father was a Porat drama artist and was a downright aggressive and violent man. Vasudevan was raised to be frightened of the demon Kokkan so that he does not get wayward like his father. However, due to his paternal influence, he is also very violent by nature and is gradually raised as a timid person by his mother. His violent childhood character finally comes out during the showdown as he hacks Peter to a bloody death.
Cast[edit]
- Lukman Avaran as Vasudevan
- Master Aloshy as young Vasudevan
- Chemban Vinod Jose as Nadavaramban Peter
- Manikandan R. Achari as Kollan Shankaran / Shankarabharanam
- Megha Thomas as Padmini
- Merin Mary Philip as Daisy
- Sreejith Ravi as Chaapra
- Senthil Krishna as Kolliyan
- Praveen T. J. as younger Gillapi
- Merin Jose Pottackal as elder Gillapi
- R. J. Murugan as SI Sudarshanan Bairi
- Joji John as Urumal
- Pramod Veliyanad as Malaga
- Achuthanandan as Punnari Rajan
- Bitto Davis as Chippan
- Baiju as Maveli Antu
- Nivedith as Karivand Maniyan
- Anu Prabha as Devu
- Ullas Chemban as Siddhan
- Ram Kumar as Rascal Kochuvarkey
Production[edit]
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Ullas Chemban found inspiration for the film from a casual conversation with a friend who shared a 10-second anecdote about a police officer. Ullas found the anecdote amusing and expanded upon it by collaborating with co-writer Vikil Venu, developing it into a full-fledged script in 10 months. The film is produced by Ullas's brother Chemben Vinod Jose who agreed to produce it after Ullas narrated the story to senior technicians, which convinced Chemben of its potential. Ullas chose the title Anchakkallakokkan because it referred to the Boogeyman, a folklore figure commonly told by mothers across Kerala to discipline or coerce children to sleep by instilling fear during his childhood.[3]
Soundtrack[edit]
| Anchakkallakokkan | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Manikandan Ayyappa | |||||
| Released | 2024 | ||||
| Recorded | 2023 | ||||
| Genre | Soundtrack | ||||
| Length | 42:39 | ||||
| Language | Malayalam | ||||
| Label | Think Music | ||||
| Producer | Manikandan Ayyappa | ||||
| |||||
| Singles from Anchakkallakokkan | |||||
| |||||
The soundtrack and background score is composed by Manikandan Ayyappa. The first single titled Thumbi was released on 9 March 2024.[4] The soundtrack was released by Think Music.[5]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Thumbi" | Malu, Manikandan Ayyappa | Malu | 3:16 |
| 2. | "Thenmala" | Nanniyod Kanakan, Raju Palanthoni | 4:06 | |
| 3. | "Mandharam" | Madhavan Kizhakkedath | Krishna Arun | 2:35 |
| 4. | "Soul of AKK" | Manikandan Ayyappa | Manikandan Ayyappa | 3:14 |
| 5. | "The Gillappies" | Kumbari, Gabriel Anaman | Kumbari, Gabriel Anaman, Sreerag Ravindran, Sreehari Ravindran, Abhijith Manikandan | 3:11 |
| 6. | "Kaana Theeyo" | Sadan Thoppil | Manikandan Ayyappa | 1:42 |
| 7. | "Waves of AKK" | Gabriel Anaman, Madhavan Kizhakkedath | Gabriel Anaman, Manikandan Ayyappa | 3:38 |
| 8. | "Maane Maruthakam" | Thadathil Appu Ashan, Nandhakumar Kazhimbram | Chandran, Kochubalan | 2:44 |
| 9. | "Thumbi Trance - Extended" | Malu, Manikandan Ayyappa | Malu | 8:37 |
| 10. | "Nothing has changed" | Gabriel Anaman | Gabriel Anaman | 2:59 |
| 11. | "Mannu Thedum" | Madhavan Kizhakkedath | Sreerag Ravindran, Sreehari Ravindran]], Abhijith Manikandan, Manikandan Ayyappa, Manikandan Perumpadappu | 3:43 |
| 12. | "Anchakkallakokkan" | Kumbari | Niranj Suresh, Nanniyod Kanakan | 2:54 |
| Total length: | 42:39 | |||
Release and reception[edit]
The film was theatrically released on 15 March and initially limited to Kerala and Karnataka. However, due to its positive reception, it was further expanded to more screens across India.[5] The streaming rights were acquired by Amazon Prime and released on 19 April.[6][7]
Box office[edit]
On its release day, Anchakkallakokkan grossed ₹18 lakhs, followed by ₹31 lakhs on the subsequent day, and ₹44 lakhs on the third day. By the fourth day, it garnered an additional ₹24 lakhs, resulting in a cumulative total of ₹1.17 crores.[8] In 12 days the film collected a total of ₹2.37 crores domestically and ₹2.23 crores overseas.[9] However, the film's collections began to decline with the release of Aadujeevitham, grossing only ₹2 lakhs on 31 March.[10] By its fourth week, the film collection stood at ₹2.77 crores domestically and ₹2.66 crores worldwide.[11]
References[edit]
- ^ Desk, T. F. C. (14 March 2024). "Anchakkallakokkan (Movie) Released Date, Cast, Director, Story, Budget and more..." The Filmy Charcha. Archived from the original on 14 March 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ Sharma, Bhavana (20 April 2024). "Malayalam crime drama Anchakkallakokkan now available on OTT". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 21 April 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ VM, Abhijith (13 March 2024). "അഞ്ചക്കള്ളകോക്കാൻ: 'പൊറാട്ട്' തുടങ്ങുന്നു" [Anchakkallakokkan: Porattu begins]. Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd (Video Interview) (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ Krishna, Gayathri (9 March 2024). "Anchakkallakokkan song Thumbi - People can be seen dancing to an upbeat song in the midst of chaos". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ a b "കൈയടികളുമായി കൂടുതല് തിയറ്ററുകളിലേക്ക്; രണ്ടാം വാരം സ്ക്രീന് കൗണ്ട് വര്ധിപ്പിച്ച് 'അഞ്ചക്കള്ളകോക്കാന്'" [To more theaters with applause; 'Anchakallakokan' increases screen count in the second week]. Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd (in Malayalam). 22 March 2024. Archived from the original on 22 March 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ Krishna, Gayathri (19 April 2024). "Anchakkallakokkan on OTT – Here's where you stream the Chemban Vinod-starrer cop drama". OTTPlay. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ "'Anchakkallakokkan' OTT release: Lukman starrer starts digital streaming". The Times of India. 19 April 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ "'Anchakkallakokkan' box office collections day 4: Lukman's action flick collects Rs 1.17 crore". The Times of India. 19 March 2024. Archived from the original on 19 March 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ "'Anchakkallakokkan' box office collections day 12: Chemban Vinod starrer mints Rs 16 lakhs". The Times of India. 27 March 2024. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ "'Anchakkallakokkan' box office collections day 16: Chemban Vinod starrer collects Rs 2 lakhs". The Times of India. 31 March 2024. Archived from the original on 31 March 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ "'Anchakkallakokkan' struggles at box Office: Lukman and Chemban Vinod Jose starrer collects Rs 2 lakhs on day 27". The Times of India. 17 April 2024. Archived from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
