Action Hero Biju

Action Hero Biju

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Abrid Shine
Produced by Nivin Pauly
Shibu Thekkumpuram
Abrid Shine[1][2]
Written by Abrid Shine
Muhammad Shafeeq
Starring Nivin Pauly
Anu Emmanuel
Jude Anthany Joseph
Narrated by Lal Jose
Music by Songs:
Jerry Amaldev
Suresh Thampanoor
Score:
Rajesh Murugesan
Cinematography Alex J. Pulickal
Edited by Manoj
Production
company
Pauly Jr. Pictures
Distributed by LJ Films
Release dates
  • 4 February 2016 (2016-02-04) (Kerala)
Running time
 145 minutes[3]
Country India
Language Malayalam
Budget ₹2 crore (US$300,000) (approx.)[4]
Box office ₹30 crore (US$4.5 million)[5]

Action Hero Biju is a 2016 Indian Malayalam drama film directed and co-written by Abrid Shine and starring Nivin Pauly in the title role.[6] The film is Shine's second directorial and Nivin's debut as a producer.[7] Jerry Amaldev composed the original songs, while Rajesh Murugesan did the background score.[8] The filming which began in May 2015 was completed in October.[9] After being postponed several times, Action Hero Biju was released in Kerala on 4 February 2016 and rest of India in 5 February, it met with positive response from critics with appreciation to its novel theme and humour.[10][11] The film was a commercial success which grossed ₹30 crore (US$4.5 million) worldwide.[5]

Plot

The film tells the story of Biju Paulose, a sub-inspector with the Kochi City Police and a recollection of cases he solved before his fatal occupational hazard. The story opens as sub-inspector Biju Palouse (Nivin Pauly) is informed of the presence of a few wanted criminals in his jurisdiction. As he corners and apprehends them, he is injured when one of the criminals stabs him. The story cuts back to some time before the incident when Biju and the officers beneath him handle different types of complaints and cases, petty and major, that are registered at the police station.

Biju receives a call from the hospital informing him of a ten year old girl who is mauled by a dog when he tried to pluck some fruits from a highly influential businessman's house. Eye witnesses report that the businessman had purposely let the dog out and Biju sets out to his house to arrest the said person. However, some local politicians try to use their political power to avoid the registration of the case and Biju refuses to do so. When he tries to summon the businessman over the phone, he arrogantly replies that he is out of town. However, Biju and two other officers track him to a club and arrest him. The next complaint is lodged by a lady who is yet to receive her pending salary. When Biju tries to mediate a negotiation between the employers and the lady, the employers act callously which enrages Biju. He threatens to take them to task if the dues are not paid and the employers immediately comply.

Another day, Biju encounters a peculiar case of a missing Navy man who jumps into a creek to rescue a woman and child. During the subsequent search operation, he and his sub-ordinates manage to save the life of the woman but the child dies as the people who rescued the child from the creek thought her to be dead and does not admit her in the hospital on time. This emotionally affects Biju but he continues to search for the missing Navy man but fails to rescue him. Throughout the course of the next few days, he handles different types of cases including that of an auto driver who stalks a woman he loves, riders without helmet and a drunkard who steals an official radio from a careless police officer.

When he is ordered by his superiors to investigate rising incidents of criminal activity and narcotic sales, he discovers a group of teenagers purchasing drugs from a notorious criminal during random vehicle checks. He arrests them in the presence of the magistrate and takes them to police station where he applies third degree interrogation on the criminal and informs the parents of the teenagers. While all parents react with shock at what their children had done and requests him to not file a case, one parent emotionally admits that she had known about his habits and was unable to control it. She says that he should be held accountable for what he did and refuses to take him home. Biju lets them off without registering the case to avoid spoiling their future but warns them that he won't repeat this act of mercy if they continue their habit.

Another day, a docile and quiet man named Pavithran (Suraj Venjaramoodu) meets him and requests him to interfere to bring back his wife who eloped with another man taking their daughter away with her. He says he is ready to accept them back and that he cannot live without his daughter. Biju summons the wife and her lover to the station but she refuses to go back to Pavithran as she was never in love with him and expresses desire to live with her lover. Pavithran relents to her wishes but begs for their daughter until she admits that she is not his daughter. A shattered Pavithran leaves the station in tears and a shocked and angry Biju bashes the lover for letting his daughter be taken care of by another man and chastises the wife.

Biju is asked to tackle another case by his superiors whereby some jewellery was stolen from a house. Deducing from the clues and circumstances, Biju suspects the housemaid to be the thief. He visits her at her house and during interrogation, finds flaws in her alibi. They confirm her as the culprit and begin to arrest her until he meets her husband and children, one of them being a respected NCC student cadet whom he was impressed by due to her performance. Biju faces a dilemma about arresting her as the children and husband, who are heartbroken and aghast at what the mother had done, begs him not to arrest her and the fact that she did it to pay the school fees. But Biju half-heartedly decides to follow the law and arrest her and takes her to station where he is informed of the presence of the criminals from the beginning of the movie. During the arrest, he is stabbed by one of them but successfully manages to prevent them from escaping until the rest of the police force arrives.

As he is treated for his wounds in the hospital, he jokes with his fiancee that injuries are common in his occupation and that she is free to marry someone else. Years later, he is in the middle of apprehending another gang of criminals when his father informs him that his wife has given birth to a daughter. He joyfully receives the news but continues his assigned task of arresting the criminals as a voice over brief that Biju is not a superhero but one of the many dedicated police officers in the state.

Cast

Production

After the success of his debut venture, director Abrid Shine began pre-production on his second film. He wanted the subject to be action oriented and discussions with Nivin turned it to a police story. In August 2014, Abrid subsequently made an official announcement that his next venture would be titled Action Hero Biju and would feature Nivin in the lead role. The movie started rolling in May 2015.[12] Nivin Pauly took special fighting classes and followed special diets to gain more weight and followed workout regimens, to fit the role of a police officer.[13]

About the title, the director says "The title, Action Hero Biju, stems from my interest in narrating a common man's story. Biju is an extremely common and secular name in Kerala and I felt it has cuteness about it. My film tells the story of a common man who becomes a brave cop, and I felt the title is a perfect fit".[14] And also explains "The film is a light take on policing, it is not the hardcore police kind of story – it is a mix of humour and action. It is about a police sub-inspector’s heroism. We see the world through his eyes – we experience his views, experiences and emotions". Abride collaborated with Muhammed Shefeeq for scripting which took almost ten months to complete.[15]

Soundtrack

Action Hero Biju
Soundtrack album by Jerry Amaldev
Released 28 January 2016
Recorded 2015
Genre Feature film soundtrack
Length 18:09
Language Malayalam
Label Satyam Audios
Producer Nivin Pauly
Jerry Amaldev chronology
No. 1 Snehatheeram Banglore North
(1995)		 Action Hero Biju
(2016)

Jerry Amaldev composed songs for the film while Rajesh Murugesan wrote the background score of the film. Lyrics were written by Santhosh Varma and BK Harinarayanan. The film features 4 tracks.

Tracklist
No. TitleLyricsSinger(s) Length
1. "Pookkal Panineer"  Santhosh VarmaK J Yesudas, Vani Jayaram 4:23
2. "Oonjalilaadi Vanna"  Santhosh VarmaChinmayi, Jerry Amaldev 4:14
3. "Chiriyo Chiri"  Santhosh VarmaVineeth Sreenivasan, Vaikom Vijayalakshmi 3:27
4. "Hara Hara"  BK HarinarayananSuchith Suresan, Jerry Amaldev 4:00
5. "Muthe Ponne Pinangalle"  V Suresh ThampanoorV Suresh Thampanoor 1:40
6. "Vande Mataram (Cover)"  Bankim Chandra ChattopadhyaySwetha Mohan 1:59
Total length:
 18:09

Release

Action Hero Biju released in Kerala on 4 February 2016 in 131 screens. The film was released in 116 screens in rest of India and in more than 10 screens in the United States on 5 February.[16][17]

Critical reception

Veeyen of Nowrunning.com lauded the film. He states that "the cinematic reconstruction of the life of a police officer that Abrid Shine attempts in 'Action Hero Biju' is efficient to the core, and the craft elements on display exceptional. The mother of all gambles that the film indulges in - of keeping conventionalities at bay - makes it a level-headed film that traverses the rugged planes of law, justice, truth and life with consummate ease."[18]

Arathi Kannan of Malayala Manorama rated of 3.5/5 and said "With a salute to the cops, who sweat their ways through their duties and moral obligations, Abrid Shine leaves a sparkling note of thanks before the screen blackout."[19]

Box office

The film grossed ₹1.59 crore (US$240,000) on its first day in Kerala and ₹4.38 crore (US$650,000) after 5 days. It opened well in Tamil Nadu, grossing ₹18.63 lakh (US$28,000) in the opening day from more than 12 screens, which is the highest opening gross for a Malayalam film there. Action Hero Biju was made at a budget of ₹2 crore (US$300,000).[4][10] As of April 2016 the film grossed an estimated total of ₹30 crore (US$4.5 million) worldwide.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Nivin Pauly turns Producer". Malayala Manorama.
  2. ↑ "Nivin Pauly won't give in, 'Action Hero Biju' can wait". ManoramaOnline.
  3. ↑ "Action Hero Biju | British Board of Film Classification". bbfc.co.uk. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  4. 1 2 Akhila Menon (10 February 2016). "BOX OFFICE: Action Hero Biju 5 Days Kerala & Tamil Nadu Collections". Filmibeat.com.
  5. 1 2 3 Akhila Menon (25 April 2016). "BOX OFFICE 2016: Blockbusters & Super Hits of Malayalam Cinema So Far". Filmibeat.com. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Nivin Pauly will don khaki in Abrid Shine’s action film". The Times of India. 9 September 2014.
  7. ↑ "Abrid and Muhammad Shafeeq script for Action Hero Biju". Now Running.
  8. ↑ "Nivin Pauly will don khaki in Abrid Shine's action film". The Times of India.
  9. ↑ Sachin Jose (30 October 2015). "Nivin Pauly wraps up Abrid Shine's 'Action Hero Biju'". International Business Times. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  10. 1 2 Anu James (February 11, 2016). "'Action Hero Biju' 5-day box office: Will Nivin Pauly starrer repeat 'Premam' success in Tamil Nadu?". International Business Times. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  11. ↑ Sidhardhan, Sanjith (30 January 2016), Action Hero Biju to release on Feb 4, The Times of India, retrieved 1 February 2016
  12. ↑ "Action Hero Biju starts rolling". Filmibeat.com.
  13. ↑ Akhila Menon (7 October 2015). "Nivin Pauly's Special Training For Action Hero Biju". Filmibeat.com. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  14. ↑ Times News Network (9 September 2014). "Nivin Pauly will don khaki in Abrid Shine’s action film". The Times of India. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  15. ↑ Shilpa Nair Anand (28 January 2016). "Nivin is back in action". The Hindu. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  16. ↑ Anu James (4 March 2016). "'Action Hero Biju' celebrity review: Celebs call Nivin Pauly starrer a clean entertainer". International Business Times. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  17. ↑ Anu James (6 February 2016). "Action Hero Biju box office collection: Nivin Pauly starrer gets fabulous response on opening day". International Business Times. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  18. ↑ Veeyen. "Action Hero Biju Review". Nowrunning. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  19. ↑ Kannan, Arathi. "Action Hero Biju: 'Guards' up". Malayala Manorama. Retrieved 6 February 2016.

External links

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