Classmates (2006 film)

Classmates

DVD cover
Directed by Lal Jose
Produced by Prakash Damodaran
P. K. Muralidharan
Written by James Albert
Starring Prithviraj
Jayasurya
Narain
Indrajith
Kavya Madhavan
Jagathy Sreekumar
Balachandra Menon
Radhika
Music by Alex Paul
Cinematography Rajeev Ravi
Edited by Ranjan Abraham
Production
company
Arya Films
Distributed by Lal Release
Release dates
  • 25 August 2006 (2006-08-25)
Running time
 150 minutes
Country India
Language Malayalam
Budget ₹3.4 crore (US$510,000)
Box office ₹23 crore (US$3.4 million)[1]

Classmates is a 2006 Malayalam coming-of-age romantic thriller film directed by Lal Jose and written by James Albert. The film has an ensemble cast consisting of Prithviraj, Jayasurya, Narain, Indrajith, Kavya Madhavan, Jagathy Sreekumar, Balachandra Menon and Radhika.[2] The music is composed by Alex Paul with lyrics by Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma.[3] The cinematography was by Rajeev Ravi[4] and the editing by Ranjan Abraham. Audiograhy was done by M. R. Rajakrishnan.

The story revolves around the college graduate class of 1991. In 2006, working in different corners of the world, the friends get together for a class reunion to revive the joy and laughter of their student days. On the night of the reunion, one of the classmates is almost murdered and goes into a coma.[5]

It is one of the biggest blockbusters in the Malayalam film industry and is frequently referenced in Keralite popular culture.[6] The film went on to win the Kerala State Film Awards for Best Popular Film (Prakash Damodaran and P. K. Muralidharan) and Best Story (James Albert).[7] It was later remade into Tamil as Ninaithale Inikkum, and in Telugu & Marathi[8] as Classmates.

Plot

The film centres on a group of classmates who attendeded the same Chemistry class in their final year of college. Among them, Murali (Narain) is a singer and P. Sukumaran (Prithviraj) is a firebrand leader of the left-winged students union. Sukumaran's rival, Satheesan (Jayasurya), leads the opposite faction of student politics and is aided by his sidekick, Vasu (Vijeesh). Pius (Indrajith), a rich and spoiled brat of parents settled in the Gulf, is the campus Romeo and Sukumaran's best friend. Thara Kurup (Kavya Madhavan) is the daughter of the Member of the state Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Muvattupuzha; she is a danseuse who regularly wins awards for the college with her performances.

It was Murali's dream to have a ten-year reunion, but he mysteriously dies before the reunion can be organised. His parents, Professor Iyer (Balachandra Menon) and Lakshmi Teacher (Shobha Mohan), both teachers at the college, decide to fulfil their departed son's dream and bring his classmates together for a reunion. Sukumaran is now a diamond dealer based in Mumbai and is a divorcee. Satheesan is now an MLA, following his dreams to become a political leader, while Vasu continues to be his sidekick. Pius is now settled in the Middle East, while Thara, still unmarried, runs a dancing school.

The coming together of these classmates is the occasion for them to relive the past and to discover how Murali died. When all are together, Razia (Radhika) arrives. Sukumaran attempts suicide but it is later discovered that it was not a suicide attempt but a murder attempt. The suspense is revealed one by one.

Cast

Awards

Box-office performance

The film was a run-away box office success. It broke many box office records and spawned a whole new genre of college-based films in the Malayalam film industry. The film completed 150 days run in Thiruvananthapuram and 100 days in Kottayam and Ernakulam as well. The film went on to gross ₹23 crores and became one of the highest grossing movie in Malayalam Cinema at that time.[9]

Critical acclaim

The performance of actress Radhika (Raziya) was highly appreciated. Classmates has been remade in Tamil as Ninaithale Inikkum, with Prithviraj playing the lead again. Narain is replaced by Shakthi Vasu and Kavya is replaced by Priyamani.[10] and Telugu Classmates with sumanth playing the lead, sadha in place of kavya in 2007.

Soundtrack

The songs were written by Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma and composed by Alex Paul.

# Song Singer(s) Cast
1 "Kattadi Thanalum" Vidhu Prathap, Reju Joseph, Ramesh Babu, Cicily Prithviraj, Jayasurya, Indrajith, Narain, Kavya Madhavan, Radhika
2 "Kathirunna Pennalle" Devanand, Jyotsna Prithviraj, Kavya Madhavan
3 "Vote" M G Sreekumar, Pradeep Prithviraj, Jayasurya, Indrajith, Narain, Kavya Madhavan, Radhika
4 "Ente Khalbile" Vineeth Sreenivasan Narain, Radhika, Prithviraj, Jayasurya, Indrajith
5 "Ente Khalbile" Sujatha

In popular culture

References

  1. ↑ http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/malayalam/article/28242.html
  2. ↑ http://www.thehindujobs.com/thehindu/mp/2006/12/16/stories/2006121600760100.htm
  3. ↑ http://www.raaga.com/channels/malayalam/moviedetail.asp?mid=m0000976
  4. ↑ http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/11/02/stories/2007110250310300.htm
  5. ↑ http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/malayalam/preview/8386.html
  6. ↑ http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/09/29/stories/2006092901190100.htm
  7. ↑ http://www.prd.kerala.gov.in/stateawards4.htm
  8. ↑ http://marathistars.com/news/top-5-reasons-watch-classmates/
  9. ↑ http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/malayalam/article/28242.html
  10. ↑ http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news-1/apr-08-03/ninaithale-inikkum-14-04-08.html

External links

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