Ezra (2017 film)

Ezra
Directed by Jay K
Produced by
  • A.V Anoop
  • Mukesh R. Mehta
  • C. V. Sarathy
Written by
  • Manu Gopal
  • Jay K
Screenplay by Jay K
Story by Jay K
Starring
Music by


Cinematography Sujith Vaassudev
Edited by Vivek Harshan
Production
company
  • AVA productions
Distributed by E4 Entertainment
Release date
  • 10 February 2017 (2017-02-10)
Running time
 146 minutes
Country India
Language Malayalam
Box office ₹50 crore (total) [2]

Ezra is a 2017 Indian Malayalam supernatural horror thriller film written and directed by Jay K, starring Prithviraj Sukumaran.[3] Major filming locations were Fort Kochi and Sri Lanka.[4] Principal photography began in late-June 2016. The film grossed ₹50 crore at the box-office.[5]

Plot

The film opens with the death of the last Malabar Jew in Kochi. An antique seller steals a Dybbuk box with Jewish inscriptions from his house. Upon opening it, a dybbuk from the box kills the thief.

Meanwhile, Ranjan Mathew (Prithviraj Sukumaran), a nuclear waste management specialist based in Mumbai, moves to Kerala due to work obligations, along with his wife Priya Raghuram (Priya Anand). Being a Marathi-Malayali, Priya finds it hard to adjust with the shift from Mumbai to Kerala. On a retail therapy, Priya buys the box from the antique shop. Upon opening it, paranormal activities are experienced by Ranjan and Priya.

Ranjan is an orphan who was living with his mother's brother Fr. Samuel (Vijayaraghavan). Samuel is invited to Ranjan's house. Samuel feels that something is amiss and he tells Ranjan that the box from the antique shop is a Dybbuk. Ranjan finds more about the Dybbuk from a Rabbi David Benyamin (Babu Antony). He tells Ranjan that the Dybbuk only possesses people without mental stability or children under 3 years. The next day, Rabbi Benyamin is dead and Ranjan finds that Priya is pregnant. He comes to the conclusion that his child is possessed. Ranjan finds more about the Dybbuk in his house with the help of Rabbi Marques (Rabbi Benyamin's son) (Sujith Shankar).

They get to know about a story in 1941 Thiru-Kochi. The story revolves around a Rich Jewish boy Abraham Ezra (Sudev Nair) and a poor Christian girl Rosy (Ann Sheetal) and their relationship. They both meet up daily in the villages and river banks and their relationship develop into a serious stage when Ezra gifts her a wedding gown which worn by Jewish bride and promises her to never leave her alone and marry her and they end up having passionate sexual intercourse and eventually Rosy got pregnant. Rosy was not ready to accept the reality and had a fear of losing Ezra from her life, since they both belong to different religions. One day Rosy makes Ezra to promise in the name of Jesus that he would never leave her alone and marry her even if their family oppose. Rosy was not able to tell Ezra that she was pregnant. So once Ezra wanted to leave to Kochi, he decided to tell his father about his relationship with Rosy so that he can convince Rosy's parents too.

Ezra's father refuses his wish to marry Rosy, since they belong to Jewish community and they marry only a Jewish girl. Ezra is forced to break up with Rosy by his father. Without knowing this, Rosy awaits Ezra to comeback. Months later Rosy showed up signs of pregnancy and she is caught by her mother. Her parents tried to make her understand the situation and asked her to tell who's child was she carrying, but Rosy trusted Ezra and was not ready to betray him so she remain silent and she is locked up in a room by her parents. Without knowing all this conflicts, months later, depressed Ezra writes a letter to Rosy telling her to end their relationships and erase him from her life. In sorrow Rosy commit suicide by wearing the wedding gown which was gifted by Ezra to show that she still love him. Later Rosy's father find the letter which was send by Ezra to Rosy and finds that they were in a relationship. He went to meet Ezra and his father. However, he was killed by Ezra and his father. The villagers tried to hit Ezra and they attempted to kill him. Ezra was seriously injured and he was taken to the hospital by his father.

The doctors confirms that he is brain dead . Ezra's father decides to take revenge on the people of the society. Ezra's father purposefully kills him to create Dybbuk. Instead of seeing his son in a brain-dead condition, he invoked black magic and made his son's soul enter into a Dybbuk box. The box was created in such a way that the spirit would destroy the entire community who killed Ezra. He let the others know that Ezra had died and they then buried Ezra's body, which was really a wooden dummy. For the spirit of Ezra to become a Dybbuk, his body could not be given a proper burial. Ezra's father then took Ezra's body, which was wrapped in a cloth, to the sea and dumped it.

The story comes back to Ranjan. Marques wants the Dybbuk to leave Ranjan and his family. So with the help of A.C.P Shafeer Ahammed (Tovino Thomas), he confirms that Abraham Ezra's story is true. Finally, he decides to exorcise the Dybbuk. But, it is revealed that it is not Priya, but Ranjan whom the spirit of Ezra has possessed. Fr. Samuel tell them that Ranjan, as orphan had mental problems in his childhood and because Ranjan is a nuclear waste management specialist, the Dybbuk would be easily able to destroy the society. At last, Ranjan is exorcised but failed. Marques along with other Jews try to control Ezra but Priya is trapped under Ezra but then suddenly looking at pregnant Priya, Ezra remembers Rosy and his love towards her made him to leave Priya. Finally the dybbuk who is uncontrollable is made to enter the box by Marques. The box is then taken to an ocean by Marues and Shafeer and dumped exactly like Ezra'a body was dumped.

Later, Priya gives birth to a healthy baby and she and Ranjan are sharing their happy news with Marques. In a mid credit scene, it is shown that the Dybbuk box is found by some young men who were loafing about the sea shore. The film end by them taking the box with them planning to open it.

Cast

Production

On February 2016, Jay K, who was an associate director to Rajeev Ravi, announced that he will make his directorial debut through a film called Ezra.[8] It was announced that the film will be a horror thriller involving a love story and will explore the history of Jewish culture in Kerala. Jay K said that the film is not made to frighten the spectators, but has a strong plot. He also confirmed that the film will be dubbed in Tamil and Telugu languages.[9] Mukesh R. Mehta, C. V. Sarathy and A. V. Anoop produce the film under the banner of E4 Entertainment and AVA Productions.[10] Rahul Raj and Tirru were roped in for the music and cinematography respectively. But both of them left the project for reasons unknown. While Tirru left in the early stage of production, Rahul Raj left after giving the song Lailakame.

Reception

Box office

The film grossed ₹2.61 crore in the opening day and ₹2.91 crore on second day from Kerala box office.[11] It grossed ₹15.02 crore in its first week from Kerala, second highest after Pulimurugan.[12] The film grossed around ₹31.1 crore from Kerala box office.[13] It grossed ₹50 crore from worldwide box office.[14]

Critical reception

K R Rajeesh of nowrunning has given a 3/5 and praised it for the extensive paranormal research and visuals.[15] Indian Express rated it at 2/5. Ezra not only tries to frighten the audience but it has got an extraordinary stroryline too. It also tells the history of the Jews who once lived in Kerala. The remarkable flashback stays as a sorrow in the audiences. It describes how the caste system and discrimination of the society spoils the relationships between people.[16]

Music

Rahul Raj was signed as the composer of the film. He composed the song Lailakame and left the project for reasons unknown. Sushin Shyam, who had worked in Sapthmashree Thaskaraha was then selected to compose the background score in addition to two songs ("Thambiran" & "Irul Neelum").

The song Lailakame became a smash hit,[17] prompting several cover versions, including one by Rahul Raj himself.

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Lailakame"Harinarayanan B KRahul RajHaricharan4.16
2."Thambiran"Anwar AliSushin ShyamVipin Raveendran4.07
3."Irulu Neelum Raave"Vinayak SasikumarSushin ShyamSachin Balu4.22
Total length:12.45

References

  1. ↑ "Ezra music review: This tune is sure to bewitch you". manoramaonline.com.
  2. ↑ "Ezra : Prithviraj starrer emerges 8th Rs. 50 crore grosser of Malayalam cinema". Catchnews. 13 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "ഭയപ്പെടുത്താൻ പൃഥ്വിരാജ്; എസ്ര ഫസ്റ്റ്ലുക്ക്" [Prithiviraj for scaring; Ezra Firstlook]. Manoramaonline.com (in Malayalam). 11 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "Prithviraj's Ezra to roll from June 29". Indian Express. Kochi. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  5. ↑ "Ezra : Prithviraj starrer emerges 8th Rs. 50 crore grosser of Malayalam cinema". Catchnews. 13 April 2017.
  6. ↑ Soman, Deepa (11 August 2016). "Something is spooky about Ezra: Sudev Nair". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  7. 1 2 R., Manoj Kumar (19 November 2016). "Prithviraj's Ezra explores Kerala's Jewish background". The Indian Express. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  8. ↑ James, Anu. "Prithviraj Sukumaran to star opposite Priya Anand in 'Ezra'?". International Business Times, India Edition. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  9. ↑ Akhila, Menon (20 November 2016). "Ezra Is Not A Typical Horror Movie: Director Jay K". FilmiBeat. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  10. ↑ Express Web Desk (15 December 2016). "Ezra trailer: The terror-inducing film has been long overdue in the horror genre, watch video". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  11. ↑ Anu, James (22 February 2017). "Kerala box office: Ezra, Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol score big; but far behind Pulimurugan collection record". IB Times. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  12. ↑ James, Anu. "Kerala box office: Prithviraj Sukumaran's Ezra breaks Pulimurugan's 8-day collection record by a tiny margin at Kochi multiplexes". ibtimes.co.in.
  13. ↑ "Mollywood in 2017: Top Malayalam movies that earned big at Kerala box office this year". International Business Times. 20 December 2017.
  14. ↑ "Ezra : Prithviraj starrer emerges 8th Rs. 50 crore grosser of Malayalam cinema". Catchnews. 13 April 2017.
  15. ↑ "Ezra Review – Malayalam Movie Ezra nowrunning review". nowrunning.com.
  16. ↑ "Ezra movie review: A film with infinite possibilities cast away like a corpse in the sea". indianexpress.com. 10 February 2017.
  17. ↑ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/music/rahul-rajs-cover-for-lailakame-from-ezra-goes-viral/articleshow/57603535.cms
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