Android Kunjappan Version 5.25

Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 is a 2019 Indian Malayalam-language sci-fi comedy-drama film written and directed by Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval (in his directorial debut), produced by Santhosh T. Kuruvilla, and starring Soubin Shahir, Suraj Venjaaramood, Kendy Zirdo, and Saiju Kurup . The music was composed by Bijibal. In the plot, Subrahmannyan (Soubin) goes to Russia for work, leaving his old-age father Bhaskara Poduval (Suraj) with an Android robot (Kakethapan) to take care of him who hates the idea.

Android Kunjappan Version 5.25
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRatheesh Balakrishnan Poduval
Produced bySanthosh T. Kuruvilla
Written byRatheesh Balakrishnan Poduval
Starring
Music byBijibal
CinematographySanu Varghese
Edited bySaiju Sreedharan
Production
company
Moonshot Entertainments
Distributed byMaxlab Cinemas and Entertainments
Release date
  • 8 November 2019 (2019-11-08) (Kerala)
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam
Budget150 rupees

Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 was released in Kerala on 8 November 2019. It received positive critical response and was one of the commercially successful Malayalam films released in the year.

Plot

Bhaskara Poduval is a stubborn old man, residing in Payyanur with his son Subramanian, a mechanical engineer. Due to his fear of dying alone, he forces his son to quit any and every job that he gets. Finally in frustration Subramanian (Chubhan), insists on going to Russia as he has got a job in a Japanese firm there. Once there he meets Hitomi, daughter of a malayali father and a japanese mother, in love with the malayalam language and all things malayali. They get very close to each other and Hitomi tells Chubban of her father who died of Alzheimer's. She also introduces him to the robotic home nurse who took care of him during his last days. While repairing the robot he gets a call from his cousin taking care of his father telling him that the home nurse Chubban had employed to look after his father was no good and that he should immediately return. Chubban feels bad that he cannot take care of his father and he discusses the idea of quitting with Hitomi and his boss. His boss asks him why he would want to give up a promising career for something someone else can do. Chubban returns home with the latest Android robot version 5.25 to take care of his father. Although initially hesitant, Bhaskara Poduval reluctantly starts accepting the Android robot into him into his life, unexpectedly becoming too attached to it. He names it Kunjappan and slowly the robot becomes irreplaceably close to his heart. The remaining story talks about how their relationship develops and the fact that with age, the elderly need extra care and affection from their children.

Cast

Production

Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 marks the directorial debut of Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval who also wrote the screenplay. Soubin Shahir was the first actor to be cast in the film.[1] For the role of 80-year old Bhaskara Poduval, he first searched for an older actor, but Shahir and producer Santhosh T. Kuruvilla suggested Suraj Venjaramood who was half the age. The film is set in Payyannur, Kannur district and the characters speak Kannur dialect. When Thiruvananthapuram-based Suraj was brought on board, who is known for his Thiruvananthapuram accent, Poduval thought of giving the character a Thiruvananthapuram background to justify the mixed accent. But Suraj spoke the Kannur accent so well that such a change was not necessary. For the half Japanese half Malayali character Hitomi, the plan to bring any Japanese actors proved to be difficult and they cast Kendy Zirdo who was from Arunachal Pradesh. For the Android robot, the plan was to use VFX throughout the film, but due to budget constraints, the production team manually built a robot that works with a remote control.[2]

Filming began in Saint Petersburg, Russia in May 2019.[3] It was completed in July 2019.[4]

Soundtrack

The film features songs composed by Bijibal with lyrics by Harinarayanan and A. C. Sreehari.

Release

Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 was released in Kerala on 8 November 2019 and outside Kerala and the United States on 21 November.

Critical reactions

The New Indian Express rated 4 out of 5 stars and said that "this is one of those films whose synopsis can be described in one line but explores a myriad of conflicts, emotions, and themes ... the overall effect is that of watching a live-action Pixar film. Android Kunjappan is one of the best films of the year", also praised the actors' performances, particularly Suraj's.[5] Sify rated 3.5 in a scale of 5 and wrote: "With an interesting idea, the writer-director packages an engaging drama with smart scenes, with a good dose of comedy and sentiments ... Android Kunjappan version 5.25 is a delightful comedy that may not be perfect, but gives enough good moments to the viewer" and praised the "terrific form" of Suraj.[6] Firstpost also rated 3.5 out of 5 stars, stating that "Android Kunjappan is unrelentingly funny, yet it is at all times profoundly philosophical", the film's "all-round adorability overshadows its flaws and moments of hesitation" and that Shahir is "pitch perfect" and Suraj is "astonishingly good".[7]

Rating 3.5 out of 5 stars, Manorama Online said that "Android Kunjappan has a fresh and intriguing plot ... even though the focus is on AI and futurism, the sharp satirist in Ratheesh is at play throughout the film. As the scriptwriter, he has managed to craft some caricature-like characters and situations suited for a rustic scenario, without affecting the flow of the movie even a bit".[8] The News Minute also rated 3.5 out of 5, and stated that "this story about an old man and a robot is very, very refreshing indeed for the Malayalam film industry. It has its flaws, but the rawness of the script is endearing", but "the script however falters towards the last many minutes, when it seems to lose direction", but "as far as debuts go, however, this one scores, and Ratheesh's name shall be remembered", while also praise Suraj's performance.[9]

The Times of India rated 3 out of 5 stars and states that there are many wonderful moments in the first half, "be it as technology, some refreshing comic bits, novel characterisations, story settings and more, the film impresses", but after interval "the kind of nemesis created for Kunjappan is impact-less, and the presentation of complications in the situation also emerge a bit dull". Still, "the movie can reward someone with a taste for sci-fi comedies".[10] The Hindu wrote that "at the core, the filmmaker is handling an age-old theme in our cinema, on the need to take care of the elderly ... although there is the expected moralising that comes with the theme, the film almost stays clear of preaching ... the scriptwriter appears a little clueless as to how to end it all, which probably led to the slightly contrived climactic sequences", but praised the performance of Suraj.[11] Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion South wrote "The small scenes work beautifully but the bigger themes aren’t handled as well. And the unhinged ending is tonally off".[12]

Box office

In the overseas opening weekend, it grossed £4,770 (₹4.4 lakh) from 51 screens in the United Kingdom, A$5,858 (₹2.86 lakh) in Australia, and US$2,905 (₹2.09 lakh) from 4 screens in Canada.[13] In two weeks, it amassed US$4,746 (₹3.41 lakh) in Canada and £7,394 (₹6.85 lakh) in the UK,[14] and in three weeks, US$22,717 (₹16.16 lakh) in the United States and A$7,150 (₹3.48 lakh) in Australia.[15] According to Kerala Film Producers' Association's statistics, Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 is one among the seven Malayalam films out of the 192 films released in 2019 that profited from the box office revenue alone.[16]

References
  1. Shrijith, Sajin (23 September 2019). "Soubin Shahir was always our first choice for 'Android Kunjappan ver 5.25': Director Ratheesh". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  2. Cris (12 November 2019). "Why Ratheesh Poduval made 'Android Kunjappan', a film about a lonely old man and a robot". The News Minute. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  3. "Soubin Shahir's 'Android Kunjappan Ver 5.25' starts shooting in Russia". The Times of India. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  4. "Soubin Shahir's Android Kunjappan shoot wrapped up". The New Indian Express. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  5. Shrijith, Sajin (10 November 2019). "Android Kunjappan Movie Review: A witty and competently made cautionary tale". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  6. "Review : Android Kunjappan version 5.25 review: A good mix of (2019)". Sify. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  7. Vetticad, Anna M. M. (18 November 2019). "Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 movie review: A crotchety old man bonds with a robot in Kerala". Firstpost. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  8. Ragesh, G. (8 November 2019). "Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 review: This Soubin-Suraj movie is here to steal your hearts". Malayala Manorama. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  9. Cris (9 November 2019). "'Android Kunjappan Ver 5.25' review: Suraj-Soubin's film is funny and endearing". The News Minute. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  10. Soman, Deepa (8 November 2019). "Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 Movie Review : A sci-fi tale with an impressive first half". The Times of India.
  11. "'Android Kunjappan Version 5.25' review: Lessons from a robot-best friend". The Hindu. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  12. "The Very Likeable And Entertaining 'Android Kunjappan Version 5.25' Could Have Used More Focus". FilmCompanion.
  13. "Pagalpanti collects approx. 660k USD in overseas". Bollywood Hungama. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  14. "Commando 3 collects approx. 210k USD [Rs. 1.5 cr.] in overseas". Bollywood Hungama. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  15. "Pati Patni Aur Woh collects approx. 967k USD [Rs. 6.86 cr.] in overseas". Bollywood Hungama. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  16. Kishore, P. (24 December 2019). "Malayalam cinema 2019: the hits and misses from 192 movies". Malayala Manorama. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
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