Pokkiri Raja (2010 film)

Pokkiri Raja (English: Rogue Raja) is a 2010 Indian Malayalam-language action film written by the duo Udayakrishna-Siby K. Thomas, directed by debutante Vysakh and starring Mammootty, Prithviraj Sukumaran and Shriya Saran in the lead roles. The music is composed by Jassie Gift. The film marked the debut of Shriya Saran in Malayalam cinema.[2][3][4]

Pokkiri Raja
Film poster
Directed byVysakh
Produced byTomichan Mulakupadam
Written byUdayakrishna
Siby K. Thomas
Starring
Music byJassie Gift
CinematographyShaji Kumar
Edited byMahesh Narayanan
Production
company
Distributed byMulakuppadam Release
Release date
  • 7 May 2010 (2010-05-07)
Running time
136 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam
Box officeest.₹13 crore[1]

The film was released on 7 May 2010 in Kerala.[5] It was remade in Hindi as Boss & Telugu as Bhai. A sequel Madhura Raja released on 12 April 2019.

Plot

The film revolves around Madhavan Nair (Nedumudi Venu), who unknowingly kills a teenager, and his eldest son Raja takes the blame and is sentenced to jail for five years. After returning from jail, his father refuses to accept him still with no knowledge that his son was innocent, so Raja moves to Madurai and there, he rescues the life of the son of the village landlord Maniannan (Charan Raj), and then Raja turns his right hand and is named as Madurai Raja. Years later, he started being known as Pokkiri Raja (Mammootty), a fearsome kingpin. Meanwhile, Surya (Pritviraj), Madhavan's younger son, is a young, energetic, educated, naughty guy who is well-famous for his rowdyism in his village. He is sent to Ernakulam to his brother-in-law Sugunan (Suraj Venjaramoodu) to change his character, who is a scary cat. At Ernakulam, Surya falls in love with Aswathy (Shriya Saran), unknowing that she is the daughter of Rajendra Babu (Siddique), the City Police Commissioner. Sugunan takes advantage of Surya's character and sends him in his uniform to take care of some severe police cases. Surya gets arrested for this offence. Rajendra finds that Surya is in love with his daughter and charges Surya with another drugs case and makes it a non-bailable offence. Meanwhile, Rajendra plans to murder Surya in jail and gives the contract to Raja. At this point, Madhavan goes to Madurai in search of his elder son who left for Madurai 10 years back, and asks for his help to rescue his younger son Surya. After realising that Surya is his brother, Raja starts the game to help his family and end Rajendra.

Cast

Production

The film was launched by Mammootty with the absence of Prithviraj and Shriya Saran at Changanassery on 30 December 2009. Veteran director Joshi lighted the ceremonial lamp at the function.[6] Shooting of the film began on 11 January 2010 at various locations in Pollachi and Ernakulam.[7] Prithviraj's song 'Manikyakallin Mukkuticharhtum' song was first shot. The shooting completed within 50 days with a production cost around 5 crores and distribution works started in April. Audio was launched in April at Ernakulam. The dubbing of the film was happen at Kochi.[8] A song was planned to shoot at London featuring the lead pair Prithviraj and Shriya Saran but had to canceled because of volcanic ash from london has stopped the airport from fly in or out any flight.[9] While actress Shriya Saran get stranded with Tamil actor Arya at London while shooting for their film Chikku Bukku.[10]

Release

The film got released in 110 screens in India, with 90 of it in Kerala.[11]

Reception

Critical response

Indiaglitz.com reviewed it as a "masala fiesta" and commented that the cinematography and editing are the main highlights of the film, also said "Vysakh as a debutant director has made a decent entertainer and the young man is definitely destined to go places in mainstream Malayalam cinema".[12] Paresh C. Palicha of Rediff.com onelined as "Pokkiriraja disappoints" and rated 2/5 stars, he criticize the script does not care for logic or storytelling. But Prithviraj packaged as a wholesome entertainer does not disappoint. And concluded "Pokkiriraja may supposedly achieve the super hit status with the help of the fans. But, for the genuine viewer, it is a disappointment".[13] Sify.com called it "mass masala" and commented as it doesn't have a decent storyline but appreciating the visuals. And said the writers have succeeded in allotting equal importance to both the lead actors. But criticized the lack of logic in the script.[14] Veeyen of Nowrunning.com rated 2/5 stars and heavily criticized the script saying "I just have one simple question to ask. Is it too much to ask for a simple, good story in films?", also said "Pokkiri Raja" is like a fusion of Tamil and Telugu cinema, but sadly of the 80's.[15] Gayathry V. Pillai of One India stated "The movie is somewhat similar to a Tamil film with lots of actions, songs and punch dialogues" and called it a "mass masala entertainer", and criticized the length.[16]

Box office

The film was made on a budget of ₹7.80 crore, and costed ₹8.30 crore after adding print and publicity cost.[17] It grossed ₹13 crore at the box office.[1][18] The film was a commercial success.[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] The film completed 100 days in a theatre.[27]

Soundtrack

The music is composed by Jassie Gift and Theme music by Rajamani. The album contains 6 songs. The songs will be featured throughout the film except the other version of Ketile Kettile song. Kaithapram contributed the lyrics. This audio was released on 8 April 2010.[28]

All lyrics are written by Kaithapram.

No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Manikinavain"K. J. Yesudas, Sujatha Mohan3:12
2."Kettille, Kettille"Vijay Yesudas, Rijiya, Anwar Sadat3:25
3."Manickya Kallil"Jassie Gift, Malathy, Ananthu4:00
4."Chenthengil Ponnilaneeru"Ranjith, Anwar Sadat, Suchitra, Rijiya3:50
5."Pokkiri Raja Theme"  
6.UntitledRajamani, Chorus 

References
  1. Manoj Nair (21 May 2011). "Malayalam movies: Non-linear narratives are making the box-office ring louder". =The Economic Times.
  2. Shreya debuts in malayalam. Sify.com. Retrieved on 20 June 2014.
  3. Pillai, Gayathry V (3 December 2009). "Shriya to step into Mollywood". Entertainment.oneindia.in. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012.
  4. George, Vijay (17 February 2010) Sriya Saran makes her entry into Mollywood with Pokkiri Raja. The Hindu.
  5. Pokkiri Raja released. Sify.com. Retrieved on 20 June 2014.
  6. "'Pokkiri Raja' Movie Launch". IndiaGlitz. 5 January 2010.
  7. "Pokkiri Raja – A trendsetter in the cards". IndiaGlitz. 8 April 2010.
  8. "Prithvi with Shreya in London for 'Pokkiri Raja' song shoot". nowrunning.com. 13 April 2010.
  9. Pillai, Sreedhar (20 April 2010). "Volcanic ash causes jitters in Kollywood!". The times of india.
  10. "Volcanic ash causes delay in Kollywood!Hindi version of the movie is Boss(Akshay Kumar)". sifymovies. 20 April 2010.
  11. "Pokkiri Raja beats T:20 record!". Sify. 19 May 2010.
  12. "Pokkiri Raja – Is a masala fiesta". IndiaGlitz. 10 May 2010.
  13. Palicha, Paresh C (10 May 2010). "Pokkiriraja disappoints". rediff.com.
  14. "Pokkiri Raja". sifymovies. 10 May 2010.
  15. "Pokkiri Raja Review". nowrunning.com. 8 May 2010.
  16. Pillai, Gayathry V (10 May 2010). "Pokkiri Raja-Movie Review". oneindia.in.
  17. Chandrakanth Viswanath (25 December 2016). "The Tiger Behind Pulimurugan". The New Sunday Express. Retrieved 16 January 2017. Remember, the film which was made on a budget of ₹7 crore 80 lakh...
  18. Unni R. Nair (25 June 2010). "Pokkiri Raja rules box-office". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  19. "Akshay Kumar to remake Pokkiri Raja". The Times of India. 11 June 2011.
  20. "Kerala Box-office (May 7-31, 2010)". Sify. 31 May 2010.
  21. "Roar of the southern tigers". The New Indian Express. 5 November 2016.
  22. "A Muslim-Hindu comedy clash". Gulf News. 8 January 2015.
  23. "The first gift for 'Pulimurugan' success came from Mammootty: Vysakh..." Malayala Manorama. 17 November 2016.
  24. "From Boss to Kyon Ki, 5 times Bollywood biggies made flops of South Indian remakes". Catch News. 5 May 2016.
  25. "Multistarrer era comes to Mollywood". The New Indian Express. 5 June 2011.
  26. "Top 10 Malayalam actors of 2010". Sify. 30 December 2010.
  27. "Kerala Box-Office (Aug 1-15)". Sify. 16 August 2010.
  28. "Pokkiri Raja Music Review". IndiaGlitz. 3 May 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.