| Ennum Eppozhum | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Sathyan Anthikad |
| Screenplay by | Ranjan Pramod |
| Story by | Raveendran |
| Produced by | Antony Perumbavoor |
| Starring | Mohanlal Manju Warrier Innocent Lena Reenu Mathews Jacob Gregory |
| Cinematography | Neil D' Cunha |
| Edited by | K. Rajagopal |
| Music by | Vidyasagar |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Maxlab Cinemas and Entertainments (Kerala) Four Brother's Release (India) MAS Film and Entertainment Ltd & Ashirvad UK (Europe Release) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 147 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Box office | ₹12 crore(Kerala)[1] |
Ennum Eppozhum (transl. Forever and always) is a 2015 IndianMalayalam-languagecomedy-drama film directed bySathyan Anthikad and written byRanjan Pramod based on a story byRaveendran. It was produced byAntony Perumbavoor under the production companyAashirvad Cinemas.[2] It starsMohanlal andManju Warrier, alongside a supporting cast, includingInnocent,Reenu Mathews,Jacob Gregory,Lena, andRenji Panicker. It also marked the reunion of Mohanlal and Manju Warrier after 17 years.[3][4]Ennum Eppozhum was released across India on 27 March 2015 and met with mixed reviews from critics. The film was a commercial success though at the box office.[5][6][7][8] The song "Malarvaka Kombathu" wonKerala State Film Award for Best Singer forP. Jayachandran.
Ennum Eppozhum tells the story of two people - Vineeth N. Pillai, a seniorreporter of Vanitharatnam magazine, who is a sloth and lacks inspiration in his work and Deepa, a junior family court lawyer who is eager to do pro bono cases for the goodwill of the society. Vineeth is holding on to this job due to his mother's rapport with the magazine management. Vineeth's new boss, Kalyani, wants to throw him out of his position due to his negligence in duty. He has to interview Deepa for the new edition of the magazine. However, he was not even able to present the need for an appointment with her due to Deepa's schedule and other commitments. Finally, Vineeth becomes close with Deepa, her child, and friends through a series of humiliating events. Out of pressure, he throws his resignation at Kalyani but is later reinstated in his post by her mother. Kalyani becomes attracted to Vineeth, but it leaves in the air without much response. Deepa lands in trouble and Vineeth helps her. The resulting events are narrated through the film.
Sathyan Anthikad announced that his next film afterOru Indian Pranayakadha will be aMohanlal-starrer forAashirvad Cinemas. SinceSnehaveedu (2011), Mohanlal and Sathyan have been collaborating after a gap of 4 years. Antony Perumbavoor has been the producer of all their movies sinceRasathanthram.[9] Initially, it was reported to be the comeback film of Sathyan Anthikad-Sreenivasan-Mohanlal team. Sathyan later denied the reports and said that he is planning a different project for Aashirvad Cinemas, even though a project with Mohanlal and Sreenivasan is also in the pipeline.[10]
AfterSnehaveedu, Sathyan made it clear that he would not be writing scripts for his own films. Since 2006, he has been writing his own scripts, which led to criticism that he is rehashing his earlier hits.[11] In March, Sathyan Anthikad announced thatRanjan Pramod will be scripting the film based on actorRaveendran's story.Ennum Eppozhum be the third film for Sathyan written by Ranjan afterManassinakkare (2003) andAchuvinte Amma (2005). Ranjan has earlier scripted Mohanlal starredNaran (2005) andPhotographer (2006) (which was also his directorial debut).Sameer Thahir was initially announced as the cinematographer and was later replaced by Neil D'Cunha ofPhilips and the Monkey Pen (2013) fame.Vidyasagar andRafeeq Ahammed returned as the music composer and lyricist, respectively afterOru Indian Pranayakadha.
Writing the script Ranjan said, "It is a challenge for any writer to pen a script to accommodate two brilliant actors like Mohanlal andManju with such huge fan followings." It was Antony Perumbavoor who called Ranjan to script the film. Earlier, Aashirvad Cinemas had an agreement with Ranjan to make a film with Manju which did not materialize. So, Antony asked him whether he would be able to write a script for her and Mohanlal. Ranjan had to postpone a film that he was planning to direct to script the film.[12]
In August, Manju Warrier was confirmed to play the female lead as Adv. Deepa. This is her first film with Mohanlal after her comeback. Reenu Mathews was roped in to play the role of Kalyani. She joined the sets in the second schedule in January.[13] Innocent plays the role of Kariachan, a retired postmaster whileLena plays Farah, Deepa's best friend cum a boutique owner. Jacob Gregory ofABCD: American-Born Confused Desi (2013) fame plays the role of videographer Maathan who assists Vineeth in his assignments.[14] Drama artist Usha S. Karunagapally plays the role of Kariachan's wife Rosy, a radio announcer while Baby Adhwika was chosen for the role of Deepa's daughter Miya.
The film was originally scheduled to start filming on 31 October 2014, and Mohanlal was said to join the next day.[15] The shoot commenced on 1 November 2014 atKochi.[16] The film took a schedule break on 15 November when Mohanlal went for hisAntarctica trip.[17][18] The second schedule commenced on 4 December. By the end of January 2015, the shooting got completed and entered intopost-production stage.[19] Sathyan Anthikkad who is known for naming his films only during its filming or in the post-production stage, officially announced the titleEnnum Eppozhum on 8 February.[20][21]
| Ennum Eppozhum | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 15 March 2015 | |||
| Recorded | Varsha Vallaki Studios | |||
| Genre | Feature Film Soundtrack | |||
| Length | 17:42 | |||
| Language | Malayalam | |||
| Label | Satyam Audios | |||
| Producer | Vidyasagar | |||
| Vidyasagar chronology | ||||
| ||||
All lyrics are written byRafeeq Ahammed; all music is composed byVidyasagar.
| No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Malarvaka Kombathu" | P. Jayachandran,Rajalakshmy | 4:48 |
| 2. | "Nilavum Mayunnnu" | K. S. Harisankar | 4:19 |
| 3. | "Dhithiki Dhithiki" | Binni Krishnakumar | 4:32 |
| 4. | "Pularipoo Penne" | Vijay Yesudas | 3:58 |
| Total length: | 17:42 | ||
The songDhithiki Dhithiki had Manju Warrier doing a classical dance. The song was composed in the raga Maand/Maund. The song "Pularipoo Penne" is based on "Adarale Pilla" fromMadhavayya Gari Manavadu.
The film was released on 27 March 2015 in 215 centers all overIndia (89 centers inKerala), making it the biggest release for aSathyan Anthikad cinema.[22] MAS Film and Entertainment distributed the film inEurope, while Achu and Achu's Creations inAustralia andNew Zealand, Singapore Coliseum inSingapore and Celluloid Japan inJapan.
The Blu-ray, DVD and VCD ofEnnum Eppozhum was released by Central Home Entertainment.[23]
The film mostly received mixed reviews.[24][25]
Malayala Manorama rated 3.5 out of 5 stars and said "The highlight of the film is its director-actors combo". "Ennum Eppozhum is for you, if you belong to that set of people who believe that films should be as light as possible since life is unbearably heavy".[26]Gulf News wrote "Ennum Eppozhum is a clean family drama.Ennum Eppozhummakes no lofty pretensions but narrates a simple story that could be yours, or your neighbour’s or maybe the woman up the alley".[27]The Hindu stated, "Ennum Eppozhum is a family drama that sans the drama.Ennum Eppozhum is buoyed by its star cast and a host of light moments though not particularly funny. This is the second in series aimed at bringing back star power ofManju Warrier. Its romance is treated with subtlety and without challenging conservative beliefs, making one drive to open conclusions and ‘drivel confusion’."[28]
Ennum Eppozhum opened well at the box office.[29] According to the Film Producers Association of Kerala, the film is a "Hit" even though it could not meet the high expectations of the audience. It was added that the film "would break even and certainly bring profits to the producer". The association also said that the report card for the first quarter of 2015 looked bleak except for the success ofOru Vadakkan Selfie and Ennum Eppozhum.[30] However, Suresh Shenoy stated that the Vishu festival season of 2015 had "turned out to be a dampener except for the continuing rush forOru Vadakkan Selfie".[31] The film is one of the profitable Malayalam films in the first half of 2015.[7][32] As per June 2015, the film grossed₹12 crore (US$1.4 million) from Kerala box office.[1][33]