| Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Vipin Das |
| Written by | Deepu Pradeep |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Neeraj Revi |
| Edited by | Johnkutty |
| Music by | Ankit Menon |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | AP International |
Release date |
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Running time | 135 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Budget | est.₹20 crore[2] |
| Box office | est.₹90.25 crore[3] |
Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil (transl. In front ofGuruvayoor Temple) is a 2024 IndianMalayalam-languagecomedy film directed byVipin Das, written byDeepu Pradeep and jointly produced byPrithviraj Productions and E4 Entertainment. The film starsPrithviraj Sukumaran,Basil Joseph,Nikhila Vimal andAnaswara Rajan.[4][5] The story revolves around a marriage happening atGuruvayur Temple and a friendly bonding between Anandan and Vinu, two soon-to-be brothers-in-law.
The film was released on 16 May 2024, and received positive reviews from critics, praising the cast performances (especiallyPrithviraj Sukumaran,Basil Joseph,Nikhila Vimal andAnaswara Rajan), humour, music, story, visuals, and climax and emerged as a commercial success at the box office, becoming as one of thehighest-grossing Malayalam films of all time and7th highest grossing Malayalam film of 2024.[6]
Vinu Ramachandran is a young executive working inDubai. He is engaged to Anjali and forms a close acquaintance with her brother, Anandan, who works as a plant manager at a factory inJamshedpur. It has been five years since Vinu's breakup with his ex-girlfriend, Parvathy but he still hasn't been able to move on. Anandan coaches Vinu in overcoming his feelings of betrayal. However, Anandan is also not leading a perfectly happy life, as he is temporarily separated from his wife who is also named Parvathy, after an anonymous letter slandering her had arrived to Anandan. Vinu, who now considers Anandan as the brother he never had, takes it upon himself to ensure happiness in Anandan's life and helps him reunite with Parvathy.
However, things go haywire when Vinu and Anandan meet in-person for the first time as it turns out that the Parvathy in both of their lives is the same person. Initially, Vinu tries to stop the wedding due to the awkward situation with the help of his friends, his brother and his colleague Kunjunni. However, Kunjunni backs out since Anandan is his friend from school, and he doesn't want to get involved. Later Vinu, after talking with Anjali, realizes their happiness is what matters, and decides to proceed with the wedding. Meanwhile, Anandan learns that Vinu's ex-girlfriend is his own wife. Thinking that the love letter sent to Parvathy was sent by Vinu, he immediately sets out to stop the wedding.
Kunjunni meanwhile decides to help Vinu and tries to ruin the wedding, but an angry Vinu slaps him, leading to Kunjunni joining Anandan's side to try to stop the wedding. Anandan tries to stop the wedding with the help of his uncles, who turns out are in a direct fight with Anandan's father Sudevan and have their own agenda to create problems. Meanwhile, Vinu's old friend turned enemy, Saravanan, whose marriage he had ruined unintentionally, as well as a stalker, George, who used to follow Anjali, try to stop the wedding by themselves.
Finally, on the day of the wedding, Anandan gets closure after talking with Parvathy and her father as well as his own parents and realises that they had known about Parvathy and Vinu long ago, but they hid the truth from him, to protect him. He also realises that the anonymous love letter sent to Parvathy was sent by his own uncles to create a rift in the family. After learning the truth and realising his mistake, Anandan trashes up Saravanan, George and Kunjunni as well as his uncles and their goons and proceeds to prevent any disruption to the wedding. Finally, Vinu marries Anjali amidst all the chaos and makes peace with Parvathy. The story ends happily with Vinu and Anjali, as well as Anandan and Parvathy, happy together.
The story was narrated toPrithviraj Sukumaran by screenwriter Deepu Pradeep. Initially, Prithviraj was supposed to portray the role of Vinu. Initially, another director was supposed to direct the film before being replaced by Vipin Das.[7] Announcement of the film came on January 1, 2023, by Prithviraj Sukumaran revealing that this was a story that he heard it over a year ago. Collaborating withBasil Joseph, the film would be directed byVipin Das after the success ofJaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey, and is written by Deepu Pradeep associating with E4 Entertainment.[8][9] The film will feature Ankit Menon as the music director, Neeraj Revi as the cinematographer and John Kutty as editor.[10] In March 2023, in an interviewBaiju Santosh said that Prithviraj Sukumaran will be playing an antagonistic character in the film.[11]
The film marks the first collaboration of Prithviraj Sukumaran and Basil Joseph.[12] Comedian Yogi Babu, was cast to play a role making his Malayalam cinema debut with the film.[13] He joined the cast on April 9, 2023.[14] Female leads wereNikhila Vimal and Anaswara Rajan; both of them joining the set on April 15, 2023.[15] Billed as a fun entertainer revolving around the events surrounding a wedding, the film would also haveSiju Sunny, Saaf,Joemon Jyothir,Jagadish,Rekha, Priya Sreejith,Irshad andP. P. Kunhikrishnan in other roles.[16]
Principal photography began on 12 May 2023 with a puja and switch on ceremony taking place at theGuruvayoor Temple.[17] A set replicating theGuruvayur Temple was constructed at Karattupallikkara inPerumbavoor municipality.[18] The second schedule of filming underwent inDubai and concluded in early July.[19] Prithviraj was supposed to join the filming during the third schedule, but it was delayed due to an injury sustained on the sets ofVilayath Buddha. He eventually joined the film in the last week of November inGuruvayur.[20] The fourth schedule was concluded inKochi by early January 2024.[21] The entire filming was wrapped up on 4 April 2024.[22]
The music and background score was composed by Ankit Menon andDabzee. The audio rights were acquired bySaregama. The first single "K For Krishna" was released on 5 May 2024.[23] The second single "K For Kalyanam" was released on 14 May 2024. The third single "K for Krishna 1.5x Retreat" was released on 21 May 2024 after the film's release. The fourth single "K For Kabaradakkam" was released on 25 May 2024 after the film's release.[24] The last single "K For Kurukku" was released on 28 May 2024.[25] The entire soundtrack album was released on 8 June 2024.[citation needed] The song "Azhagiya Laila" sung byMano from the filmUllathai Allitha (1996) and a small portion of "Kannaam Thumpee" sung byK. S. Chithra from the filmKakkothikkavile Appooppan Thaadikal (1988) was reused in the film.[26]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "K For Krishna" | Vinayak Sasikumar | Ankit Menon | Aju Varghese | 3:03 |
| 2. | "K For Kalyanam" | Suhail Koya | Ankit Menon | Ankit Menon, Milan Joy, Himna Hilary, Aruna Mary George, Indu Deepu, Sharath, Aravind Nair, Neelima P. Aryan, Parvatish Pradeep | 3:46 |
| 3. | "K For Krishna 1.5x Retreat" | Vinayak Sasikumar | Ankit Menon | Milan Joy, Aravind Nair, Amal C Ajith, Unni Elayaraja | 3:05 |
| 4. | "K For Kabaradakkam" | Asal Kolaar, Vinayak Sasikumar | Ankit Menon | Asal Kolaar | 2:11 |
| 5. | "K For Kurukku" | Dabzee, Vinayak Sasikumar | Ankit Menon Dabzee | Dabzee, Rish NK | 3:30 |
The film was released in theatres on 16 May 2024.[27]
The post-theatrical streaming rights of the film were bought byDisney+ Hotstar and started streaming from 27 June 2024,[28] and the satellite rights byAsianet.[citation needed]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 60% of 5 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5/10.[29]
Arjun Menon ofRediff.com rated 3.5/5 stars and observed, "Guruvayoorambala Nadayil is a no-holds-barred, silly comedy that will keep you glued to the screen even when the going gets tough towards the end but the smile on your face will not leave."[6] S R Praveen ofThe Hindu wrote, "Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil, which initially rides high on the novelty of the bromance and their humorous exchanges, finally ends up as quite average fare."[30] Anandu Suresh ofThe Indian Express wrote, " The most impressive aspect of the Vipin Das directorial is the on-screen chemistry between Prithviraj Sukumaran and Basil Joseph, who set the screen ablaze whenever they appear together with their remarkable handling of humour."[31] Janani K ofIndia Today rated 2.5/5 and wrote, "Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil' is a passable entertainer that has several moments that will have you laughing along with some shortcomings.[32]
Gopika Is ofThe Times of India rated 3/5 and wrote, " TheNandanam shoutout was cool but somehow the impact was lacking as it progressed. When Aravind Akash shows up on screen, the nostalgia element shoots up but when we reach the part where Anandan does an Unnimaya, it falls flat not because it was done poorly but by then the climax had already stretched on for too long. Ankit Menon's music boosts the energy of the film up, adding to the drama.[33] Vishal Menon ofFilm Companion wrote, "A Fun Modern-DayPriyadarshan Comedy About A Flawed Modern Mallu Family".[34] Latha Srinivasan ofHindustan Times wrote, "Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil is a complete laugh riot, coupled with splendid performances, that families will thoroughly enjoy. Prithviraj Sukumaran has another winner on his hands.[35] Swathi P Ajith ofOnmanorama wrote, "Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil' is a delightful family entertainer that guarantees laughter. For a delightful experience with family or friends, this movie is the perfect choice. "[36]
The film grossed over ₹50 crore at the box office within a week of its release.[37] It concluded its run with worldwide gross estimated to be ₹90.25 crore.[38]
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