Maniyarayile Ashokan

Maniyarayile Ashokan is a 2020 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film directed by Shamzu Zayba. The film stars Jacob Gregory and Anupama Parameswaran in the lead roles,[1] the latter made her debut as working as the assistant director in the film.[2] The cast also includes Krishna Sankar and Shine Tom Chacko.[3] The film was produced by Gregory and Dulquer Salmaan, in his newly established production company Wayfarer Films, who made a cameo appearance along with Nazriya Nazim and Anu Sithara as other characters.

Maniyarayile Ashokan
Poster
Directed byShamzu Zayba
Produced byDulquer Salmaan
Jacob Gregory
Screenplay byVineeth Krishnan
Story byMagesh Boji
StarringJacob Gregory
Anupama Parameswaran
Narrated byDulquer Salmaan
Music bySreehari K. Nair
Shihas Ammadkoya (lyrics)
CinematographySajad Kakku
Edited byAppu N. Bhattathiri
Production
company
Wayfarer Films
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • 31 August 2020 (2020-08-31)
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was directly released through Netflix on 31 August 2020.[4] The film received mixed reviews from critics.[5]

Plot

It is Set in a village, the film starts from the wedding night of Ashokan (Gregory), when the newly-wed wife asks him whether this is his second marriage. Ashokan then recalls his earlier dreams of getting married.

As Ashokan is a single man past "the marital age", he is always grilled by questions from his villagers and relatives including his cousin Ajayan (Sunny Wayne) who never misses a chance to tease him. Apart from his loving parents, Ashokan is supported by his friends Ratheesh (Krishna Sankar) and Shaiju (Shine Tom Chacko) who stands by him through thick and thin.

Ashokan's father (Vijayaraghavan) and Narayanan (Kunchan) brings a proposal to Ashokan to marry Narayanan's daughter - Anju (Shritha Sivadas). But Anju rejects the proposal saying that Ashokan isn't fair or tall enough.

Later Ashokan gets to know about Shyama's (Anupama Parameswaran) love for him. Despite convincing Shyama's family into marriage, the marriage is called off as Ashokan's horoscope predicts the death of his first wife. Ashokan becomes heartbroken. Meanwhile, Ratheesh falls in love with Rani Teacher and they get married.

Ashokan consults an astrologer and seeks solutions for the problems in his horoscope.The astrologer asks him to marry a plantain so that no human will get hurt. Ashokan finds a plantain of his choice and marries it. He considers the plantain as a real human wife and talks to it regularly. Later the plantain falls off and Ashokan's heart breaks. But it is then revealed that two corms from the wife-plantain is taken and planted again. Ashokan consider these two plantains as his kids.

A new marriage proposal comes but Ashokan is reluctant to agree because he is already married. His friends tries to make him understand the reality but are in vain. Later Ratheesh brings him into a mental health facility and after talking to his cousin, Arjun ( Dulquer Salmaan) he becomes normal. He then agrees to the marriage proposal and marries Indu (Nazriya Nazim). And on the wedding night he replies to his wife that this is his first marriage.

Cast

Production

It was reported that Dulquer Salmaan will make his debut in film production, for his upcoming project directed by Shamzu Zayba. Anupama Parameswaran announced her return to Malayalam cinema after a hiatus of five years since Premam (2015), and she further revealed that, she would work as an assistant director for this film apart from doing one of the lead roles.[6] After registering his maiden production company titled Wayfarer Films, Dulquer announced the project as their maiden production, which was titled Maniyariyile Ashokan.[7] Comedian-turned-director Ramesh Pisharody was the one who suggested the title for the film.[8] Although Maniyarayile Ashokan was announced as the first production, Wayfarer released Varane Avashyamund to theatres first.[9]

Soundtrack
Maniyariyile Ashokan
Soundtrack album by
Sreehari K. Nair
Released31 July 2020
Recorded2020
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length21:44
LanguageMalayalam
LabelWayfarer Films
ProducerSreehari K. Nair

The soundtrack album was composed by Sreehari K. Nair, with lyrics by B. K. Harinarayanan, Muzammil Kunnumal, Shamzu Zayba, Ajeesh Dasan, Amir Pallikal and Shihas Ahmedkoya. The song "Unnimaya" was sung by Dulquer Salmaan and Jacob Gregory.[10][11] The soundtrack album was released on 31 July 2020.

No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Peyyum Nilaavu"B. K. Hari NarayananK. S. Harisankar3:46
2."Engo Ninnu"Muzammil KunnumalSuchith Suresan4:31
3."Olu"Shamzu ZaybaSid Sriram3:43
4."Thornidathe"Ajeesh DasanSreehari K. Nair3:42
5."Vidacholi"Amir PallikalSreehari K. Nair3:57
6."Unnimaya"Shihas AmmedkoyaDulquer Salmaan, Jacob Gregory2:01

Release

Maniyarayile Ashokan was scheduled for a release on 10 April 2020, which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was made available on the streaming platform Netflix on 31 August 2020, coinciding with the Onam festival.[4] The film later had a television premeire via Asianet on 27 September 2020, after its release through OTT platform.[12]

Reception

The Times of India gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and stated "Maniyarayile Ashokan is a slice-of-life story with a genuine dose of humour."[13] Behindwoods gave a rating of 2.75 out of 5 and stated "Maniyarayile Ashokan is a simple story with a big heart, in spite of the slow narration. Watch out for Dulquer and Nazriya’s surprise cameos!"[14] Writing for the Hindustan Times, Haricharan Pudipeddi stated "The film, which revolves around Ashokan (Jacob Gregory) and his attempts to get married, is lighthearted and fun to watch despite its slightly predictable ending."[15] The News Minute gave 3 out of 5 and stated "The typicality of Ashokan’s life, however, fades in the latter part of the film. It starts with some strange advice from a priest but goes on to affect the man all too much. Gregory easily adapts to this new character that emerges from the village guy with the government job. As with the rest of the movie, director Shamzu doesn’t let this unusual part stick too much and the movie ends as sweetly as the description of the village it began with."[16]

Sify gave 2 out of 5 and stated "Maniyarayile Ashokan is a below average comedy-drama which fails to impress."[17] The Indian Express gave 1 out of 5 stars and stated "Shamzu Zayba did not clearly think through the idea. The half baked plot resules in the wannabe slice-of-life movie."[18] Anna M. M. Verticad of Firstpost gave the same and stated "The confirmation of Dulquer’s hotness in a cameo that he spends mostly attired in a Navy outfit is the only worthwhile takeaway from Shamzu Zayba’s Maniyarayile Ashokan."[19] Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion wrote "In trying to make the proceedings “entertaining”, the film cheats its protagonist, who remains a flat line from start to finish."[20] A review from The Hindu stated "The Malayalam film manages to make us empathise with the protagonist’s plight, but one cannot miss the fact that it does become absurd and unbelievable beyond a point."[21]

References
  1. George, Anjana (6 January 2020). "Anupama Parameswaran returns to M-town through Maniyarayile Ashokan". The Times of India. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  2. "I enjoyed working in Maniyarayile Ashokan as AD: Anupama Parameshwaran - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  3. Service, Express New (5 October 2019). "Dulquer Salmaan's production titled 'Maniyarayile Ashokan'". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  4. English, Mathrubhumi (16 August 2020). "'Maniyarayile Ashokan', produced by Dulquer Salman, gets an OTT release". Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  5. "Maniyarayile Ashokan Review: A charming tale that celebrates little moments in life" – via timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
  6. Service, Express News (29 May 2019). "Anupama Parameswaran turns assistant director". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  7. Deccan Chronicle, Shalkie (4 October 2019). "Dulquer Salmaan's Wayfarer starts exploring". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  8. .Com, TimesofIndia (4 October 2019). "Dulquer Salmaan's first production venture is titled 'Maniyarayile Ashokan' and here's who gave the name". The Times of India. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  9. Desk, Entertainment (8 February 2020). "Ayyappanum Koshiyum and Varane Avashyamund movie release: Highlights". The Indian Express. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  10. "Dulquer, Jacob Gregory record a track for Maniyarayile Ashokan - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  11. "Dulquer and Gregory rock quirky love song, Unnimaya - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  12. World, Republic. "Dulquer Salmaan-produced 'Maniyarayile Ashokan' to premiere on TV soon, see details". Republic World. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  13. Maniyarayile Ashokan Review: A charming tale that celebrates little moments in life, retrieved 2020-11-28
  14. "Maniyarayile Ashokan (aka) Maniyaraile Ashokan review". Behindwoods. 2020-08-31. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  15. "Maniyarayile Ashokan review: A quirky take on what defines Indian marriages". Hindustan Times. 2020-08-31. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  16. "'Maniyarayile Ashokan' review: Jacob Gregory is endearing in this romantic entertainer". The News Minute. 2020-08-31. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  17. "Maniyarayile Ashokan review: Below average comedy-drama". Sify. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  18. "Maniyarayile Ashokan review: A half-baked slice-of-life film". The Indian Express. 2020-09-01. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  19. "Maniyarayile Ashokan movie review: Dulquer Salmaan looks hot in a Navy uniform — that's it - Entertainment News , Firstpost". Firstpost. 2020-09-04. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  20. Rangan, Baradwaj (2020-08-31). "Maniyarayile Ashokan, On Netflix: A Sweet-Natured Romance That Needed To Be Sharper, Quirkier". Film Companion. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  21. Praveen, S. r (2020-09-01). "'Maniyarayile Ashokan' movie review: Slips and falls on its own quirkiness". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
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