Twenty:20 (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Twenty:20
Twenty-20.jpg
Promotional poster
Directed byJoshiy
Written byUdayakrishna
Siby K. Thomas
Produced byDileep
Starring
CinematographyP. Sukumar
Edited byRanjan Abraham
Music bySuresh Peters
Berny Ignatius
Production
companies
Distributed byManjunatha Release
Kalasangham Films
Release date
  • 5 November 2008 (2008-11-05) (India)
Running time
170 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam
Budget₹18 crore (US$2.5 million)
Box officeest. ₹27 crore

Twenty:20 is a 2008 Indian action thriller film written by Udayakrishna and Siby K. Thomas and directed by Joshiy. The film stars Mohanlal, Mammootty, Suresh Gopi, Jayaram and Dileep. The film was produced and distributed by actor Dileep through Graand Production and Manjunatha Release. The film was produced on behalf of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) as a fundraiser to financially support actors who are struggling in the Malayalam film industry.[1] All the actors in AMMA worked without payment in order to raise funds for their welfare schemes.[2] The film features an ensemble cast, which includes almost all major artists in Mollywood.[3] The music was composed by Berny-Ignatius and Suresh Peters.

The first two-week distributors share of the film stood at ₹5.72 crore (US$800,000).[4] The film managed to secure third position (with 7 prints, 4 in Chennai) in Tamil Nadu's box office in its opening week.[5] The total number of opening prints releasing inside Kerala was 117; outside Kerala, approximately 25 prints were released on 21 November 2014, including 4 prints in the US and 11 prints in the UAE.[4] The film collected ₹23.75 crore (US$3.3 million) in its total run. It was the highest-grossing film in Malayalam cinema until Pazhassi Raja released in 2009 .[6]

Plot[]

Retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Viswanathan Menon (Madhu) and his wife come home to celebrate Vishu with his children and grandchildren, and hopes to spend the remainder of his life in tranquillity. The big joint family arrives and prepares to celebrate through the weekend, but plans go awry when Menon's grandson Arun Kumar (Indrajith Sukumaran), a medical student in Bangalore, is accused of murdering a fellow student.

The Superintendent of Police, Antony Punnekkadan (Suresh Gopi), who has a grudge against Menon's children, attempts to take Arun into custody. Arun goes into hiding, but Antony finds him and seizes him from the hideout. The Menon family hires ace criminal lawyer Ramesh Nambiar (Mammootty), who bails Arun out of jail. Vinod Bhaskar (Jayaram), a doctor and Professor of Medicine, wants to testify against Arun but is kidnapped by Karinkal Peethambaran, a thug hired by Menon's children.

Arun gets murdered, and Superintendent Punnekkadan arrests Devan (Mohanlal), a poor trader who happened to be at the scene. Devan's sister and his mother tells Ramesh that Devan is innocent and that he is being framed by Punnekkadan. Ramesh takes the case, proves Devan's innocence in court, and Devan is released. Minutes after the release, Ramesh encounters Devan, who introduces himself as Devaraja Prathapa Varma, a crime boss. It is revealed that Devaraja and his assistants deceived Ramesh into believing that Devaraja was innocent. Devaraja reveals that he is the real killer and that he tricked Ramesh as retribution for saving Arun. Devaraja plans to avenge the brutal murder of his brother Karthik Varma, who was killed by Arun and his cousins Mahindran and Ganeshan.

This triggers a feud between Devaraja and Ramesh. When Devaraja tries to kill the last two relatives involved in the crime, Ramesh sets a trap. Devarajan escapes but is eventually arrested by Superintendent Punnekkadan. Ramesh learns the truth about the murder at the Bangalore Medical College from Vinod Bhaskher, who is a teacher there and a close friend of Devarajan. Ramesh's sister Ashwathy (Bhavana) is a student at the Bangalore medical college when she witnesses Arun killing a girl at the school. Arun, along with his two relatives Mahindran and Ganeshan, apprehends Ashwathy, inject her with morphine, and Arun rapes her. Aswathy's boyfriend Karthik (Dileep) attempts to save her, but he is killed, and Aswathy falls into coma.

When Ramesh finds out Devarajan was actually trying to kill the criminals who defiled his sister, he is full of remorse. He remembers when Devarajan warned him that he would regret knowing the truth.

Devaraja escapes from police custody with the help of a police officer, and he kills Ganeshan. Then Ramesh kills Mahindran, and Superintendent Antony kills Arun's father Madhavan (Siddique). The case is abandoned when the Superintendent lets them walk free, knowing that otherwise, they would escape anyway.

Cast[]

Production[]

Twenty:20 was made as a fundraiser for the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA). The script was written by Uday Krishna and Sibi K Thomas. As a producer, Dileep was the main investor in the project, and he bought the rights of the film for 40 million. He officially handed over the money to AMMA a year before. The film shooting officially started at a ceremony held in Hotel White Fort, Kochi, with Dileep handing over the advance to Joshi.[7] The filming was primarily held in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. A song sequence in the film was shot in Mauritius.[8] The shooting of the film started on 7 December 2007 and finished in October 2008.

Meera Jasmine, who was slated to act in the film opposite Dileep, dropped out, citing a shortage of dates. There were reports that the AMMA was planning a ban on her regarding the issue.[9] However, no ban was pronounced and Meera Jasmine was replaced with Bhavana.

The High Court of Kerala issued a stay preventing the government's planned action of allowing a 50% premium to be charged for tickets in a case where the plaintiff argued that the state only had the right to offer tax breaks on the making of films.[10]

Release[]

Theatrical[]

Twenty:20 was released on 5 November 2008.

Home media[]

Moser Baer home entertainment released the VCD and DVD of the movie in India.[11] Surya TV owns the broadcast rights for Twenty:20.[12]

Reception[]

Critical response[]

Indian film review website Sify.com described the ensemble cast as the "Mother of all multi-starrers".[13] The site called the film a "stylish, racy and never a dull moment super entertainer."[14] The reviewer went on to write that the film "is a winner all the way" and that "it is a blockbuster in the making and is refreshingly fresh, innovative entertaining and highly recommended". Rediff.com rated the film 3/5, calling it "surprisingly good" and gave credit to the director Joshi for "designing a miracle".[15] It also received the Asianet Film Award for Best Film.

Box office[]

Twenty20 released in 115 theatres and grossed more than ₹1 crore (US$140,000) in the opening day which was highest at that time,[16] The first week distributors share of the film stood at ₹30.3 million (US$420,000), making it the first highest grossing Malayalam film in the opening week.[4] Twenty:20 opened at the external market on 21 November 2008 with approximately 25 prints, including 4 prints in the US, 11 prints in the UAE, and 7 prints in Tamil Nadu.[4] It completed 100 days in 10 centres,[17] and got a distribution share of about ₹10.5 crore (US$1.5 million) from Kerala alone.[18] The film completed 150 days in theatres.[19] The film collected ₹27 crore (US$3.8 million) in its total run. It was the highest-grossing film in the history of Malayalam cinema until the movie Pazhassi Raja crossed the record set by Twenty:20 in 2009.[6][20]

Music[]

Twenty:20
Soundtrack album by
Suresh Peters and Berny-Ignatius
ReleasedOctober 2008
GenreFilm soundtrack
LanguageMalayalam
LabelManorama Music

The audio launch of the film was held in a function at Mohanlal's own[21] Hotel Travancore Court, Eranakulam. AMMA president and actor Innocent released the audio CD by handing it over to actress Manju Warrier, who was the wife of actor Dileep, the producer of the film.[22] The music rights of the film were reportedly purchased for a record price by Manorama music. The music CD pack carries a bonus VCD of the video film The Making of Twenty:20.[23] There are three songs in the album, one by composer Berny-Ignatius ("Sa re ga ma pa") and others by Suresh Peters.

Track listing[]

There are three tracks in the album: three vocals and the karaoke versions of them. The lyrics of the songs were penned by Gireesh Puthenchery.

Song Singer(s) Composer Notes
"Oh Priya" Shankar Mahadevan, Jyotsna Radhakrishnan Suresh Peters Picturised on Dileep, Bhavana
"He Dil Deewana" George Peter, Suresh Peters, Sunitha Sarathy Suresh Peters Picturised on Nayantara, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Jayasurya, Kunchacko Boban, Manikkuttan and Indrajith Sukumaran.
"Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa" Dr. K. J. Yesudas, Madhu Balakrishnan, Afsal, Franco, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Jassie Gift, K. S. Chithra, Sujatha Mohan, Jyotsna Radhakrishnan, Rimi Tomy, Anitha Berny-Ignatius Title song.[24] (Tribute to yesteryear actors)

References[]

  1. ^ The Hindu (June 2006), "AMMA office-bearers assume charge", The Hindu, Chennai, India, archived from the original on 3 January 2013, retrieved 25 December 2008
  2. ^ IANS (29 June 2015). "Mammootty attends AMMA meeting, discusses plans for raising funds". Kochi. IBN Live. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  3. ^ Nicy (7 October 2014). "Shaji Kailas Confirms Next Film with Mohanlal and Mammootty". International Business Times. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Sify Movies (21 November 2008), T:20 International opening, archived from the original on 2 February 2013, retrieved 25 December 2008
  5. ^ IndiaGlitz (9 December 2008), 'Twenty: 20' makes it to Top 5, retrieved 29 December 2008
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Pazhassi Raja". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  7. ^ AMMA (November 2007), First step taken for 'AMMA's Film, archived from the original on 14 January 2009, retrieved 25 December 2008
  8. ^ Sify Movies (September 2008), Dileep and Bhavana in Mauritius!, archived from the original on 2 November 2008, retrieved 25 December 2008
  9. ^ AOL India (8 May 2008), Meera Jasmine in Twenty:20?, retrieved 25 December 2008
  10. ^ "Court directive to government". The Hindu. 6 November 2008. Archived from the original on 6 May 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  11. ^ "Moser Baer Acquires 'Twenty 20'". indiaglitz.com. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  12. ^ "TWENTY:20". in.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  13. ^ Sify Movies (3 December 2008), Mother of all multistarrers!, archived from the original on 6 December 2007, retrieved 25 December 2008
  14. ^ Sify Movies, Twenty20 review, archived from the original on 9 November 2008, retrieved 25 December 2008
  15. ^ Rediff (November 2008), Twenty20 review, retrieved 25 December 2008
  16. ^ "'Twenty 20' breaks Kerala box-office record". Mathrubhumi. 10 November 2008. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  17. ^ "Kerala Box Office (Jan 2009)". Sify. 9 February 2009. Archived from the original on 18 June 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  18. ^ "Drishyam crossed 'T20' to become the biggest Malayalam grosser ever". breakingmovies.in. Retrieved 19 October 2014.[unreliable source?]
  19. ^ "Twenty:20 celebrates glorious 150 days". Filmibeat. 16 June 2009.
  20. ^ "Hariharan- MT Vasudevan prepare for Randamoozham - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  21. ^ "A Cochin holiday with Mohanlal". dnaindia.com. 19 July 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  22. ^ "Mega audio launch of Twenty:20". filmibeat.com. 17 October 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  23. ^ "Twenty:20 audio launched!". bizhat.com. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  24. ^ Manorama Online (October 2008), Twenty:20 Tracklist, retrieved 30 December 2008

External links[]

Retrieved from ""