Ayyappanum Koshiyum
Ayyappanum Koshiyum () is a 2020 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film written and directed by Sachy. It was produced by Ranjith and P. M. Sasidharan under the company Gold Coin Motion Picture Company. The film stars Prithviraj and Biju Menon. The story revolves around the conflict between Koshy Kurien, an influential and wealthy ex-Havildar and Ayyappan Nair, a Sub-inspector in Attappadi. The music was provided by Jakes Bejoy. Principal photography took place from October to December 2019. "Ayyappanum Koshiyum" was released on 7 February 2020. The film met with positive response from critics with praise for  performances, story, direction, dialogues, cinematography and its tradition to Kerala culture were praised. It was also a commercial success at the box office. A Telugu remake titled "Bheemla Nayak" was released on 25 February 2022. A Hindi remake is also in the making with John Abraham and Arjun Kapoor in leading roles. Plot. Koshy Kurien, as ex-Havildar in Indian army is on the way to Ooty with his driver Kumaran. Koshy is drunk and nearly passed out in the car's backseat with a case full of alcohol. They have opted to take the Attappadi route, which they did  not know was an alcohol prohibited region. There, the car is stopped on a routine traffic stop which is a combined police, forest and excise department checking. There on finding the alcohol in the car the excise officials manhandle Koshy. Koshy, irritated by this assaults the excise officer Faisal. On seeing this Police Inspector Ayyapan Nair steps in and restrains Koshy. Koshy is taken to the police station and FIR is filed on him in the online records system. Within minutes, officers are startled to see the name of well known political and media personalities on the contact list of  Koshy's mobile phone. Koshy reveals himself to be the son of Kurian John, himself a rich and influential ex-havildar from the Indian army living in Kattappana. Fussing over this and over consultation with his Circle inspector, Ayyapan Nair decides to go easy on him and reasons with him. Ayyappan reveals himself as a native of the area, and that he has only 3 years to retire. Koshy asks Ayyappan to let him return home for 5 days to spend Christmas, and promises to return for any jail sentence. But, Ayyappan refuses, stating that he has been booked under  non-bailable sections for assault and may not go home. Soon, Koshy fakes a meltdown and asks for some alcohol as he is an addict. Against his better instincts, Nair pours him some from the confiscated stock with help of a lady constable. Koshy secretly records this on his phone. Koshy is remanded to 12 days in Palakkad sub-jail, where he is visited by his family. After 12 days, Koshy gets bail on condition that he has to sign once every Monday and Thursday at Attapadi station. Upon his release, he uses the video footage to get SI Ayyappan  Nair and the lady constable Jessy suspended for breaking prohibition. Ayyappan is arrested, and his police medals are revoked. The next day he is brought out on bail by the Circle Inspector Sathish. The Circle inspector makes a compromise with Koshy's friend MLA George, that Koshy can sign for all future bail condition at same time, and end this melee, in return for not providing original video evidence at the enquiry against Ayyappan. After signing at the station, Koshy goes back on his word, and his lawyer submits the video proof at enquiry. Ayyappan has no answers to the  enquiry done by DSP and despite saving Jessy's job, he is sure that his job is lost. Koshy meets him outside the DSP office and boards the bus to Attapadi, seemingly to apologise to him. But, due to ego, they both challenge one another and Ayyappan states that, for him the space in the bus is not enough for a clash. Koshy goes away in his car. Furious at this blatant act of pride, Ayyappan savagely beats a small time crook Kuttamani (who was aiding Koshy), in front of Koshy and demolishes Mani's illegal building. Koshy, visibly horrified  at Ayyappan raining down fury on Mani, learns about Ayyappan's story from the C.I. He finds out that 25 years ago, Ayyappan who once was a brutal communist leader had killed 43 men who had been commissioned by the landlords to get rid of union workers during Kummatti festival at Mundoor. He was caught by then MLA Master Chathan and made to join the police force, He had also turned very mild. He finds out that Ayyappan had a nickname during those days of crime, Mundoor Maadan (vampire of Mundoor). Frustrated, Koshy goes to drink in Tamil Nadu. While  returning to Attapadi, Koshy's driver is arrested and his car is impounded. Left without mobile, purse and other options, Koshy starts to walk to Attapadi. Ayyappan picks him up on his bike and both taunt each other with death threats. Alighting from Ayyapan's bike, Koshy walks miles to Attapadi, where he is refused lodging as per Ayyappan's instructions. Koshy's phone is illegally given to Ayyappan by a young Constable. Ayyappan calls Koshy's dad and tells that his son will be in grave danger soon. Hearing about this and concerned for his son's safety, Kurian  John sends Koshy's cousins to aid him, and covertly sends professional assailants as a precaution for his son's safety. The next day, Koshy and Ayyapan fight inside the police station, and the circle inspector breaks up the fight/ The CI assigns two policemen to guard Koshy at all times. But, those policemen inform Ayyapan about Koshy's goons, and Ayyappan thrashes them black and blue. Koshy's dad uses his influence to get an arrest warrant for Ayyappan's wife (and thus their toddler son) as she was affiliated with a Maoist organisation years ago. Koshy visits his  home in kattapana and asks his dad to stop interfering in their tussle. Koshy's wife reprimands both of them and asks Koshi to amicably end the issue at once. Koshy realises that the peace of mind of his family is important than his ego and decides to end this issue peacefully. With help of his pastor cousin and lawyers, he frames a plan to save Ayyappan's job. While Koshy is away to help Ayyappan, the arrest warrant arrives and Ayyapan refuses to surrender his wife. This forces them to flee from Attapadi. Ayyappan drops her and his son  to safety, but Police reach there and arrest her before Ayyapan's eyes. Since Koshy is not in Attapadi, Ayyappan goes to Koshy's house in Kattappana to find him. After a brief showdown with Kurian, Ayyappan heads back to Attapadi to confront Koshy. Koshy demolishes Ayyappan's house as revenge for the showdown at Kattappana, and Ayyappan burns down Koshy's car with gunpowder. Both of them refuses to lodge complaint on one another, and monitoring the tense situation, police protection is assigned to Koshy. Kurian follows Ayyappan to Attapadi and tells Koshy that he will kill Ayyappan within  24 hours. Koshy informs police that his father is in Attapadi and that he was the one who sent goons to kill Ayyappan earlier. Kurien is arrested and imprisoned. When Ayyapan finally challenges Koshy, Koshy suggests an alternative, to have the showdown in the nearby Anaikatty town in the state of Tamil Nadu, beyond the jurisdiction of Kerala Police. Both face-off in a duel and after an epic showdown of exchanging blows, bear grips and tossing each other over a puddle of water, Ayyappan gains the upper hand and locks Koshy in a fatal bear grip . The DSP, CI  and the rest of the police who were clandestinely watching the fight intervene just when it seems that Ayyappan is going to kill Koshy and pull them apart. The Circle Inspector tells Ayyappan that Koshy framed himself as an alcohol addict, and Ayyappan had then poured alcohol for medical emergency to keep Koshy's blood alcohol level as required for proper functioning. This has resulted in all charges against Ayyappan being dropped and him being reinstated into the police force. Also, the IG of police cancelled Kannama's arrest and she will be released the next day. Ayyapan is brought  to Police station and is imprisoned for a day, till the rejoining order arrives. A year later, Ayyappan is transferred upon his request to Kattappana, after which he visits Koshy and shakes hands with him. Production. Development. "Ayyappanum Koshiyum" is the second directorial of writer-turned-director Sachy after "Anarkali" (2015) which also had Prithviraj Sukumaran and Biju Menon in the main roles. Written by Sachy himself, the film was produced by film director and Sachy's long-term friend Ranjith along with P. M. Sasidharan under the production company Gold Coin Motion Picture Company. The film's idea was  first formed as a story about the relationship between Koshi and his driver, Sachy had two real-life friends resembling them, a jewelry owner and his driver. Later, a police sub-inspector was introduced into the plot, which took the story into its present form. Prithviraj played the lead role and Menon had a supporting role in their last collaboration, "Anarkali". The film was titled "Ayyappanum Koshiyum" as Sachy wanted to state that both Prithviraj and Menon has equal importance in the story. Sachy did not have anyone in mind for the two lead roles while screenwriting. Their casting was  done after finishing the screenplay. Filming. Principal photography began in early October 2019 in Attappadi, Palakkad district. It was completed in early December 2019. Menon suffered burn injuries on hands and legs while filming in November. Soundtrack. The songs featured in the film and background score were composed by Jakes Bejoy, while the lyrics have been penned by B. K. Harinarayanan, Rafeeq Ahmed, and Nanchamma. The soundtrack album was released on 10 February 2020 by Manorama Music. Release. "Ayyappanum Koshiyum" was released on 7 February 2020. The film is available on Amazon Prime Video. Reception. Critical reception. It received positive  reviews from critics and audience alike. "The New Indian Express" wrote: "This is essentially a masterclass by Sachy on how to make a three-hour film by relying mostly on dialogues which carry enough power to not just reverberate through the walls of the movie hall but also each cell and nerve in your body. With a script like this, one doesn't need bullets or pyrotechnics to excite the audience. Sachy does that with his characters, a rare skill that not many filmmakers possess today in Malayalam cinema", and praised the performances. "The Hindu" wrote: "It is a dialogue -driven narrative, as much verbal as visual, but without over-punctuation or the burden of forced hilarity. The film also comes with a highly textured screenplay, creating an immaculate balance between lightness and intensity", and the cast gives a stand-out performance, also it is "nearly three hours of riveting reel time devoid of any customary gimmicks". Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion South wrote "...psychological flourishes make Ayyappanum Koshiyum a very different kind of masala movie about similar-yet-different, different-yet-similar men...as the film progresses, it becomes a very textured thing, with a bubbling undercurrent that keeps  questioning a very specific kind of masculinity". "The Times of India" said that it is "a commercial film that reflects contemporary socio-political situations aptly" and Sachy "smartly scripts a story" that explains the struggles between an honest police officer and a rich spoiled brat, "the director manages to hold the audience in that compelling mood from start to finish" and "apart from a carefully written script with interesting characterisation, the casting is a bonus". According to "The News Minute", "Prithviraj and Biju Menon spar in an engaging film ... the movie keeps you engaged for nearly all the three hours  with no dramatic twists or turns or characters turning a new leaf overnight". Box office. In the overseas opening weekend, it grossed US$36,253 (₹25.88 lakh) from 27 screens in the United States, US$3,562 (₹2.55 lakh) from 7 screens in Canada, and A$24,227 (₹11.65 lakh) from 7 screens in Australia. It grossed US$87,791 (₹65.03 lakh) in United States in five weeks, A$47,689 (₹23.04 lakh) in Australia in four weeks, NZ$28,012 (₹12.71 lakh) in New Zealand in three weeks, US$22,400 (₹16.17 lakh) in Canada in three weeks, and £ 48,267 (₹44.74 lakh) in two weeks. In its lifetime, "Ayyappanum Koshiyum" grossed ₹520 million at the global box office.