Classmates (2006 film)
Classmates is a 2006 Indian Malayalam-language coming-of-age romantic comedy-drama film directed by Lal Jose and written by James Albert. The film stars Prithviraj Sukumaran, Narain, Jayasurya, Indrajith Sukumaran and Kavya Madhavan with Jagathy Sreekumar, Balachandra Menon and Radhika in supporting roles. Alex Paul composed film's music while Rajeev Ravi handled the cinematography. The story revolves around the college graduate class of 1991. In 2006, working in different corners of the world, the friends get together for a class reunion to revive the joy and laughter of their student days. On the night  of the reunion, one of the classmates is almost murdered and goes into a coma. The film was released on 31 August 2006 to positive reviews from critics and became the highest-grossing Malayalam film of 2006. It is considered by many critics as one of the best campus based films in Malayalam. The film developed a cult following in the years after its release and is frequently referenced in popular Keralite culture. With the release of film, the concept of alumni meetings started trending in Kerala, and schools and colleges started organising such get togethers to help the ex -students keep in touch with each other. The film is now regarded as a classic in Malayalam cinema. The film went on to win the Kerala State Film Awards for Best Popular Film (Prakash Damodaran and P. K. Muralidharan) and Best Story (James Albert). It was later remade into Tamil as "Ninaithale Inikkum" starring Prithviraj himself, and in Telugu and Marathi as "Classmates" (2007) and "Classmates" (2015), respectively. Plot. The film centres on a group of classmates who attended the same Chemistry class in their final year of college. Among them, Murali (Narain) is a singer and P. Sukumaran (Prithviraj ) is a firebrand leader of the left-winged students union. Pius (Indrajith), a rich and spoiled brat of parents settled in the Gulf, is the campus Romeo and Sukumaran's best friend. Sukumaran's rival, Satheesan (Jayasurya), leads the opposite faction of student politics and is aided by his sidekick, Valu Vasu (Vijeesh). Thara Kurup (Kavya Madhavan) is the daughter of the Member of the state Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Muvattupuzha; she is a dancer who regularly wins awards for the college with her performances. It was Murali's dream to have a reunion, but he mysteriously dies before the  reunion can be organised. His parents, Professor Iyer (Balachandra Menon) and Lakshmi Teacher ( Shobha Mohan), both teachers at the college, decide to fulfil their departed son's dream and bring his classmates together for a reunion. Sukumaran is now a diamond dealer based in Mumbai, a rich and successful businessman earning in crores and is a divorcee. Satheesan is now an MLA, following his dreams to become a minister , while Vasu continues to be his sidekick. Pius is now settled in the Middle East, while Thara, still unmarried, runs a dancing school. The coming together of these classmates is the  occasion for them to relive the past and to discover how Murali died. When all are together, Razia (Radhika) arrives. Sukumaran attempts suicide but it is later discovered that it was not a suicide attempt but a murder attempt. The suspense is revealed one by one. In the end, Sukumaran moves to Mumbai while all greet him while he feels Murali too greeting him. Reception. The film was a box office success. It broke many box office records and spawned a whole new genre of college-based films in the Malayalam film industry. The film completed 150 days run in  Thiruvananthapuram and 100 days in Kottayam and Ernakulam as well. The film went on to gross 20 crores (US$ 3.06 million) and became the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year 2006. Remakes. "Classmates" has been remade in Tamil as "Ninaithale Inikkum", with Prithviraj playing the lead again. Narain is replaced by Shakthi Vasu and Kavya is replaced by Priyamani. A Telugu remake titled "Classmates", with Sumanth and Sadha playing the lead roles, released in 2007. In 2015 It was remade in Marathi as "Classmates". Soundtrack. The songs were written by Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma and composed by Alex Paul