Chaappa Kurishu

Chaappa Kurish
Theatrical Poster
Directed by	Sameer Thahir
Written by	Sameer Thahir Unni.R
Produced by	Listen Stephen
Starring	Fahad Fazil Vineeth Sreenivasan Roma Remya Nambeesan Nivetha
Cinematography	Jomon T. John
Music by	Rex Vijayan
Production company	Magic Frames
Distributed by	Central Pictures
Release date	July 15, 2011 (2011-07-15)
Country	Template:Film India
Language	Malayalam

Chaappa Kurish (Malayalam: ചാപ്പാ കുരിശ്, English: Head or Tail) is a 2011 Malayalam thriller film co-written and directed by Sameer Thahir and starring Fahad Fazil, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Roma, Remya Nambeesan and Nivetha in the lead roles. The film started production in April 2011 at Ernakulam and released on 14 July to mostly positive reviews.

The film marks the directorial debut of Sameer Thahir who has cinematographed films like Big B and Daddy Cool.

Plot

The film revolves around the lives of two persons in extremes. On the one end is Arjun (Fahad Fazil), who is excavating riches by being in the booming construction business. He wants to be successful at any price. He moves around in plush chauffer driven cars, uses state-of-the-art phones, and flirts with the telemarketing ladies. And, has a full-fledged affair with his subordinate Sonia (Remya Nambeesan), even though he is preparing to be engaged to his family friend's daughter Ann (Roma).

At the other end there is Ansari (Vineeth Sreenivasan), who lives in a slum and works in a supermarket doing odd jobs that include cleaning toilets, sweeping floors and being an errand boy for his supervisor. He is diminutive, almost a dwarf and looks like he is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. His lifestyle is frugal and unchanging. A major chunk of his earnings go home by old fashioned money order. Ansari has a soft corner for his co-worker Nafeeza (Nivetha), and she reciprocates his feelings.

The crux of the movie is the missing of a mobile phone that contains some personal clippings of Arjun with Sonia. The phone missing happens when Arjun gets engaged to Ann. The phone accidentally reaches the hands of Ansari and he keeps that as a treasure. Arjun gets upset over the loss of the phone. As the phone contains some obscene clips, Arjun tries to recover it from Ansari. He is afraid of a possible You Tube version of those photos. Arjun makes several calls to his missed phone but Ansari always kept it switched off. Arjun got terribly frustrated.

Finally, Ansari attends the call, but not ready to give the phone back to Arjun. Ansari undergoes a total change in his character after the phone incident and Nafeeza notices it. Under pressure from Nafeeza, Ansari opens up. Realising the seriousness of the matter, Nafeeza asks Ansari to return the phone to its owner.

Meanwhile, battery of the phone becomes empty. Ansari is financially incapable of buying a charger for the sophisticated handset. So he takes the phone to a shop. This is the turning point of the film. After tracing the clippings, the shop owner uploads the video on the You Tube. As it spreads like wild fire, it affects Arjun's marriage. At this stage, the film takes the main diversion.

Cast

• Vineeth Sreenivasan as Ansari
• Fahad Fazil as Arjun
• Roma as Ann
• Remya Nambeesan as Sonia
• Nivetha as Nafeeza

Production

Title

"Chappa Kurishu" means Head or Tail in Malayalam. Sameer Thahir says: "While I was writing the script itself, giving shape to the main male leads, Arjun and Ansari, i knew that they were the two sides of the same coin. So I thought of ‘Heads and Tales’ as the title. But I wanted it in the colloquial lingo. It's called 'Changum Chappayum' in Kollam, 'Thalayum Valum' in Kottayam, 'Raja Kozhi' in Thrissur and 'Chaappa Kurish' in Cochin. And I belong to Cochin."

Casting

The director says: "As the script took shape, Vineeth Seenivasan and Fahad Fazil, two wonderful actors, seemed to fit perfectly as the characters of Ansari and Arjun. In the movie they are one and the same but stand at two extremes just like the head and tail of a coin."

Filming

Chappa Kurishu was launched by actor Kamal Haasan at the 100th day function of Traffic. The film was produced by Listin Stephen who also produced Traffic. The film started production in April 2011 at Ernakulam. It was director Anwar Rasheed who introduced Sameer Thahir to Listin.

Controversies

By the Release of the Trailer itself Chaappa Kurishu has kick started controversies. There is some similarities between trailer title insets of American drama film 21 Grams directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga, released in 2003. The director says: "It was a blunder on my part. I did not give much thought to it while I adopted those lines. Now that it has been asked, it is actually doing good to the movie. So I really don’t mind."

Another controversy was a five minute smooch between Remya Nambeesan and Fahad Fazil, the first of its kind in Malayalam cinema. However, the scene is highly relevant to the context. Remya says: "An actress should always be ready to take risks if her character demands so. Even when I was aware that the two- minute intense scene could create waves, I was sure that it was inevitable as it suited the plot. A sense of necessity made me accept that scene. I think director Sameer Tahir brought out the best in me. In fact, I enjoyed doing the scene". The director says: "We live in the 21st century and this is no big deal any more. Kissing and making love is part of life. That scene is very relevant to the script. And it is very aesthetically done. It’s part of the movie’s soul. So there is no reason why I should not include that."

External links

• Film Review - Deccan Chronicle
• Film Review - City Journal
• Film Review - Rediff.com