ABCD: American-Born Confused Desi (2013 film)
ABCD: American-Born Confused Desi | |
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Directed by | Martin Prakkat |
Screenplay by |
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Story by | Sooraj-Neeraj |
Produced by | Shibu Thameens |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Gopi Sunder |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Thameens_films & Tricolor Entertainments PJ Entertainments (Europe) |
Release date |
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Running time | 167 minutes[1] |
Country | India |
Language | Malayalam |
Budget | ₹4.5 crore[2] |
ABCD: American-Born Confused Desi is a 2013 Indian
Plot
The story revolves around two rich spoilt brats who were born in the
They befriend a student and social worker, Madhumitha, from their college. Johns, out of romantic interest, takes part in Madhumita's social works and protests during which they get to know each other better. One of Madhumita's friends Seenamol, a journalist, publishes a fabricated article on Johns and Korah's poor upbringing and how they manage to survive on just ₹ 83 per day, which gains widespread popularity, making Johns and Korah overnight public figures. This triggers Akhilesh, the son of the late minister K. P. Ravi Varma, whose government claimed that ₹ 28 per day is enough to survive in the current economy. Johns and Korah's popularity is on the rise along with their frustration. Battling sociopolitical issues on their journey they realize one day that their only way to go back to the U.S. is by winning a competition called Youth Icon of the year and the prize money of ₹ 100,000. So, they participate in a protest which ends up in a police
Madhumita loans them money to go back to the US. However, Akhilesh tracks them down and confiscates their passports. Johns fights off Akhilesh but surrenders to law enforcement agencies. The ministry confirms in a press conference that Johns and Korah are not Indian citizens and, thus, are not legally allowed to be involved in sociopolitical matters of India and are hence being deported. Now back in America, Johns and Korah return Madhumita's loan while also expressing Johns' romantic interest in her but Madhumita has other plans. As the movie ends, during the family prayer, an anonymous person arrives in front of the duo's house and shouts for revenge for one of Johns' earlier pranks. Johns and Korah escape through the back door.
Cast
- Dulquer Salmaan as Johns Isaac
- Jacob Gregory as Korah Murikken
- Tovino Thomas as Akhilesh Varma
- Aparna Gopinath as Madhumitha (Voiced by Angel Shijoy)
- Vijayaraghavanas K. P. Ravi Varma
- Lalu Alex as Dr. Isaac Johns
- Sajini Sachariah as Susan
- S. P. Sreekumar as Lloyd Fernandes
- Sijoy Varghese as Police Commissioner
- S. M. Valiyaparambil as College Professor
- Shivaji Guruvayoor as Vennala Gopalan
- Krishnabhaskar Mangalasserri as Professor
- Chembil Ashokan as Zachariya
- Dinesh Panicker as Shekhar Pillan (cameo appearance)
- Kalpana as Selinamma
- Nandhuas Kunjachan (Extended Cameo)
- Kalasala Babu as Chief Minister
- Thampi Antonyas Thampi
- Kalabhavan Navas as Saji
- Surabhi Lakshmi as Seenamol
- Anand as Pothen
- Abi Varghese as Johns and Korah's cousin
- Savannah Schechter as Johns' girlfriend (cameo appearance)
- Krishnaprasad as Rent a Car Manager (cameo appearance)
- Santhakumari as Colony Lady (cameo appearance)
- Vinod Kedamangalam as Toddy Man (cameo appearance)
- Molly Kannamaly as Old Lady (cameo appearance)
Production
The project was announced a few months before its shoot, but acquiring the licence to shoot in the US delayed the commencement of the project.[8] Initially many actresses were considered for the heroine including Isha Talwar, but theatre artist Aparna Gopinath was selected for the role in her debut film.[9][10] Jacob Gregory, a mutual friend of Martin played the character of Korah. He himself showed interest in playing Korah and auditioned for the role. He had been part of the film from the scripting process itself.[11]
Filming
The shooting was announced to start in March 2013 in the U.S.
Release
The film was released on 14 June 2013.
Critical reception
Unni R Nair of Kerala9 stated that the movie is a "confused mess to an extent" and was "not up to the mark", but gave 3.5 stars in a scale of 5.[13] Sudheer Shah, writing for IndiaGlitz, awarded the movie 6.5 stars out of 10, concluding that "ABCD is one movie that must not be taken with any bit of seriousness." and that "If you have a few hours to laugh out for simple jokes that are not that intelligent, this is your movie."[14] Shekhar of OneIndia gave the movie 3/5 stars, called the movie "a wonderful comedy entertainer, which has an interesting story" and said that "If you are comedy lover, don't miss to watch this film."[15] Aswin J Kumar of The Times of India wrote that the movie is "watchable for the chemistry between Johns and Kora", giving it 3 stars.[16] Rahul of Metro Matinee rated the movie as Entertaining, while stating that "it entertains in full throttle, asks the right questions and provides moments of emotional ecstasy and angst, all of which is part and parcel of a feel good movie."[17] Paresh C Palicha of Rediff awarded the movie 2.5 stars, and wrote that the movie "is a showcase for Dulquer Salmaan; nothing more, nothing less."[18]
Box office
The film became a commercial success.[19][20] The film collected $48,711(₹36.31 lakhs) in three weeks from the United Kingdom box office.[6] The film collected around ₹12.5 crore from Kerala box office.[2] The film ran 101 days in theatres.[21]
Soundtrack
ABCD | ||||
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Film soundtrack | ||||
Length | 25:32 | |||
Language | Malayalam | |||
Label | Manorama Music | |||
Producer | Gopi Sundar | |||
Gopi Sundar chronology | ||||
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The music of the film is from Gopi Sundar.[22] The soundtrack features a remixed version of the song "Nayaapaisayilla" sung by Mehaboob for the 1960 film Neelisaali. This version is sung by Junior Mehaboob.[23]
No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Johnny Mone Johnny" | Santhosh Varma, Rafeeq Ahammed | Gopi Sundar, Anna Katharina Valayil | 4:20 |
4. | "Nayapaisayilla (Remix)" | P. Bhaskaran | Junior Mehboob, Anna Katharina Valayil, Asif Akber, San Jaimt | 4:20 |
Total length: | 25:32 |
References
- ^ "ABCD – AMERICAN BORN CONFUSED DESI (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
- ^ a b "Allu Sirish's 'ABCD' ready for summer release". The News Minute. 9 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Dulquar Salman Martin Prakkat Movie Titled ABCD | ABCD Dulquar Salman Movie – Online Movie And TV Reporter". Mallumoviereporter.com. 17 October 2012. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ "Dulquer Salmaan – Martin Prakkat movie titled as "ABCD"..? :News – Movie News, Film News, Cinema News – Malayalam Movie News". Metromatinee.com. 15 October 2012. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ Deepa Gauri (26 December 2013). "The best of Malayalam cinema in 2013". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
- ^ a b "ABCD: American-Born Confused Desi". Box Office Mojo. 3 July 2013.
- ^ "ABCD first look: Allu Sirish's film will release in February". 28 December 2018.
- ^ a b Shiba Kurian (18 October 2012). "Dulquer Salmaan as a confused desi!". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ Nambidi, Parvathy. "Aparna Gopinath dances her way to Mollywood". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ a b George, Vijay (8 November 2012). "Back to roots". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
- ^ Sathyendran, Nita (14 November 2012). "Life imitates art". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
- ^ "ABCD: In awe of Martin's visual mastery – The Times of India". The Times of India.
- ^ Unni R Nair (14 June 2013). "ABCD Malayalam Movie Review". Kerala9. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ Sudheer Shah (17 June 2013). "ABCD – American Born Confused Desi Movie Review". IndiaGlitz. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- OneIndia. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ Aswin J Kumar (16 June 2013). "ABCD Movie Review". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ Rahul (14 June 2013). "ABCD Film Review". MetroMatinee. Archived from the original on 17 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.Entertaining
- ^ Paresh C Palicha (17 June 2013). "Review: Malayalam film ABCD". Rediff.com. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ "Dulquer Salmaan's journey to stardom". Sify. 18 June 2019. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015.
- ^ "Allu Sirish on ABCD: We have only taken the soul of the Malayalam version". The Indian Express. 16 May 2019.
- ^ "ABCD' 101 DAYS CELEBRATION". Indiaglitz. 10 October 2013.
- ^ Nambidi, Parvathy (13 June 2013). "A frothy expat tale comes home". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ "That forgotten maverick's voice..." Archived 20 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Thehindu.com (3 January 2013). Retrieved 2015-07-18.
External links
- Official website
- ABCD at IMDb