Charlie (2015 Malayalam film)

Charlie
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Martin Prakkat
Screenplay by	Martin Prakkat Unni R.
Story by	Unni R.
Produced by	Shebin Becker Joju George Martin Prakkat
Starring	Dulquer Salmaan Parvathy Aparna Gopinath Nedumudi Venu Soubin Shahir
Cinematography	Jomon T. John
Edited by	Shameer Muhammed
Music by	Gopi Sunder
Production company	Finding Cinema
Distributed by	Playhouse Release, Tricolor Entertainment
Release date	24 December 2015 (2015-12-24)
Running time	135 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Malayalam
Box office	₹420 million[2]

Charlie is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language adventure drama film directed by Martin Prakkat and written by Prakkat and Unni R.^[3] Produced by Prakkat, Joju George and Shebin Becker, the film stars Dulquer Salmaan and Parvathy.^[4] The music is composed by Gopi Sundar, while Jomon T. John handles the cinematography. The film released on 24 December. It won 8 awards at the 46th Kerala State Film Awards, including Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Cinematography. It was remade into Marathi and Tamil as Deva and Maara, respectively.^[5][6]

Plot

Tessa is a graphic artist who runs away from home to avoid an unwanted matrimonial alliance. With the help of her journalist friend, she acquires a rented apartment in a dilapidated house. Initially, she hates the tattered place, but soon she learns that the room was previously occupied by a carefree vagabond named Charlie. When she starts cleaning up, she discovers a photo and a graphic novel about this man. The sketches in the novel depict the events from the previous New Year's Eve when a small-time thief tried to rob the man's room. In a turn-of-events, the man joined him in his nightly theft routine and snuck up on the roof of another house. But there, they encountered something shocking that left them stunned. The novel stops there abruptly with sketches of the dumbstruck faces of Charlie and the thief on the last page. This piques Tessa's curiosity about the rest of the story, as well as the previous occupant of the room.

Intrigued, Tessa starts looking for the people in the man's sketches. Backtracking his steps, she meets the man's "father" (who is more of a friend). She also comes across a boat servant named "Pathrose" who tells her the story of Mariya/Queen Mary. Mariya was a middle-aged woman, who was sexually exploited by her procurer husband in her youth. Once, Charlie took the now terminally ill Mariya to the sea at midnight with the help of Pathrose for her birthday. But Mariya jumped into the ocean to her death, that left Charlie stunned with shock and grief. Following up on more clues, Tessa gets news that Charlie is staying in a hotel and rushes to meet him. However, she misses him just by a few seconds. Later a helper boy in the hotel explains to her that Charlie had just rescued Mariya's daughter from her father's exploitation, after creating a ruckus.

A few days later, by the stroke of luck, Tessa meets the thief depicted in that man's sketches and inquiries about the rest of the story from New Year's Eve. He tells her that on that day, they had encountered a young woman on the verge of suicide, and his sir (Charlie) stopped her from hanging herself, after which she escaped from the scene on her bike. Tessa and the thief locate the woman's house and finally identify her as Dr. Kani from the latter's father.

Tessa travels to Ooty to find Kani and inquires about her story. Kani explains that she was depressed over her broken relationship when she did her first independent operation, leading to the death of a 10-year-old girl. Further hooked by the media, she was desperate and about to commit suicide on new year's Eve when she was distracted by that man (Charlie). He brought her to a shelter home maintained by Kunjappan in Ooty and she has been living there since. Kunjappan, an old man, is a hopeless romantic who is waiting for his teenage love Thresia to show up.

Tessa spends a good time in Ooty but her trip comes to an abrupt end as her brother and mother find her and take her home against her wishes. While a depressed Tessa is on her way back home, Charlie returns with Kunjappan's long lost love Thresia, who is a nun now, and they again miss each other by a few seconds.

Later, Kani informs Charlie about Tessa, and he admits knowing about her and her search for him. Though initially reluctant to love, Charlie is forced to rethink after hearing Kunjappan and Kani. Next morning, he sneaks out early and informs Kani that he will be attending the Thrissur Pooram function, and Tessa can find him there if she's looking for him.

Tessa reaches the Pooram grounds and finds him performing in a magic show. Afterward, he spots her, approaches, and asks her if she wants to have some drink. At first, she introduces herself as Shruti Raman and lets him think that he has met the wrong person. But as the festival starts, Charlie's antics make her confess that she is indeed Tessa and he too reveals his name to be 'Charlie'. As the credits roll, they are seen wandering together towards a new journey in life.

Cast

• Dulquer Salmaan as Charlie
• Parvathy as Tessa
• Aparna Gopinath as Kani
• Nedumudi Venu as Kunjappan
• Chemban Vinod Jose as Mathai/Pathrose
• Kalpana as Queen Mary/ Mariya
• Soubin Shahir as Sunikuttan/ Mr. D'souza
• Neeraj Madhav as Ansari
• P. Balachandran as Usman Ikka
• K.P.A.C.Lalitha as Rahel Ammachi
• Seetha as Tessa's mother
• Reshma Sebastian as Shahina (Tessa's friend)
• Master Minon as Balan Pillai/Room Boy
• Ramesh Pisharody as Sojan
• Jayaraj Warrier as Vaattu Jose
• Surjith Gopinath as Aadu Abootty
• Renji Panicker as Panicker Doctor (guest appearance)
• Joy Mathew as Umer (guest appearance)
• Tovino Thomas as Georgy (guest appearance)
• Nassar as magician (guest appearance)
• Rajesh Sharma as Queen Mary's Husband

Remakes

Year	Film	Language	Cast	Director
2017	Deva	Marathi	Ankush Chaudhari, Tejaswini Pandit, Spruha Joshi	Murali Nallappa
2021	Maara	Tamil	Madhavan, Shraddha Srinath, Sshivada	Dhilip kumar
2024	Surjo	Bengali	Vikram Chatterjee, Madhumita Sarcar, Darshana Banik	Sheiladitya Moulick

Production

Principal photography began on 25 May 2015 in Idukki. IBTimes reported that it will be an experimental film and each actor will be spotted in a new look. The film was shot at various locations in Kochi, Munnar and Gujarat.^[3] The filming was completed by September 2015.^[7]

Music

Further information: Charlie (2015 soundtrack)

Charlie
Soundtrack album by Gopi Sunder
Released	7 December 2015 (2015-12-07)
Recorded	2015
Studio	Sound Factory, Cochin
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	27:37
Label	Muzik 247
Gopi Sunder chronology
Ennu Ninte Moideen (2015) Charlie (2015) Two Countries (2015)

The film's soundtrack was composed by Gopi Sunder and the lyrics were written by Rafeeq Ahamed and Santhosh Varma. The songs were released on 7 December 2015.^[8] "Chithirathira" sung by Vijay Yesudas was released separately on 21 December.^[9] A promotional video of Dulquer Salmaan singing "Chundari Penne" was released on 24 December.^[10]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Akale"	Rafeeq Ahammed	Malgudi Shubha	3:59
2.	"Pularikalo"	Rafeeq Ahammed	Shakthisree Gopalan, Md. Maqbool Mansoor	5:46
3.	"Puthumazhayai — Version I"	Rafeeq Ahammed	Shreya Ghoshal	4:33
4.	"Oru Kari Mukilinu"	Rafeeq Ahammed	Vijay Prakash	4:41
5.	"Sneham Nee Naadha"	Rafeeq Ahammed	Rajalakshmi	4:05
6.	"Puthumazhayai — Version II"	Rafeeq Ahammed	Divya S. Menon	4:33
7.	"Chithirathira"	Santhosh Varma	Vijay Yesudas	4:39
8.	"Chundari Penne"	Santhosh Varma	Dulquer Salmaan	3:55
Total length:				36:11

Reception

List of accolades received by Charlie

Accolades Award Won Nominated Asianet Film Awards 2 2 Asiavision Awards 1 1 Filmfare Awards South 0 7 IIFA Utsavam 7 11 Kerala State Film Awards 8 8 Mirchi Music Awards South 4 7 North American Film Awards 8 8 South Indian International Movie Awards 0 6 Vanitha Film Awards 3 3
Total number of awards and nominations[a]
Totals	33	53
References

Box office

The film collected ₹20 million on the first day from Kerala box office,^[11] and grossed ₹144 million in 22 days of release.^[12] The film completed a 100-day theatrical run in Kerala and grossed ₹224.2 million at the Kerala box office.^[13] In its lifetime, Charlie grossed ₹420 million at the global box office.^[2]

Critical reception

Describing the film as a "tantalizing love tale", Vishnu Varma of The New Indian Express rated it 4 stars out of 5 and stated, "‘Charlie’ is a feel-good movie, but it does not stop there. It plays around brilliantly with raw emotions centered around a character who wants to be free."^[14] Litty Simon of Malayala Manorama rated it 3.25 out of 5, concluding "Dulquer's Charlie is a simple, feel good film that will make you smile this festive season. Although not an out-and-out entertainer, Charlie has the elements to be tagged as a wacky entertainer, filled with all what is needed — celebration, surprises, patience, faith, care, and above, all love!"^[15] Website Nowrunning gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5, stating "Charlie could be termed an audacious attempt but grandiose visions don't necessarily translate into well-crafted cinema. Pared down expectations could make it a reasonable weekend watch."^[16]

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony[b]	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Asianet Film Awards	7 February 2016	Best Actress	Parvathy Thiruvothu	Won	[17]
		Best Supporting Actress	Kalpana	Won
Asiavision Awards	18 November 2016	Best Music Director (Shared with Kali and Pulimurugan)	Gopi Sundar	Won	[18]
Filmfare Awards South	18 June 2016	Best Film – Malayalam	Charlie	Nominated	[19]
		Best Director – Malayalam	Martin Prakkat	Nominated
		Best Actor – Malayalam	Dulquer Salmaan	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor – Malayalam	Nedumudi Venu	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress – Malayalam	Kalpana	Nominated
		Best Music Director – Malayalam	Gopi Sundar	Nominated
		Best Lyricist – Malayalam	Rafeeq Ahamed ("Oru Kari Mukilinu")	Nominated
IIFA Utsavam	28—29 March 2017	Best Film – Malayalam	Charlie	Nominated	[20] [21]
		Best Director – Malayalam	Martin Prakkat	Won
		Best Story – Malayalam	Unni R.	Won
		Best Actor – Malayalam	Dulquer Salmaan	Won
		Best Actress – Malayalam	Parvathy Thiruvothu	Nominated
		Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Malayalam	Aparna Gopinath	Won
		Best Performance In A Comic Role – Malayalam	Soubin Shahir	Won
		Best Music Director – Malayalam	Gopi Sundar	Won
		Best Lyricist – Malayalam	Santhosh Varma ("Chundari Penne")	Won
		Best Male Playback Singer – Malayalam	Dulquer Salmaan ("Chundari Penne")	Nominated
		Best Female Playback Singer – Malayalam	Shreya Ghoshal ("Puthumazhayai")	Nominated
Kerala State Film Awards	1 March 2016	Best Director	Martin Prakkat	Won	[22]
		Best Actor	Dulquer Salmaan	Won
		Best Actress	Parvathy Thiruvothu	Won
		Best Cinematography	Jomon T. John	Won
		Best Screenplay Original	Unni R. & Martin Prakkat	Won
		Best Art Director	Jayashree Lakshmi Narayanan	Won
		Best Processing Lab	Prasad Colour Lab, Mumbai, J. D. & Kiran	Won
		Best Sound Mixing	M. R. Rajakrishnan	Won
Mirchi Music Awards South	27 July 2016	Album of the Year	Charlie Gopi Sundar	Won	[23] [24]
		Listeners Choice Album of the Year		Won
		Music Composer of the Year	Gopi Sundar ("Oru Kari Mukilinu")	Nominated
		Lyricist of the Year	Rafeeq Ahamed ("Oru Kari Mukilinu")	Won
		Male Vocalist of the Year	Vijay Prakash ("Oru Kari Mukilinu")	Won
		Female Vocalist of the Year	Shreya Ghoshal ("Puthumazhayai")	Nominated
		Song of the Year	"Oru Kari Mukilinu"	Nominated
North American Film Awards	24 July 2016	Best Film	Charlie	Won	[25] [26]
		Best Director	Martin Prakkat	Won
		Best Actor	Dulquer Salmaan	Won
		Best Actress	Parvathy Thiruvothu	Won
		Best Scriptwriter	Unni R. & Martin Prakkat	Won
		Best Music Director	Gopi Sundar	Won
		Best Female Playback Singer	Divya S. Menon ("Puthumazhayai")	Won
		Best Supporting Actress	Kalpana	Won
South Indian International Movie Awards	30 June – 1 July 2016	Best Film – Malayalam	Charlie	Nominated	[27]
		Best Director – Malayalam	Martin Prakkat	Nominated
		Best Actor – Malayalam	Dulquer Salmaan	Nominated
		Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Malayalam	Kalpana	Nominated
		Best Male Playback Singer – Malayalam	Dulquer Salmaan ("Chundari Penne")	Nominated
		Best Female Playback Singer – Malayalam	Shakthisree Gopalan ("Pularikalo")	Nominated
Vanitha Film Awards	21 February 2016	Best Actress	Parvathy Thiruvothu	Won	[28]
		Best Supporting Actor	Chemban Vinod Jose	Won
		Best Cinematography	Jomon T. John	Won

Notes

1. Awards in certain categories do not have prior nominations and only winners are announced by the jury. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.
2. Date is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.

References

1. "CHARLIE (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
2. "'Charlie' worldwide box office collection". International Business Times. 5 March 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
3. "'Charlie' First Poster: Dulquer Salmaan Spotted in Trendy New Look". International Business Times. 15 June 2015.
4. "Dulquer starts shooting for 'Charlie'". Sify. 15 June 2015. Archived from the original on 15 June 2015.
5. James, Anu. "Dulquer Salmaan's Charlie gets Marathi version: Deva teaser trends on top; netizens have a field day [Memes]". International Business Times, India Edition. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
6. "'ചാർലി'യുടെ തമിഴ് റീമേക്ക് എത്തുന്നു: ദുൽഖറിന്റെ റോളിൽ മാധവൻ".
7. "Dulquer Salmaan wraps up 'Charlie', starts shooting for Rajeev Ravi's next". International Business Times. 25 September 2015.
8. "Charlie: Listen to songs of Dulquer Salmaan-Parvathy starrer". IBTimes. 8 December 2015.
9. "Gopi Sunder continues top form in new 'Charlie' song". Malayala Manorama. 21 December 2015.
10. "Video out: Dulquer sings 'Chundari Penne' for 'Charlie'". Malayala Manorama. 25 December 2015. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016.
11. സ്വന്തം ലേഖകൻ (30 December 2015). "ചാർളിയോ ലോഹമോ മുന്നിൽ ?". Malayala Manorama. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
12. Onmanaorama Staff (18 January 2016). "'Pavada' rules box office; 'Two Countries', 'Charlie' running successfully". Malayala Manorama. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
13. "Dulquer Salmaan gives 3 back-to-back hits at Kerala box office". International Business Times. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
14. "Charlie movie review: Dulquer Salmaan-Martin Prakkat weave a tantalising love tale". The Indian Express. 29 December 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
15. "'Charlie' review: In search of the free-spirited one". Retrieved 28 December 2015.
16. "Charlie Review — Now Running". Nowrunning. 25 December 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
17. "18th Asianet Film Awards". International Business Times. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
18. "Asiavision Movie Awards 2016 Winners". Malayala Manorama. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
19. "Nominations for the 63rd Britannia Filmfare Awards (South)". Filmfare. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
20. "IIFA Utsavam 2017: Malayalam nomination list". International Business Times. 14 March 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
21. "IIFA Utsavam 2017 Winners". International Business Times. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
22. "Kerala State Film Awards 2015". International Business Times. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
23. "Mirchi Music Awards 2015 Malayalam Nominations". Mirchi Music Awards. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
24. "Mirchi Music Awards 2015 Malayalam Winners". Mirchi Music Awards. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
25. "North American Film Award 2016 Winners". North American Film Award. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
26. "North American Film Award (NAFA) 2016 in US, winners list". International Business Times. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
27. "SIIMA Awards Malayalam Nominations". Scooptimes. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
28. "Vanitha Film Awards 2016". International Business Times. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2020.

External links

• Charlie at IMDb