Gangster (2014 film)

Gangster
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Aashiq Abu
Written by	Ahmed Sidhique Abhilash S. Kumar
Produced by	Aashiq Abu
Starring	Mammootty Sekhar Menon John Paul Kunchan T. G. Ravi Nyla Usha Aparna Gopinath Alexx O'Nell
Cinematography	Alby
Edited by	Saiju Sreedharan
Music by	Deepak Dev
Production company	OPM
Distributed by	Aan Mega Media (America)
Release date	11 April 2014 (2014-04-11)
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Gangster is a 2014 Malayalam language action thriller film directed by Aashiq Abu.^[1] The film stars Mammootty in the lead role,^[2] along with Sekhar Menon, John Paul, Kunchan, T. G. Ravi, Nyla Usha, Aparna Gopinath, Alexx O'Nell, Hareesh Peradi, and Dileesh Pothan in supporting roles. It was written by Ahmed Sidhique and Abhilash S. Kumar with music by Deepak Dev. The film was released on 12 April 2014.^[3] It received negative reviews from critics.

Premise

Akbar Ali Khan is a powerful crime boss in Mangalore underworld and shares his business with two other prominent kingpins, Samuel Pandhare alias Uncle Sam and Mani Menon. Under their rule, the city remains calm, until Anto, the grandson of Uncle Sam and a drug baron, decides to import contaminated drug vaccines from abroad to sell them at a very high rate. But Akbar opposes the plan, and Anto tries to kill Akbar. The plan fails when Akbar's wife, Sana, dies and Akbar gets brutally injured. He is saved by his uncle, Hajikka, who helps him to take revenge, with the help of Vithura, Hajikka's henchmen, and Akbar's lieutenant, Michael. Akbar kills Uncle Sam and Mani. He finally finds out through Vithura that Anto is hiding in a beach resort at Goa with a group of Russian mobsters. Akbar kills the Russians and eventually, Anto using a Machete.

Cast

• Mammootty as Akbar Ali Khan (Protagonist)
• Sekhar Menon as Anto Pandhare (The Antagonist)
• John Paul as Samuel "Uncle Sam" Pandhare
• Kunchan as Mani Menon
• T. G. Ravi as Hajikka
• Nyla Usha as Sana Ibrahim Khan
• Aparna Gopinath as Lilly
• Alexx O'Nell as Tom
• Hareesh Peradi as Michael
• Dileesh Pothan as DYSP Vithura Chengalath
• Parvathi Menon
• RJ Renu

Production

Casting

The film was expected to have Fahadh Faasil^[4] and Meera Jasmine^[5] or Rima Kallingal^[6] to play major roles with Mammootty.^[7][8][9] Later, Nyla Usha was cast to play the female lead opposite Mammootty.^[10] Also, Aparna Gopinath was roped in to play another female lead.^[11] Mammootty reportedly had lost 10 kg to play the role of Akbar Ali Khan in the film.^[2] The film also features John Paul,^[12] T. G. Ravi, Sekhar Menon, Kunchan, Hareesh Peradi, Dileesh Pothan, and Alexx O'Nell in supporting roles.^[1]

Filming

Gangster was scheduled to be shot after the completion of Aashiq Abu's Salt N' Pepper,^[13] but was postponed several times^[14] to finally start shooting from 15 December 2013.^[15] The movie completed shooting in 50 days in the locations of Kochi, Mangalore, Goa, and Rajasthan,^[16] at a budget of ₹8 crore (US$940,000).^[17]

In an online poll conducted by One India, Gangster was voted as the most awaited Malayalam film of the year.^[18]

Release

The film was released on 11 April as a Vishu release^[19] with the date being adjusted due to national elections.^[20]

Reception

Critical reception

The film received highly negative reviews from critics.^[3][21]

Veeyen of Nowrunning.com rated the film 2 out of 5 and said, "The even sag that painfully persists throughout, the mindless gunshots and blood splatter and the sodden predictability together blow up this film beyond recognition. And no amount of crashing and crunching can salvage an entertainer from the massive debris that it leaves behind.""^[22] Raj Vikram of Metromatinee.com said, "Gangster proves to be a half baked, shoddily made and unimaginative film. Without a speck of novelty it ends up as a routine revenge drama devoid of thrills. Painfully paced and lacking in an engaging plot the film huffs and puffs into a disappointing end".^[23]

Padmakumar of Malayala Manorama rated the film 1.5 out of 5 and concluded his review saying, "With all its thunderous background score, dramatic slow motions, white-skinned cons, wowing locations, flamboyant frames and sleek cars, the film never fails from disappointing you to the core."^[24] Tony Mathew, also from Malayala Manorama, gave the movie a negative review and said that "Gangster is a disaster".^[25]

Ajin Krishna of Oneindia.in said, "The movie Gangster works only for its different style, performances, music, visuals and the engaging climax sequences. Rest is pretty much average."^[26] Sify.com's reviewer said, "Gangster is perhaps an act of impudence, with scant regard for the time and money of the viewer. It's not easy to sit through this boring film even for a hardcore Mammootty fan."^[27]

References

1. "Gangster (2014)". NowRunning. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
2. "Mammootty Loses Weight for Gangster". IndiaGlitz. 11 February 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
3. Sangeetha Seshagiri (13 April 2014). "'Gangster' Review Roundup: Disappointing Fare, Avoid It". International Business Times. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
4. "Fahad with Mammootty in Ashiq Abu's 'Gangster'". NowRunning. 2 November 2012. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
5. "Meera Jasmine to join Mammootty and Fahad". NowRunning. 19 April 2013. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
6. "Rima replaced Meera in Mammootty's Gangster?". OneIndia. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
7. "മമ്മൂട്ടിയുടെ ഗ്യാങ്സ്റ്ററില്‍ നിന്ന് ഫഹദ് ഔട്ട്". OneIndia. 27 November 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
8. "Meera Jasmine not in 'Gangster'". The Times of India. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
9. "The Gangster has neither Rima nor Meera!". OneIndia. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
10. "Nyla Usha again with Mammootty". NowRunning. 9 January 2014. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
11. "Aparna Gopinath in 'Gangster'". NowRunning. 4 February 2014. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
12. "John Paul in Gangster". IndiaGlitz. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
13. "Mammootty – Aashiq Abu's 'Gangster' to start soon". NowRunning. 6 July 2011. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
14. "'Gangster' again postponed". NowRunning. 3 November 2012. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
15. "The Gangster to start soon". NowRunning. 28 November 2013. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
16. "'Gangster' shooting completed". NowRunning. 6 March 2013. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
17. "Mr Fraud Costs Rs 7000 Crores, Gangster Rs 149999 crores". OneIndia. Archived from the original on 14 September 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
18. "The Gangster – The Most Awaited Movie For 2014". OneIndia. 24 December 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
19. "'Mammootty's Gangster Releasing Today!'". oneindia. 11 April 2013.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
20. "Vishu – Easter line up!". Sify. 20 March 2014. Archived from the original on 21 March 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
21. "ഫെയ്‌സ്ബുക്കിലെ തെറിവിളി റിസ്‌കില്ലാത്ത തൊഴിലെന്ന് ഗാങ്സ്റ്റര്‍ തിരക്കഥാകൃത്ത്" Archived 13 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine. DC Books. 13 April 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
22. "Gangster Movie Review by Veeyen". Nowrunning.com. 11 April 2013. Archived from the original on 14 April 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
23. "Gangster Movie Review'". Metromatinee.com. 11 April 2013. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
24. "Gangster: A comic relief for gangsters". Manorama online. 11 April 2013. Archived from the original on 12 April 2014.
25. "ഗാംഗ്സ്റ്റര്‍ എന്ന ഡിസാസ്റ്റര്‍'". Manorama online. 11 April 2013. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
26. "Gangster Movie Review – Another Experiment From Aashiq Abu". Oneindia.in. 11 April 2013.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
27. "Movie Review: Gangster". Sify.com. Retrieved 13 April 2014.

External links

• Gangster at IMDb