Adaminte Makan Abu
Encyclopedia
Adaminte Makan Abu is a 2011 India
n drama film
written, directed and co-produced by Salim Ahamed in his debut film. It stars Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab
in the lead roles along with Mukesh
, Nedumudi Venu
, Kalabhavan Mani
, and Suraj Venjarammoodu in other supporting roles. The cinematography was handled by Madhu Ambat
, and the film was edited by Vijay Shankar. The film features songs composed by Ramesh Narayan
, and the score is by Isaac Thomas Kottukapally.
The film tells the story of a poor attar
(a kind of perfume) seller Abu (Salim Kumar) whose only remaining wish in life is the Hajj
pilgrimage, which he strives hard to fulfill, and at the verge of the fulfillment, he opts out when he fears that the means is not fully legitimate. Development on the film began roughly a decade before the film was released. The film was shot digitally
over one month beginning on 7 November 2010. Thrissur
and Kozhikode
in Kerala, India were the major filming locales.
Distributed by Laughing Villa, a distribution company owned by Salim Kumar, and Allens Media, Adaminte Makan Abu released in theatres on 24 June 2011. It received wide critical acclaim, with numerous praises for its story, direction, cast, cinematography, and score. It received honours for its music, cinematography and writing, as well as for Salim Kumar's performance. At the 58th National Film Awards
, the 2010 awards for the best in Indian cinema, it earned four major national awards: for Best Film, Best Actor
(Kumar), Best Cinematography
and Best Background Score
. It performed similarly at the Kerala State Film Awards, where it won the awards for Best Film
, Best Actor
, Best Screenplay
and Best Background Music
. The film has been chosen as India's official entry to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film
category for the 84th Academy Awards
.
) are an elderly Moplah
Muslim couple living in Kerala
's Malabar region. Their aspiration is to go for Hajj
, the pilgrimage to Mecca
, and they sacrifice to achieve this aim. Their son Sattar has migrated to the Middle East
(as a part of Kerala Gulf boom
) with his family and has virtually discarded his parents. Now in their late 70s, the couple decide to go for Hajj that year.
Abu sells attar (ittar)
(a perfume obtained from flowers), religious books and Unani
medicines that nobody seems to want nowadays. Aishumma breeds cattle and hens, helping her husband realize their shared dream. Abu feels as outdated and discarded by a fast-changing world as the traditional products that he sells.
A school teacher (Nedumudi Venu
), Abu's friend, comes to his aid at his time of need. Hyder (Suraj Venharammud), a local teashop owner also empathises with Abu who in turn is frequently given genuine advice by a mysterious saint known simply as "Ustad
" (Tampi Antony). Good-natured people try to help Abu by offering to loan him the amount, but as this goes against the accepted practices of the Islam
, he refuses to take anything.
With the advancing years, Abu's desperation also grows. Finally, in frustration and distress, Abu gives away his cow and old jackfruit tree. Abu is helped by the manager of a travel agency (Mukesh
) to get flight tickets and other documents for his journey. A policeman (Sasi Kalinga), initially tries to reject Abu's passport application, but once he gets his usual bribe he becomes quite helpful. The couple begins their preparations which include attending the Hajj preparation classes conducted by the travel agency, being vaccinated for meningococcal meningitis and buying new Ihram clothing. Abu pays off even the smallest of his old debts as part of the preparations and travels miles to seek forgiveness from Sulaiman, a previous neighbour with whom he once fought.
When the passports and the tickets are ready and a bus journey away in Kozhikode
, the sawmill owner (Kalabhavan Mani
) while handing over the money for Abu's tree says that its wood turned out to be rotten and useless. He insists that Abu still take the money, however, since his cause is noble. Abu refuses it, saying that it wouldn't be halal
and hence could anger God
. When he is sure that he cannot fulfill his dream, Abu reaches another conclusion – that the tree too had life, and several lives must have died when he cut the tree in front of his house. Abu conjectures that that maybe one of the reasons for his not being able to go on the journey. On the dawn of the Hajj, Abu tells his wife that they will go the next year, and he plants a new sapling of a jackfruit tree and is seen going to the mosque to pray on the morning of Hajj.
that Ahamed met the actor to convince him to play the role. It was Kumar's outstanding performance as a son who is forced to abandon his aged mother in Bridge, one of the ten films in the Kerala Cafe
anthology, that made the young man choose the actor for the role. Kumar was initially reluctant to accept the role as he was unsure about carrying the film as the star. Ahamed, however, was confident, and assured Kumar that the film would have the top technicians in the field: He brought in the cinematography veteran Madhu Ambat, and Issac Thomas Kottukapally to handle the music section. Kumar, who is generally known in slapstick comedy roles, didn't do any preparation for his role and accepted no payment for his participation in the film. Zarina Wahab
, who had made a comeback in Malayalam films with Calendar
plays the lead female role in the film. According to Ahamed, she was cast because she had the face of a Malabar Muslim. Aside from Kumar and Wahab, the film also stars several other actors like Kalabhavan Mani
, Mush
, Suraj Venjarammoodu, Nedumudi Venu
and Jaffer Idukki in key roles. Ahamed roped in some of the most famous technicians for his debut film such as cinematographer Madhu Ambat and composer Isaac Thomas Kottukappally. Ahamed says, "I had decided from the beginning that these would be the people I would work with in my first film. Getting the industry’s best talents to work with me was hardly a challenge because they all liked the subject." Madhu Ambat was doing a Malayalam film after a gap of nearly 12 years.
spending his own money. Shooting of the film began on 7 November 2010, and took place in various locations in Thrissur
and Kozhikode
in Kerala. Major sections were filmed from a house in Athani
in Thrissur. The set was made by debuting art director Jyothish on a shoestring of 2 lakhs. The film was shot digitally
using an Arriflex D-21
camera. Cinematographer Madhu Ambat
recalls that he had planned to use 16 mm film
to further reduce costs but used 35 mm film
instead as he wanted to shoot lots of long shots, which he says were helpful in showing the feeling of loneliness. The total budget of the film was around 1.5 crores. Ahamed had to spend every rupee raised from what he had saved up over the years working on scripts for television serials and assisting directors to complete the film.. The film ran into financial troubles midway through its shooting. Ahamed recalls that it was his friend Ashraf Bedi who financed the film from this stage, and principal production was completed in a mere 31 days. To enhance the technical quality of the film, Oscar
-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty
did a re-designing and re-mixing of the sound for the film before its official screening for the Academy members in Los Angeles on November 19. A group of top-notch technicians also came forward to revamp the film free of cost.
The film was one of the seven Malayalam films selected to be screened at the Indian Panorama section of International Film Festival of India
. The film was selected to be screened at the 16th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), where it was one of the nine Malayalam films selected to be screened and one of the 14 films that was selected to be screened in the international competition section of the festival. The film is also expected to be screened at 8th Dubai International Film Festival
.
and from there copies of the film were directly sent to national and state award committees.In late May, the film's co-producer Ashraf Bedi approached the court alleging that he was cheated by Ahamed who did not mention him as a co-producer when the film's entry papers were submitted for the National Awards. The film was described as produced by Salim Ahamed alone. Consequently, the court held the film's screening and distribution till 10 June.
Ahamed was approached by four major distributors, Playhouse, Khas, Kalasangam and Vaishaka, for the film's distribution rights. Later, Salim Kumar decided to distribute the film himself under his newly-formed distribution company Laughing Villa along with Allens Media Release through Kalasangam, Khas and Manjunatha. The film released in 70 theatres in Kerala on 24 June 2011 with previews held in Chennai
, Ernakulam
and Kannur
. A historical film Bombay March 12 starring Mammootty
was slated for release on the same date, but was postponed following a request from Mammootty, who wanted his sure hit to avoid clashing with Adaminte Makan Abu.
Although the film received overwhelmingly positive reviews from all corners, it was only an average grosser in Kerala box-office. Many could not watch the film from theatres since it was withdrawn a few days after the release. According to Salim Kumar, "the movie did not do well on the box-offices and the collection was relatively better from the Muslim dominated Malabar region."
The film premierred in television on 7 November 2011 on Mazhavil Manorama
, coinciding with the festival of Bakrid.
Also, a similar story was narrated by the 8th-century Sufi saint Ibrahim ibn Adham. In the story, its a shoesmith who dreams of going for Hajj pilgrimage.
magazine stated, "Ahamed tells his story with clarity and compassion, but little humor or grit: The film has a tendency to shy away from overt dramatic conflict, as Abu's gentle decency sees him escape or mollify one practical or personal opponent after another." The critic praised Ambat's cinematography, but criticised Kumar's performance saying, he "is a committed but slightly over-deliberate presence in the lead." J. Hurtado of Canadian film website Twitch Film
called the film "a peaceful, contemplative" one and stated, "This film is like a breath of fresh air and a reminder of the power that film can have to affect its viewers in a way that stays with them." Paresh C. Palicha of Mumbai
-based Internet provider Rediff.com
gave the film a very positive review and praised it as "simple and beautiful". The review mostly praised the performances, direction and story, also giving it three-over-five stars . In Deccan Chronicle newspaper, Keerthy Ramachandran gave the film a five-star rating , writing the film "should get a glorious position in the annals the history of Malayalam cinema". S. Anandan of The Hindu
newspaper also published a positive review, saying, "[W]ith its honest portrayal of a devout old man's pursuit of spiritual bliss, [the film] offers a glimmer of hope for Malayalam cinema, currently at its nadir". The critic labelled the film setting however as "idyllic" saying, "[T]he societal life in the village, reminiscent of rural Kerala in the 1980s with its crop of do-gooders and mystics, is too ideal to be true in current times. But then, [Ahamed] is out to picture life in a Basheerian habitat, where inter-religious individuals gleefully share the earth with pagan-living organisms." T. Sudheesh of the Thrissur City Journal
concluded his review by saying that "Ahamed ... has made a beautiful film. Adaminte Makan Abu is quite engaging and entertaining as well. The film truly deserves the national award. It is really worth watching." Veeyen of Indian online portal Nowrunning.com was all praise for the film, adding that the film "is meticulously paced and splendidly staged to create a sense of optimism that should keep the human race going in these testing times." A reviewer from the Chennai
-based Internet provider Sify.com gave the film a five-star rating , saying the film "has done proud for Malayalam and will find its place among the most powerful films ever made in Malayalam." A reviewer from Indian online portal Oneindia.in
said that Ahamed "has created a masterpiece out of a simple story". After watching the film during a special screening for media personell at Sree theatre in Calicut, famous orator and writer Sukumar Azhikode
said, "Adaminte Makan Abu shows us how a Malayalam film should be." He also praised Salim Kumar's performance saying, "Salim Kumar was not acting, but was living as the titular character Abu."
The film did receive a few negative reviews as well. Daniel Green from Cine-Vue.com gave the film 2 out of 5 stars , wrote, "Abu, Son of Adam is a far inferior film, neither compelling nor innovative, gaining little real insight into the region's Muslim community along the way."
and the mandolin
, santoor
, sarod
for example, that are close to the oud. Kottukapally also used the tabla
, flute
, drums from North Kerala and also African drums. Contrary to the usual Malayalam films, the film used minimalist music: Kottukapally kept a lot of silence in the film and used aarohana and avarohana
before and after the silence.
The soundtrack to Adaminte Makan Abu features songs composed by Ramesh Narayan
with lyrics by Rafeeque Ahammed. Released on Manorama Music
, the soundtrack featured vocals by Shankar Mahadevan
, Ramesh Narayan, Hariharan
, Sujatha, Madhusree Narayan and Srinivas
. It received generally positive reviews: T. Sudheesh of City Journal
labeling the songs "meaningful and heart rending." Keerthy Ramachandran of Deccan Chronicle said, "Narayanan has composed excellent music in tune with the mood of the movie. Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan and Sujatha have crooned some beautiful songs, yet 'Makka Madheena' triumphs as a song which carries the heart of the theme."
The film is India's official entry to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film
category for the 84th Academy Awards
. The film was chosen over 15 others by the Film Federation of India
(FFI) to represent the country for the award. The other entrants in the race were Guzaarish
, Chillar Party, I am Kalam
, No One Killed Jessica
, 7 Khoon Maaf and Dhobi Ghat
(Hindi), Enthiran, Ko
, Deiva Thirumagal
, Muran
and Aadukalam (Tamil), Moner Manush (Bengali), Urumi
(Malayalam), Mala Aai Vhhaychy (Marathi) and Ala Modalaindi
(Telugu). Adaminte Makan Abu is the second Malayalam film (the first one being Guru
) to be submitted for the Oscars. Salim Ahamed had to take much efforts for promoting the film in the US for the Oscar jury. "Before the Oscar nomination, we will have to conduct a lot of promotional events such as screening the film in the US to mobilise support. A minimum of six screenings have to be arranged for the jury members. I cannot borrow money because even if the film gets a nomination, it does not bring home any cash," Ahamed said. Lobbying for the film began in October last week. In an interview, Ahamed said, "There has been some help from abroad, especially from the people living in the Gulf region. No one from the Malayalam film industry has contacted me or offered support. There has been no support from the government either." Meanwhile, many political parties from Kerala urged the government to help raising funds for the film. In reply, the Kerala Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy
, said Malayalam film industry has to make a unanimous demand for the state government to extend help to the makers of Adaminte Makan Abu, India’s official entry to the Oscars.
The national and state awards going to Kumar in the Best Actor category created tension in the film industry. Director of Pranchiyettan & the Saint
, Ranjith, said that he expected the award to go to his lead, Mammootty
who had also received rave critical reviews. He said that Kumar's performance in Adaminte Makan Abu was no match to his actor's performance in his film. Kumar lashed out against Ranjith's comments saying it was just sour grapes. However, several film pundits have backed the opinion of Ranjith.
In an interview, Pattanam Rasheed complained that the absence of Malayalis
in the national award jury cost him the award for best makeup artist. He said, "I would've got it [the award] if there was a Malayali. Jury members thought Salim [Kumar] was actually an old man. As such, they couldn't appreciate my work."
The film received numerous accolades including four National Film Awards
and four Kerala State Film Awards.
reported that Mumbai
-based film company Mega Productions had approached Salim Ahamed with the intention of remaking the film in Hindi
. Discussions were supposed to be held in early June, before the theatrical release of the original film. Later, reports came that Karan Johar
's Dharma Productions
has also appraoched Ahamed to buy the rights. Johar had already heard about the movie from Zarina Wahab. According to the reports, Karan Johar was to direct the film with Shahrukh Khan
in the role of Abu with Salim Ahamed also attached. Johar, however, later categorically denied any inclination to remake the film through his Twitter post
, which stated, "On record ... am NOT planning the remake of the acclaimed malyalam film ... actually in london to acquire the rights of a superb french film!! If all goes well the french film will translate beautifully into an indian love story ... can’t wait to get it going ... watch this space for more." However, Ahamed later revealed, "Karan's company Dharma Productions had spoken to me about buying the rights of Adaminte Makan Abu. But they didn't get back to me after the initial talks."
Salim Ahamed has, meanwhile, been in talks with J. P. Dutta
, who is eager to remake the hit in Hindi. In a November 2011 interview, Salim Kumar revealed that "there is a plan to remake the film in four major Indian languages."
n drama film
written, directed and co-produced by Salim Ahamed in his debut film. It stars Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab
in the lead roles along with Mukesh
, Nedumudi Venu
, Kalabhavan Mani
, and Suraj Venjarammoodu in other supporting roles. The cinematography was handled by Madhu Ambat
, and the film was edited by Vijay Shankar. The film features songs composed by Ramesh Narayan
, and the score is by Isaac Thomas Kottukapally.
The film tells the story of a poor attar
(a kind of perfume) seller Abu (Salim Kumar) whose only remaining wish in life is the Hajj
pilgrimage, which he strives hard to fulfill, and at the verge of the fulfillment, he opts out when he fears that the means is not fully legitimate. Development on the film began roughly a decade before the film was released. The film was shot digitally
over one month beginning on 7 November 2010. Thrissur
and Kozhikode
in Kerala, India were the major filming locales.
Distributed by Laughing Villa, a distribution company owned by Salim Kumar, and Allens Media, Adaminte Makan Abu released in theatres on 24 June 2011. It received wide critical acclaim, with numerous praises for its story, direction, cast, cinematography, and score. It received honours for its music, cinematography and writing, as well as for Salim Kumar's performance. At the 58th National Film Awards
, the 2010 awards for the best in Indian cinema, it earned four major national awards: for Best Film, Best Actor
(Kumar), Best Cinematography
and Best Background Score
. It performed similarly at the Kerala State Film Awards, where it won the awards for Best Film
, Best Actor
, Best Screenplay
and Best Background Music
. The film has been chosen as India's official entry to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film
category for the 84th Academy Awards
.
) are an elderly Moplah
Muslim couple living in Kerala
's Malabar region. Their aspiration is to go for Hajj
, the pilgrimage to Mecca
, and they sacrifice to achieve this aim. Their son Sattar has migrated to the Middle East
(as a part of Kerala Gulf boom
) with his family and has virtually discarded his parents. Now in their late 70s, the couple decide to go for Hajj that year.
Abu sells attar (ittar)
(a perfume obtained from flowers), religious books and Unani
medicines that nobody seems to want nowadays. Aishumma breeds cattle and hens, helping her husband realize their shared dream. Abu feels as outdated and discarded by a fast-changing world as the traditional products that he sells.
A school teacher (Nedumudi Venu
), Abu's friend, comes to his aid at his time of need. Hyder (Suraj Venharammud), a local teashop owner also empathises with Abu who in turn is frequently given genuine advice by a mysterious saint known simply as "Ustad
" (Tampi Antony). Good-natured people try to help Abu by offering to loan him the amount, but as this goes against the accepted practices of the Islam
, he refuses to take anything.
With the advancing years, Abu's desperation also grows. Finally, in frustration and distress, Abu gives away his cow and old jackfruit tree. Abu is helped by the manager of a travel agency (Mukesh
) to get flight tickets and other documents for his journey. A policeman (Sasi Kalinga), initially tries to reject Abu's passport application, but once he gets his usual bribe he becomes quite helpful. The couple begins their preparations which include attending the Hajj preparation classes conducted by the travel agency, being vaccinated for meningococcal meningitis and buying new Ihram clothing. Abu pays off even the smallest of his old debts as part of the preparations and travels miles to seek forgiveness from Sulaiman, a previous neighbour with whom he once fought.
When the passports and the tickets are ready and a bus journey away in Kozhikode
, the sawmill owner (Kalabhavan Mani
) while handing over the money for Abu's tree says that its wood turned out to be rotten and useless. He insists that Abu still take the money, however, since his cause is noble. Abu refuses it, saying that it wouldn't be halal
and hence could anger God
. When he is sure that he cannot fulfill his dream, Abu reaches another conclusion – that the tree too had life, and several lives must have died when he cut the tree in front of his house. Abu conjectures that that maybe one of the reasons for his not being able to go on the journey. On the dawn of the Hajj, Abu tells his wife that they will go the next year, and he plants a new sapling of a jackfruit tree and is seen going to the mosque to pray on the morning of Hajj.
that Ahamed met the actor to convince him to play the role. It was Kumar's outstanding performance as a son who is forced to abandon his aged mother in Bridge, one of the ten films in the Kerala Cafe
anthology, that made the young man choose the actor for the role. Kumar was initially reluctant to accept the role as he was unsure about carrying the film as the star. Ahamed, however, was confident, and assured Kumar that the film would have the top technicians in the field: He brought in the cinematography veteran Madhu Ambat, and Issac Thomas Kottukapally to handle the music section. Kumar, who is generally known in slapstick comedy roles, didn't do any preparation for his role and accepted no payment for his participation in the film. Zarina Wahab
, who had made a comeback in Malayalam films with Calendar
plays the lead female role in the film. According to Ahamed, she was cast because she had the face of a Malabar Muslim. Aside from Kumar and Wahab, the film also stars several other actors like Kalabhavan Mani
, Mush
, Suraj Venjarammoodu, Nedumudi Venu
and Jaffer Idukki in key roles. Ahamed roped in some of the most famous technicians for his debut film such as cinematographer Madhu Ambat and composer Isaac Thomas Kottukappally. Ahamed says, "I had decided from the beginning that these would be the people I would work with in my first film. Getting the industry’s best talents to work with me was hardly a challenge because they all liked the subject." Madhu Ambat was doing a Malayalam film after a gap of nearly 12 years.
spending his own money. Shooting of the film began on 7 November 2010, and took place in various locations in Thrissur
and Kozhikode
in Kerala. Major sections were filmed from a house in Athani
in Thrissur. The set was made by debuting art director Jyothish on a shoestring of 2 lakhs. The film was shot digitally
using an Arriflex D-21
camera. Cinematographer Madhu Ambat
recalls that he had planned to use 16 mm film
to further reduce costs but used 35 mm film
instead as he wanted to shoot lots of long shots, which he says were helpful in showing the feeling of loneliness. The total budget of the film was around 1.5 crores. Ahamed had to spend every rupee raised from what he had saved up over the years working on scripts for television serials and assisting directors to complete the film.. The film ran into financial troubles midway through its shooting. Ahamed recalls that it was his friend Ashraf Bedi who financed the film from this stage, and principal production was completed in a mere 31 days. To enhance the technical quality of the film, Oscar
-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty
did a re-designing and re-mixing of the sound for the film before its official screening for the Academy members in Los Angeles on November 19. A group of top-notch technicians also came forward to revamp the film free of cost.
The film was one of the seven Malayalam films selected to be screened at the Indian Panorama section of International Film Festival of India
. The film was selected to be screened at the 16th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), where it was one of the nine Malayalam films selected to be screened and one of the 14 films that was selected to be screened in the international competition section of the festival. The film is also expected to be screened at 8th Dubai International Film Festival
.
and from there copies of the film were directly sent to national and state award committees.In late May, the film's co-producer Ashraf Bedi approached the court alleging that he was cheated by Ahamed who did not mention him as a co-producer when the film's entry papers were submitted for the National Awards. The film was described as produced by Salim Ahamed alone. Consequently, the court held the film's screening and distribution till 10 June.
Ahamed was approached by four major distributors, Playhouse, Khas, Kalasangam and Vaishaka, for the film's distribution rights. Later, Salim Kumar decided to distribute the film himself under his newly-formed distribution company Laughing Villa along with Allens Media Release through Kalasangam, Khas and Manjunatha. The film released in 70 theatres in Kerala on 24 June 2011 with previews held in Chennai
, Ernakulam
and Kannur
. A historical film Bombay March 12 starring Mammootty
was slated for release on the same date, but was postponed following a request from Mammootty, who wanted his sure hit to avoid clashing with Adaminte Makan Abu.
Although the film received overwhelmingly positive reviews from all corners, it was only an average grosser in Kerala box-office. Many could not watch the film from theatres since it was withdrawn a few days after the release. According to Salim Kumar, "the movie did not do well on the box-offices and the collection was relatively better from the Muslim dominated Malabar region."
The film premierred in television on 7 November 2011 on Mazhavil Manorama
, coinciding with the festival of Bakrid.
Also, a similar story was narrated by the 8th-century Sufi saint Ibrahim ibn Adham. In the story, its a shoesmith who dreams of going for Hajj pilgrimage.
magazine stated, "Ahamed tells his story with clarity and compassion, but little humor or grit: The film has a tendency to shy away from overt dramatic conflict, as Abu's gentle decency sees him escape or mollify one practical or personal opponent after another." The critic praised Ambat's cinematography, but criticised Kumar's performance saying, he "is a committed but slightly over-deliberate presence in the lead." J. Hurtado of Canadian film website Twitch Film
called the film "a peaceful, contemplative" one and stated, "This film is like a breath of fresh air and a reminder of the power that film can have to affect its viewers in a way that stays with them." Paresh C. Palicha of Mumbai
-based Internet provider Rediff.com
gave the film a very positive review and praised it as "simple and beautiful". The review mostly praised the performances, direction and story, also giving it three-over-five stars . In Deccan Chronicle newspaper, Keerthy Ramachandran gave the film a five-star rating , writing the film "should get a glorious position in the annals the history of Malayalam cinema". S. Anandan of The Hindu
newspaper also published a positive review, saying, "[W]ith its honest portrayal of a devout old man's pursuit of spiritual bliss, [the film] offers a glimmer of hope for Malayalam cinema, currently at its nadir". The critic labelled the film setting however as "idyllic" saying, "[T]he societal life in the village, reminiscent of rural Kerala in the 1980s with its crop of do-gooders and mystics, is too ideal to be true in current times. But then, [Ahamed] is out to picture life in a Basheerian habitat, where inter-religious individuals gleefully share the earth with pagan-living organisms." T. Sudheesh of the Thrissur City Journal
concluded his review by saying that "Ahamed ... has made a beautiful film. Adaminte Makan Abu is quite engaging and entertaining as well. The film truly deserves the national award. It is really worth watching." Veeyen of Indian online portal Nowrunning.com was all praise for the film, adding that the film "is meticulously paced and splendidly staged to create a sense of optimism that should keep the human race going in these testing times." A reviewer from the Chennai
-based Internet provider Sify.com gave the film a five-star rating , saying the film "has done proud for Malayalam and will find its place among the most powerful films ever made in Malayalam." A reviewer from Indian online portal Oneindia.in
said that Ahamed "has created a masterpiece out of a simple story". After watching the film during a special screening for media personell at Sree theatre in Calicut, famous orator and writer Sukumar Azhikode
said, "Adaminte Makan Abu shows us how a Malayalam film should be." He also praised Salim Kumar's performance saying, "Salim Kumar was not acting, but was living as the titular character Abu."
The film did receive a few negative reviews as well. Daniel Green from Cine-Vue.com gave the film 2 out of 5 stars , wrote, "Abu, Son of Adam is a far inferior film, neither compelling nor innovative, gaining little real insight into the region's Muslim community along the way."
and the mandolin
, santoor
, sarod
for example, that are close to the oud. Kottukapally also used the tabla
, flute
, drums from North Kerala and also African drums. Contrary to the usual Malayalam films, the film used minimalist music: Kottukapally kept a lot of silence in the film and used aarohana and avarohana
before and after the silence.
The soundtrack to Adaminte Makan Abu features songs composed by Ramesh Narayan
with lyrics by Rafeeque Ahammed. Released on Manorama Music
, the soundtrack featured vocals by Shankar Mahadevan
, Ramesh Narayan, Hariharan
, Sujatha, Madhusree Narayan and Srinivas
. It received generally positive reviews: T. Sudheesh of City Journal
labeling the songs "meaningful and heart rending." Keerthy Ramachandran of Deccan Chronicle said, "Narayanan has composed excellent music in tune with the mood of the movie. Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan and Sujatha have crooned some beautiful songs, yet 'Makka Madheena' triumphs as a song which carries the heart of the theme."
The film is India's official entry to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film
category for the 84th Academy Awards
. The film was chosen over 15 others by the Film Federation of India
(FFI) to represent the country for the award. The other entrants in the race were Guzaarish
, Chillar Party, I am Kalam
, No One Killed Jessica
, 7 Khoon Maaf and Dhobi Ghat
(Hindi), Enthiran, Ko
, Deiva Thirumagal
, Muran
and Aadukalam (Tamil), Moner Manush (Bengali), Urumi
(Malayalam), Mala Aai Vhhaychy (Marathi) and Ala Modalaindi
(Telugu). Adaminte Makan Abu is the second Malayalam film (the first one being Guru
) to be submitted for the Oscars. Salim Ahamed had to take much efforts for promoting the film in the US for the Oscar jury. "Before the Oscar nomination, we will have to conduct a lot of promotional events such as screening the film in the US to mobilise support. A minimum of six screenings have to be arranged for the jury members. I cannot borrow money because even if the film gets a nomination, it does not bring home any cash," Ahamed said. Lobbying for the film began in October last week. In an interview, Ahamed said, "There has been some help from abroad, especially from the people living in the Gulf region. No one from the Malayalam film industry has contacted me or offered support. There has been no support from the government either." Meanwhile, many political parties from Kerala urged the government to help raising funds for the film. In reply, the Kerala Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy
, said Malayalam film industry has to make a unanimous demand for the state government to extend help to the makers of Adaminte Makan Abu, India’s official entry to the Oscars.
The national and state awards going to Kumar in the Best Actor category created tension in the film industry. Director of Pranchiyettan & the Saint
, Ranjith, said that he expected the award to go to his lead, Mammootty
who had also received rave critical reviews. He said that Kumar's performance in Adaminte Makan Abu was no match to his actor's performance in his film. Kumar lashed out against Ranjith's comments saying it was just sour grapes. However, several film pundits have backed the opinion of Ranjith.
In an interview, Pattanam Rasheed complained that the absence of Malayalis
in the national award jury cost him the award for best makeup artist. He said, "I would've got it [the award] if there was a Malayali. Jury members thought Salim [Kumar] was actually an old man. As such, they couldn't appreciate my work."
The film received numerous accolades including four National Film Awards
and four Kerala State Film Awards.
reported that Mumbai
-based film company Mega Productions had approached Salim Ahamed with the intention of remaking the film in Hindi
. Discussions were supposed to be held in early June, before the theatrical release of the original film. Later, reports came that Karan Johar
's Dharma Productions
has also appraoched Ahamed to buy the rights. Johar had already heard about the movie from Zarina Wahab. According to the reports, Karan Johar was to direct the film with Shahrukh Khan
in the role of Abu with Salim Ahamed also attached. Johar, however, later categorically denied any inclination to remake the film through his Twitter post
, which stated, "On record ... am NOT planning the remake of the acclaimed malyalam film ... actually in london to acquire the rights of a superb french film!! If all goes well the french film will translate beautifully into an indian love story ... can’t wait to get it going ... watch this space for more." However, Ahamed later revealed, "Karan's company Dharma Productions had spoken to me about buying the rights of Adaminte Makan Abu. But they didn't get back to me after the initial talks."
Salim Ahamed has, meanwhile, been in talks with J. P. Dutta
, who is eager to remake the hit in Hindi. In a November 2011 interview, Salim Kumar revealed that "there is a plan to remake the film in four major Indian languages."
n drama film
written, directed and co-produced by Salim Ahamed in his debut film. It stars Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab
in the lead roles along with Mukesh
, Nedumudi Venu
, Kalabhavan Mani
, and Suraj Venjarammoodu in other supporting roles. The cinematography was handled by Madhu Ambat
, and the film was edited by Vijay Shankar. The film features songs composed by Ramesh Narayan
, and the score is by Isaac Thomas Kottukapally.
The film tells the story of a poor attar
(a kind of perfume) seller Abu (Salim Kumar) whose only remaining wish in life is the Hajj
pilgrimage, which he strives hard to fulfill, and at the verge of the fulfillment, he opts out when he fears that the means is not fully legitimate. Development on the film began roughly a decade before the film was released. The film was shot digitally
over one month beginning on 7 November 2010. Thrissur
and Kozhikode
in Kerala, India were the major filming locales.
Distributed by Laughing Villa, a distribution company owned by Salim Kumar, and Allens Media, Adaminte Makan Abu released in theatres on 24 June 2011. It received wide critical acclaim, with numerous praises for its story, direction, cast, cinematography, and score. It received honours for its music, cinematography and writing, as well as for Salim Kumar's performance. At the 58th National Film Awards
, the 2010 awards for the best in Indian cinema, it earned four major national awards: for Best Film, Best Actor
(Kumar), Best Cinematography
and Best Background Score
. It performed similarly at the Kerala State Film Awards, where it won the awards for Best Film
, Best Actor
, Best Screenplay
and Best Background Music
. The film has been chosen as India's official entry to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film
category for the 84th Academy Awards
.
) are an elderly Moplah
Muslim couple living in Kerala
's Malabar region. Their aspiration is to go for Hajj
, the pilgrimage to Mecca
, and they sacrifice to achieve this aim. Their son Sattar has migrated to the Middle East
(as a part of Kerala Gulf boom
) with his family and has virtually discarded his parents. Now in their late 70s, the couple decide to go for Hajj that year.
Abu sells attar (ittar)
(a perfume obtained from flowers), religious books and Unani
medicines that nobody seems to want nowadays. Aishumma breeds cattle and hens, helping her husband realize their shared dream. Abu feels as outdated and discarded by a fast-changing world as the traditional products that he sells.
A school teacher (Nedumudi Venu
), Abu's friend, comes to his aid at his time of need. Hyder (Suraj Venharammud), a local teashop owner also empathises with Abu who in turn is frequently given genuine advice by a mysterious saint known simply as "Ustad
" (Tampi Antony). Good-natured people try to help Abu by offering to loan him the amount, but as this goes against the accepted practices of the Islam
, he refuses to take anything.
With the advancing years, Abu's desperation also grows. Finally, in frustration and distress, Abu gives away his cow and old jackfruit tree. Abu is helped by the manager of a travel agency (Mukesh
) to get flight tickets and other documents for his journey. A policeman (Sasi Kalinga), initially tries to reject Abu's passport application, but once he gets his usual bribe he becomes quite helpful. The couple begins their preparations which include attending the Hajj preparation classes conducted by the travel agency, being vaccinated for meningococcal meningitis and buying new Ihram clothing. Abu pays off even the smallest of his old debts as part of the preparations and travels miles to seek forgiveness from Sulaiman, a previous neighbour with whom he once fought.
When the passports and the tickets are ready and a bus journey away in Kozhikode
, the sawmill owner (Kalabhavan Mani
) while handing over the money for Abu's tree says that its wood turned out to be rotten and useless. He insists that Abu still take the money, however, since his cause is noble. Abu refuses it, saying that it wouldn't be halal
and hence could anger God
. When he is sure that he cannot fulfill his dream, Abu reaches another conclusion – that the tree too had life, and several lives must have died when he cut the tree in front of his house. Abu conjectures that that maybe one of the reasons for his not being able to go on the journey. On the dawn of the Hajj, Abu tells his wife that they will go the next year, and he plants a new sapling of a jackfruit tree and is seen going to the mosque to pray on the morning of Hajj.
that Ahamed met the actor to convince him to play the role. It was Kumar's outstanding performance as a son who is forced to abandon his aged mother in Bridge, one of the ten films in the Kerala Cafe
anthology, that made the young man choose the actor for the role. Kumar was initially reluctant to accept the role as he was unsure about carrying the film as the star. Ahamed, however, was confident, and assured Kumar that the film would have the top technicians in the field: He brought in the cinematography veteran Madhu Ambat, and Issac Thomas Kottukapally to handle the music section. Kumar, who is generally known in slapstick comedy roles, didn't do any preparation for his role and accepted no payment for his participation in the film. Zarina Wahab
, who had made a comeback in Malayalam films with Calendar
plays the lead female role in the film. According to Ahamed, she was cast because she had the face of a Malabar Muslim. Aside from Kumar and Wahab, the film also stars several other actors like Kalabhavan Mani
, Mush
, Suraj Venjarammoodu, Nedumudi Venu
and Jaffer Idukki in key roles. Ahamed roped in some of the most famous technicians for his debut film such as cinematographer Madhu Ambat and composer Isaac Thomas Kottukappally. Ahamed says, "I had decided from the beginning that these would be the people I would work with in my first film. Getting the industry’s best talents to work with me was hardly a challenge because they all liked the subject." Madhu Ambat was doing a Malayalam film after a gap of nearly 12 years.
spending his own money. Shooting of the film began on 7 November 2010, and took place in various locations in Thrissur
and Kozhikode
in Kerala. Major sections were filmed from a house in Athani
in Thrissur. The set was made by debuting art director Jyothish on a shoestring of 2 lakhs. The film was shot digitally
using an Arriflex D-21
camera. Cinematographer Madhu Ambat
recalls that he had planned to use 16 mm film
to further reduce costs but used 35 mm film
instead as he wanted to shoot lots of long shots, which he says were helpful in showing the feeling of loneliness. The total budget of the film was around 1.5 crores. Ahamed had to spend every rupee raised from what he had saved up over the years working on scripts for television serials and assisting directors to complete the film.. The film ran into financial troubles midway through its shooting. Ahamed recalls that it was his friend Ashraf Bedi who financed the film from this stage, and principal production was completed in a mere 31 days. To enhance the technical quality of the film, Oscar
-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty
did a re-designing and re-mixing of the sound for the film before its official screening for the Academy members in Los Angeles on November 19. A group of top-notch technicians also came forward to revamp the film free of cost.
The film was one of the seven Malayalam films selected to be screened at the Indian Panorama section of International Film Festival of India
. The film was selected to be screened at the 16th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), where it was one of the nine Malayalam films selected to be screened and one of the 14 films that was selected to be screened in the international competition section of the festival. The film is also expected to be screened at 8th Dubai International Film Festival
.
and from there copies of the film were directly sent to national and state award committees.In late May, the film's co-producer Ashraf Bedi approached the court alleging that he was cheated by Ahamed who did not mention him as a co-producer when the film's entry papers were submitted for the National Awards. The film was described as produced by Salim Ahamed alone. Consequently, the court held the film's screening and distribution till 10 June.
Ahamed was approached by four major distributors, Playhouse, Khas, Kalasangam and Vaishaka, for the film's distribution rights. Later, Salim Kumar decided to distribute the film himself under his newly-formed distribution company Laughing Villa along with Allens Media Release through Kalasangam, Khas and Manjunatha. The film released in 70 theatres in Kerala on 24 June 2011 with previews held in Chennai
, Ernakulam
and Kannur
. A historical film Bombay March 12 starring Mammootty
was slated for release on the same date, but was postponed following a request from Mammootty, who wanted his sure hit to avoid clashing with Adaminte Makan Abu.
Although the film received overwhelmingly positive reviews from all corners, it was only an average grosser in Kerala box-office. Many could not watch the film from theatres since it was withdrawn a few days after the release. According to Salim Kumar, "the movie did not do well on the box-offices and the collection was relatively better from the Muslim dominated Malabar region."
The film premierred in television on 7 November 2011 on Mazhavil Manorama
, coinciding with the festival of Bakrid.
Also, a similar story was narrated by the 8th-century Sufi saint Ibrahim ibn Adham. In the story, its a shoesmith who dreams of going for Hajj pilgrimage.
magazine stated, "Ahamed tells his story with clarity and compassion, but little humor or grit: The film has a tendency to shy away from overt dramatic conflict, as Abu's gentle decency sees him escape or mollify one practical or personal opponent after another." The critic praised Ambat's cinematography, but criticised Kumar's performance saying, he "is a committed but slightly over-deliberate presence in the lead." J. Hurtado of Canadian film website Twitch Film
called the film "a peaceful, contemplative" one and stated, "This film is like a breath of fresh air and a reminder of the power that film can have to affect its viewers in a way that stays with them." Paresh C. Palicha of Mumbai
-based Internet provider Rediff.com
gave the film a very positive review and praised it as "simple and beautiful". The review mostly praised the performances, direction and story, also giving it three-over-five stars . In Deccan Chronicle newspaper, Keerthy Ramachandran gave the film a five-star rating , writing the film "should get a glorious position in the annals the history of Malayalam cinema". S. Anandan of The Hindu
newspaper also published a positive review, saying, "[W]ith its honest portrayal of a devout old man's pursuit of spiritual bliss, [the film] offers a glimmer of hope for Malayalam cinema, currently at its nadir". The critic labelled the film setting however as "idyllic" saying, "[T]he societal life in the village, reminiscent of rural Kerala in the 1980s with its crop of do-gooders and mystics, is too ideal to be true in current times. But then, [Ahamed] is out to picture life in a Basheerian habitat, where inter-religious individuals gleefully share the earth with pagan-living organisms." T. Sudheesh of the Thrissur City Journal
concluded his review by saying that "Ahamed ... has made a beautiful film. Adaminte Makan Abu is quite engaging and entertaining as well. The film truly deserves the national award. It is really worth watching." Veeyen of Indian online portal Nowrunning.com was all praise for the film, adding that the film "is meticulously paced and splendidly staged to create a sense of optimism that should keep the human race going in these testing times." A reviewer from the Chennai
-based Internet provider Sify.com gave the film a five-star rating , saying the film "has done proud for Malayalam and will find its place among the most powerful films ever made in Malayalam." A reviewer from Indian online portal Oneindia.in
said that Ahamed "has created a masterpiece out of a simple story". After watching the film during a special screening for media personell at Sree theatre in Calicut, famous orator and writer Sukumar Azhikode
said, "Adaminte Makan Abu shows us how a Malayalam film should be." He also praised Salim Kumar's performance saying, "Salim Kumar was not acting, but was living as the titular character Abu."
The film did receive a few negative reviews as well. Daniel Green from Cine-Vue.com gave the film 2 out of 5 stars , wrote, "Abu, Son of Adam is a far inferior film, neither compelling nor innovative, gaining little real insight into the region's Muslim community along the way."
and the mandolin
, santoor
, sarod
for example, that are close to the oud. Kottukapally also used the tabla
, flute
, drums from North Kerala and also African drums. Contrary to the usual Malayalam films, the film used minimalist music: Kottukapally kept a lot of silence in the film and used aarohana and avarohana
before and after the silence.
The soundtrack to Adaminte Makan Abu features songs composed by Ramesh Narayan
with lyrics by Rafeeque Ahammed. Released on Manorama Music
, the soundtrack featured vocals by Shankar Mahadevan
, Ramesh Narayan, Hariharan
, Sujatha, Madhusree Narayan and Srinivas
. It received generally positive reviews: T. Sudheesh of City Journal
labeling the songs "meaningful and heart rending." Keerthy Ramachandran of Deccan Chronicle said, "Narayanan has composed excellent music in tune with the mood of the movie. Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan and Sujatha have crooned some beautiful songs, yet 'Makka Madheena' triumphs as a song which carries the heart of the theme."
The film is India's official entry to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film
category for the 84th Academy Awards
. The film was chosen over 15 others by the Film Federation of India
(FFI) to represent the country for the award. The other entrants in the race were Guzaarish
, Chillar Party, I am Kalam
, No One Killed Jessica
, 7 Khoon Maaf and Dhobi Ghat
(Hindi), Enthiran, Ko
, Deiva Thirumagal
, Muran
and Aadukalam (Tamil), Moner Manush (Bengali), Urumi
(Malayalam), Mala Aai Vhhaychy (Marathi) and Ala Modalaindi
(Telugu). Adaminte Makan Abu is the second Malayalam film (the first one being Guru
) to be submitted for the Oscars. Salim Ahamed had to take much efforts for promoting the film in the US for the Oscar jury. "Before the Oscar nomination, we will have to conduct a lot of promotional events such as screening the film in the US to mobilise support. A minimum of six screenings have to be arranged for the jury members. I cannot borrow money because even if the film gets a nomination, it does not bring home any cash," Ahamed said. Lobbying for the film began in October last week. In an interview, Ahamed said, "There has been some help from abroad, especially from the people living in the Gulf region. No one from the Malayalam film industry has contacted me or offered support. There has been no support from the government either." Meanwhile, many political parties from Kerala urged the government to help raising funds for the film. In reply, the Kerala Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy
, said Malayalam film industry has to make a unanimous demand for the state government to extend help to the makers of Adaminte Makan Abu, India’s official entry to the Oscars.
The national and state awards going to Kumar in the Best Actor category created tension in the film industry. Director of Pranchiyettan & the Saint
, Ranjith, said that he expected the award to go to his lead, Mammootty
who had also received rave critical reviews. He said that Kumar's performance in Adaminte Makan Abu was no match to his actor's performance in his film. Kumar lashed out against Ranjith's comments saying it was just sour grapes. However, several film pundits have backed the opinion of Ranjith.
In an interview, Pattanam Rasheed complained that the absence of Malayalis
in the national award jury cost him the award for best makeup artist. He said, "I would've got it [the award] if there was a Malayali. Jury members thought Salim [Kumar] was actually an old man. As such, they couldn't appreciate my work."
The film received numerous accolades including four National Film Awards
and four Kerala State Film Awards.
reported that Mumbai
-based film company Mega Productions had approached Salim Ahamed with the intention of remaking the film in Hindi
. Discussions were supposed to be held in early June, before the theatrical release of the original film. Later, reports came that Karan Johar
's Dharma Productions
has also appraoched Ahamed to buy the rights. Johar had already heard about the movie from Zarina Wahab. According to the reports, Karan Johar was to direct the film with Shahrukh Khan
in the role of Abu with Salim Ahamed also attached. Johar, however, later categorically denied any inclination to remake the film through his Twitter post
, which stated, "On record ... am NOT planning the remake of the acclaimed malyalam film ... actually in london to acquire the rights of a superb french film!! If all goes well the french film will translate beautifully into an indian love story ... can’t wait to get it going ... watch this space for more." However, Ahamed later revealed, "Karan's company Dharma Productions had spoken to me about buying the rights of Adaminte Makan Abu. But they didn't get back to me after the initial talks."
Salim Ahamed has, meanwhile, been in talks with J. P. Dutta
, who is eager to remake the hit in Hindi. In a November 2011 interview, Salim Kumar revealed that "there is a plan to remake the film in four major Indian languages."
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
written, directed and co-produced by Salim Ahamed in his debut film. It stars Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab
Zarina Wahab
Zarina Wahab is an Indian actress and former model, who was critically acclaimed for starring roles, such as in Chit Chor and Gopal Krishna in the 1970s.-Early life:...
in the lead roles along with Mukesh
Mukesh (actor)
Mukesh , born Mukesh Babu, is an Indian film actor and producer known for his work in Malayalam cinema.- Personal Life :...
, Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu is a popular Malayalam film actor from Kerala, India. He has also written screenplays and has directed one film.- Early life :...
, Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious...
, and Suraj Venjarammoodu in other supporting roles. The cinematography was handled by Madhu Ambat
Madhu Ambat
Madhu Ambat is a Indian cinematographer. With a wide variety of films under his belt he is one of the most experienced cinematographers in the Indian cinema industry. Noted for his lighting techniques, he has shot a number of award-winning films. He is quite well known for his amazing work in films...
, and the film was edited by Vijay Shankar. The film features songs composed by Ramesh Narayan
Ramesh Narayan
Ramesh Narayan is a Hindustani vocalist from Kerala in south India, and is also an acclaimed film music director. He has given concerts in several parts of his country and abroad...
, and the score is by Isaac Thomas Kottukapally.
The film tells the story of a poor attar
Ittar
Attar also known as ittar is a natural perfume oil derived from botanical sources. Most commonly these oils are taken from the botanical material through hydro or steam distillation. Oils can also be expressed by chemical means but generally natural perfumes which qualify as Ittar/Attars are...
(a kind of perfume) seller Abu (Salim Kumar) whose only remaining wish in life is the Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
pilgrimage, which he strives hard to fulfill, and at the verge of the fulfillment, he opts out when he fears that the means is not fully legitimate. Development on the film began roughly a decade before the film was released. The film was shot digitally
Digital cinematography
Digital cinematography is the process of capturing motion pictures as digital images, rather than on film. Digital capture may occur on video tape, hard disks, flash memory, or other media which can record digital data. As digital technology has improved, this practice has become increasingly common...
over one month beginning on 7 November 2010. Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
and Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
in Kerala, India were the major filming locales.
Distributed by Laughing Villa, a distribution company owned by Salim Kumar, and Allens Media, Adaminte Makan Abu released in theatres on 24 June 2011. It received wide critical acclaim, with numerous praises for its story, direction, cast, cinematography, and score. It received honours for its music, cinematography and writing, as well as for Salim Kumar's performance. At the 58th National Film Awards
58th National Film Awards
The 58th National Film Awards is presented to the best of Indian Cinema released during the year 2010.-Feature Films:Films made in any Indian language shot on 16 mm, 35 mm or in a wider gauge or digital format but released on a film format or video/digital but certified by the Central...
, the 2010 awards for the best in Indian cinema, it earned four major national awards: for Best Film, Best Actor
National Film Award for Best Actor
The National Film Award for Best Actor is an honor presented annually at the National Film Awards of India to an actor who has delivered the best performance in a leading role within the Indian film industry.-Background:The Directorate of Film Festivals makes awards annually in several categories...
(Kumar), Best Cinematography
National Film Award for Best Cinematography
The National Film Award for Best Cinematography are given annually. The only female who has won this award is Anjuli Shukla, who won the award for her debut film, Kutty Srank . The most time winners are Santosh Sivan & K.K. Mahajan - 4 awards each for best cinematography category....
and Best Background Score
National Film Award for Best Music Direction
The National Film Award for Best Music Direction are given annually. In years 1994, 1995 and 2010, an award for Best Background Score was instituted by the Jury, which was won by Johnson and by Ilaiyaraaja . Ilaiyaraaja and A. R...
. It performed similarly at the Kerala State Film Awards, where it won the awards for Best Film
Kerala State Film Award for Best Film
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Film winners:- References :* * Specific...
, Best Actor
Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor has been awarded annually in India since 1969. The Kerala State Film Awards were managed directly by the Government of Kerala's Department of Cultural Affairs until 1997; they are now given by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, an autonomous non-profit...
, Best Screenplay
Kerala State Film Award for Best Screen Play
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Screen Play winners:-References:**...
and Best Background Music
Kerala State Film Award for Best Background Music
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Background Music Director winners:-References:***...
. The film has been chosen as India's official entry to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
category for the 84th Academy Awards
84th Academy Awards
The 84th Academy Awards ceremony will honor the best films of 2011 and will take place on February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. It will be televised in the United States on ABC. The host was originally going to be Eddie Murphy. However, after Brett Ratner resigned as...
.
Plot
Abu (Salim Kumar) and Aishumma (Zarina WahabZarina Wahab
Zarina Wahab is an Indian actress and former model, who was critically acclaimed for starring roles, such as in Chit Chor and Gopal Krishna in the 1970s.-Early life:...
) are an elderly Moplah
Moplah
Moplah may refer to:* Mappila, an ancient Muslim community in Malabar, Kerala state, present day India* Moplah Riots, a series of revolts and attacks by Mappilas against Hindu landlords and British government officials...
Muslim couple living in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
's Malabar region. Their aspiration is to go for Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
, the pilgrimage to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, and they sacrifice to achieve this aim. Their son Sattar has migrated to the Middle East
Arab states of the Persian Gulf
"Arab states of the Persian Gulf" or "Arab Persian Gulf states" or "Persian Gulf Arab states" or "Arabic Persian Gulf states" or "Arab States of The Gulf", are terms that refer to the six Arab states of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, bordering the Persian Gulf....
(as a part of Kerala Gulf boom
Kerala Gulf boom
The Kerala Gulf diaspora refers to the people of Kerala living in the Middle eastern Arab states of the Persian Gulf. They number more than 2.5 million as of 2008.- The Gulf Boom :...
) with his family and has virtually discarded his parents. Now in their late 70s, the couple decide to go for Hajj that year.
Abu sells attar (ittar)
Ittar
Attar also known as ittar is a natural perfume oil derived from botanical sources. Most commonly these oils are taken from the botanical material through hydro or steam distillation. Oils can also be expressed by chemical means but generally natural perfumes which qualify as Ittar/Attars are...
(a perfume obtained from flowers), religious books and Unani
Unani
Unani-tibb or Unani Medicine also spelled Yunani Medicine means "Greek Medicine", and is a form of traditional medicine widely practiced in South Asia...
medicines that nobody seems to want nowadays. Aishumma breeds cattle and hens, helping her husband realize their shared dream. Abu feels as outdated and discarded by a fast-changing world as the traditional products that he sells.
A school teacher (Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu is a popular Malayalam film actor from Kerala, India. He has also written screenplays and has directed one film.- Early life :...
), Abu's friend, comes to his aid at his time of need. Hyder (Suraj Venharammud), a local teashop owner also empathises with Abu who in turn is frequently given genuine advice by a mysterious saint known simply as "Ustad
Ustad
Ustad is an Arabized Persian word is a honorific title for a Muslim man in South Asia. The title precedes the name and is usually used for well regarded teachers and artists, most often musicians. It is applied and used via informal social agreement. It is abbreviated as ut. or ud.-References:*...
" (Tampi Antony). Good-natured people try to help Abu by offering to loan him the amount, but as this goes against the accepted practices of the Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, he refuses to take anything.
With the advancing years, Abu's desperation also grows. Finally, in frustration and distress, Abu gives away his cow and old jackfruit tree. Abu is helped by the manager of a travel agency (Mukesh
Mukesh (actor)
Mukesh , born Mukesh Babu, is an Indian film actor and producer known for his work in Malayalam cinema.- Personal Life :...
) to get flight tickets and other documents for his journey. A policeman (Sasi Kalinga), initially tries to reject Abu's passport application, but once he gets his usual bribe he becomes quite helpful. The couple begins their preparations which include attending the Hajj preparation classes conducted by the travel agency, being vaccinated for meningococcal meningitis and buying new Ihram clothing. Abu pays off even the smallest of his old debts as part of the preparations and travels miles to seek forgiveness from Sulaiman, a previous neighbour with whom he once fought.
When the passports and the tickets are ready and a bus journey away in Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
, the sawmill owner (Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious...
) while handing over the money for Abu's tree says that its wood turned out to be rotten and useless. He insists that Abu still take the money, however, since his cause is noble. Abu refuses it, saying that it wouldn't be halal
Halal
Halal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
and hence could anger God
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
. When he is sure that he cannot fulfill his dream, Abu reaches another conclusion – that the tree too had life, and several lives must have died when he cut the tree in front of his house. Abu conjectures that that maybe one of the reasons for his not being able to go on the journey. On the dawn of the Hajj, Abu tells his wife that they will go the next year, and he plants a new sapling of a jackfruit tree and is seen going to the mosque to pray on the morning of Hajj.
Cast
- Salim Kumar as Abu
- Zarina WahabZarina WahabZarina Wahab is an Indian actress and former model, who was critically acclaimed for starring roles, such as in Chit Chor and Gopal Krishna in the 1970s.-Early life:...
as Aishumma - MukeshMukesh (actor)Mukesh , born Mukesh Babu, is an Indian film actor and producer known for his work in Malayalam cinema.- Personal Life :...
as Ashraf - Nedumudi VenuNedumudi VenuNedumudi Venu is a popular Malayalam film actor from Kerala, India. He has also written screenplays and has directed one film.- Early life :...
as Master - Kalabhavan ManiKalabhavan ManiKalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious...
as Johnson - Suraj Venjarammoodu as Hyder
- Sasi Kalinga as Kabeer
- Thampi Antony as Ustad
- T. S. Raju as Maliyekkal Hassainar Haji
- M. R. Gopakumar as Sulaiman
- Jaffer Idukki as the photographer
- Ambika Mohan as Lalitha, Master's wife
- Vinod Kovoor as Moideen, the fish seller
Development
Development on the film began roughly a decade before the film was released. Adaminte Makan Abu marks the directorial debut of Salim Ahamed, who says that he had entertained the film's story in his mind for many years. Upon graduating from college in early 2000s, Ahamed dreamed of joining the film industry but found it hard to break into and ended up a travel consultant. It was the stories he heard and the people he met during this time that sowed the seeds for Adaminte Makan Abu. The film's protagonists were inspired by a real-life couple. Ahamed says: "I was at Jeddah airport looking for someone to share my baggage weighing about 100 kg. Every Gulf Malayali proceeding on leave is a courier for his friends as he is tasked with delivery of gifts for their loved ones back home. So, while I waited, there was this old couple holding plastic carry bags on their way back after performing Umra. They had lived an austere life to save up for the Hajj, but settled for Umra fearing they would never make it to the Hajj. The agent accompanying them looked desperate to scoot and the moment I made friends with the couple, he disappeared. Our flight got postponed, first in Jeddah and then in Mumbai, and looking after them as we stayed in star hotels became my responsibility. During this period, I learnt a great deal about their undying spirit, life and the virtues they possessed. The central character Abu was also highly inspired by a man named Abu in Ahamed's village who looked and behaved a lot like the central character. Ahamed said that he had written three basic plots during his college days. One was based in a local school in Kerala, one was a thriller, and the third was the story of Abu. He decided to film Adaminte Makan Abu as a number of people liked the story line; he wanted his first film to have a message and to be impressive. It took only a month for Ahamed to prepare the final script. The biggest challenge for him was to find a producer. Nobody was prepared to finance a non-commercial film like this one, so he started saving up from his television pay cheques. But that wasn't enough. Somewhere in the middle of filming, he had to approach a friend (Ashraf Bedi), who agreed to co-produce the film.Casting
Ahamed did a lot of research before he finalized the cast and crew. He decided to take the risk of filming with a serious theme when he secured Salim Kumar in the lead, although the latter did not have the glamour of a conventional hero. "I was confident that the final result would be worth the risk," he says. It was on the sets of 2010 film Best ActorBest Actor (film)
- External links :* http://www.nowrunning.com/movie/7722/malayalam/best-actor/index.htm Best Actor] at Nowrunning.com*...
that Ahamed met the actor to convince him to play the role. It was Kumar's outstanding performance as a son who is forced to abandon his aged mother in Bridge, one of the ten films in the Kerala Cafe
Kerala Cafe
Kerala Cafe is a Malayalam anthology film produced by Ranjith and directed by a team of ten directors including Lal Jose, Shaji Kailas, Anwar Rasheed, Shyamaprasad, B. Unnikrishnan, Revathy, Anjali Menon, M. Padmakumar, Shankar Ramakrishnan, and Uday Ananthan. For the first time in the history of...
anthology, that made the young man choose the actor for the role. Kumar was initially reluctant to accept the role as he was unsure about carrying the film as the star. Ahamed, however, was confident, and assured Kumar that the film would have the top technicians in the field: He brought in the cinematography veteran Madhu Ambat, and Issac Thomas Kottukapally to handle the music section. Kumar, who is generally known in slapstick comedy roles, didn't do any preparation for his role and accepted no payment for his participation in the film. Zarina Wahab
Zarina Wahab
Zarina Wahab is an Indian actress and former model, who was critically acclaimed for starring roles, such as in Chit Chor and Gopal Krishna in the 1970s.-Early life:...
, who had made a comeback in Malayalam films with Calendar
Calendar (2009 film)
Calendar is 2009 Malayalam romance film starring Navya Nair, Zarina Wahab and Prithviraj Sukumaran, Prithviraj's real-life mother Mallika Sukumaran, Jagathi Sreekumar and Mukesh.-Plot:...
plays the lead female role in the film. According to Ahamed, she was cast because she had the face of a Malabar Muslim. Aside from Kumar and Wahab, the film also stars several other actors like Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious...
, Mush
Mukesh (actor)
Mukesh , born Mukesh Babu, is an Indian film actor and producer known for his work in Malayalam cinema.- Personal Life :...
, Suraj Venjarammoodu, Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu is a popular Malayalam film actor from Kerala, India. He has also written screenplays and has directed one film.- Early life :...
and Jaffer Idukki in key roles. Ahamed roped in some of the most famous technicians for his debut film such as cinematographer Madhu Ambat and composer Isaac Thomas Kottukappally. Ahamed says, "I had decided from the beginning that these would be the people I would work with in my first film. Getting the industry’s best talents to work with me was hardly a challenge because they all liked the subject." Madhu Ambat was doing a Malayalam film after a gap of nearly 12 years.
Filming
Pattanam Rasheed did makeup for all the actors including Salim Kumar. The artificial beard he used initially didn't match Kumar's skin tone so he imported a matching beard from MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
spending his own money. Shooting of the film began on 7 November 2010, and took place in various locations in Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
and Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
in Kerala. Major sections were filmed from a house in Athani
Athani
Athani may refer to,* Athani , a village in Greece*In India** Athani , a town in Karnataka** Athani , a village in Kerala** Athani , a town in Tamil Nadu...
in Thrissur. The set was made by debuting art director Jyothish on a shoestring of 2 lakhs. The film was shot digitally
Digital cinematography
Digital cinematography is the process of capturing motion pictures as digital images, rather than on film. Digital capture may occur on video tape, hard disks, flash memory, or other media which can record digital data. As digital technology has improved, this practice has become increasingly common...
using an Arriflex D-21
Arriflex D-21
The Arriflex D-21 is a film-style digital motion picture camera introduced by Arri in 2008 to replace their earlier generation Arriflex D-20.- Overview :...
camera. Cinematographer Madhu Ambat
Madhu Ambat
Madhu Ambat is a Indian cinematographer. With a wide variety of films under his belt he is one of the most experienced cinematographers in the Indian cinema industry. Noted for his lighting techniques, he has shot a number of award-winning films. He is quite well known for his amazing work in films...
recalls that he had planned to use 16 mm film
16 mm film
16 mm film refers to a popular, economical gauge of film used for motion pictures and non-theatrical film making. 16 mm refers to the width of the film...
to further reduce costs but used 35 mm film
35 mm film
35 mm film is the film gauge most commonly used for chemical still photography and motion pictures. The name of the gauge refers to the width of the photographic film, which consists of strips 35 millimeters in width...
instead as he wanted to shoot lots of long shots, which he says were helpful in showing the feeling of loneliness. The total budget of the film was around 1.5 crores. Ahamed had to spend every rupee raised from what he had saved up over the years working on scripts for television serials and assisting directors to complete the film.. The film ran into financial troubles midway through its shooting. Ahamed recalls that it was his friend Ashraf Bedi who financed the film from this stage, and principal production was completed in a mere 31 days. To enhance the technical quality of the film, Oscar
Oscar
Oscar, The Oscar, OSCAR or Oskar may refer to:* Academy Award or Oscar, presented by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for cinematic film achievements...
-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty
Resul Pookutty
Resul Pookutty is an Indian film sound designer, sound editor and mixer. He, along with Richard Pryke and Ian Tapp won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for the film Slumdog Millionaire...
did a re-designing and re-mixing of the sound for the film before its official screening for the Academy members in Los Angeles on November 19. A group of top-notch technicians also came forward to revamp the film free of cost.
Festival screenings
The film had its European premiere on 13 October 2011 at the 55th BFI London Film Festival, where it was screened in "World Cinema" category, and its national premiere on 18 October 2011 at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, where it was screened in "Indian Frame" category. In his review for Firstpost.com, film critic Vikram Phukan selected Adaminte Makan Abu as one of the ten best films to be screened at the Mumbai festival. The film had its North American premiere on 9 November 2011 at the 8th South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF), where it was featured as the opening night film. Adaminte Makan Abu was an official selection for Kolkata Film Festival. The film will be screened at the 23rd Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF), a festival often considered the run-up to the Academy Awards, in January 2012.The film was one of the seven Malayalam films selected to be screened at the Indian Panorama section of International Film Festival of India
International Film Festival of India
The International Film Festival of India , founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually in the beach town of Goa, in the Western Coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excellence of...
. The film was selected to be screened at the 16th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), where it was one of the nine Malayalam films selected to be screened and one of the 14 films that was selected to be screened in the international competition section of the festival. The film is also expected to be screened at 8th Dubai International Film Festival
Dubai International Film Festival
The Dubai International Film Festival is an international film festival based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Launched in 2004, it aims to foster the growth of filmmaking in the Arab world.-Overview:...
.
Theatrical run
After shooting and editing wrapped, the film was sent to Censor Board in MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
and from there copies of the film were directly sent to national and state award committees.In late May, the film's co-producer Ashraf Bedi approached the court alleging that he was cheated by Ahamed who did not mention him as a co-producer when the film's entry papers were submitted for the National Awards. The film was described as produced by Salim Ahamed alone. Consequently, the court held the film's screening and distribution till 10 June.
Ahamed was approached by four major distributors, Playhouse, Khas, Kalasangam and Vaishaka, for the film's distribution rights. Later, Salim Kumar decided to distribute the film himself under his newly-formed distribution company Laughing Villa along with Allens Media Release through Kalasangam, Khas and Manjunatha. The film released in 70 theatres in Kerala on 24 June 2011 with previews held in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, Ernakulam
Ernakulam
Ernakulam refers to the downtown area or the western part of the mainland of Kochi city in Kerala, India. The city is the most urban part of Kochi and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Ernakulam is called the commercial capital of the state of Kerala and is a main nerve of business in...
and Kannur
Kannur
Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...
. A historical film Bombay March 12 starring Mammootty
Mammootty
Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
was slated for release on the same date, but was postponed following a request from Mammootty, who wanted his sure hit to avoid clashing with Adaminte Makan Abu.
Although the film received overwhelmingly positive reviews from all corners, it was only an average grosser in Kerala box-office. Many could not watch the film from theatres since it was withdrawn a few days after the release. According to Salim Kumar, "the movie did not do well on the box-offices and the collection was relatively better from the Muslim dominated Malabar region."
Home media
The film's home video rights were bought by Empire Videos. DVDs were released in September 2011 and reportedly had an overwhelming response. This unexpected response was due to the film's early withdrawal from theatres. Media had already reported that many viewers were not able to watch the film from theatres.The film premierred in television on 7 November 2011 on Mazhavil Manorama
Mazhavil Manorama
Mazhavil Manorama is a Malayalam general entertainment television channel from the Malayala Manorama group. The channel is on air from 06:30 PM on 31 October 2011. The Malayala Manorama group is already into TV media through their Malayalam news channel, Manorama News. Through the launch of...
, coinciding with the festival of Bakrid.
Accusation of plagiarism
A controversy regarding the film's plot originated when filmmaker Abbas Kalathod claimed that the film's story was taken from his short film Maruppacha released eight years prior. "With the characters of Maruppacha given an elderly treatment and embellishing the story with exaggeration, Adaminte Makan Abu was made," he claimed. Kalathod says that the 21-minute Maruppacha for which he had written the story, script and dialogue, narrate "a story of Bappu, a youth who spares a little of his day's earning in preparation for the Hajj. He hands over the entire money to his neighbour, who nourishes such a wish. In Qabalah, Abdullah dreams of a heavenly voice which says the God has accepted only Bappu's Haj. On his return, Abdullah goes in search of Bappu. The story ends when after a prolonged wandering they meet, and Abdullah tells the entire story to Bappu." Salim Kumar reacted, calling the allegations ridiculous. He said, "Adaminte Makan Abu is yet to be released. Without watching the film, the man who leveled the allegations came to the conclusion that its story is plagiarized. I came across the story that he claimed to be similar to that of Adaminte Makan Abu. The story penned by him bears resemblance to that of the film Kuttikkuppayam."Also, a similar story was narrated by the 8th-century Sufi saint Ibrahim ibn Adham. In the story, its a shoesmith who dreams of going for Hajj pilgrimage.
Critical reception
The film met with critical acclaim. Gautaman Bhaskaran of The Hindustan Times rated the movie three-out-of-five stars writing, "Adaminte Makan Abu while being a rare study in restraint often plays out like a placid stream. Except for the old couple's son ... Ahamed portrays too idyllic a situation." About the cinematography, the reviewer says that "some of the shots are divinely beautiful, conveying a deep sense of loneliness and gloom." The critic praises Kottukappally's background score feeling that it "does add up to create the mood that swings between despair and hope, between despondency and cheer." The actors' performances he labelled "marvellous", with the leads receiving particular praise. A critic from Easternkicks.com rated the film five-out-of-five stars and wrote that it is "a simple tale, beautifully filmed and acted, and a rare insight into Muslim life in Kerala…". The official website of Institute of Contemporary Arts called the film a "gentle tale of irrepressible hope and true companionship." Guy Lodge of VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine stated, "Ahamed tells his story with clarity and compassion, but little humor or grit: The film has a tendency to shy away from overt dramatic conflict, as Abu's gentle decency sees him escape or mollify one practical or personal opponent after another." The critic praised Ambat's cinematography, but criticised Kumar's performance saying, he "is a committed but slightly over-deliberate presence in the lead." J. Hurtado of Canadian film website Twitch Film
Twitch Film
Twitch Film, also known simply as Twitch, is an English language Canadian website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown, a cinephile with personal interests in arthouse and grindhouse cinema...
called the film "a peaceful, contemplative" one and stated, "This film is like a breath of fresh air and a reminder of the power that film can have to affect its viewers in a way that stays with them." Paresh C. Palicha of Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
-based Internet provider Rediff.com
Rediff.com
Rediff.com India is a news, information, entertainment, and shopping portal. It was founded in 1996 as "Rediff On The NeT" and is headquartered in Mumbai, India with offices in New Delhi and New York City, USA....
gave the film a very positive review and praised it as "simple and beautiful". The review mostly praised the performances, direction and story, also giving it three-over-five stars . In Deccan Chronicle newspaper, Keerthy Ramachandran gave the film a five-star rating , writing the film "should get a glorious position in the annals the history of Malayalam cinema". S. Anandan of The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
newspaper also published a positive review, saying, "[W]ith its honest portrayal of a devout old man's pursuit of spiritual bliss, [the film] offers a glimmer of hope for Malayalam cinema, currently at its nadir". The critic labelled the film setting however as "idyllic" saying, "[T]he societal life in the village, reminiscent of rural Kerala in the 1980s with its crop of do-gooders and mystics, is too ideal to be true in current times. But then, [Ahamed] is out to picture life in a Basheerian habitat, where inter-religious individuals gleefully share the earth with pagan-living organisms." T. Sudheesh of the Thrissur City Journal
City Journal (Thrissur)
City Journal is a daily English newspaper based in Thrissur, Kerala.-History:City Journal was started in August 2010. It is published from Thrissur district in Kerala and is currently the only English daily newspaper in the city. The paper aims to focus on local events and carries 16 pages of news,...
concluded his review by saying that "Ahamed ... has made a beautiful film. Adaminte Makan Abu is quite engaging and entertaining as well. The film truly deserves the national award. It is really worth watching." Veeyen of Indian online portal Nowrunning.com was all praise for the film, adding that the film "is meticulously paced and splendidly staged to create a sense of optimism that should keep the human race going in these testing times." A reviewer from the Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
-based Internet provider Sify.com gave the film a five-star rating , saying the film "has done proud for Malayalam and will find its place among the most powerful films ever made in Malayalam." A reviewer from Indian online portal Oneindia.in
Oneindia.in
Oneindia.in is an Indian online portal owned by Greynium Information Technologies Pvt. Ltd., which provides news updates, sports news, travel, entertainment, videos, and classifieds. Alexa Traffic Rank of Oneindia.in is ranked number 525 in the world and Google page rank of Oneindia.in is 7...
said that Ahamed "has created a masterpiece out of a simple story". After watching the film during a special screening for media personell at Sree theatre in Calicut, famous orator and writer Sukumar Azhikode
Sukumar Azhikode
Sukumar Azhikode is a writer, critic and orator, acknowledged for his contributions to Malayalam and insights on Indian philosophy. He is a bachelor and lives in Eravimangalam near Thrissur....
said, "Adaminte Makan Abu shows us how a Malayalam film should be." He also praised Salim Kumar's performance saying, "Salim Kumar was not acting, but was living as the titular character Abu."
The film did receive a few negative reviews as well. Daniel Green from Cine-Vue.com gave the film 2 out of 5 stars , wrote, "Abu, Son of Adam is a far inferior film, neither compelling nor innovative, gaining little real insight into the region's Muslim community along the way."
Music
The film features an original score by Isaac Thomas Kottukapally. Kottukapally didn't want to confine the music to a particular region alone as the subject and emotions are universal. As the story is about going on Hajj, he used notes from Arabic scales but keeping it to the minimum until the Hajj theme comes on-screen, and he used Arabic instruments like the oudOud
The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths...
and the mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, santoor
Santoor
The santoor is an ancient stringed musical instrument, native to Kashmir and Iran. It is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer often made of walnut, with seventy two strings. The special-shaped mallets are lightweight and are held between the index and middle fingers...
, sarod
Sarod
The sarod is a stringed musical instrument, used mainly in Indian classical music. Along with the sitar, it is the most popular and prominent instrument in the classical music of Hindustan...
for example, that are close to the oud. Kottukapally also used the tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, drums from North Kerala and also African drums. Contrary to the usual Malayalam films, the film used minimalist music: Kottukapally kept a lot of silence in the film and used aarohana and avarohana
Avarohana
An Avarohana, Avarohanam or Avarohan in Indian classical music terminology is the descending scale of any raga. Each raga has an avarohana and arohana. The notes descend in pitch from the octave tonic down to the lower tonic...
before and after the silence.
The soundtrack to Adaminte Makan Abu features songs composed by Ramesh Narayan
Ramesh Narayan
Ramesh Narayan is a Hindustani vocalist from Kerala in south India, and is also an acclaimed film music director. He has given concerts in several parts of his country and abroad...
with lyrics by Rafeeque Ahammed. Released on Manorama Music
Manorama Music
Manorama Music, is a music company of India. It owns probabily the largest music label of Kerala. The label has produced and distributed film soundtracks, poems, cartoon series, music albums etc. The company is owned by M.M. Publications Ltd, which also owns the Malayala Manorama....
, the soundtrack featured vocals by Shankar Mahadevan
Shankar Mahadevan
Shankar Mahadevan is an Indian music composer and singer. He is a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio team that composes for Indian films and a playback singer.-Early life:...
, Ramesh Narayan, Hariharan
Hariharan (singer)
Hariharan , born 3 April 1955) is an Indian playback singer in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Bhojpuri and Telugu movies, an established ghazal singer, and one of the pioneers of Indian fusion music. His melody is strongly appreciated by the film fraternity...
, Sujatha, Madhusree Narayan and Srinivas
Srinivas (singer)
Srinivas 'Srini' is an award winning playback singer who has sung over 2000 songs in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi. He is also a music composer.-Early life:...
. It received generally positive reviews: T. Sudheesh of City Journal
City Journal (Thrissur)
City Journal is a daily English newspaper based in Thrissur, Kerala.-History:City Journal was started in August 2010. It is published from Thrissur district in Kerala and is currently the only English daily newspaper in the city. The paper aims to focus on local events and carries 16 pages of news,...
labeling the songs "meaningful and heart rending." Keerthy Ramachandran of Deccan Chronicle said, "Narayanan has composed excellent music in tune with the mood of the movie. Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan and Sujatha have crooned some beautiful songs, yet 'Makka Madheena' triumphs as a song which carries the heart of the theme."
Track listing
Accolades
Salim Kumar became the tenth Malayalam actor, and the first comedian, to win the National Film award. State Award Jury chairman Buddhadeb Dasgupta was profuse in his praise for Kumar. "I was overwhelmed. For the first 10-15 minutes I couldn't believe my eyes. I had seen the same person in comedy roles in some other films that came up for our consideration. This performance was overwhelming. He overshadowed everyone else."The film is India's official entry to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
category for the 84th Academy Awards
84th Academy Awards
The 84th Academy Awards ceremony will honor the best films of 2011 and will take place on February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. It will be televised in the United States on ABC. The host was originally going to be Eddie Murphy. However, after Brett Ratner resigned as...
. The film was chosen over 15 others by the Film Federation of India
Film Federation of India
The Film Federation of India is an apex body of the Indian producers , distributors , exhibitors and studio owners, headquartered in Mumbai....
(FFI) to represent the country for the award. The other entrants in the race were Guzaarish
Guzaarish
Guzaarish is a 2010 Hindi drama romance film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai in the lead roles. The film is produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ronnie Screwvala under the banner of SLB Films and UTV Motion Pictures.The first look of Guzaarish was...
, Chillar Party, I am Kalam
I Am Kalam
I Am Kalam is a Bollywood film directed by Nila Madhab Panda. The plot revolves around Chhotu, a poor Rajasthani boy, who is inspired by the life of the former President of India, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. and his strong desire to learn to read. The character of Chhotu has been performed by Harsh...
, No One Killed Jessica
No One Killed Jessica
No One Killed Jessica is a 2011 Bollywood film starring Rani Mukerji and Vidya Balan, produced by UTV Spotboy and directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, who directed the acclaimed film Aamir ....
, 7 Khoon Maaf and Dhobi Ghat
Dhobi Ghat
Dhobi Ghat is a well known open air laundromat in Mumbai, India. The washers, locally known as Dhobis, work in the open to wash the clothes from Mumbai's hotels and hospitals. There are rows of open-air concrete wash pens, each fitted with its own flogging stone...
(Hindi), Enthiran, Ko
Ko (film)
Ko is a 2011 Indian Tamil political thriller film directed by K. V. Anand starring Jeeva, Ajmal Ameer, newcomer Karthika Nair and Piaa Bajpai. The film was released on 22 April 2011 to mostly positive reviews, and was dubbed into Telugu as Rangam as well. The film's plot outline is inspired by the...
, Deiva Thirumagal
Deiva Thirumagal
Deiva Thirumagal is a 2011 Tamil drama film written and directed by A. L. Vijay and produced by Mohan Natarajan that features Vikram in the lead role as a mentally challenged adult with the maturity of a six-year-old boy, while Baby Sarah, Anushka Shetty, Amala Paul and Nassar portray other...
, Muran
Muran (film)
Muran is a 2011 Indian Tamil drama thriller film written and directed by debutant Rajjan Madhav. It stars Cheran alongside Prasanna, with Haripriya, Nikita Thukral and Jayaprakash in pivotal roles. Launched in September 2010, the film's shooting was completed by July 2011...
and Aadukalam (Tamil), Moner Manush (Bengali), Urumi
Urumi (film)
Urumi is a 2011 Malayalam historical-fantasy film directed and co-produced by Santosh Sivan and written by Shankar Ramakrishnan. It stars Prithviraj, who was also one of the producers of the film, as Chirakkal Kelu Nayanar, Prabhu Deva as Vavvali, Robin Pratt as Vasco da Gama, Alexx ONell as...
(Malayalam), Mala Aai Vhhaychy (Marathi) and Ala Modalaindi
Ala Modalaindi
-Malayalam dubbed version:Angane Thudangi , the Malayalam dubbed version, got released in Kerala on 28 July 2011 . The film got a wide release and a good reception, indicating the growing popularity of Telugu dubbed films in Kerala. The presence of kerala actress Nithya Menen also helped in film's...
(Telugu). Adaminte Makan Abu is the second Malayalam film (the first one being Guru
Guru (1997 film)
Guru is a Malayalam-language film directed by Rajiv Anchal. Mohanlal played the lead role in the film. Nedumudi Venu, Srinivasan, Suresh Gopi, Sithara, Kaveri and Sreelakshmi star in supporting roles....
) to be submitted for the Oscars. Salim Ahamed had to take much efforts for promoting the film in the US for the Oscar jury. "Before the Oscar nomination, we will have to conduct a lot of promotional events such as screening the film in the US to mobilise support. A minimum of six screenings have to be arranged for the jury members. I cannot borrow money because even if the film gets a nomination, it does not bring home any cash," Ahamed said. Lobbying for the film began in October last week. In an interview, Ahamed said, "There has been some help from abroad, especially from the people living in the Gulf region. No one from the Malayalam film industry has contacted me or offered support. There has been no support from the government either." Meanwhile, many political parties from Kerala urged the government to help raising funds for the film. In reply, the Kerala Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy
Oommen Chandy
Oommen Chandy is an Indian politician and the current Chief Minister of Kerala. He has held the Chief Minister of Kerala position earlier from 2004 to 2006, and was the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2011.-Early life:Oommen Chandy or 'Kunjoonju' was born...
, said Malayalam film industry has to make a unanimous demand for the state government to extend help to the makers of Adaminte Makan Abu, India’s official entry to the Oscars.
The national and state awards going to Kumar in the Best Actor category created tension in the film industry. Director of Pranchiyettan & the Saint
Pranchiyettan & the Saint
Pranchiyettan & the Saint is a 2010 Malayalam satirical film written, directed, and produced by Ranjith. The film centres on the fictitious conversation between the Thrissur based rice merchant C.E. Francis aka Pranchiyettan and St. Francis of Assisi...
, Ranjith, said that he expected the award to go to his lead, Mammootty
Mammootty
Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
who had also received rave critical reviews. He said that Kumar's performance in Adaminte Makan Abu was no match to his actor's performance in his film. Kumar lashed out against Ranjith's comments saying it was just sour grapes. However, several film pundits have backed the opinion of Ranjith.
In an interview, Pattanam Rasheed complained that the absence of Malayalis
Malayalam cinema
The Cinema of Kerala or Malayalam cinema refers to the film industry in the Indian state of Kerala, which makes films in the Malayalam language. Malayalam movies typically portray social or family issues and are considered more realistic than films from other parts of India. Malayalam cinema has...
in the national award jury cost him the award for best makeup artist. He said, "I would've got it [the award] if there was a Malayali. Jury members thought Salim [Kumar] was actually an old man. As such, they couldn't appreciate my work."
The film received numerous accolades including four National Film Awards
National Film Awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel...
and four Kerala State Film Awards.
| Award | Ceremony | Category | Recipients |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amrita-FEFKA Film Awards | 2011 Amrita-FEFKA Film Awards | Special Jury Award | Salim Kumar |
| Asia Vision Film Awards | 2011 Asia Vision Film Awards | Best Outstanding Indian Film | Salim Ahamed |
| Best Actor | Salim Kumar | ||
| Jaihind TV Film Awards | 2011 Jaihind TV Film Awards | Best Actor | Salim Kumar |
| Kerala Film Critics Association Awards Kerala Film Critics Association Awards The Kerala Film Critics Association Awards are presented annually by the Kerala Film Critics Association to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Malayalam language film industry of India. The awards were instituted in 1977.... |
2011 Kerala Film Critics Association Awards | Special Jury Award | Salim Kumar |
| Kerala State Film Awards | 2010 Kerala State Film Awards | Best Actor Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor The Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor has been awarded annually in India since 1969. The Kerala State Film Awards were managed directly by the Government of Kerala's Department of Cultural Affairs until 1997; they are now given by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, an autonomous non-profit... |
Salim Kumar |
| Best Background Music Kerala State Film Award for Best Background Music The Kerala State Film Award for Best Background Music Director winners:-References:***... |
Isaac Thomas Kottukapally | ||
| Best Film Kerala State Film Award for Best Film The Kerala State Film Award for Best Film winners:- References :* * Specific... |
Salim Ahamed and Ashraf Bedi | ||
| Best Screenplay Kerala State Film Award for Best Screen Play The Kerala State Film Award for Best Screen Play winners:-References:**... |
Salim Ahamed | ||
| National Film Awards National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel... |
58th National Film Awards 58th National Film Awards The 58th National Film Awards is presented to the best of Indian Cinema released during the year 2010.-Feature Films:Films made in any Indian language shot on 16 mm, 35 mm or in a wider gauge or digital format but released on a film format or video/digital but certified by the Central... |
Best Actor National Film Award for Best Actor The National Film Award for Best Actor is an honor presented annually at the National Film Awards of India to an actor who has delivered the best performance in a leading role within the Indian film industry.-Background:The Directorate of Film Festivals makes awards annually in several categories... |
Salim Kumar |
| Best Cinematography National Film Award for Best Cinematography The National Film Award for Best Cinematography are given annually. The only female who has won this award is Anjuli Shukla, who won the award for her debut film, Kutty Srank . The most time winners are Santosh Sivan & K.K. Mahajan - 4 awards each for best cinematography category.... |
Madhu Ambat Madhu Ambat Madhu Ambat is a Indian cinematographer. With a wide variety of films under his belt he is one of the most experienced cinematographers in the Indian cinema industry. Noted for his lighting techniques, he has shot a number of award-winning films. He is quite well known for his amazing work in films... |
||
| Best Feature Film | Salim Ahamed | ||
| Best Music Direction (Background Score) National Film Award for Best Music Direction The National Film Award for Best Music Direction are given annually. In years 1994, 1995 and 2010, an award for Best Background Score was instituted by the Jury, which was won by Johnson and by Ilaiyaraaja . Ilaiyaraaja and A. R... |
Isaac Thomas Kottukapally | ||
| Vellinakshatram Film Awards | 2011 Vellinakshatram Film Awards | Special Award | Salim Ahamed |
| Special Award | Salim Kumar |
Plan for Remake
In late-May 2011, the Malayalam daily MadhyamamMadhyamam
Madhyamam is a Malayalam daily newspaper published from Kerala, India, since 1987.. It was founded in 1987 by the initiatives of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. It has 10 editions in India and its Gulf edition Gulf Madhyamam has 9 in the Middle East...
reported that Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
-based film company Mega Productions had approached Salim Ahamed with the intention of remaking the film in Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
. Discussions were supposed to be held in early June, before the theatrical release of the original film. Later, reports came that Karan Johar
Karan Johar
Karan Johar is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and Television host. He is the son of Hiroo Johar and Yash Johar. He is one of the most successful filmmakers in Bollywood. He is most known for directing and producing some of Bollywood's highest grossing films in India and the...
's Dharma Productions
Dharma Productions
Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian film company founded by Yash Johar in 1976.- Other projects :Dharma Productions and NDTV recently decided to jointly launch an entertainment television channel called NDTV Imagine.- Controversy :...
has also appraoched Ahamed to buy the rights. Johar had already heard about the movie from Zarina Wahab. According to the reports, Karan Johar was to direct the film with Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
in the role of Abu with Salim Ahamed also attached. Johar, however, later categorically denied any inclination to remake the film through his Twitter post
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, which stated, "On record ... am NOT planning the remake of the acclaimed malyalam film ... actually in london to acquire the rights of a superb french film!! If all goes well the french film will translate beautifully into an indian love story ... can’t wait to get it going ... watch this space for more." However, Ahamed later revealed, "Karan's company Dharma Productions had spoken to me about buying the rights of Adaminte Makan Abu. But they didn't get back to me after the initial talks."
Salim Ahamed has, meanwhile, been in talks with J. P. Dutta
J. P. Dutta
Jyoti Prakash Dutta is an Indian Bollywood film producer and director. Mr. Dutta produces his films under the banner of JP Films. He is known for directing many patriotic war films and films in the action genre...
, who is eager to remake the hit in Hindi. In a November 2011 interview, Salim Kumar revealed that "there is a plan to remake the film in four major Indian languages."
See also
- List of submissions to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Indian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- Le Grand VoyageLe Grand VoyageLe Grand Voyage is a 2004 film written and directed by Ismaël Ferroukhi. The film portrays the relationship between father and son as both embark on a religious pilgrimage trip by car. It was shown at the 2004 Toronto and Venice International Film Festivals.-Plot:Réda is a French-Moroccan...
, a 2004 French film which portrays the relationship between father and son as both embark on a religious pilgrimage trip.
External links
Adaminte Makan Abu is a 2011 IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
written, directed and co-produced by Salim Ahamed in his debut film. It stars Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab
Zarina Wahab
Zarina Wahab is an Indian actress and former model, who was critically acclaimed for starring roles, such as in Chit Chor and Gopal Krishna in the 1970s.-Early life:...
in the lead roles along with Mukesh
Mukesh (actor)
Mukesh , born Mukesh Babu, is an Indian film actor and producer known for his work in Malayalam cinema.- Personal Life :...
, Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu is a popular Malayalam film actor from Kerala, India. He has also written screenplays and has directed one film.- Early life :...
, Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious...
, and Suraj Venjarammoodu in other supporting roles. The cinematography was handled by Madhu Ambat
Madhu Ambat
Madhu Ambat is a Indian cinematographer. With a wide variety of films under his belt he is one of the most experienced cinematographers in the Indian cinema industry. Noted for his lighting techniques, he has shot a number of award-winning films. He is quite well known for his amazing work in films...
, and the film was edited by Vijay Shankar. The film features songs composed by Ramesh Narayan
Ramesh Narayan
Ramesh Narayan is a Hindustani vocalist from Kerala in south India, and is also an acclaimed film music director. He has given concerts in several parts of his country and abroad...
, and the score is by Isaac Thomas Kottukapally.
The film tells the story of a poor attar
Ittar
Attar also known as ittar is a natural perfume oil derived from botanical sources. Most commonly these oils are taken from the botanical material through hydro or steam distillation. Oils can also be expressed by chemical means but generally natural perfumes which qualify as Ittar/Attars are...
(a kind of perfume) seller Abu (Salim Kumar) whose only remaining wish in life is the Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
pilgrimage, which he strives hard to fulfill, and at the verge of the fulfillment, he opts out when he fears that the means is not fully legitimate. Development on the film began roughly a decade before the film was released. The film was shot digitally
Digital cinematography
Digital cinematography is the process of capturing motion pictures as digital images, rather than on film. Digital capture may occur on video tape, hard disks, flash memory, or other media which can record digital data. As digital technology has improved, this practice has become increasingly common...
over one month beginning on 7 November 2010. Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
and Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
in Kerala, India were the major filming locales.
Distributed by Laughing Villa, a distribution company owned by Salim Kumar, and Allens Media, Adaminte Makan Abu released in theatres on 24 June 2011. It received wide critical acclaim, with numerous praises for its story, direction, cast, cinematography, and score. It received honours for its music, cinematography and writing, as well as for Salim Kumar's performance. At the 58th National Film Awards
58th National Film Awards
The 58th National Film Awards is presented to the best of Indian Cinema released during the year 2010.-Feature Films:Films made in any Indian language shot on 16 mm, 35 mm or in a wider gauge or digital format but released on a film format or video/digital but certified by the Central...
, the 2010 awards for the best in Indian cinema, it earned four major national awards: for Best Film, Best Actor
National Film Award for Best Actor
The National Film Award for Best Actor is an honor presented annually at the National Film Awards of India to an actor who has delivered the best performance in a leading role within the Indian film industry.-Background:The Directorate of Film Festivals makes awards annually in several categories...
(Kumar), Best Cinematography
National Film Award for Best Cinematography
The National Film Award for Best Cinematography are given annually. The only female who has won this award is Anjuli Shukla, who won the award for her debut film, Kutty Srank . The most time winners are Santosh Sivan & K.K. Mahajan - 4 awards each for best cinematography category....
and Best Background Score
National Film Award for Best Music Direction
The National Film Award for Best Music Direction are given annually. In years 1994, 1995 and 2010, an award for Best Background Score was instituted by the Jury, which was won by Johnson and by Ilaiyaraaja . Ilaiyaraaja and A. R...
. It performed similarly at the Kerala State Film Awards, where it won the awards for Best Film
Kerala State Film Award for Best Film
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Film winners:- References :* * Specific...
, Best Actor
Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor has been awarded annually in India since 1969. The Kerala State Film Awards were managed directly by the Government of Kerala's Department of Cultural Affairs until 1997; they are now given by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, an autonomous non-profit...
, Best Screenplay
Kerala State Film Award for Best Screen Play
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Screen Play winners:-References:**...
and Best Background Music
Kerala State Film Award for Best Background Music
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Background Music Director winners:-References:***...
. The film has been chosen as India's official entry to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
category for the 84th Academy Awards
84th Academy Awards
The 84th Academy Awards ceremony will honor the best films of 2011 and will take place on February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. It will be televised in the United States on ABC. The host was originally going to be Eddie Murphy. However, after Brett Ratner resigned as...
.
Plot
Abu (Salim Kumar) and Aishumma (Zarina WahabZarina Wahab
Zarina Wahab is an Indian actress and former model, who was critically acclaimed for starring roles, such as in Chit Chor and Gopal Krishna in the 1970s.-Early life:...
) are an elderly Moplah
Moplah
Moplah may refer to:* Mappila, an ancient Muslim community in Malabar, Kerala state, present day India* Moplah Riots, a series of revolts and attacks by Mappilas against Hindu landlords and British government officials...
Muslim couple living in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
's Malabar region. Their aspiration is to go for Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
, the pilgrimage to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, and they sacrifice to achieve this aim. Their son Sattar has migrated to the Middle East
Arab states of the Persian Gulf
"Arab states of the Persian Gulf" or "Arab Persian Gulf states" or "Persian Gulf Arab states" or "Arabic Persian Gulf states" or "Arab States of The Gulf", are terms that refer to the six Arab states of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, bordering the Persian Gulf....
(as a part of Kerala Gulf boom
Kerala Gulf boom
The Kerala Gulf diaspora refers to the people of Kerala living in the Middle eastern Arab states of the Persian Gulf. They number more than 2.5 million as of 2008.- The Gulf Boom :...
) with his family and has virtually discarded his parents. Now in their late 70s, the couple decide to go for Hajj that year.
Abu sells attar (ittar)
Ittar
Attar also known as ittar is a natural perfume oil derived from botanical sources. Most commonly these oils are taken from the botanical material through hydro or steam distillation. Oils can also be expressed by chemical means but generally natural perfumes which qualify as Ittar/Attars are...
(a perfume obtained from flowers), religious books and Unani
Unani
Unani-tibb or Unani Medicine also spelled Yunani Medicine means "Greek Medicine", and is a form of traditional medicine widely practiced in South Asia...
medicines that nobody seems to want nowadays. Aishumma breeds cattle and hens, helping her husband realize their shared dream. Abu feels as outdated and discarded by a fast-changing world as the traditional products that he sells.
A school teacher (Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu is a popular Malayalam film actor from Kerala, India. He has also written screenplays and has directed one film.- Early life :...
), Abu's friend, comes to his aid at his time of need. Hyder (Suraj Venharammud), a local teashop owner also empathises with Abu who in turn is frequently given genuine advice by a mysterious saint known simply as "Ustad
Ustad
Ustad is an Arabized Persian word is a honorific title for a Muslim man in South Asia. The title precedes the name and is usually used for well regarded teachers and artists, most often musicians. It is applied and used via informal social agreement. It is abbreviated as ut. or ud.-References:*...
" (Tampi Antony). Good-natured people try to help Abu by offering to loan him the amount, but as this goes against the accepted practices of the Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, he refuses to take anything.
With the advancing years, Abu's desperation also grows. Finally, in frustration and distress, Abu gives away his cow and old jackfruit tree. Abu is helped by the manager of a travel agency (Mukesh
Mukesh (actor)
Mukesh , born Mukesh Babu, is an Indian film actor and producer known for his work in Malayalam cinema.- Personal Life :...
) to get flight tickets and other documents for his journey. A policeman (Sasi Kalinga), initially tries to reject Abu's passport application, but once he gets his usual bribe he becomes quite helpful. The couple begins their preparations which include attending the Hajj preparation classes conducted by the travel agency, being vaccinated for meningococcal meningitis and buying new Ihram clothing. Abu pays off even the smallest of his old debts as part of the preparations and travels miles to seek forgiveness from Sulaiman, a previous neighbour with whom he once fought.
When the passports and the tickets are ready and a bus journey away in Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
, the sawmill owner (Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious...
) while handing over the money for Abu's tree says that its wood turned out to be rotten and useless. He insists that Abu still take the money, however, since his cause is noble. Abu refuses it, saying that it wouldn't be halal
Halal
Halal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
and hence could anger God
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
. When he is sure that he cannot fulfill his dream, Abu reaches another conclusion – that the tree too had life, and several lives must have died when he cut the tree in front of his house. Abu conjectures that that maybe one of the reasons for his not being able to go on the journey. On the dawn of the Hajj, Abu tells his wife that they will go the next year, and he plants a new sapling of a jackfruit tree and is seen going to the mosque to pray on the morning of Hajj.
Cast
- Salim Kumar as Abu
- Zarina WahabZarina WahabZarina Wahab is an Indian actress and former model, who was critically acclaimed for starring roles, such as in Chit Chor and Gopal Krishna in the 1970s.-Early life:...
as Aishumma - MukeshMukesh (actor)Mukesh , born Mukesh Babu, is an Indian film actor and producer known for his work in Malayalam cinema.- Personal Life :...
as Ashraf - Nedumudi VenuNedumudi VenuNedumudi Venu is a popular Malayalam film actor from Kerala, India. He has also written screenplays and has directed one film.- Early life :...
as Master - Kalabhavan ManiKalabhavan ManiKalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious...
as Johnson - Suraj Venjarammoodu as Hyder
- Sasi Kalinga as Kabeer
- Thampi Antony as Ustad
- T. S. Raju as Maliyekkal Hassainar Haji
- M. R. Gopakumar as Sulaiman
- Jaffer Idukki as the photographer
- Ambika Mohan as Lalitha, Master's wife
- Vinod Kovoor as Moideen, the fish seller
Development
Development on the film began roughly a decade before the film was released. Adaminte Makan Abu marks the directorial debut of Salim Ahamed, who says that he had entertained the film's story in his mind for many years. Upon graduating from college in early 2000s, Ahamed dreamed of joining the film industry but found it hard to break into and ended up a travel consultant. It was the stories he heard and the people he met during this time that sowed the seeds for Adaminte Makan Abu. The film's protagonists were inspired by a real-life couple. Ahamed says: "I was at Jeddah airport looking for someone to share my baggage weighing about 100 kg. Every Gulf Malayali proceeding on leave is a courier for his friends as he is tasked with delivery of gifts for their loved ones back home. So, while I waited, there was this old couple holding plastic carry bags on their way back after performing Umra. They had lived an austere life to save up for the Hajj, but settled for Umra fearing they would never make it to the Hajj. The agent accompanying them looked desperate to scoot and the moment I made friends with the couple, he disappeared. Our flight got postponed, first in Jeddah and then in Mumbai, and looking after them as we stayed in star hotels became my responsibility. During this period, I learnt a great deal about their undying spirit, life and the virtues they possessed. The central character Abu was also highly inspired by a man named Abu in Ahamed's village who looked and behaved a lot like the central character. Ahamed said that he had written three basic plots during his college days. One was based in a local school in Kerala, one was a thriller, and the third was the story of Abu. He decided to film Adaminte Makan Abu as a number of people liked the story line; he wanted his first film to have a message and to be impressive. It took only a month for Ahamed to prepare the final script. The biggest challenge for him was to find a producer. Nobody was prepared to finance a non-commercial film like this one, so he started saving up from his television pay cheques. But that wasn't enough. Somewhere in the middle of filming, he had to approach a friend (Ashraf Bedi), who agreed to co-produce the film.Casting
Ahamed did a lot of research before he finalized the cast and crew. He decided to take the risk of filming with a serious theme when he secured Salim Kumar in the lead, although the latter did not have the glamour of a conventional hero. "I was confident that the final result would be worth the risk," he says. It was on the sets of 2010 film Best ActorBest Actor (film)
- External links :* http://www.nowrunning.com/movie/7722/malayalam/best-actor/index.htm Best Actor] at Nowrunning.com*...
that Ahamed met the actor to convince him to play the role. It was Kumar's outstanding performance as a son who is forced to abandon his aged mother in Bridge, one of the ten films in the Kerala Cafe
Kerala Cafe
Kerala Cafe is a Malayalam anthology film produced by Ranjith and directed by a team of ten directors including Lal Jose, Shaji Kailas, Anwar Rasheed, Shyamaprasad, B. Unnikrishnan, Revathy, Anjali Menon, M. Padmakumar, Shankar Ramakrishnan, and Uday Ananthan. For the first time in the history of...
anthology, that made the young man choose the actor for the role. Kumar was initially reluctant to accept the role as he was unsure about carrying the film as the star. Ahamed, however, was confident, and assured Kumar that the film would have the top technicians in the field: He brought in the cinematography veteran Madhu Ambat, and Issac Thomas Kottukapally to handle the music section. Kumar, who is generally known in slapstick comedy roles, didn't do any preparation for his role and accepted no payment for his participation in the film. Zarina Wahab
Zarina Wahab
Zarina Wahab is an Indian actress and former model, who was critically acclaimed for starring roles, such as in Chit Chor and Gopal Krishna in the 1970s.-Early life:...
, who had made a comeback in Malayalam films with Calendar
Calendar (2009 film)
Calendar is 2009 Malayalam romance film starring Navya Nair, Zarina Wahab and Prithviraj Sukumaran, Prithviraj's real-life mother Mallika Sukumaran, Jagathi Sreekumar and Mukesh.-Plot:...
plays the lead female role in the film. According to Ahamed, she was cast because she had the face of a Malabar Muslim. Aside from Kumar and Wahab, the film also stars several other actors like Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious...
, Mush
Mukesh (actor)
Mukesh , born Mukesh Babu, is an Indian film actor and producer known for his work in Malayalam cinema.- Personal Life :...
, Suraj Venjarammoodu, Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu is a popular Malayalam film actor from Kerala, India. He has also written screenplays and has directed one film.- Early life :...
and Jaffer Idukki in key roles. Ahamed roped in some of the most famous technicians for his debut film such as cinematographer Madhu Ambat and composer Isaac Thomas Kottukappally. Ahamed says, "I had decided from the beginning that these would be the people I would work with in my first film. Getting the industry’s best talents to work with me was hardly a challenge because they all liked the subject." Madhu Ambat was doing a Malayalam film after a gap of nearly 12 years.
Filming
Pattanam Rasheed did makeup for all the actors including Salim Kumar. The artificial beard he used initially didn't match Kumar's skin tone so he imported a matching beard from MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
spending his own money. Shooting of the film began on 7 November 2010, and took place in various locations in Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
and Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
in Kerala. Major sections were filmed from a house in Athani
Athani
Athani may refer to,* Athani , a village in Greece*In India** Athani , a town in Karnataka** Athani , a village in Kerala** Athani , a town in Tamil Nadu...
in Thrissur. The set was made by debuting art director Jyothish on a shoestring of 2 lakhs. The film was shot digitally
Digital cinematography
Digital cinematography is the process of capturing motion pictures as digital images, rather than on film. Digital capture may occur on video tape, hard disks, flash memory, or other media which can record digital data. As digital technology has improved, this practice has become increasingly common...
using an Arriflex D-21
Arriflex D-21
The Arriflex D-21 is a film-style digital motion picture camera introduced by Arri in 2008 to replace their earlier generation Arriflex D-20.- Overview :...
camera. Cinematographer Madhu Ambat
Madhu Ambat
Madhu Ambat is a Indian cinematographer. With a wide variety of films under his belt he is one of the most experienced cinematographers in the Indian cinema industry. Noted for his lighting techniques, he has shot a number of award-winning films. He is quite well known for his amazing work in films...
recalls that he had planned to use 16 mm film
16 mm film
16 mm film refers to a popular, economical gauge of film used for motion pictures and non-theatrical film making. 16 mm refers to the width of the film...
to further reduce costs but used 35 mm film
35 mm film
35 mm film is the film gauge most commonly used for chemical still photography and motion pictures. The name of the gauge refers to the width of the photographic film, which consists of strips 35 millimeters in width...
instead as he wanted to shoot lots of long shots, which he says were helpful in showing the feeling of loneliness. The total budget of the film was around 1.5 crores. Ahamed had to spend every rupee raised from what he had saved up over the years working on scripts for television serials and assisting directors to complete the film.. The film ran into financial troubles midway through its shooting. Ahamed recalls that it was his friend Ashraf Bedi who financed the film from this stage, and principal production was completed in a mere 31 days. To enhance the technical quality of the film, Oscar
Oscar
Oscar, The Oscar, OSCAR or Oskar may refer to:* Academy Award or Oscar, presented by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for cinematic film achievements...
-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty
Resul Pookutty
Resul Pookutty is an Indian film sound designer, sound editor and mixer. He, along with Richard Pryke and Ian Tapp won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for the film Slumdog Millionaire...
did a re-designing and re-mixing of the sound for the film before its official screening for the Academy members in Los Angeles on November 19. A group of top-notch technicians also came forward to revamp the film free of cost.
Festival screenings
The film had its European premiere on 13 October 2011 at the 55th BFI London Film Festival, where it was screened in "World Cinema" category, and its national premiere on 18 October 2011 at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, where it was screened in "Indian Frame" category. In his review for Firstpost.com, film critic Vikram Phukan selected Adaminte Makan Abu as one of the ten best films to be screened at the Mumbai festival. The film had its North American premiere on 9 November 2011 at the 8th South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF), where it was featured as the opening night film. Adaminte Makan Abu was an official selection for Kolkata Film Festival. The film will be screened at the 23rd Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF), a festival often considered the run-up to the Academy Awards, in January 2012.The film was one of the seven Malayalam films selected to be screened at the Indian Panorama section of International Film Festival of India
International Film Festival of India
The International Film Festival of India , founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually in the beach town of Goa, in the Western Coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excellence of...
. The film was selected to be screened at the 16th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), where it was one of the nine Malayalam films selected to be screened and one of the 14 films that was selected to be screened in the international competition section of the festival. The film is also expected to be screened at 8th Dubai International Film Festival
Dubai International Film Festival
The Dubai International Film Festival is an international film festival based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Launched in 2004, it aims to foster the growth of filmmaking in the Arab world.-Overview:...
.
Theatrical run
After shooting and editing wrapped, the film was sent to Censor Board in MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
and from there copies of the film were directly sent to national and state award committees.In late May, the film's co-producer Ashraf Bedi approached the court alleging that he was cheated by Ahamed who did not mention him as a co-producer when the film's entry papers were submitted for the National Awards. The film was described as produced by Salim Ahamed alone. Consequently, the court held the film's screening and distribution till 10 June.
Ahamed was approached by four major distributors, Playhouse, Khas, Kalasangam and Vaishaka, for the film's distribution rights. Later, Salim Kumar decided to distribute the film himself under his newly-formed distribution company Laughing Villa along with Allens Media Release through Kalasangam, Khas and Manjunatha. The film released in 70 theatres in Kerala on 24 June 2011 with previews held in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, Ernakulam
Ernakulam
Ernakulam refers to the downtown area or the western part of the mainland of Kochi city in Kerala, India. The city is the most urban part of Kochi and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Ernakulam is called the commercial capital of the state of Kerala and is a main nerve of business in...
and Kannur
Kannur
Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...
. A historical film Bombay March 12 starring Mammootty
Mammootty
Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
was slated for release on the same date, but was postponed following a request from Mammootty, who wanted his sure hit to avoid clashing with Adaminte Makan Abu.
Although the film received overwhelmingly positive reviews from all corners, it was only an average grosser in Kerala box-office. Many could not watch the film from theatres since it was withdrawn a few days after the release. According to Salim Kumar, "the movie did not do well on the box-offices and the collection was relatively better from the Muslim dominated Malabar region."
Home media
The film's home video rights were bought by Empire Videos. DVDs were released in September 2011 and reportedly had an overwhelming response. This unexpected response was due to the film's early withdrawal from theatres. Media had already reported that many viewers were not able to watch the film from theatres.The film premierred in television on 7 November 2011 on Mazhavil Manorama
Mazhavil Manorama
Mazhavil Manorama is a Malayalam general entertainment television channel from the Malayala Manorama group. The channel is on air from 06:30 PM on 31 October 2011. The Malayala Manorama group is already into TV media through their Malayalam news channel, Manorama News. Through the launch of...
, coinciding with the festival of Bakrid.
Accusation of plagiarism
A controversy regarding the film's plot originated when filmmaker Abbas Kalathod claimed that the film's story was taken from his short film Maruppacha released eight years prior. "With the characters of Maruppacha given an elderly treatment and embellishing the story with exaggeration, Adaminte Makan Abu was made," he claimed. Kalathod says that the 21-minute Maruppacha for which he had written the story, script and dialogue, narrate "a story of Bappu, a youth who spares a little of his day's earning in preparation for the Hajj. He hands over the entire money to his neighbour, who nourishes such a wish. In Qabalah, Abdullah dreams of a heavenly voice which says the God has accepted only Bappu's Haj. On his return, Abdullah goes in search of Bappu. The story ends when after a prolonged wandering they meet, and Abdullah tells the entire story to Bappu." Salim Kumar reacted, calling the allegations ridiculous. He said, "Adaminte Makan Abu is yet to be released. Without watching the film, the man who leveled the allegations came to the conclusion that its story is plagiarized. I came across the story that he claimed to be similar to that of Adaminte Makan Abu. The story penned by him bears resemblance to that of the film Kuttikkuppayam."Also, a similar story was narrated by the 8th-century Sufi saint Ibrahim ibn Adham. In the story, its a shoesmith who dreams of going for Hajj pilgrimage.
Critical reception
The film met with critical acclaim. Gautaman Bhaskaran of The Hindustan Times rated the movie three-out-of-five stars writing, "Adaminte Makan Abu while being a rare study in restraint often plays out like a placid stream. Except for the old couple's son ... Ahamed portrays too idyllic a situation." About the cinematography, the reviewer says that "some of the shots are divinely beautiful, conveying a deep sense of loneliness and gloom." The critic praises Kottukappally's background score feeling that it "does add up to create the mood that swings between despair and hope, between despondency and cheer." The actors' performances he labelled "marvellous", with the leads receiving particular praise. A critic from Easternkicks.com rated the film five-out-of-five stars and wrote that it is "a simple tale, beautifully filmed and acted, and a rare insight into Muslim life in Kerala…". The official website of Institute of Contemporary Arts called the film a "gentle tale of irrepressible hope and true companionship." Guy Lodge of VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine stated, "Ahamed tells his story with clarity and compassion, but little humor or grit: The film has a tendency to shy away from overt dramatic conflict, as Abu's gentle decency sees him escape or mollify one practical or personal opponent after another." The critic praised Ambat's cinematography, but criticised Kumar's performance saying, he "is a committed but slightly over-deliberate presence in the lead." J. Hurtado of Canadian film website Twitch Film
Twitch Film
Twitch Film, also known simply as Twitch, is an English language Canadian website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown, a cinephile with personal interests in arthouse and grindhouse cinema...
called the film "a peaceful, contemplative" one and stated, "This film is like a breath of fresh air and a reminder of the power that film can have to affect its viewers in a way that stays with them." Paresh C. Palicha of Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
-based Internet provider Rediff.com
Rediff.com
Rediff.com India is a news, information, entertainment, and shopping portal. It was founded in 1996 as "Rediff On The NeT" and is headquartered in Mumbai, India with offices in New Delhi and New York City, USA....
gave the film a very positive review and praised it as "simple and beautiful". The review mostly praised the performances, direction and story, also giving it three-over-five stars . In Deccan Chronicle newspaper, Keerthy Ramachandran gave the film a five-star rating , writing the film "should get a glorious position in the annals the history of Malayalam cinema". S. Anandan of The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
newspaper also published a positive review, saying, "[W]ith its honest portrayal of a devout old man's pursuit of spiritual bliss, [the film] offers a glimmer of hope for Malayalam cinema, currently at its nadir". The critic labelled the film setting however as "idyllic" saying, "[T]he societal life in the village, reminiscent of rural Kerala in the 1980s with its crop of do-gooders and mystics, is too ideal to be true in current times. But then, [Ahamed] is out to picture life in a Basheerian habitat, where inter-religious individuals gleefully share the earth with pagan-living organisms." T. Sudheesh of the Thrissur City Journal
City Journal (Thrissur)
City Journal is a daily English newspaper based in Thrissur, Kerala.-History:City Journal was started in August 2010. It is published from Thrissur district in Kerala and is currently the only English daily newspaper in the city. The paper aims to focus on local events and carries 16 pages of news,...
concluded his review by saying that "Ahamed ... has made a beautiful film. Adaminte Makan Abu is quite engaging and entertaining as well. The film truly deserves the national award. It is really worth watching." Veeyen of Indian online portal Nowrunning.com was all praise for the film, adding that the film "is meticulously paced and splendidly staged to create a sense of optimism that should keep the human race going in these testing times." A reviewer from the Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
-based Internet provider Sify.com gave the film a five-star rating , saying the film "has done proud for Malayalam and will find its place among the most powerful films ever made in Malayalam." A reviewer from Indian online portal Oneindia.in
Oneindia.in
Oneindia.in is an Indian online portal owned by Greynium Information Technologies Pvt. Ltd., which provides news updates, sports news, travel, entertainment, videos, and classifieds. Alexa Traffic Rank of Oneindia.in is ranked number 525 in the world and Google page rank of Oneindia.in is 7...
said that Ahamed "has created a masterpiece out of a simple story". After watching the film during a special screening for media personell at Sree theatre in Calicut, famous orator and writer Sukumar Azhikode
Sukumar Azhikode
Sukumar Azhikode is a writer, critic and orator, acknowledged for his contributions to Malayalam and insights on Indian philosophy. He is a bachelor and lives in Eravimangalam near Thrissur....
said, "Adaminte Makan Abu shows us how a Malayalam film should be." He also praised Salim Kumar's performance saying, "Salim Kumar was not acting, but was living as the titular character Abu."
The film did receive a few negative reviews as well. Daniel Green from Cine-Vue.com gave the film 2 out of 5 stars , wrote, "Abu, Son of Adam is a far inferior film, neither compelling nor innovative, gaining little real insight into the region's Muslim community along the way."
Music
The film features an original score by Isaac Thomas Kottukapally. Kottukapally didn't want to confine the music to a particular region alone as the subject and emotions are universal. As the story is about going on Hajj, he used notes from Arabic scales but keeping it to the minimum until the Hajj theme comes on-screen, and he used Arabic instruments like the oudOud
The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths...
and the mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, santoor
Santoor
The santoor is an ancient stringed musical instrument, native to Kashmir and Iran. It is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer often made of walnut, with seventy two strings. The special-shaped mallets are lightweight and are held between the index and middle fingers...
, sarod
Sarod
The sarod is a stringed musical instrument, used mainly in Indian classical music. Along with the sitar, it is the most popular and prominent instrument in the classical music of Hindustan...
for example, that are close to the oud. Kottukapally also used the tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, drums from North Kerala and also African drums. Contrary to the usual Malayalam films, the film used minimalist music: Kottukapally kept a lot of silence in the film and used aarohana and avarohana
Avarohana
An Avarohana, Avarohanam or Avarohan in Indian classical music terminology is the descending scale of any raga. Each raga has an avarohana and arohana. The notes descend in pitch from the octave tonic down to the lower tonic...
before and after the silence.
The soundtrack to Adaminte Makan Abu features songs composed by Ramesh Narayan
Ramesh Narayan
Ramesh Narayan is a Hindustani vocalist from Kerala in south India, and is also an acclaimed film music director. He has given concerts in several parts of his country and abroad...
with lyrics by Rafeeque Ahammed. Released on Manorama Music
Manorama Music
Manorama Music, is a music company of India. It owns probabily the largest music label of Kerala. The label has produced and distributed film soundtracks, poems, cartoon series, music albums etc. The company is owned by M.M. Publications Ltd, which also owns the Malayala Manorama....
, the soundtrack featured vocals by Shankar Mahadevan
Shankar Mahadevan
Shankar Mahadevan is an Indian music composer and singer. He is a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio team that composes for Indian films and a playback singer.-Early life:...
, Ramesh Narayan, Hariharan
Hariharan (singer)
Hariharan , born 3 April 1955) is an Indian playback singer in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Bhojpuri and Telugu movies, an established ghazal singer, and one of the pioneers of Indian fusion music. His melody is strongly appreciated by the film fraternity...
, Sujatha, Madhusree Narayan and Srinivas
Srinivas (singer)
Srinivas 'Srini' is an award winning playback singer who has sung over 2000 songs in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi. He is also a music composer.-Early life:...
. It received generally positive reviews: T. Sudheesh of City Journal
City Journal (Thrissur)
City Journal is a daily English newspaper based in Thrissur, Kerala.-History:City Journal was started in August 2010. It is published from Thrissur district in Kerala and is currently the only English daily newspaper in the city. The paper aims to focus on local events and carries 16 pages of news,...
labeling the songs "meaningful and heart rending." Keerthy Ramachandran of Deccan Chronicle said, "Narayanan has composed excellent music in tune with the mood of the movie. Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan and Sujatha have crooned some beautiful songs, yet 'Makka Madheena' triumphs as a song which carries the heart of the theme."
Track listing
Accolades
Salim Kumar became the tenth Malayalam actor, and the first comedian, to win the National Film award. State Award Jury chairman Buddhadeb Dasgupta was profuse in his praise for Kumar. "I was overwhelmed. For the first 10-15 minutes I couldn't believe my eyes. I had seen the same person in comedy roles in some other films that came up for our consideration. This performance was overwhelming. He overshadowed everyone else."The film is India's official entry to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
category for the 84th Academy Awards
84th Academy Awards
The 84th Academy Awards ceremony will honor the best films of 2011 and will take place on February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. It will be televised in the United States on ABC. The host was originally going to be Eddie Murphy. However, after Brett Ratner resigned as...
. The film was chosen over 15 others by the Film Federation of India
Film Federation of India
The Film Federation of India is an apex body of the Indian producers , distributors , exhibitors and studio owners, headquartered in Mumbai....
(FFI) to represent the country for the award. The other entrants in the race were Guzaarish
Guzaarish
Guzaarish is a 2010 Hindi drama romance film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai in the lead roles. The film is produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ronnie Screwvala under the banner of SLB Films and UTV Motion Pictures.The first look of Guzaarish was...
, Chillar Party, I am Kalam
I Am Kalam
I Am Kalam is a Bollywood film directed by Nila Madhab Panda. The plot revolves around Chhotu, a poor Rajasthani boy, who is inspired by the life of the former President of India, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. and his strong desire to learn to read. The character of Chhotu has been performed by Harsh...
, No One Killed Jessica
No One Killed Jessica
No One Killed Jessica is a 2011 Bollywood film starring Rani Mukerji and Vidya Balan, produced by UTV Spotboy and directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, who directed the acclaimed film Aamir ....
, 7 Khoon Maaf and Dhobi Ghat
Dhobi Ghat
Dhobi Ghat is a well known open air laundromat in Mumbai, India. The washers, locally known as Dhobis, work in the open to wash the clothes from Mumbai's hotels and hospitals. There are rows of open-air concrete wash pens, each fitted with its own flogging stone...
(Hindi), Enthiran, Ko
Ko (film)
Ko is a 2011 Indian Tamil political thriller film directed by K. V. Anand starring Jeeva, Ajmal Ameer, newcomer Karthika Nair and Piaa Bajpai. The film was released on 22 April 2011 to mostly positive reviews, and was dubbed into Telugu as Rangam as well. The film's plot outline is inspired by the...
, Deiva Thirumagal
Deiva Thirumagal
Deiva Thirumagal is a 2011 Tamil drama film written and directed by A. L. Vijay and produced by Mohan Natarajan that features Vikram in the lead role as a mentally challenged adult with the maturity of a six-year-old boy, while Baby Sarah, Anushka Shetty, Amala Paul and Nassar portray other...
, Muran
Muran (film)
Muran is a 2011 Indian Tamil drama thriller film written and directed by debutant Rajjan Madhav. It stars Cheran alongside Prasanna, with Haripriya, Nikita Thukral and Jayaprakash in pivotal roles. Launched in September 2010, the film's shooting was completed by July 2011...
and Aadukalam (Tamil), Moner Manush (Bengali), Urumi
Urumi (film)
Urumi is a 2011 Malayalam historical-fantasy film directed and co-produced by Santosh Sivan and written by Shankar Ramakrishnan. It stars Prithviraj, who was also one of the producers of the film, as Chirakkal Kelu Nayanar, Prabhu Deva as Vavvali, Robin Pratt as Vasco da Gama, Alexx ONell as...
(Malayalam), Mala Aai Vhhaychy (Marathi) and Ala Modalaindi
Ala Modalaindi
-Malayalam dubbed version:Angane Thudangi , the Malayalam dubbed version, got released in Kerala on 28 July 2011 . The film got a wide release and a good reception, indicating the growing popularity of Telugu dubbed films in Kerala. The presence of kerala actress Nithya Menen also helped in film's...
(Telugu). Adaminte Makan Abu is the second Malayalam film (the first one being Guru
Guru (1997 film)
Guru is a Malayalam-language film directed by Rajiv Anchal. Mohanlal played the lead role in the film. Nedumudi Venu, Srinivasan, Suresh Gopi, Sithara, Kaveri and Sreelakshmi star in supporting roles....
) to be submitted for the Oscars. Salim Ahamed had to take much efforts for promoting the film in the US for the Oscar jury. "Before the Oscar nomination, we will have to conduct a lot of promotional events such as screening the film in the US to mobilise support. A minimum of six screenings have to be arranged for the jury members. I cannot borrow money because even if the film gets a nomination, it does not bring home any cash," Ahamed said. Lobbying for the film began in October last week. In an interview, Ahamed said, "There has been some help from abroad, especially from the people living in the Gulf region. No one from the Malayalam film industry has contacted me or offered support. There has been no support from the government either." Meanwhile, many political parties from Kerala urged the government to help raising funds for the film. In reply, the Kerala Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy
Oommen Chandy
Oommen Chandy is an Indian politician and the current Chief Minister of Kerala. He has held the Chief Minister of Kerala position earlier from 2004 to 2006, and was the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2011.-Early life:Oommen Chandy or 'Kunjoonju' was born...
, said Malayalam film industry has to make a unanimous demand for the state government to extend help to the makers of Adaminte Makan Abu, India’s official entry to the Oscars.
The national and state awards going to Kumar in the Best Actor category created tension in the film industry. Director of Pranchiyettan & the Saint
Pranchiyettan & the Saint
Pranchiyettan & the Saint is a 2010 Malayalam satirical film written, directed, and produced by Ranjith. The film centres on the fictitious conversation between the Thrissur based rice merchant C.E. Francis aka Pranchiyettan and St. Francis of Assisi...
, Ranjith, said that he expected the award to go to his lead, Mammootty
Mammootty
Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
who had also received rave critical reviews. He said that Kumar's performance in Adaminte Makan Abu was no match to his actor's performance in his film. Kumar lashed out against Ranjith's comments saying it was just sour grapes. However, several film pundits have backed the opinion of Ranjith.
In an interview, Pattanam Rasheed complained that the absence of Malayalis
Malayalam cinema
The Cinema of Kerala or Malayalam cinema refers to the film industry in the Indian state of Kerala, which makes films in the Malayalam language. Malayalam movies typically portray social or family issues and are considered more realistic than films from other parts of India. Malayalam cinema has...
in the national award jury cost him the award for best makeup artist. He said, "I would've got it [the award] if there was a Malayali. Jury members thought Salim [Kumar] was actually an old man. As such, they couldn't appreciate my work."
The film received numerous accolades including four National Film Awards
National Film Awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel...
and four Kerala State Film Awards.
| Award | Ceremony | Category | Recipients |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amrita-FEFKA Film Awards | 2011 Amrita-FEFKA Film Awards | Special Jury Award | Salim Kumar |
| Asia Vision Film Awards | 2011 Asia Vision Film Awards | Best Outstanding Indian Film | Salim Ahamed |
| Best Actor | Salim Kumar | ||
| Jaihind TV Film Awards | 2011 Jaihind TV Film Awards | Best Actor | Salim Kumar |
| Kerala Film Critics Association Awards Kerala Film Critics Association Awards The Kerala Film Critics Association Awards are presented annually by the Kerala Film Critics Association to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Malayalam language film industry of India. The awards were instituted in 1977.... |
2011 Kerala Film Critics Association Awards | Special Jury Award | Salim Kumar |
| Kerala State Film Awards | 2010 Kerala State Film Awards | Best Actor Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor The Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor has been awarded annually in India since 1969. The Kerala State Film Awards were managed directly by the Government of Kerala's Department of Cultural Affairs until 1997; they are now given by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, an autonomous non-profit... |
Salim Kumar |
| Best Background Music Kerala State Film Award for Best Background Music The Kerala State Film Award for Best Background Music Director winners:-References:***... |
Isaac Thomas Kottukapally | ||
| Best Film Kerala State Film Award for Best Film The Kerala State Film Award for Best Film winners:- References :* * Specific... |
Salim Ahamed and Ashraf Bedi | ||
| Best Screenplay Kerala State Film Award for Best Screen Play The Kerala State Film Award for Best Screen Play winners:-References:**... |
Salim Ahamed | ||
| National Film Awards National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel... |
58th National Film Awards 58th National Film Awards The 58th National Film Awards is presented to the best of Indian Cinema released during the year 2010.-Feature Films:Films made in any Indian language shot on 16 mm, 35 mm or in a wider gauge or digital format but released on a film format or video/digital but certified by the Central... |
Best Actor National Film Award for Best Actor The National Film Award for Best Actor is an honor presented annually at the National Film Awards of India to an actor who has delivered the best performance in a leading role within the Indian film industry.-Background:The Directorate of Film Festivals makes awards annually in several categories... |
Salim Kumar |
| Best Cinematography National Film Award for Best Cinematography The National Film Award for Best Cinematography are given annually. The only female who has won this award is Anjuli Shukla, who won the award for her debut film, Kutty Srank . The most time winners are Santosh Sivan & K.K. Mahajan - 4 awards each for best cinematography category.... |
Madhu Ambat Madhu Ambat Madhu Ambat is a Indian cinematographer. With a wide variety of films under his belt he is one of the most experienced cinematographers in the Indian cinema industry. Noted for his lighting techniques, he has shot a number of award-winning films. He is quite well known for his amazing work in films... |
||
| Best Feature Film | Salim Ahamed | ||
| Best Music Direction (Background Score) National Film Award for Best Music Direction The National Film Award for Best Music Direction are given annually. In years 1994, 1995 and 2010, an award for Best Background Score was instituted by the Jury, which was won by Johnson and by Ilaiyaraaja . Ilaiyaraaja and A. R... |
Isaac Thomas Kottukapally | ||
| Vellinakshatram Film Awards | 2011 Vellinakshatram Film Awards | Special Award | Salim Ahamed |
| Special Award | Salim Kumar |
Plan for Remake
In late-May 2011, the Malayalam daily MadhyamamMadhyamam
Madhyamam is a Malayalam daily newspaper published from Kerala, India, since 1987.. It was founded in 1987 by the initiatives of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. It has 10 editions in India and its Gulf edition Gulf Madhyamam has 9 in the Middle East...
reported that Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
-based film company Mega Productions had approached Salim Ahamed with the intention of remaking the film in Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
. Discussions were supposed to be held in early June, before the theatrical release of the original film. Later, reports came that Karan Johar
Karan Johar
Karan Johar is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and Television host. He is the son of Hiroo Johar and Yash Johar. He is one of the most successful filmmakers in Bollywood. He is most known for directing and producing some of Bollywood's highest grossing films in India and the...
's Dharma Productions
Dharma Productions
Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian film company founded by Yash Johar in 1976.- Other projects :Dharma Productions and NDTV recently decided to jointly launch an entertainment television channel called NDTV Imagine.- Controversy :...
has also appraoched Ahamed to buy the rights. Johar had already heard about the movie from Zarina Wahab. According to the reports, Karan Johar was to direct the film with Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
in the role of Abu with Salim Ahamed also attached. Johar, however, later categorically denied any inclination to remake the film through his Twitter post
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, which stated, "On record ... am NOT planning the remake of the acclaimed malyalam film ... actually in london to acquire the rights of a superb french film!! If all goes well the french film will translate beautifully into an indian love story ... can’t wait to get it going ... watch this space for more." However, Ahamed later revealed, "Karan's company Dharma Productions had spoken to me about buying the rights of Adaminte Makan Abu. But they didn't get back to me after the initial talks."
Salim Ahamed has, meanwhile, been in talks with J. P. Dutta
J. P. Dutta
Jyoti Prakash Dutta is an Indian Bollywood film producer and director. Mr. Dutta produces his films under the banner of JP Films. He is known for directing many patriotic war films and films in the action genre...
, who is eager to remake the hit in Hindi. In a November 2011 interview, Salim Kumar revealed that "there is a plan to remake the film in four major Indian languages."
See also
- List of submissions to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Indian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- Le Grand VoyageLe Grand VoyageLe Grand Voyage is a 2004 film written and directed by Ismaël Ferroukhi. The film portrays the relationship between father and son as both embark on a religious pilgrimage trip by car. It was shown at the 2004 Toronto and Venice International Film Festivals.-Plot:Réda is a French-Moroccan...
, a 2004 French film which portrays the relationship between father and son as both embark on a religious pilgrimage trip.
External links
Adaminte Makan Abu is a 2011 IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
written, directed and co-produced by Salim Ahamed in his debut film. It stars Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab
Zarina Wahab
Zarina Wahab is an Indian actress and former model, who was critically acclaimed for starring roles, such as in Chit Chor and Gopal Krishna in the 1970s.-Early life:...
in the lead roles along with Mukesh
Mukesh (actor)
Mukesh , born Mukesh Babu, is an Indian film actor and producer known for his work in Malayalam cinema.- Personal Life :...
, Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu is a popular Malayalam film actor from Kerala, India. He has also written screenplays and has directed one film.- Early life :...
, Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious...
, and Suraj Venjarammoodu in other supporting roles. The cinematography was handled by Madhu Ambat
Madhu Ambat
Madhu Ambat is a Indian cinematographer. With a wide variety of films under his belt he is one of the most experienced cinematographers in the Indian cinema industry. Noted for his lighting techniques, he has shot a number of award-winning films. He is quite well known for his amazing work in films...
, and the film was edited by Vijay Shankar. The film features songs composed by Ramesh Narayan
Ramesh Narayan
Ramesh Narayan is a Hindustani vocalist from Kerala in south India, and is also an acclaimed film music director. He has given concerts in several parts of his country and abroad...
, and the score is by Isaac Thomas Kottukapally.
The film tells the story of a poor attar
Ittar
Attar also known as ittar is a natural perfume oil derived from botanical sources. Most commonly these oils are taken from the botanical material through hydro or steam distillation. Oils can also be expressed by chemical means but generally natural perfumes which qualify as Ittar/Attars are...
(a kind of perfume) seller Abu (Salim Kumar) whose only remaining wish in life is the Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
pilgrimage, which he strives hard to fulfill, and at the verge of the fulfillment, he opts out when he fears that the means is not fully legitimate. Development on the film began roughly a decade before the film was released. The film was shot digitally
Digital cinematography
Digital cinematography is the process of capturing motion pictures as digital images, rather than on film. Digital capture may occur on video tape, hard disks, flash memory, or other media which can record digital data. As digital technology has improved, this practice has become increasingly common...
over one month beginning on 7 November 2010. Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
and Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
in Kerala, India were the major filming locales.
Distributed by Laughing Villa, a distribution company owned by Salim Kumar, and Allens Media, Adaminte Makan Abu released in theatres on 24 June 2011. It received wide critical acclaim, with numerous praises for its story, direction, cast, cinematography, and score. It received honours for its music, cinematography and writing, as well as for Salim Kumar's performance. At the 58th National Film Awards
58th National Film Awards
The 58th National Film Awards is presented to the best of Indian Cinema released during the year 2010.-Feature Films:Films made in any Indian language shot on 16 mm, 35 mm or in a wider gauge or digital format but released on a film format or video/digital but certified by the Central...
, the 2010 awards for the best in Indian cinema, it earned four major national awards: for Best Film, Best Actor
National Film Award for Best Actor
The National Film Award for Best Actor is an honor presented annually at the National Film Awards of India to an actor who has delivered the best performance in a leading role within the Indian film industry.-Background:The Directorate of Film Festivals makes awards annually in several categories...
(Kumar), Best Cinematography
National Film Award for Best Cinematography
The National Film Award for Best Cinematography are given annually. The only female who has won this award is Anjuli Shukla, who won the award for her debut film, Kutty Srank . The most time winners are Santosh Sivan & K.K. Mahajan - 4 awards each for best cinematography category....
and Best Background Score
National Film Award for Best Music Direction
The National Film Award for Best Music Direction are given annually. In years 1994, 1995 and 2010, an award for Best Background Score was instituted by the Jury, which was won by Johnson and by Ilaiyaraaja . Ilaiyaraaja and A. R...
. It performed similarly at the Kerala State Film Awards, where it won the awards for Best Film
Kerala State Film Award for Best Film
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Film winners:- References :* * Specific...
, Best Actor
Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor has been awarded annually in India since 1969. The Kerala State Film Awards were managed directly by the Government of Kerala's Department of Cultural Affairs until 1997; they are now given by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, an autonomous non-profit...
, Best Screenplay
Kerala State Film Award for Best Screen Play
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Screen Play winners:-References:**...
and Best Background Music
Kerala State Film Award for Best Background Music
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Background Music Director winners:-References:***...
. The film has been chosen as India's official entry to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
category for the 84th Academy Awards
84th Academy Awards
The 84th Academy Awards ceremony will honor the best films of 2011 and will take place on February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. It will be televised in the United States on ABC. The host was originally going to be Eddie Murphy. However, after Brett Ratner resigned as...
.
Plot
Abu (Salim Kumar) and Aishumma (Zarina WahabZarina Wahab
Zarina Wahab is an Indian actress and former model, who was critically acclaimed for starring roles, such as in Chit Chor and Gopal Krishna in the 1970s.-Early life:...
) are an elderly Moplah
Moplah
Moplah may refer to:* Mappila, an ancient Muslim community in Malabar, Kerala state, present day India* Moplah Riots, a series of revolts and attacks by Mappilas against Hindu landlords and British government officials...
Muslim couple living in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
's Malabar region. Their aspiration is to go for Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
, the pilgrimage to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, and they sacrifice to achieve this aim. Their son Sattar has migrated to the Middle East
Arab states of the Persian Gulf
"Arab states of the Persian Gulf" or "Arab Persian Gulf states" or "Persian Gulf Arab states" or "Arabic Persian Gulf states" or "Arab States of The Gulf", are terms that refer to the six Arab states of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, bordering the Persian Gulf....
(as a part of Kerala Gulf boom
Kerala Gulf boom
The Kerala Gulf diaspora refers to the people of Kerala living in the Middle eastern Arab states of the Persian Gulf. They number more than 2.5 million as of 2008.- The Gulf Boom :...
) with his family and has virtually discarded his parents. Now in their late 70s, the couple decide to go for Hajj that year.
Abu sells attar (ittar)
Ittar
Attar also known as ittar is a natural perfume oil derived from botanical sources. Most commonly these oils are taken from the botanical material through hydro or steam distillation. Oils can also be expressed by chemical means but generally natural perfumes which qualify as Ittar/Attars are...
(a perfume obtained from flowers), religious books and Unani
Unani
Unani-tibb or Unani Medicine also spelled Yunani Medicine means "Greek Medicine", and is a form of traditional medicine widely practiced in South Asia...
medicines that nobody seems to want nowadays. Aishumma breeds cattle and hens, helping her husband realize their shared dream. Abu feels as outdated and discarded by a fast-changing world as the traditional products that he sells.
A school teacher (Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu is a popular Malayalam film actor from Kerala, India. He has also written screenplays and has directed one film.- Early life :...
), Abu's friend, comes to his aid at his time of need. Hyder (Suraj Venharammud), a local teashop owner also empathises with Abu who in turn is frequently given genuine advice by a mysterious saint known simply as "Ustad
Ustad
Ustad is an Arabized Persian word is a honorific title for a Muslim man in South Asia. The title precedes the name and is usually used for well regarded teachers and artists, most often musicians. It is applied and used via informal social agreement. It is abbreviated as ut. or ud.-References:*...
" (Tampi Antony). Good-natured people try to help Abu by offering to loan him the amount, but as this goes against the accepted practices of the Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, he refuses to take anything.
With the advancing years, Abu's desperation also grows. Finally, in frustration and distress, Abu gives away his cow and old jackfruit tree. Abu is helped by the manager of a travel agency (Mukesh
Mukesh (actor)
Mukesh , born Mukesh Babu, is an Indian film actor and producer known for his work in Malayalam cinema.- Personal Life :...
) to get flight tickets and other documents for his journey. A policeman (Sasi Kalinga), initially tries to reject Abu's passport application, but once he gets his usual bribe he becomes quite helpful. The couple begins their preparations which include attending the Hajj preparation classes conducted by the travel agency, being vaccinated for meningococcal meningitis and buying new Ihram clothing. Abu pays off even the smallest of his old debts as part of the preparations and travels miles to seek forgiveness from Sulaiman, a previous neighbour with whom he once fought.
When the passports and the tickets are ready and a bus journey away in Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
, the sawmill owner (Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious...
) while handing over the money for Abu's tree says that its wood turned out to be rotten and useless. He insists that Abu still take the money, however, since his cause is noble. Abu refuses it, saying that it wouldn't be halal
Halal
Halal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
and hence could anger God
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
. When he is sure that he cannot fulfill his dream, Abu reaches another conclusion – that the tree too had life, and several lives must have died when he cut the tree in front of his house. Abu conjectures that that maybe one of the reasons for his not being able to go on the journey. On the dawn of the Hajj, Abu tells his wife that they will go the next year, and he plants a new sapling of a jackfruit tree and is seen going to the mosque to pray on the morning of Hajj.
Cast
- Salim Kumar as Abu
- Zarina WahabZarina WahabZarina Wahab is an Indian actress and former model, who was critically acclaimed for starring roles, such as in Chit Chor and Gopal Krishna in the 1970s.-Early life:...
as Aishumma - MukeshMukesh (actor)Mukesh , born Mukesh Babu, is an Indian film actor and producer known for his work in Malayalam cinema.- Personal Life :...
as Ashraf - Nedumudi VenuNedumudi VenuNedumudi Venu is a popular Malayalam film actor from Kerala, India. He has also written screenplays and has directed one film.- Early life :...
as Master - Kalabhavan ManiKalabhavan ManiKalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious...
as Johnson - Suraj Venjarammoodu as Hyder
- Sasi Kalinga as Kabeer
- Thampi Antony as Ustad
- T. S. Raju as Maliyekkal Hassainar Haji
- M. R. Gopakumar as Sulaiman
- Jaffer Idukki as the photographer
- Ambika Mohan as Lalitha, Master's wife
- Vinod Kovoor as Moideen, the fish seller
Development
Development on the film began roughly a decade before the film was released. Adaminte Makan Abu marks the directorial debut of Salim Ahamed, who says that he had entertained the film's story in his mind for many years. Upon graduating from college in early 2000s, Ahamed dreamed of joining the film industry but found it hard to break into and ended up a travel consultant. It was the stories he heard and the people he met during this time that sowed the seeds for Adaminte Makan Abu. The film's protagonists were inspired by a real-life couple. Ahamed says: "I was at Jeddah airport looking for someone to share my baggage weighing about 100 kg. Every Gulf Malayali proceeding on leave is a courier for his friends as he is tasked with delivery of gifts for their loved ones back home. So, while I waited, there was this old couple holding plastic carry bags on their way back after performing Umra. They had lived an austere life to save up for the Hajj, but settled for Umra fearing they would never make it to the Hajj. The agent accompanying them looked desperate to scoot and the moment I made friends with the couple, he disappeared. Our flight got postponed, first in Jeddah and then in Mumbai, and looking after them as we stayed in star hotels became my responsibility. During this period, I learnt a great deal about their undying spirit, life and the virtues they possessed. The central character Abu was also highly inspired by a man named Abu in Ahamed's village who looked and behaved a lot like the central character. Ahamed said that he had written three basic plots during his college days. One was based in a local school in Kerala, one was a thriller, and the third was the story of Abu. He decided to film Adaminte Makan Abu as a number of people liked the story line; he wanted his first film to have a message and to be impressive. It took only a month for Ahamed to prepare the final script. The biggest challenge for him was to find a producer. Nobody was prepared to finance a non-commercial film like this one, so he started saving up from his television pay cheques. But that wasn't enough. Somewhere in the middle of filming, he had to approach a friend (Ashraf Bedi), who agreed to co-produce the film.Casting
Ahamed did a lot of research before he finalized the cast and crew. He decided to take the risk of filming with a serious theme when he secured Salim Kumar in the lead, although the latter did not have the glamour of a conventional hero. "I was confident that the final result would be worth the risk," he says. It was on the sets of 2010 film Best ActorBest Actor (film)
- External links :* http://www.nowrunning.com/movie/7722/malayalam/best-actor/index.htm Best Actor] at Nowrunning.com*...
that Ahamed met the actor to convince him to play the role. It was Kumar's outstanding performance as a son who is forced to abandon his aged mother in Bridge, one of the ten films in the Kerala Cafe
Kerala Cafe
Kerala Cafe is a Malayalam anthology film produced by Ranjith and directed by a team of ten directors including Lal Jose, Shaji Kailas, Anwar Rasheed, Shyamaprasad, B. Unnikrishnan, Revathy, Anjali Menon, M. Padmakumar, Shankar Ramakrishnan, and Uday Ananthan. For the first time in the history of...
anthology, that made the young man choose the actor for the role. Kumar was initially reluctant to accept the role as he was unsure about carrying the film as the star. Ahamed, however, was confident, and assured Kumar that the film would have the top technicians in the field: He brought in the cinematography veteran Madhu Ambat, and Issac Thomas Kottukapally to handle the music section. Kumar, who is generally known in slapstick comedy roles, didn't do any preparation for his role and accepted no payment for his participation in the film. Zarina Wahab
Zarina Wahab
Zarina Wahab is an Indian actress and former model, who was critically acclaimed for starring roles, such as in Chit Chor and Gopal Krishna in the 1970s.-Early life:...
, who had made a comeback in Malayalam films with Calendar
Calendar (2009 film)
Calendar is 2009 Malayalam romance film starring Navya Nair, Zarina Wahab and Prithviraj Sukumaran, Prithviraj's real-life mother Mallika Sukumaran, Jagathi Sreekumar and Mukesh.-Plot:...
plays the lead female role in the film. According to Ahamed, she was cast because she had the face of a Malabar Muslim. Aside from Kumar and Wahab, the film also stars several other actors like Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious...
, Mush
Mukesh (actor)
Mukesh , born Mukesh Babu, is an Indian film actor and producer known for his work in Malayalam cinema.- Personal Life :...
, Suraj Venjarammoodu, Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu is a popular Malayalam film actor from Kerala, India. He has also written screenplays and has directed one film.- Early life :...
and Jaffer Idukki in key roles. Ahamed roped in some of the most famous technicians for his debut film such as cinematographer Madhu Ambat and composer Isaac Thomas Kottukappally. Ahamed says, "I had decided from the beginning that these would be the people I would work with in my first film. Getting the industry’s best talents to work with me was hardly a challenge because they all liked the subject." Madhu Ambat was doing a Malayalam film after a gap of nearly 12 years.
Filming
Pattanam Rasheed did makeup for all the actors including Salim Kumar. The artificial beard he used initially didn't match Kumar's skin tone so he imported a matching beard from MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
spending his own money. Shooting of the film began on 7 November 2010, and took place in various locations in Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
and Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
in Kerala. Major sections were filmed from a house in Athani
Athani
Athani may refer to,* Athani , a village in Greece*In India** Athani , a town in Karnataka** Athani , a village in Kerala** Athani , a town in Tamil Nadu...
in Thrissur. The set was made by debuting art director Jyothish on a shoestring of 2 lakhs. The film was shot digitally
Digital cinematography
Digital cinematography is the process of capturing motion pictures as digital images, rather than on film. Digital capture may occur on video tape, hard disks, flash memory, or other media which can record digital data. As digital technology has improved, this practice has become increasingly common...
using an Arriflex D-21
Arriflex D-21
The Arriflex D-21 is a film-style digital motion picture camera introduced by Arri in 2008 to replace their earlier generation Arriflex D-20.- Overview :...
camera. Cinematographer Madhu Ambat
Madhu Ambat
Madhu Ambat is a Indian cinematographer. With a wide variety of films under his belt he is one of the most experienced cinematographers in the Indian cinema industry. Noted for his lighting techniques, he has shot a number of award-winning films. He is quite well known for his amazing work in films...
recalls that he had planned to use 16 mm film
16 mm film
16 mm film refers to a popular, economical gauge of film used for motion pictures and non-theatrical film making. 16 mm refers to the width of the film...
to further reduce costs but used 35 mm film
35 mm film
35 mm film is the film gauge most commonly used for chemical still photography and motion pictures. The name of the gauge refers to the width of the photographic film, which consists of strips 35 millimeters in width...
instead as he wanted to shoot lots of long shots, which he says were helpful in showing the feeling of loneliness. The total budget of the film was around 1.5 crores. Ahamed had to spend every rupee raised from what he had saved up over the years working on scripts for television serials and assisting directors to complete the film.. The film ran into financial troubles midway through its shooting. Ahamed recalls that it was his friend Ashraf Bedi who financed the film from this stage, and principal production was completed in a mere 31 days. To enhance the technical quality of the film, Oscar
Oscar
Oscar, The Oscar, OSCAR or Oskar may refer to:* Academy Award or Oscar, presented by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for cinematic film achievements...
-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty
Resul Pookutty
Resul Pookutty is an Indian film sound designer, sound editor and mixer. He, along with Richard Pryke and Ian Tapp won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for the film Slumdog Millionaire...
did a re-designing and re-mixing of the sound for the film before its official screening for the Academy members in Los Angeles on November 19. A group of top-notch technicians also came forward to revamp the film free of cost.
Festival screenings
The film had its European premiere on 13 October 2011 at the 55th BFI London Film Festival, where it was screened in "World Cinema" category, and its national premiere on 18 October 2011 at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, where it was screened in "Indian Frame" category. In his review for Firstpost.com, film critic Vikram Phukan selected Adaminte Makan Abu as one of the ten best films to be screened at the Mumbai festival. The film had its North American premiere on 9 November 2011 at the 8th South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF), where it was featured as the opening night film. Adaminte Makan Abu was an official selection for Kolkata Film Festival. The film will be screened at the 23rd Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF), a festival often considered the run-up to the Academy Awards, in January 2012.The film was one of the seven Malayalam films selected to be screened at the Indian Panorama section of International Film Festival of India
International Film Festival of India
The International Film Festival of India , founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually in the beach town of Goa, in the Western Coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excellence of...
. The film was selected to be screened at the 16th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), where it was one of the nine Malayalam films selected to be screened and one of the 14 films that was selected to be screened in the international competition section of the festival. The film is also expected to be screened at 8th Dubai International Film Festival
Dubai International Film Festival
The Dubai International Film Festival is an international film festival based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Launched in 2004, it aims to foster the growth of filmmaking in the Arab world.-Overview:...
.
Theatrical run
After shooting and editing wrapped, the film was sent to Censor Board in MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
and from there copies of the film were directly sent to national and state award committees.In late May, the film's co-producer Ashraf Bedi approached the court alleging that he was cheated by Ahamed who did not mention him as a co-producer when the film's entry papers were submitted for the National Awards. The film was described as produced by Salim Ahamed alone. Consequently, the court held the film's screening and distribution till 10 June.
Ahamed was approached by four major distributors, Playhouse, Khas, Kalasangam and Vaishaka, for the film's distribution rights. Later, Salim Kumar decided to distribute the film himself under his newly-formed distribution company Laughing Villa along with Allens Media Release through Kalasangam, Khas and Manjunatha. The film released in 70 theatres in Kerala on 24 June 2011 with previews held in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, Ernakulam
Ernakulam
Ernakulam refers to the downtown area or the western part of the mainland of Kochi city in Kerala, India. The city is the most urban part of Kochi and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Ernakulam is called the commercial capital of the state of Kerala and is a main nerve of business in...
and Kannur
Kannur
Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...
. A historical film Bombay March 12 starring Mammootty
Mammootty
Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
was slated for release on the same date, but was postponed following a request from Mammootty, who wanted his sure hit to avoid clashing with Adaminte Makan Abu.
Although the film received overwhelmingly positive reviews from all corners, it was only an average grosser in Kerala box-office. Many could not watch the film from theatres since it was withdrawn a few days after the release. According to Salim Kumar, "the movie did not do well on the box-offices and the collection was relatively better from the Muslim dominated Malabar region."
Home media
The film's home video rights were bought by Empire Videos. DVDs were released in September 2011 and reportedly had an overwhelming response. This unexpected response was due to the film's early withdrawal from theatres. Media had already reported that many viewers were not able to watch the film from theatres.The film premierred in television on 7 November 2011 on Mazhavil Manorama
Mazhavil Manorama
Mazhavil Manorama is a Malayalam general entertainment television channel from the Malayala Manorama group. The channel is on air from 06:30 PM on 31 October 2011. The Malayala Manorama group is already into TV media through their Malayalam news channel, Manorama News. Through the launch of...
, coinciding with the festival of Bakrid.
Accusation of plagiarism
A controversy regarding the film's plot originated when filmmaker Abbas Kalathod claimed that the film's story was taken from his short film Maruppacha released eight years prior. "With the characters of Maruppacha given an elderly treatment and embellishing the story with exaggeration, Adaminte Makan Abu was made," he claimed. Kalathod says that the 21-minute Maruppacha for which he had written the story, script and dialogue, narrate "a story of Bappu, a youth who spares a little of his day's earning in preparation for the Hajj. He hands over the entire money to his neighbour, who nourishes such a wish. In Qabalah, Abdullah dreams of a heavenly voice which says the God has accepted only Bappu's Haj. On his return, Abdullah goes in search of Bappu. The story ends when after a prolonged wandering they meet, and Abdullah tells the entire story to Bappu." Salim Kumar reacted, calling the allegations ridiculous. He said, "Adaminte Makan Abu is yet to be released. Without watching the film, the man who leveled the allegations came to the conclusion that its story is plagiarized. I came across the story that he claimed to be similar to that of Adaminte Makan Abu. The story penned by him bears resemblance to that of the film Kuttikkuppayam."Also, a similar story was narrated by the 8th-century Sufi saint Ibrahim ibn Adham. In the story, its a shoesmith who dreams of going for Hajj pilgrimage.
Critical reception
The film met with critical acclaim. Gautaman Bhaskaran of The Hindustan Times rated the movie three-out-of-five stars writing, "Adaminte Makan Abu while being a rare study in restraint often plays out like a placid stream. Except for the old couple's son ... Ahamed portrays too idyllic a situation." About the cinematography, the reviewer says that "some of the shots are divinely beautiful, conveying a deep sense of loneliness and gloom." The critic praises Kottukappally's background score feeling that it "does add up to create the mood that swings between despair and hope, between despondency and cheer." The actors' performances he labelled "marvellous", with the leads receiving particular praise. A critic from Easternkicks.com rated the film five-out-of-five stars and wrote that it is "a simple tale, beautifully filmed and acted, and a rare insight into Muslim life in Kerala…". The official website of Institute of Contemporary Arts called the film a "gentle tale of irrepressible hope and true companionship." Guy Lodge of VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine stated, "Ahamed tells his story with clarity and compassion, but little humor or grit: The film has a tendency to shy away from overt dramatic conflict, as Abu's gentle decency sees him escape or mollify one practical or personal opponent after another." The critic praised Ambat's cinematography, but criticised Kumar's performance saying, he "is a committed but slightly over-deliberate presence in the lead." J. Hurtado of Canadian film website Twitch Film
Twitch Film
Twitch Film, also known simply as Twitch, is an English language Canadian website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown, a cinephile with personal interests in arthouse and grindhouse cinema...
called the film "a peaceful, contemplative" one and stated, "This film is like a breath of fresh air and a reminder of the power that film can have to affect its viewers in a way that stays with them." Paresh C. Palicha of Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
-based Internet provider Rediff.com
Rediff.com
Rediff.com India is a news, information, entertainment, and shopping portal. It was founded in 1996 as "Rediff On The NeT" and is headquartered in Mumbai, India with offices in New Delhi and New York City, USA....
gave the film a very positive review and praised it as "simple and beautiful". The review mostly praised the performances, direction and story, also giving it three-over-five stars . In Deccan Chronicle newspaper, Keerthy Ramachandran gave the film a five-star rating , writing the film "should get a glorious position in the annals the history of Malayalam cinema". S. Anandan of The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
newspaper also published a positive review, saying, "[W]ith its honest portrayal of a devout old man's pursuit of spiritual bliss, [the film] offers a glimmer of hope for Malayalam cinema, currently at its nadir". The critic labelled the film setting however as "idyllic" saying, "[T]he societal life in the village, reminiscent of rural Kerala in the 1980s with its crop of do-gooders and mystics, is too ideal to be true in current times. But then, [Ahamed] is out to picture life in a Basheerian habitat, where inter-religious individuals gleefully share the earth with pagan-living organisms." T. Sudheesh of the Thrissur City Journal
City Journal (Thrissur)
City Journal is a daily English newspaper based in Thrissur, Kerala.-History:City Journal was started in August 2010. It is published from Thrissur district in Kerala and is currently the only English daily newspaper in the city. The paper aims to focus on local events and carries 16 pages of news,...
concluded his review by saying that "Ahamed ... has made a beautiful film. Adaminte Makan Abu is quite engaging and entertaining as well. The film truly deserves the national award. It is really worth watching." Veeyen of Indian online portal Nowrunning.com was all praise for the film, adding that the film "is meticulously paced and splendidly staged to create a sense of optimism that should keep the human race going in these testing times." A reviewer from the Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
-based Internet provider Sify.com gave the film a five-star rating , saying the film "has done proud for Malayalam and will find its place among the most powerful films ever made in Malayalam." A reviewer from Indian online portal Oneindia.in
Oneindia.in
Oneindia.in is an Indian online portal owned by Greynium Information Technologies Pvt. Ltd., which provides news updates, sports news, travel, entertainment, videos, and classifieds. Alexa Traffic Rank of Oneindia.in is ranked number 525 in the world and Google page rank of Oneindia.in is 7...
said that Ahamed "has created a masterpiece out of a simple story". After watching the film during a special screening for media personell at Sree theatre in Calicut, famous orator and writer Sukumar Azhikode
Sukumar Azhikode
Sukumar Azhikode is a writer, critic and orator, acknowledged for his contributions to Malayalam and insights on Indian philosophy. He is a bachelor and lives in Eravimangalam near Thrissur....
said, "Adaminte Makan Abu shows us how a Malayalam film should be." He also praised Salim Kumar's performance saying, "Salim Kumar was not acting, but was living as the titular character Abu."
The film did receive a few negative reviews as well. Daniel Green from Cine-Vue.com gave the film 2 out of 5 stars , wrote, "Abu, Son of Adam is a far inferior film, neither compelling nor innovative, gaining little real insight into the region's Muslim community along the way."
Music
The film features an original score by Isaac Thomas Kottukapally. Kottukapally didn't want to confine the music to a particular region alone as the subject and emotions are universal. As the story is about going on Hajj, he used notes from Arabic scales but keeping it to the minimum until the Hajj theme comes on-screen, and he used Arabic instruments like the oudOud
The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths...
and the mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, santoor
Santoor
The santoor is an ancient stringed musical instrument, native to Kashmir and Iran. It is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer often made of walnut, with seventy two strings. The special-shaped mallets are lightweight and are held between the index and middle fingers...
, sarod
Sarod
The sarod is a stringed musical instrument, used mainly in Indian classical music. Along with the sitar, it is the most popular and prominent instrument in the classical music of Hindustan...
for example, that are close to the oud. Kottukapally also used the tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, drums from North Kerala and also African drums. Contrary to the usual Malayalam films, the film used minimalist music: Kottukapally kept a lot of silence in the film and used aarohana and avarohana
Avarohana
An Avarohana, Avarohanam or Avarohan in Indian classical music terminology is the descending scale of any raga. Each raga has an avarohana and arohana. The notes descend in pitch from the octave tonic down to the lower tonic...
before and after the silence.
The soundtrack to Adaminte Makan Abu features songs composed by Ramesh Narayan
Ramesh Narayan
Ramesh Narayan is a Hindustani vocalist from Kerala in south India, and is also an acclaimed film music director. He has given concerts in several parts of his country and abroad...
with lyrics by Rafeeque Ahammed. Released on Manorama Music
Manorama Music
Manorama Music, is a music company of India. It owns probabily the largest music label of Kerala. The label has produced and distributed film soundtracks, poems, cartoon series, music albums etc. The company is owned by M.M. Publications Ltd, which also owns the Malayala Manorama....
, the soundtrack featured vocals by Shankar Mahadevan
Shankar Mahadevan
Shankar Mahadevan is an Indian music composer and singer. He is a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio team that composes for Indian films and a playback singer.-Early life:...
, Ramesh Narayan, Hariharan
Hariharan (singer)
Hariharan , born 3 April 1955) is an Indian playback singer in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Bhojpuri and Telugu movies, an established ghazal singer, and one of the pioneers of Indian fusion music. His melody is strongly appreciated by the film fraternity...
, Sujatha, Madhusree Narayan and Srinivas
Srinivas (singer)
Srinivas 'Srini' is an award winning playback singer who has sung over 2000 songs in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi. He is also a music composer.-Early life:...
. It received generally positive reviews: T. Sudheesh of City Journal
City Journal (Thrissur)
City Journal is a daily English newspaper based in Thrissur, Kerala.-History:City Journal was started in August 2010. It is published from Thrissur district in Kerala and is currently the only English daily newspaper in the city. The paper aims to focus on local events and carries 16 pages of news,...
labeling the songs "meaningful and heart rending." Keerthy Ramachandran of Deccan Chronicle said, "Narayanan has composed excellent music in tune with the mood of the movie. Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan and Sujatha have crooned some beautiful songs, yet 'Makka Madheena' triumphs as a song which carries the heart of the theme."
Track listing
Accolades
Salim Kumar became the tenth Malayalam actor, and the first comedian, to win the National Film award. State Award Jury chairman Buddhadeb Dasgupta was profuse in his praise for Kumar. "I was overwhelmed. For the first 10-15 minutes I couldn't believe my eyes. I had seen the same person in comedy roles in some other films that came up for our consideration. This performance was overwhelming. He overshadowed everyone else."The film is India's official entry to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
category for the 84th Academy Awards
84th Academy Awards
The 84th Academy Awards ceremony will honor the best films of 2011 and will take place on February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. It will be televised in the United States on ABC. The host was originally going to be Eddie Murphy. However, after Brett Ratner resigned as...
. The film was chosen over 15 others by the Film Federation of India
Film Federation of India
The Film Federation of India is an apex body of the Indian producers , distributors , exhibitors and studio owners, headquartered in Mumbai....
(FFI) to represent the country for the award. The other entrants in the race were Guzaarish
Guzaarish
Guzaarish is a 2010 Hindi drama romance film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai in the lead roles. The film is produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ronnie Screwvala under the banner of SLB Films and UTV Motion Pictures.The first look of Guzaarish was...
, Chillar Party, I am Kalam
I Am Kalam
I Am Kalam is a Bollywood film directed by Nila Madhab Panda. The plot revolves around Chhotu, a poor Rajasthani boy, who is inspired by the life of the former President of India, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. and his strong desire to learn to read. The character of Chhotu has been performed by Harsh...
, No One Killed Jessica
No One Killed Jessica
No One Killed Jessica is a 2011 Bollywood film starring Rani Mukerji and Vidya Balan, produced by UTV Spotboy and directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, who directed the acclaimed film Aamir ....
, 7 Khoon Maaf and Dhobi Ghat
Dhobi Ghat
Dhobi Ghat is a well known open air laundromat in Mumbai, India. The washers, locally known as Dhobis, work in the open to wash the clothes from Mumbai's hotels and hospitals. There are rows of open-air concrete wash pens, each fitted with its own flogging stone...
(Hindi), Enthiran, Ko
Ko (film)
Ko is a 2011 Indian Tamil political thriller film directed by K. V. Anand starring Jeeva, Ajmal Ameer, newcomer Karthika Nair and Piaa Bajpai. The film was released on 22 April 2011 to mostly positive reviews, and was dubbed into Telugu as Rangam as well. The film's plot outline is inspired by the...
, Deiva Thirumagal
Deiva Thirumagal
Deiva Thirumagal is a 2011 Tamil drama film written and directed by A. L. Vijay and produced by Mohan Natarajan that features Vikram in the lead role as a mentally challenged adult with the maturity of a six-year-old boy, while Baby Sarah, Anushka Shetty, Amala Paul and Nassar portray other...
, Muran
Muran (film)
Muran is a 2011 Indian Tamil drama thriller film written and directed by debutant Rajjan Madhav. It stars Cheran alongside Prasanna, with Haripriya, Nikita Thukral and Jayaprakash in pivotal roles. Launched in September 2010, the film's shooting was completed by July 2011...
and Aadukalam (Tamil), Moner Manush (Bengali), Urumi
Urumi (film)
Urumi is a 2011 Malayalam historical-fantasy film directed and co-produced by Santosh Sivan and written by Shankar Ramakrishnan. It stars Prithviraj, who was also one of the producers of the film, as Chirakkal Kelu Nayanar, Prabhu Deva as Vavvali, Robin Pratt as Vasco da Gama, Alexx ONell as...
(Malayalam), Mala Aai Vhhaychy (Marathi) and Ala Modalaindi
Ala Modalaindi
-Malayalam dubbed version:Angane Thudangi , the Malayalam dubbed version, got released in Kerala on 28 July 2011 . The film got a wide release and a good reception, indicating the growing popularity of Telugu dubbed films in Kerala. The presence of kerala actress Nithya Menen also helped in film's...
(Telugu). Adaminte Makan Abu is the second Malayalam film (the first one being Guru
Guru (1997 film)
Guru is a Malayalam-language film directed by Rajiv Anchal. Mohanlal played the lead role in the film. Nedumudi Venu, Srinivasan, Suresh Gopi, Sithara, Kaveri and Sreelakshmi star in supporting roles....
) to be submitted for the Oscars. Salim Ahamed had to take much efforts for promoting the film in the US for the Oscar jury. "Before the Oscar nomination, we will have to conduct a lot of promotional events such as screening the film in the US to mobilise support. A minimum of six screenings have to be arranged for the jury members. I cannot borrow money because even if the film gets a nomination, it does not bring home any cash," Ahamed said. Lobbying for the film began in October last week. In an interview, Ahamed said, "There has been some help from abroad, especially from the people living in the Gulf region. No one from the Malayalam film industry has contacted me or offered support. There has been no support from the government either." Meanwhile, many political parties from Kerala urged the government to help raising funds for the film. In reply, the Kerala Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy
Oommen Chandy
Oommen Chandy is an Indian politician and the current Chief Minister of Kerala. He has held the Chief Minister of Kerala position earlier from 2004 to 2006, and was the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2011.-Early life:Oommen Chandy or 'Kunjoonju' was born...
, said Malayalam film industry has to make a unanimous demand for the state government to extend help to the makers of Adaminte Makan Abu, India’s official entry to the Oscars.
The national and state awards going to Kumar in the Best Actor category created tension in the film industry. Director of Pranchiyettan & the Saint
Pranchiyettan & the Saint
Pranchiyettan & the Saint is a 2010 Malayalam satirical film written, directed, and produced by Ranjith. The film centres on the fictitious conversation between the Thrissur based rice merchant C.E. Francis aka Pranchiyettan and St. Francis of Assisi...
, Ranjith, said that he expected the award to go to his lead, Mammootty
Mammootty
Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
who had also received rave critical reviews. He said that Kumar's performance in Adaminte Makan Abu was no match to his actor's performance in his film. Kumar lashed out against Ranjith's comments saying it was just sour grapes. However, several film pundits have backed the opinion of Ranjith.
In an interview, Pattanam Rasheed complained that the absence of Malayalis
Malayalam cinema
The Cinema of Kerala or Malayalam cinema refers to the film industry in the Indian state of Kerala, which makes films in the Malayalam language. Malayalam movies typically portray social or family issues and are considered more realistic than films from other parts of India. Malayalam cinema has...
in the national award jury cost him the award for best makeup artist. He said, "I would've got it [the award] if there was a Malayali. Jury members thought Salim [Kumar] was actually an old man. As such, they couldn't appreciate my work."
The film received numerous accolades including four National Film Awards
National Film Awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel...
and four Kerala State Film Awards.
| Award | Ceremony | Category | Recipients |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amrita-FEFKA Film Awards | 2011 Amrita-FEFKA Film Awards | Special Jury Award | Salim Kumar |
| Asia Vision Film Awards | 2011 Asia Vision Film Awards | Best Outstanding Indian Film | Salim Ahamed |
| Best Actor | Salim Kumar | ||
| Jaihind TV Film Awards | 2011 Jaihind TV Film Awards | Best Actor | Salim Kumar |
| Kerala Film Critics Association Awards Kerala Film Critics Association Awards The Kerala Film Critics Association Awards are presented annually by the Kerala Film Critics Association to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Malayalam language film industry of India. The awards were instituted in 1977.... |
2011 Kerala Film Critics Association Awards | Special Jury Award | Salim Kumar |
| Kerala State Film Awards | 2010 Kerala State Film Awards | Best Actor Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor The Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor has been awarded annually in India since 1969. The Kerala State Film Awards were managed directly by the Government of Kerala's Department of Cultural Affairs until 1997; they are now given by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, an autonomous non-profit... |
Salim Kumar |
| Best Background Music Kerala State Film Award for Best Background Music The Kerala State Film Award for Best Background Music Director winners:-References:***... |
Isaac Thomas Kottukapally | ||
| Best Film Kerala State Film Award for Best Film The Kerala State Film Award for Best Film winners:- References :* * Specific... |
Salim Ahamed and Ashraf Bedi | ||
| Best Screenplay Kerala State Film Award for Best Screen Play The Kerala State Film Award for Best Screen Play winners:-References:**... |
Salim Ahamed | ||
| National Film Awards National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel... |
58th National Film Awards 58th National Film Awards The 58th National Film Awards is presented to the best of Indian Cinema released during the year 2010.-Feature Films:Films made in any Indian language shot on 16 mm, 35 mm or in a wider gauge or digital format but released on a film format or video/digital but certified by the Central... |
Best Actor National Film Award for Best Actor The National Film Award for Best Actor is an honor presented annually at the National Film Awards of India to an actor who has delivered the best performance in a leading role within the Indian film industry.-Background:The Directorate of Film Festivals makes awards annually in several categories... |
Salim Kumar |
| Best Cinematography National Film Award for Best Cinematography The National Film Award for Best Cinematography are given annually. The only female who has won this award is Anjuli Shukla, who won the award for her debut film, Kutty Srank . The most time winners are Santosh Sivan & K.K. Mahajan - 4 awards each for best cinematography category.... |
Madhu Ambat Madhu Ambat Madhu Ambat is a Indian cinematographer. With a wide variety of films under his belt he is one of the most experienced cinematographers in the Indian cinema industry. Noted for his lighting techniques, he has shot a number of award-winning films. He is quite well known for his amazing work in films... |
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| Best Feature Film | Salim Ahamed | ||
| Best Music Direction (Background Score) National Film Award for Best Music Direction The National Film Award for Best Music Direction are given annually. In years 1994, 1995 and 2010, an award for Best Background Score was instituted by the Jury, which was won by Johnson and by Ilaiyaraaja . Ilaiyaraaja and A. R... |
Isaac Thomas Kottukapally | ||
| Vellinakshatram Film Awards | 2011 Vellinakshatram Film Awards | Special Award | Salim Ahamed |
| Special Award | Salim Kumar |
Plan for Remake
In late-May 2011, the Malayalam daily MadhyamamMadhyamam
Madhyamam is a Malayalam daily newspaper published from Kerala, India, since 1987.. It was founded in 1987 by the initiatives of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. It has 10 editions in India and its Gulf edition Gulf Madhyamam has 9 in the Middle East...
reported that Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
-based film company Mega Productions had approached Salim Ahamed with the intention of remaking the film in Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
. Discussions were supposed to be held in early June, before the theatrical release of the original film. Later, reports came that Karan Johar
Karan Johar
Karan Johar is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and Television host. He is the son of Hiroo Johar and Yash Johar. He is one of the most successful filmmakers in Bollywood. He is most known for directing and producing some of Bollywood's highest grossing films in India and the...
's Dharma Productions
Dharma Productions
Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian film company founded by Yash Johar in 1976.- Other projects :Dharma Productions and NDTV recently decided to jointly launch an entertainment television channel called NDTV Imagine.- Controversy :...
has also appraoched Ahamed to buy the rights. Johar had already heard about the movie from Zarina Wahab. According to the reports, Karan Johar was to direct the film with Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
in the role of Abu with Salim Ahamed also attached. Johar, however, later categorically denied any inclination to remake the film through his Twitter post
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, which stated, "On record ... am NOT planning the remake of the acclaimed malyalam film ... actually in london to acquire the rights of a superb french film!! If all goes well the french film will translate beautifully into an indian love story ... can’t wait to get it going ... watch this space for more." However, Ahamed later revealed, "Karan's company Dharma Productions had spoken to me about buying the rights of Adaminte Makan Abu. But they didn't get back to me after the initial talks."
Salim Ahamed has, meanwhile, been in talks with J. P. Dutta
J. P. Dutta
Jyoti Prakash Dutta is an Indian Bollywood film producer and director. Mr. Dutta produces his films under the banner of JP Films. He is known for directing many patriotic war films and films in the action genre...
, who is eager to remake the hit in Hindi. In a November 2011 interview, Salim Kumar revealed that "there is a plan to remake the film in four major Indian languages."
See also
- List of submissions to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Indian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- Le Grand VoyageLe Grand VoyageLe Grand Voyage is a 2004 film written and directed by Ismaël Ferroukhi. The film portrays the relationship between father and son as both embark on a religious pilgrimage trip by car. It was shown at the 2004 Toronto and Venice International Film Festivals.-Plot:Réda is a French-Moroccan...
, a 2004 French film which portrays the relationship between father and son as both embark on a religious pilgrimage trip.