Billed as a heist comedy, Ramachandra Boss & Co. will mark the second collaboration between Nivin Pauly and Haneef Adeni, both of whom deserve a much-needed break at the box office
There’s no doubting the immense talent that Malayalam star Nivin Pauly possesses. He’s proved it, headlining varied films such as Thattathin Marayathu, Premam, Action Hero Biju and Moothon. This is also the reason the actor was billed as the next reigning superstar in Malayalam, on the lines of Mohanlal – who had enough charm to attract both youth and family audience to the theatres. But one thing that seems to have deserted Nivin Pauly in the past few years has been box office success.
That’s also why his next Ramachandra Boss & Co, set in the deserts of the United Arab Emirates is a pivotal film for the actor. Not only is Nivin going back to his forte of a comedy entertainer with the movie, but it also has him returning to a “safe haven” of sorts for the actor – Dubai.
Another successful outing in Dubai for Nivin Pauly?
Ramachandra Boss & Co, which is billed as a ‘pravasi’ heist film is his second full-length movie to be shot in the United Arab Emirates, after the much-loved Jacobinte Swargarajyam that was based on a true story and had Vineeth Sreenivasan at the helm. In an earlier interview, Vineeth had said it was Nivin who had constantly pushed the filmmaker to cast him and to be honest, it worked wonders for the movie as well as the actor.
Nivin had just done Premam and Action Hero Biju, and needed another film to solidify his ascent as a superstar. Jacobinte Swargarajyam did just that – appealing to all kinds of audiences in Kerala as well as the Middle East, the overseas market that Malayalam films tap into the most.
In earlier interviews, Nivin has said that, much like his colleagues in the Malayalam film industry, Dubai is the city that he prefers to escape to, when the going gets wild and he needs to unwind with his family and friends. This time, it might even have been a deliberate attempt.
Also read: Thuramukham star Nivin Pauly changes track, 'to do more commercial entertainers’
Nivin Pauly's return to 'commercial' formula
Nivin’s film Saturday Nights didn’t quite emulate the success that his and Rosshan Andrrews’ previous movie Kayamkulam Kochunni did and would probably be his most panned outing ever. This also forced the actor to reevaluate his choices of films. There’s also a rumour that the actor had decided to stop the shoot of his movie Thaaram, which had kicked off in Manali, so he could be in the right space of mind.
Believe what you may about the actor, Nivin’s the kind of person who would go all out to achieve a goal, if he sets his mind to it. His collaborators such as Geetu Mohandas, Rajeev Ravi, Alphonse Puthren and Abrid Shine would attest to this. So, when he decided, in his own words “to change my strategy and focus more on commercial cinema”, the actor would have chosen a genre that was less explored in Malayalam cinema but had enough potential to create an impact.
The setting of Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah would have also helped him stay away from the noise. Something that would have also aided its filmmaker Haneef Adeni, whose previous movie with Nivin – Mikhael – didn’t do well either. But given Haneef had worked as an assistant director with Anil Radhakrishnan Menon, whose film Sapthamashree Thaskaraha is still regarded as one of the best heist Malayalam movies, and surprised the audience with style and script of films such as Mammootty’s The Great Father and Abrahaminte Santhathikal, you can expect a fair deal of surprise from the filmmaker.
Stage set for Onam clash with King of Kotha and RDX
But the greatest sign of Nivin’s confidence in the film comes from the actor, who is also co-producing the heist comedy, deciding to make it an Onam release; letting it clash with Dulquer Salmaan’s King of Kotha and another action entertainer in RDX, starring Shane Nigam, Antony Varghese and Neeraj Madhav. Nivin would also be hoping that the movie repeats the feat of Jacobinte Swargarajyam – once again allaying all doubts of his stardom and solidifying his claim as one of the most dependable actors in Malayalam today.
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