C/O Saira Banu

C/O Saira Banu

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Antony Sony
Screenplay by RJ Shaan
Story by RJ Shaan
Starring Manju Warrier
Amala Akkineni
Shane Nigam
Biju Sopanam
Music by Mejo Joseph
Cinematography Abdul Rahim
Edited by Sagar Das's
Production
company
Maqtro Pictures
R. V. Films
Eros International
Distributed by Eros International
Release date
  • 17 March 2017 (2017-03-17) (India)
Running time
 119 minutes
Country India
Language Malayalam

C/O Saira Banu is a 2017 Indian Malayalam film directed by Antony Sony. It stars Manju Warrier, Amala Akkineni and Shane Nigam in lead roles. It is a legal drama film. The film showcase reprise of actor Amala Akkineni in Malayalam cinema after 25 years. It released in India on 17 March 2017 and received mixed reviews from the box office.[1] The story shows life of two women Saira Banu and Annie John Tharavady who defend in their ways to safeguard what they care. Mohanlal made a 'voice-only' cameo in this film.

Plot

Saira Banu is a post woman who leads a peaceful life with her adopted son Joshua Peter, a law college student. Joshua is a son of a famous photographer Peter George (Mohanlal) and Saira was his adopted child. Unexpected death of the photographer made Saira a mother to his Son. The duo share a mother-son unique bond. Joshua gets scapegoated in a case where there are chances he might face life imprisonment and Saira tries to help him. On the other hand, Annie John Tharavadi, is a leading advocate and divorced. The minimally educated Saira and the fierce advocate Annie comes to face to face in court. Saira tries to defend her son and it appears Annie has a conflict of interest in the hit and run case. It is Annie's policy that what is true to an advocate is the truth which they defend. Which side wins the case forms the crux of the story.

Cast

Production

C/O Saira Banu is the feature film directorial debut of Sony Antony who is known for his Malayalam short film Moonnamidam. Manju Warrier plays the title character Saira Banu, a Muslim woman who works as a postwoman. According to her, this was her first Muslim character in her film career. R. J. Shaan who acted in Moonnamidam scripted the film, with additional contributions from Bipin Chandran.[2] Shane Nigam plays a second year law college student, son of Banu.[3] Earlier, actors like Jayasurya and Fahadh Faasil were considered for the role of the lawyer. Later, the character was turned into a female lawyer and the team approached Amala Akkineni. With the film, Amala Akkineni is returning to Malayalam cinema after a gap of 25 years, since Ulladakkam (1991).[4]

Release

The film was initially planned to release in January 2017, but was postponed and released on 17 March 2017 in India.[4] It released in the Middle East on May 4.

Box Office

This movie collected around 0.90 Crore from the very first day of release. [5]As per the trade analysts, the movie has collected 1.37 crores from Kerala box office with a share of 60 lakh within first three days after the release. [6] The film slowly gained a foothold over the box office over the days.

Critical Reception

Actors Jayasurya and Nivin Pauly, director Rosshan Andrews, dubbing artist Bhagyalakshmi and other prominent members of the film industry praised the film.

The film received fair reviews from critics alike. G.Ragesh of manorma online gave it a rating of three out of five. "While both Manju and Amala go for matured performances as expected from them, it is Shane who steals the show. The film has an interesting plot but the sequences hinder its flow at times. It offers funny moments but comic scenes are not as promising as they were meant to be."[7]

Deepa Soman of Times of India also gave it a rating of 3/5."Amala Akkineni impresses by mouthing some lengthy Malayalam dialogues, that too in the scenes of court room proceedings. Manju Warrier, who was often termed in her first innings as one of the few actresses in Malayalam who can handle humour with ease, hasn’t succeeded in regaining her comedy skills yet after the comeback. Most of her attempts at humour fizzle out, but she pulls off the emotional scenes of the film with aplomb. Shane Nigam is the right fit to play Joshua, but one wonders why his expressions are quite limited and uniform – whether angry, sad or indifferent. The film’s music by Mejjo Joseph accentuates the scenes quite a bit and is impressive."[8]

Manok Kumar.R of Indian Express gave a rating of 2.5 out of 5. "Director Antony Sony's debut film packs some neat performances and enough surprises to keep the audience hooked to the story. Manju walks away with the film with her charming performance. Shane is convincing as an innocent teenager but it seems like he has one fixed look on his face for all the situations. Amala, who has made her comeback in Malayalam after a gap of more than 20 years, has also delivered a convincing performance as a formidable lawyer with ethical issues. Biju Sopanam deserves a special mention for his performance as an underconfident lawyer with a good heart. "[9] The film also received positive response from the audience.

References

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