Comrade in America

Comrade in America (abbreviated as CIA) is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language action-adventure film directed by Amal Neerad, starring Dulquer Salmaan and Karthika Muralidharan in the lead roles.[2] The music is composed by Gopi Sundar, and Renadive handles the cinematography Stunt:-Mark Chavarria .[3] The film released on 5 May, also the birth date of Karl Marx.[4][5] The film revolves around the story of Aji, a communist from Kerala who travels to the United States illegally to find his girlfriend.[6]

Comrade in America
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAmal Neerad
Produced byAmal Neerad[1]
Written byShibin Francis
Starring
Music byGopi Sunder
CinematographyRenadive
Edited byPraveen Prabhakar
Production
company
Distributed byA & Release
Release date
  • 5 May 2017 (2017-05-05)
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam

Plot

Aji Mathew (Dulquer Salmaan) is a youngster from Pala and is a strong communist. He comes from a Kerala Congress Party family, where his rich father, Mathew (Siddique), is a prominent leader in the party. Aji falls in love with Sarah (Karthika Muralidharan), an American citizen who came to Kerala for her college studies. After getting to know one other, Sarah asks Aji to leave India and move to the US with her. Aji denies this request, as his motherland has given him everything and he cannot live in a totally capitalistic country. Within weeks, he receives news from his comrade Hari (Dileesh Pothan) that Sara's parents have taken her back to the United States and that she intends to marry another man. Aji desperately wants to meet with her, even if they cannot be married.

He finds out that there is no way that he can get a visa within the period of the marriage and so decides to illegally enter to the United States through Mexico as suggested by his cousin Cyril (Jinu Joseph), who is in America. Aji first goes to Nicaragua, where a visa is not needed. There, he meets Arul (John Vijay), a Sri Lankan Tamil taxi driver. Together, they decide to go to America. Then both travel to Reynosa in Mexico, where they find a guide to lead them across the borders safely.

Aji meets others in their group, who are also trying to cross over illegally. He becomes friends with Pallavi (Chandini Sreedharan), a Malayalee in their group. The group is cheated by their guide who robs them and escapes after the first day. Instead of dropping the plan, Akai, a Chinese man among them, says that he has a GPS and can find the route to the US. Through the journey, they encounter an armed gang but they are defeated by the group with Aji's initiation for offence. Arul, after encountering an accident, decides to drop the plan and return to Nicaragua.

As the journey continues, they are found by surveillance drones. Aji, along with Pallavi, Akai and Laden (a Pakistani immigrant) escape. The American police capture other illegal immigrants and are shown the dead body of Arul, asking if they know him. Aji and Laden are captured by the police after trying to cross the border to the US. As they are transported, the police vehicle gets into an accident, and both of them manage to escape. Pallavi then leaves Aji to proceed ahead.

Aji finds his cousin Cyril (Jinu Joseph), who tells him that he met with Sarah, who told him that she has already rejected Aji, and has agreed to marry the other man. He says she might have called Aji initially to self-validate her position with him before marrying another person. Aji, along with Cyril, goes to meet Sarah on her wedding day as his father had insisted, and Aji conveys to her that it was good that they separated, and the experience that his journey gave him was one of the most memorable in his life.

Later, when Aji is about to leave, he is advised by Cyril to stay back, as his passport would be permanently banned from re-entering the US, and also says that if Aji wants to stay, he can make arrangements. Aji denies his offer and says "Our first love should never ever become successful!. If it does, then our life will end there" and jokes to him that he has now found an alternative for a side dish and consumes alcoholic beverages and says that his homeland calls him.

On the plane, he meets Pallavi. She explains that she got arrested along with Akai, and both of them are getting deported back to India and China. They then embark on their journey together back to India.

In a post-credits scene, it explains that Aji's political opinions were not a success either since Kora Sir, the local Kerala Congress leader, won the election and so did Donald Trump in the US.

Cast

Soundtrack
Comrade in America
Soundtrack album by
Gopi Sundar
Released2017
GenreFilm soundtrack
Length17:07
LabelGopi Sundar Music Company
ProducerGopi Sundar
Gopi Sundar chronology
1971: Beyond Borders
(2017)		 Comrade in America
(2017)		 Sathya
(2017)
External audio
Official Audio Jukebox on YouTube

All the songs are composed by Gopi Sundar and are released online through the composer's own YouTube channel titled Gopi Sundar Music Company.[7]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Kannil Kannil"Rafeeq AhammedHaricharan, Sayanora Philip4:09
2."Dulquer Theme" Gopi Sundar2:21
3."Kerala Manninayi"B. K. HarinarayananDulquer Salmaan, Vaikom Vijayalakshmi, G. Sreeram4:06
4."Vaanam Thilathilakkanu"Rafeeq Ahammed, Carolina (Spanish), Mohammed Maqbool Mansoor (Hindi)Dulquer Salmaan, Mohd. Maqbool Mansoor, Carolina3:49
5."African Music Theme" Gopi Sundar1:14
6."Love Theme" Gopi Sundar0:22
7."Party Office Theme" Gopi Sundar0:28
8."CIA Sentiments Theme" Gopi Sundar0:54

Reception

Critical response

Comrade in America received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Writing for Times of India, Sanjith Sidhardhan said that "The film is an entertaining affair, which has humour, drama, great visuals, a good soundtrack and most of all, a splendid performance by Dulquer."[8] Anu James of International Business Times gave 3.5 stars out of five and wrote that "Comrade in America is an entertaining flick with Dulquer's impressive performance, few one-liners, beautiful picturisation, catchy music and after all with Amal Neerad touch. It is not just a movie to hail communism, and degrade others; communism just exists in the background that becomes the life for Aji, unlike what we have seen in Oru Mexican Aparatha or Sakhavu."[9] Prem Udayabhanu of Malayala Manorama writes "Dulquer Salmaan is ushered in with the aura of a mass appearance and that sets the tempo of narrative, which also hinges on a beautiful father-son portrayal, though they are opposite poles in the political spectrum."[10]

Elizabeth Thomas, in her review for Deccan Chronicle, gave 3.5 stars out of five and wrote that "CIA is, in many ways, a fresh attempt by Amal Neerad. It is different from his usual making style. The script by Shibin Francis takes a fresh plot, which makes the story interesting. Aji’s journey is told in a different tone and set in a new landscape, which is unfamiliar to the Malayali audience. Aji’s mass entry and his power-packed and quick-witted dialogues lift the mood of the movie."[11]

References
  1. "Comrade In America teaser: Dulquer Salmaan's Communist act is the highlight. Watch video". Indian Express.
  2. "Fahadh Faasil's voice in Dulquer Salmaan's 'CIA'". The News Minute. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  3. "Dulquer Salmaan releases Comrade in America - CIA first teaser". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  4. CIA Movie Review
  5. "Dulquer Salmaan's next titled 'CIA: Comrade In America'". The Hindu. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  6. ChennaiMay 7, Srivatsan; May 7, 2017UPDATED; Ist, 2017 10:04. "Comrade in America movie review: Dulquer Salmaan's film is let down by a convoluted plot". India Today. Retrieved 4 September 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. "Comrade In America song: Kannil Kannil is a beautiful melody, watch video". The Indian Express. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  8. Comrade in America Review {3.5/5}: CIA is an entertaining affair, which has humour, drama, great visuals, a good soundtrack and most of all, a splendid performance by Dulquer, retrieved 4 September 2019
  9. James, Anu (6 May 2017). "Dulquer Salmaan's Comrade in America (CIA) review: DQ impresses in his journey across the world for lady-love". International Business Times, India Edition. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  10. "Comrade in America review: Lofty ideals, simple joys, diverse terrains". OnManorama. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  11. thomas, elizabeth (7 May 2017). "Movie review Comrade in America: Comrade in love". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
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