Jallikattu (2019 film)

Jallikattu is a 2019 Indian Malayalam-language independent action film directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery with a screenplay by S. Hareesh and R. Jayakumar, based on the short story Maoist by Hareesh.[1] The film stars Antony Varghese, Chemban Vinod Jose, Sabumon Abdusamad and Santhy Balachandran. The plot follows a bull that escapes from a slaughterhouse in a hilly remote village and the entire village men gathering to hunt down the animal.[2][3]

For the Indian sport involving bulls, see Jallikattu.

Jallikattu
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLijo Jose Pellissery
Produced byO. Thomas Panicker
Written by
Based onMaoist
by S. Hareesh
Starring
Music byPrashant Pillai
CinematographyGirish Gangadharan
Edited byDeepu Joseph
Production
company
Opus Penta
Distributed byFriday Film House (India)
XYZ Films (North America)
Release date
  • 6 September 2019 (2019-09-06) (Toronto)
  • 4 October 2019 (2019-10-04)
LanguageMalayalam

Jallikattu was premiered on 6 September 2019 at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and received widespread critical acclaim.[4][5] The film was showcased at the 24th Busan International Film Festival under the section 'A Window on Asian Cinema'.[6] It was released in the home state Kerala on 4 October 2019.[7][8] Lijo Jose Pellissery received the Best Director trophy at the 50th International Film Festival of India.[9] It is selected as the Indian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards[10] from among 27 other films. It is the third Malayalam film after Guru and Adaminte Makan Abu to be chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars.[11]

Plot

Kaalan Varkey is a buffalo butcher, whom the entire village relies on for fresh meat. A regular ritual of buffalo slaughter goes haywire for Kalan Varkey when the bull breaks loose and creates havoc across the village. Everyone starts blaming Varkey and Antony and calls the police.

The police don’t seem to be helpful as they can’t shoot the bull which is against the law. The entire village takes the matter into their own hand and decide to help in catching the errant animal. They call Kuttachan, who used to live in the village but was sent away after Antony ratted him out for smuggling sandalwood from the church.

Meanwhile, Kuriachan plans the buffet for his daughter’s wedding by ordering different beef dishes but all his desires go south when he comes to know about the loose bull. The news makes him very anxious and he decides to buy chicken instead. He then goes to buy poultry at late night but is caught by hooligans who misinterpret the situation. His daughter plans to elope but is caught by a neighbour.

The bull falls in a well and Antony claims that he had laid the trap and takes the credit. He doesn't allow Kuttachan to shoot it and plans to haul it back to the surface, where it can be butchered and sold. The villagers start celebrating by making a campfire and getting drunk, one of the elders who stayed there for a long time states that even though the villagers live there, the land always belongs to the animals. When the bull is about to reach its feet, it starts raining and when the bull is free and starts creating havoc, the rain stops. They get hold of the police officer who reacts vaguely to the situation. Unhappy with his inaction, they put the police jeep on fire. The police officer having no other choice joins the pursuit of catching the bull. He permits the villagers to steal the rubber sheet which is highly inflammable. They set traps using chains and try to surround the bull.

The whole village is now on a hunt for the bull and want to stake a claim in its capture. Instead of catching the bull, Kuttachan and Antony try to settle their score. With the former getting the upper hand, but the latter is saved when the bull interrupts. Kuttachan manages to regain the ground and asks Antony to assist, but he stabs him instead. Antony then leads the chase, with the remaining villagers behind him. They throw spears at the bull to stop it. It then crosses the bridge and gets stuck in a muddy water. Antony reaches first and delivers the final stab and claims all the credit. But the villagers one by one disagree and create a stampede that jumps on top of the deceased bull with the aim of getting credit for killing the bull.

The screen is then shifted to men of the Stone Age killing a bull and fighting to devour the creature.

Cast

Music
Jallikkattu
Film score by
Prashant Pillai
ReleasedSeptember 6, 2019 (TIFF) October 4, 2019
Recorded2019
GenreOrchestra, World Music
LanguageMalayalam
LabelOpus Penta with Friday Film House
ProducerPrashant Pillai
Prashant Pillai chronology
Unda
(2019)		 Jallikkattu
(2019)		 Ranarangam
(2019)

The film score was produced by Prashant Pillai.

Release

Theatrical

The official trailer of the film was unveiled by Friday Film House on 28 September 2019.[12] Jallikattu was premiered at Toronto International Film Festival 2019.[13][14][15] It was theatrically released on 4 October 2019 in Kerala. The film dubbed in Telugu with same title and released on Aha[16]

Home media

Jallikattu is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video and the telugu dubbed version is available on Aha streaming service.

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 96% based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 7.42/10.The website's critical consensus reads: "Jallikattu uses a violent conflict between man and animal to set the stage for a story that's as visually haunting as it is rich in subtext".[17] Reviewing the movie for Onmanorama, Sajesh Mohan wrote: "After Ee. Ma. Yau, Lijo Jose Pellissery has again opted to saunter through the innate nature of humans in an off-kilter manner." According to the reviewer, 'the movie's technical brilliance is something that Mollywood can flaunt for a long time to come.'[18]

Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion South wrote "In other words, Jallikattu wants to transform local colour and local history into something universal and primal — and even if the bigger point becomes repetitive after a while, the film is always rewarding. The screenplay is essentially a series of vignettes, and some of them are screamingly funny".[19]

Box office

The film grossed approximately ₹10 crores in its first week run in Kerala and around ₹40 crores from the world wide collection. Per trade sources, 65 percent of the film's box office collection in Kerala came from major multiplexes.[20]

Awards and nominations
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Asian Film Awards October 28, 2020 Best Cinematography Girish Gangadharan Nominated [21]
Best Original Music Prashant Pillai
International Film Festival of India 28 November 2019 Best Director Lijo Jose Pellissery Won [22]
Kerala State Film Awards 13 October 2020 Best Director Lijo Jose Pellissery Won [23]
Best Sound Mixing Kannan Ganapathi
Satellite Awards 15 February 2021 Best Foreign Language Film Jallikattu Pending [24]

See also

References
  1. Ramnath, Nandini (17 August 2019). "In Lijo Jose Pellissery's 'Jallikattu', a buffalo runs amok and brings out the beast in humans". Scroll.in. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  2. "Toronto 2019 Review: In JALLIKATTU, The Line Between Man And Beast Dissolves". Screen Anarchy. As much a wild action film as an exploration of rural masculinity run amok, Sallikattu takes its audience on an incredible visceral and emotional journey over the course of 90 blood, sweat, and tear-soaked minutes that will leave viewers gasping for breath by the time it reaches its incredible conclusion.
  3. "Busan Film Review: 'Jallikattu'". Screendaily. 4 October 2019. While there is a question mark over the appetite in overseas arthouse audiences for Malayalam language action films about a buffalo gone berserk, the picture shares a relentless gung ho energy (if not the technical polish) with martial arts pictures like The Raid.
  4. Motamayor, Rafael. "10 Horror, Sci-Fi, and Genre Films That Blew Minds at TIFF – And Will Be Coming to You Soon". RottenTomotoes. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  5. Staff, Onmanorama (7 September 2019). "Sallikattu opens at TIFF, Lijo and team get wide applauds". OnManorama. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  6. "A Window on Asian Cinema: Sallikattu". Busan International Film Festival.
  7. News Network, Times (25 July 2019). "Lijo Jose Pellissery's 'sallikattu' to hit the screens in October?". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  8. "സെന്‍സര്‍ പൂര്‍ത്തിയായി ജല്ലിക്കട്ട് ഒക്ടോബര്‍ നാലിന്". www.thecue.in. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  9. Sangeeta Nair (29 November 2019). "IFFI 2019: Full list of winners; Particles wins Best Film, Lijo Jose Pellissery wins Best Director award". Jagran Prakashan. Jagran Josh. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  10. Pooja Pillai (25 November 2020). "Malayalam film sallikattu is India's entry for Oscars 2021". Indian Express.
  11. "Malayalam film sallikattu is India's entry for 2021 Oscars". The Indian Express. 26 November 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  12. "sallikattu Official Trailer - Lijo Jose Pellissery - Chemban Vinod - Antony Varghese". YouTube. Friday Film House. 28 September 2019.
  13. "sallikattu". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  14. Native, Digital (14 August 2019). "Pics from Lijo Jose Pellissery's 'sallikattu' go viral, film to premiere at Toronto fest". The News Minute. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  15. George, Anjana (14 August 2019). "Lijo Jose Pellissery's sallikattu and Geethu Mohandas' Moothon to premiere in Toronto International Film Festival". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  16. Vyas (28 September 2020). "sallikattu's World Digital Premiere on aha". www.thehansindia.com. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  17. "SALLIKATTU". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  18. Mohan, Sajesh (5 October 2019). "sallikattu review: Lijo Jose Pellissery unleashes a crafty mayhem". October 5, 2019. Onmanorama.
  19. [sallikattu Movie Review: Lijo Jose Pellissery Gives A Masterclass On How To Make A Movie That’s Both Experimental And Entertaining "sallikattu Movie Review: Lijo Jose Pellissery Gives A Masterclass On How To Make A Movie That's Both Experimental And Entertaining"] Check |url= value (help). FilmCompanion.
  20. Pillai, Sreedhar (14 October 2019). "sallikattu beats Aadyarathri, Vikruthi to top Kerala box office, earns Rs. 7.30 cr in opening week". Firstpost. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  21. "The 14th Asian Film Awards Nominations Announced". afa-academy.com. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  22. "Malayalam film 'sallikattu' is India's official Oscar entry in International Feature Film category" – via The Economic Times.
  23. "Suraj Venjaramoodu, Kani Kusurthi and Lijo Jose Pellissery win big at 50th Kerala State Film Awards". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  24. Van Blaricom, Mirjana (1 February 2021). "25th Satellite Awards Nominees for Motion Pictures and Television Announced". International Press Academy. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
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