Peruchazhi

Following some unconfirmed reports, Mohanlal announced the film officially in February 2013. It was said to be a comedy and Tamil film director Arun Vaidyanathan was to be the director, making his debut in Malayalam cinema.[1] Vaidyanathan got the idea for the script during his stay in the United States, when he watched a debate between two political leaders on television: "It was fun and something unheard of in India. I thought that would make an interesting script."[2] According to Vaidyanathan, Peruchazhi is an original script, although Cho Ramaswamy's 1971 Tamil political satire, Muhammad bin Tughluq, which he considers is still relevant and ahead of its time, influenced the kind of humour used in the film.[3]

Vaidyanathan wrote two drafts of the screenplay, one in English and one in Tamil.[4] He had no plans initially to direct the film in Malayalam. When he met Mohanlal, he had an English script. After Mohanlal signed on for the project, Vaidyanathan then planned to make it in Malayalam.[5] Writer-director Ajayan Venugopalan, known for his Malayalam television sitcom Akkara Kazhchakal (set in the US), was chosen to translate the dialogue into Malayalam; he converted the story into a Malayali context. Venugopal said, the story was inspired by political stunts that happen in India in the name of democracy. It is "a spoof-cum-satirical take on what happens when an Indian politician gets to lead a Gubernatorial election in the U. S." The characters are "larger than life" and the film was to be a tribute to Mohanlal with many references from his earlier films.[6] He began the translation in 2013.[1]

The title Peruchazhi refers to the bandicoot (a rodent). Of the title Vaidyanathan said: "A bandicoot has its own instincts. For instance, we have no idea where it comes from and where it vanishes to. It just appears and takes what it wants in the process. Jagannathan, the character played by Lal Sir [Mohanlal], is like that. He will do anything to win." He describes Peruchazhi as a spoof about how a politician from Kerala ends up being the chief political adviser to a state election campaign in California and the havoc he creates while chasing success there.[4] Since Vaidyanathan wanted the protagonist to have international appeal, he named him "Ulaganathan" (conqueror of the world) in his original Tamil script; in Malayalam the name was changed to "Jagannathan", its meaning unchanged.[4]

Pooja Kumar (left) was initially signed as the female lead, but she was replaced by Ragini Nandwani (right).

According to Vaidyanathan, he was not thinking of Mohanlal while writing the screenplay, but eventually after he had finished it he thought Mohanlal would be the right actor because he considers him "an amazing humourist" with "great comic timing." Mohanlal agreed to do the film right after briefing the script.[3] Vaidyanathan's wife, a native of Kerala, suggested Mohanlal's name.[4] He plays Jagannathan, a politician from Kerala, his crooked strategies gave him the nickname "Peruchazi". Vaidyanathan defined Jagannathan as a "gentle Chanakyan."[2] Mukesh, who plays Francis Kunjappan, was among the first actors to be signed after Mohanlal.[7]

In October 2013, American actress, and former Miss India USA, Pooja Kumar was announced as the heroine, making her Malayalam film debut. She was reported to be playing an Indian girl born and brought up in the United States. Baburaj and Aju Varghese were also confirmed playing comical sidekicks to Mohanlal's Jagannathan.[8] However, in early March 2016, North Indian actress Ragini Nandwani was confirmed as the female lead; the makers zeroed in on Nandwani after considering several other actresses.[9] In March 2014, Tamil actor Delhi Ganesh was confirmed to be making a cameo appearance.[10] Poonam Bajwa was signed for an item number in a song.[11]

In early April 2014, stand-up comedian turned actor Ashvin Mathew announced through his social networking pages that he had been cast in a small comic role.[12] At the same time, producers Sandra Thomas and Vijay Babu announced that since they were travelling with the crew to the U. S. for the filming, they would also appear in the film as a cost-saving measure.[13] Babu plays Sunny Kurishingal. Initially the producers approached a number of actors who fit the "requisites of a savvy Indian-American," but none of them was ready to afford the length filming schedule in the United States. Hence Babu himself took the part.[14] Taiwanese-American actor John Wusah was cast as Dup Lee after attending an audition in the United States for the role.[15] Shankar Ramakrishnan's role as an American Senator was confirmed in early June 2014.[16] Aneesh G. Menon was confirmed in July 2014, playing a politician in the film.[17] Vineeth Mohan got his first speaking role as Kunjappan's driver.[18]

Arrora (Navin) composed Peruchazhi's songs and background score.[19] Aravind Krishna was the film's cinematographer,[2] and N. Madhusudhanan was signed to provide visual effects.[20] M. Bawa and Julie Ziah were the art directors.[21] Preethi S. Kanthan designed the costumes. According to Vaidyanathan, Jagannathan's dhoti (designed by Kanthan) was "inspired by ancient Roman design. The same border was used on the toga worn by Julius Caesar and his ministers. The leaf in the border denotes power."[22] Raymonds provided the coats for the film's characters.[23]

At an event in September 2013, Mohanlal announced that the film would begin shooting in February 2014.[24] In March 2014, it was reported that filming would begin in the second week of April 2014.[9] Principal photography actually began in mid-April 2014 in Kollam, Kerala.[25] Two of the film's sequences—a fight and an item song, which take place in the U. S. were shot on a set created inside the compound of The Raviz Hotel, Kollam. The Kollam schedule was completed on 8 May 2014.[26] Filming in Kollam for a film set in America, was criticised by some of the media in Kerala. Replying to it Vaidyanathan said in an interview: "If you are making Titanic, you don't have to build an entire ship and make it sink. The news of us shooting in the U. S. got lesser prominence in the media than the shooting in Kerala, which was there for three or four days. There are certain things that we thought would be better if we shot it here [Kollam]. What matters in the end is the content on screen."[5]

Burbank, California where most of the filming took place

The cast and crew travelled to the United States on 12 May 2014, on a schedule which was expected to wrap on 16 June 2016. Filming took place for around 35 days in America.[27] Most of the crew members were from the U. S. and worked six hours per day. Los Angeles International Airport was one of the locations.[28] Peruchazhi was filmed almost entirely in Burbank, California, near Hollywood in Los Angeles.[29] In early June 2014, Vaidyanathan said that almost 60 percent of the filming had been completed.[30] It is the first Malayalam film to be shot at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. The production cost was around ₹4.5 crore (₹45 million) for the U. S. schedule.[31]

Although Peruchazhi is mostly set in the U. S., the film opens and ends in Kerala, for which a number of scenes were shot in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.[9] The film wrapped on 5 July at Sacred Heart College in Thevara, Kochi.[32] Peruchazhi was made using the Auro 11.1 sound format, making it the second Malayalam film to use it; the first was Swapaanam (2014), directed by Shaji N. Karun.[33] According to Sandra Thomas, Peruchazhi cost four times more than the average Malayalam film.[34] The film's total production cost is estimated to be ₹10 crore (₹100 million).[14]

The first-look poster for Peruchazhi was unveiled at Dreams Hotel in Kochi in April 2014, in conjunction with the 111-day celebration of the Friday Film House venture Philips and the Monkey Pen.[48][49] Friday Peeps handled the film's promotion and advertising. A conceptual photoshoot was conducted separately to create the posters. The film's advertisers mounted a campaign in which Mohanlal's character gradually becomes more detailed.[50] On 21 May 2014, Mohanlal's 54th birthday, Friday Film House released a 34-second trailer.[51] A full-length trailer was released on 1 August 2014 which, according to Zee News, "created a buzz in social media."[52][53] It was the most viewed Malayalam film trailer receiving 150,000 views in 12 hours.[54] Peruchazhi was promoted in train stations served by the Parasuram and Ernad Express, using wrap advertising with images, logos and posters of the film throughout the trains.[55] The production team introduced a strategy game app, developed by Raklin, titled "Be a Peruchazhi" for the Android platform on 25 August 2014.[56]

Nicy V. P. of the International Business Times gave the film four stars out of five, calling it a "clean entertainer." She wrote, "The film has a few moments, which will take you back to good old days of Mohanlal film. If you are a Mohanlal fan, the film will be a feast for you and Arun Vaidyanathan has nailed a good political satire for this festive season."[57] Aswin J. Kumar of The Times of India gave the film three out of five stars, noting: "The attempt at political satire in this film is feeble, mindless and boring. It's more like a mask over disfigurement, for there is hardly any scope for satire in a narrative riddled with superfluous acts of a star who has begun to show signs of insecurity."[58]

Sujit Chandra Kumar of Deccan Chronicle gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of five, writing: "Arun Vaidyanathan has packed [the film] with so much spice that even if one ingredient fails to please, there is still something else for that die-hard fan."[59] Malayala Manorama critic Arathi Kannan also awarded it two-and-a-half stars out of five: "'Peruchazhi' is an exaggerated belief of a mediocre idea. And how it ends, reinforces the aforementioned statement! It isn’t so much a political mockery, as a political idiocy. But as for undying loyalties, the star with his 'mundu' action, alternatively 'suited and booted' is quite hoot-inspiring," the director has "randomly put in some Mohanlal nostalgia from yonder. Once, twice, it's okay. The eleventh time, you'd start to think the movie has slowly transformed into an Onam cassette of sorts, a compilation of yesteryear Mohanlal gems."[60]

Paresh C. Palicha of Rediff.com rated it two out of five stars, saying the film is "not up to the mark especially since it underutilises an actor of Mohanlal's caliber...it can easily pass off as a television programme, a tribute to the long innings of Mohanlal, one of the most mesmerising actors to grace the Indian screen...every comic sequence is punctuated by a reference to one of Mohanlal's films or lines from one of those films. This strategy becomes cumbersome after a while."[61]

Writing for The New Indian Express, Pramod Thomas criticised the script, saying "the sequences where the intelligence of the protagonist is shown as an election-winning tactic are difficult to chew ... the screening of yesteryear scenes from the popular Mohanlal starrers seems to be okay in the beginning, but with weary repetition, even the hardcore fans will lose patience."[62] The critic from Sify called it "average," and said: "In all fairness, the initial moments of the film are pretty fine and more so, when compared to the rest of the film ... Mohanlal's comic lines and sequences from his yesteryear hits are used ... in the first half, in an impressive way." He described the second half as "boring" with "inane scenes that go on and on," calling it far from entertaining. He also criticised the "poor" script.[63]

Peruchazhi had an opening-day gross of ₹3 crore (₹30 million), the highest worldwide opening for a Malayalam film till then.[64] According to Sify, the film's box-office receipts fell over the following weeks.[65] The film released in the United Kingdom on 9 September 2014, grossed a total of $46,265 from 16 screens in two weekends.[66]