Ezra (2017 film)
Ezra | |
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Directed by | Jay K. |
Written by |
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Story by | Jay K. |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Narrated by | Indrajith Sukumaran |
Cinematography | Sujith Vaassudev |
Edited by | Vivek Harshan |
Music by | Rahul Raj Sushin Shyam |
Production company |
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Distributed by | E4 Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 150 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Malayalam |
Box office | est. ₹50 crore[1] |
Ezra is a 2017 Indian
Plot
The film opens with the death of the last
Ranjan Mathew (
Ranjan's uncle Father Samuel (
Ranjan and Marques find an ex-Jew named Joshua Yehudi, a former friend of Marques' father, and get a historical book from him, which reveals the story of Abraham Ezra in 1941 in
The story comes back to Ranjan. Marques and Samuel take Shafeer into confidence, both confirm that Abraham Ezra's story is true by exhuming the wooden mannequin.
The film then takes a twist when it is revealed that it is not Priya, but Ranjan who has now been possessed by the spirit when Ranjan would be searching for Priya one night. Fr. Samuel tells them that Ranjan, as an orphan, had mental problems. Hence he was probably vulnerable to the Dybbuk. It is understood that the spirit left Priya and possessed Ranjan when it noted that Ranjan handles nuclear waste and he could be controlled into using that to destroy the city. At last, Ranjan is exorcised and the dybbuk is sent back into the box by Marques, using Jewish exorcism rituals. The box is then taken to the ocean by Marques and Shafeer and dumped, just as Ezra's body was disposed.
Later, Priya gives birth to a healthy baby and she and Ranjan share the news with Marques. In a
Cast
- Prithviraj Sukumaran as Ranjan Mathew
- Priya Anand as Priya Raghuram (voiceover by Angel Shijoy)
- ACP Shafeer Ahammed IPS
- Sudev Nair as Abraham Ezra
- voiceover by Sunny Wayne)
- Fr.Samuel
- Pratap K. Pothen as ColonelNambiar
- Babu Antony as Rabbi David Benyamin (voiceover by Shobi Thilakan)
- Sandeep Narayanan as Ranjan's friend and colleague
- Reina Maria as Lekha
- Bharat Dabholkar as Yakoob Ezra
- Alencier Lopez as Moosa
- Ann Sheetal as Rosy
- Rajesh Sharma as Sabatti
- Thara Kalyan as Priya's mother
- Manikandan R Achari(cameo)
- Balu Varghese (cameo)
- narrator
Production
In February 2016, Jay K, who was an associate director to Rajeev Ravi, announced that he will make his directorial debut through a film called Ezra.[4] It was announced that the film will be a horror thriller involving a love story and will explore the history of Jewish culture in Kerala. Jay K said that the film is not made to frighten the spectators, but has a strong plot. He also confirmed that the film will be dubbed in Tamil and Telugu languages.[5] Mukesh R. Mehta, C. V. Sarathy and A. V. Anoop produce the film under the banner of E4 Entertainment and AVA Productions.[6] Rahul Raj and Tirru were roped in for the music and cinematography respectively. But both of them left the project for reasons unknown. While Tirru left in the early stage of production, Rahul Raj left after giving the song Lailakame.
Box office
The film grossed ₹1.6 crore in the opening day and ₹2.5 crore on second day from Kerala box office.[7] It grossed ₹15.02 crore in its first week from Kerala .[8] The film grossed around ₹40 crore from Kerala box office.[9] It grossed ₹50 crore from worldwide box office.[1]
Reception
Critical reception
K R Rajeesh of nowrunning has given a 3.5/5 and praised it for the extensive paranormal research and visuals.[10] Indian Express rated it at 3/5. Ezra not only tries to frighten the audience but it has got an extraordinary storyline, too. It also tells the history of the Jews who once lived in Kerala. The remarkable flashback stays as a feeling of sorrow in the audience. It describes how the caste system and discrimination of the society spoils the relationships between people.[11]
Music
Rahul Raj was signed as the composer of the film. He composed the song Lailakame and left the project for reasons unknown. Sushin Shyam, who had worked in Sapthmashree Thaskaraha was then selected to compose the background score in addition to two songs ("Thambiran" & "Irul Neelum").[citation needed]
An album containing the
Remake
In April 2019, it was officially confirmed that the Hindi remake of the film Ezra has been commissioned by the production company Panorama Studios and has signed Emraan Hashmi to star in the lead role. Jay K. was signed to direct the remake as well. The film started shooting in Mauritius on 18 July 2019.[13][14] The film titled as Dybbuk premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 29 October 2021.[15]
References
- ^ a b c "Ezra : Prithviraj starrer emerges 8th Rs. 50 crore grosser of Malayalam cinema". Catchnews. 13 April 2017.
- Manoramaonline.com(in Malayalam). 11 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
- Indian Express. Kochi. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
- ^ James, Anu. "Prithviraj Sukumaran to star opposite Priya Anand in 'Ezra'?". International Business Times, India Edition. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- ^ Akhila, Menon (20 November 2016). "Ezra Is Not A Typical Horror Movie: Director Jay K". FilmiBeat. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- ^ Express Web Desk (15 December 2016). "Ezra trailer: The terror-inducing film has been long overdue in the horror genre, watch video". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
- ^ Anu, James (22 February 2017). "Kerala box office: Ezra, Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol score big; but far behind Pulimurugan collection record". IB Times. Retrieved 23 February 2017.[permanent dead link]
- ^ James, Anu. "Kerala box office: Prithviraj Sukumaran's Ezra breaks Pulimurugan's 8-day collection record by a tiny margin at Kochi multiplexes". ibtimes.co.in.
- ^ "Mollywood in 2017: Top Malayalam movies that earned big at Kerala box office this year". International Business Times. 20 December 2017.
- ^ "Ezra Review – Malayalam Movie Ezra nowrunning review" Archived 10 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine. nowrunning.com.
- ^ "Ezra movie review: A film with infinite possibilities cast away like a corpse in the sea". indianexpress.com. 10 February 2017.
- ^ Ezra (Original Background Score). Spotify.
- News18. Indo-Asian News Service. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ "Emraan Hashmi starrer 'Ezra' goes on floors". ANI News. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
- ^ "Emraan Hashmi's horror film 'Dybbuk' to release on Amazon Prime Video this month". The Indian Express. 18 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
External links
- Ezra Movie Audience Responses, Critics Review Archived 26 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine
- Ezra on Facebook
- Ezra at IMDb