Christy (2023 film)

Christy is a 2023 Indian Malayalam-language romantic drama film directed by Alvin Henry in his directorial debut and written by Benyamin and G. R. Indugopan. The film features Mathew Thomas and Malavika Mohanan in the lead roles. The film is based on a true story. The film released in theatres on 17 February 2023 to mixed reviews from critics.

Plot
Roy, a 12th grade student, lives in Poovar with his aunt for his studies. Uninterested in his studies, he skips classes to enjoy himself with his friends. Roy's mother Lissie knows this and tells him that he must return home if he does not study well, to which his aunt objects and decides to send him for tuition under a teacher named Christy. When Roy comes to Christy's house, he sees her sitting in her room like a madwoman and tells his aunt that something was wrong with her and will not go back. At school, Garudan Sir informs Roy that he was allowed to write the exam because of his mother's pleas, so he finally goes for tuition. As Roy waits for Christy, she arrives with her father Joseph. Christy had a mutual divorce but did not seem to be happy as she became married without her consent. Christy and her father are not on good terms because he unnecessarily borrows large amounts of money.

Roy falls in love with Christy and stares at her during tuition instead of listening to her. The friendship between Christy and Roy becomes closer, and he passes his exams smoothly. Roy enters college and decides to confess his love to Christy. Roy discovers that Christy wants to be a school teacher in Maldives. Joseph and Roy accompany her to the interview, and she clears it. Christy wants two lakhs for the job, and her father storms out. During the bus ride back, Roy proposes to Christy; she is startled and does not answer. On her first day on the job, Roy arrives at the airport with his friend, but she boards the flight. Roy was traveling on the bus when Christy calls but does not have enough money to call her back.

When Roy's birthday comes, he tries to see and kiss Christy again, but she flinches. The gift exchanged by Christy is a camera, and overtime, they rekindled their relationship. As a result, Roy's love for Christy grows day by day. Roy is called into the room and given an ATM card. Christy says that her father spent all the money she sent, so she opened a new bank account. She asks Roy to check and let her know whether all the money she is sending to that account is received.

Meanwhile, some of Christy's friends are coming to Thampanoor. Christy asks Roy to come along, and he agrees. Christy reaches the place and is about to get into the car with her colleague Tijo and other friends. Roy is standing there, waiting for Christy to come back. She arrives late, and Rory is upset. They depart from one another angry. Roy reaches Rashid's house in an auto. He tries to meet Rashid, but he is sleeping. The maid tells him to come at 10:00. Although he told her it was urgent, she did not allow him to meet Rashid. With no other choice, he returns to the airport. He has nothing he needs for the airport, so he struggles to get through security, but the manager takes pity on him and lets him in.

In the end, Roy returns to Poovar and happily clicks his camera, gifted by Christy, to take pictures of the fish struggling to return to the sea.

Production
Principal photography of the film began on 21 September 2022 with a pooja held at Hotel Geethu International in Poovar near Thiruvananthapuram and the Maldives. Christy is the directorial debut of Alvin Henry. Writers Benyamin and G.R. Indugopan wrote the screenplay of this film. Sajai Sebastian and Kannan Satheesan produced the film through the production company Rocky Mountains Cinemas. Anend C. Chandran was the cinematographer, Sameera Saneesh was the costume designer, and Govind Vasantha composed the music.

Soundtrack
Govind Vasantha is the music director of the movie. He has composed four songs for the film and also did the background scores for the movie.

Release
The teaser of the film was released on 26 January. After that, the trailer was released on 10 February and the film was released in theatres on 17 February 2023.

The screenplay of the film published by Manorama Books released on 14 February 2023 during the audio launch of the film in Thiruvananthapuram.

The digital rights of the film were acquired by Sony LIV and started streaming on 10 March 2023.

Reception
The film received mixed responses upon release. S. R. Praveen from The Hindu said that the film "portrays a unique relationship convincingly, but the shoddy writing and a poor third act does no justice to the soul of the story." Rating the film 3 in a scale of 5, The Times of India's reviewer appreciated Malavika Mohanan's performance but felt that the "message conveyed by the film is questionable, and perhaps not even acceptable." Cinema Express's critic rated the film 3.5 in a scale of 5 and wrote that the film "is one of those love stories that spend enough time exploring the mental landscape of its principal characters." A reviewer from Malayala Manorama wrote that the film is a "celebration of unconditional love." Rating the film 2.5 in a scale of 5, India Today's reviewer appreciated the lead performances but felt that the film's portrayal of the romantic relationship as one-sided.