Garudan (2023 film)

Garudan is a 2023 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film directed by Arun Varma in his directorial debut, written by Midhun Manuel Thomas and produced by Listin Stephen. The film features Suresh Gopi leading an ensemble supporting cast including Siddique, Jagadish, Abhirami, Divya Pillai, Thalaivasal Vijay, Major Ravi, Dileesh Pothan, and Nishanth Sagar.

In the film, Harish Madhav (Suresh Gopi), a police officer, and Nishanth Kumar (Biju Menon), a college professor, face-off in a legal battle over a student brutal rape case. The music was composed by Jakes Bejoy, while Ajay David Kachappilly and Sreejith Sarang handled the cinematography and editing.

Garudan was released in theatres on 3 November 2023 to positive reviews from critics and emerged as a commercial success, becoming the seventh highest-grossing Malayalam film of 2023.

Plot
A college student named Theresa Philip is sexually assaulted, and DCP Harish Madhav is assigned to investigate the case. Salam Kyperi sees the culprit and gives information about him to the police. The police find Sudev V. Rajan, a Hyderabad-based IT professional, whose DNA sample matches the rapist. Through him, Harish learns of Nishanth Kumar, a college professor. Salam identifies Nishanth, and Harish collects evidence to arrest him. Following the laboratory result, police arrest Nishanth and proceeds him before court. Advocate Thomas Iype, a public prosecutor, appears for the prosecution and proves Nishanth is guilty. The court sentences Nishanth to life imprisonment.

Seven years later, Theresa remains in a coma state, and her father, Colonel Philip George, suffers from Alzheimer's. Harish gets a punishment transfer to the Kerala Armed Police battalion right before his retirement. Nishanth meets his wife Haritha, and daughter after being released from jail, but Haritha avoids him. Harish plans to use his retirement funds for his son Vijay's education and decides to live a peaceful life with his wife Sreedevi. He gives a statement against Minister Mathew in a dollar smuggling case.

During Harish's retirement day as the Deputy Commandant, Nishanth files a retrial petition at the Kerala High Court to reopen the case, which the court decides to consider. On Iype's request, Harish steps in to face Nishanth. Harish and Iype visit Salam's wife and tell her the importance of Salam appearing in court. In court, Iype represents the state, and Nishanth, having earned an LL.B. during his sentence, opts to defend himself.

Nishanth proves Salam is a chronic alcoholic, and the DNA report submitted by the laboratory director is untrustworthy. He requests the judge that he be allowed to practice as an advocate and to temporarily suspend his conviction. During the witness examination, Murugan, a burglar, takes responsibility for assaulting Theresa. Nishanth is proven not guilty, and upon his demand, the judge orders the investigating officer to give ₹70 lakhs as compensation for defamation.

Harish suffers humiliation and sends his family to Palakkad. Nishanth decides to continue as an advocate and starts a new life with his family. Though Iype thinks they made a mistake, Harish believes he hasn't. He finds his house in a damaged condition and finds Drake, his pet dog, being killed. Nishanth becomes a suspect, and Harish creates a scene at his house. Harish learns that it was Minister Mathew and his goons who were behind damaging his house and killing his dog.

Harish visits Jayadevan, jail superintendent of Central Prison, Viyyur, and learns how Nishanth impressed Nari Suni, a prisoner with great influence. Harish tells Iype that Nishanth is not someone they expected and that he brilliantly planned to prove himself innocent, which Iype takes as Harish's assumptions. When Iype visits Harish at his house, Harish tells him about Nishanth's possible intention to attack Arunima, who joined Nishanth's office as an intern.

While following Arunima, Harish finds her lying unconscious inside a public toilet. She wakes up, sees Harish, and misapprehends him, as she knows he has been following her. SI Varghese Cherian arrests Harish and puts him in lock-up. Nishanth learns of Harish's arrest and decides to appear for him. He visits him in jail to get an authorization letter signed. Harish tells about Nishanth's role in Nari Suni's growth as a wealthy businessman named Sunil Kumar and how he used the witnesses to acquit the case.

Harish expresses his doubts about Nishanth's involvement in Safia Sait's and Sunita Sharma's deaths in the past. Nishanth reveals about two other assassinations he has committed that were unknown to Harish and shows his psychopathic nature. Nishanth, who arrived after keeping RJ Neethu as a hostage in Harish's house, tells Harish about it and quickly reaches there.

But, Nishanth finds Haritha in place of Neethu and realises that it was all planned by Harish, Cyriac Joseph and Varghese Cherian to trap him and to bring out his killing obsession. At court, Philip informs Harish and Iype about Theresa's death, and Iype requests the judge to impose an additional charge under IPC Section 302 against Nishanth. The court tasks the Kerala Police with further investigation, declares Nishanth the accused, and orders Nari Suni, Murugan, and others to be included as co-accused.

In the post-credits scene, Minister Mathew and his private secretary are traveling in their vehicle and are blocked by a broke-down truck in an isolated area. Harish approaches Minister Mathew and asks if he's seen the movie 'John Wick', showing Drake's photo. The vehicle instantly gets locked with Minister Mathew and his private secretary inside and the driver missing, which draws fear in them of what is to come next.

Development
Jinesh M got the film's storyline from the case studies he referred to as part of his studies while doing his LL.M. at National University of Advanced Legal Studies in 2015. Jinesh was introduced to Arun Varma through a friend, and later the two discussed some stories from which the story of Garudan was selected. Before meeting Listin Stephen, Jinesh and Arun had approached many other producers with the story. In 2019, Jinesh and Arun prepared a screenplay for film based on the story. Later, through Listin Stephen, Jinesh and Arun approached Midhun Manuel Thomas, who became part of the script, made changes and rewrote it. The project was officially announced on 15 April 2023 during the occasion of Vishu. The film was produced under Listin Stephen's banner, Magic Frames. The film marks the reunion of Suresh Gopi and Biju Menon after 13 years. They previously acted together in the 2011 film Christian Brothers. It also marked the directorial debut of Arun Varma.

Casting and filming
In an interview with Cinema Express, Arun Varma said that Biju Menon was first approached to play the role of the police officer, but he expressed interest in playing the professor role. Suresh Gopi, who initially intended to play the professor role, later agreed to play the police officer role.

Following an announcement in April 2023, the film began principal photography on 12 May 2023 in Kochi. The filming began with a pooja ceremony in the presence of Abhirami, Thalaivasal Vijay, Midhun Manuel Thomas, Listin Stephen and Major Ravi. Major Ravi lit the Nilavilakku first and gave the first clap, while the film's story writer, Jinesh M, performed the switch-on. Suresh Gopi joined the film set on 15 May 2023. Biju Menon joined the set at the beginning of July after completing his shoot for Jis Joy's film. Union Christian College at Aluva was also used for filming. Apart from Kochi, Hyderabad was another main shooting location. The shoot took place for 75 days on three schedules. The entire filming wrapped up on 19 August 2023 in Kochi and entered post-production work. Suresh Gopi completed his dubbing portions in the first week of October 2023.

Music
The songs and background score are composed by Jakes Bejoy in his third collaboration with Magic Frames, following Jana Gana Mana and Kaduva in 2022.

Theatrical
The film was censored with a U/A certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification. A preview of the film was held at PVR INOX at LuLu Mall, Kochi on 2 November 2023. Garudan was released in theatres on 3 November 2023.

Home media
Amazon Prime Video acquired the digital rights and began streaming it on 1 December 2023.

Box office
Garudan reportedly collected ₹1.15 crore on its opening day. The film grossed a total of ₹5.25 crores from the Kerala box office, in its first five days.

The film grossed ₹16.3 crore in Kerala, ₹1.5 crore in the rest of India, and ₹9.55 crore overseas, totaling ₹27.35 crore worldwide and thereby becoming a commercial success. It earned $17,343 in the United Kingdom, $9,922 in Australia, and $4,818 in New Zealand. It earned a total of $898,000 from GCC, $112,000 from Canada, $32,000 from USA and $4000 from Singapore.

Critical response
Garudan received positive reviews from critics.

Subhash K. Jha of Times Now gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Garudan is a compelling beast of a film. It grips you by the neck and hurls you from one twist to another until you are pleasantly exhausted at the end while reaching a culmination that is both expected and unexpected." Gopika Is of The Times of India gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Arun Varma's Garudan is a perfect dose of everything for Malayali audiences who go to theatres with not much hope now." Vignesh Madhu of Cinema Express gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Pitted against each other in equally prominent roles, seasoned performers Suresh Gopi and Biju Menon keep us on the edge of our seats." Hari PN from Koimoi gave the film a satisfactory rating and stated "Garudan emerges as a commendable addition to the legal thriller genre, weaving a gripping narrative anchored by stellar performances". He further went on to say that "Director Arun Varma’s debut impresses with a swift narrative and a strategic placement of lead actors. Suresh Gopi delivers a no-nonsense portrayal, complemented by Biju Menon’s nuanced performance as Nishanth."

Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Garudan is undoubtedly a breath of fresh air for viewers inundated with mindless thrillers that have dominated our industries in recent times." Neelima Menon of OTTPlay gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "You might guess how Garudan a tense investigative thriller, will unravel. But the cleverness of its execution will still leave you impressed." S. R. Praveen of The Hindu wrote, "If Garudan manages to keep on flying, it is only due to the strength of the story at its core, although one wishes things were a bit more convincing." Princy Alexander of Onmanorama wrote, "Though the screenplay by Jinesh and Midhun Manuel is good, there are some weak moments in the film. The second half feels rushed, which affects the climax slightly. Nevertheless, the movie offers a lot of interesting twists that keep the audience engaged."

Future
In an interview with The Hindu, Arun Varma said that a sequel to Garudan is likely, and that he and Midhun Manuel Thomas are working on it.