Kalki (2019 Malayalam film)

Kalki is a 2019 Indian Malayalam-language action crime film directed by Praveen Prabharam and produced by Suvin K. Varkey and Prasobh Krishna under Little Big Films. The film stars Tovino Thomas in the lead role, while Shivajith Padmanabhan, Samyuktha Menon and Vini Vishwa Lal appear in pivotial supporting roles. The music was composed by Jakes Bejoy, while Gautham Sankar and Ranjith Koozhoor handled the cinematography and editing respectively.

Kalki was released to 8 August 2019 and received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics.

Plot
Nanchenkotta, a fictional place on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, is ruled by Amarnath, a leader of a political party called DYP. Amarnath threatens and tortures the people to keep them under control, which leads many residents to leave the land and livevin neighbouring places. Nenchenkotta is filled with goons under Amarnath's command and DYP is also involved in illegal businesses like gun production. The other known members of the party are Amarnath's brother Appu and their cousin Dr. Sangeetha. Another rival party headed by Adv. Lakshmanan participates in election, but to no avail due to the influence of Amarnath. Adv. Lakshmanan gives a speech in favour of the locals, where he goes against DYP and asks for the vote of the local people. Lakshmanan is later killed by Amarnath's henchman Ummar.

Even though there was a police station, the law was in Amarnath's hands and the cops were unable to take any action against him. SI Vyshakan, who is in-charge of Nanchenkotta, commits suicide after his daughter criticise him for his inability for not taking any action in Lakshmanan's case. The new leader of the rival party and his subordinates starts taking their own decisions without thinking about the people. They conduct a meeting to select the candidate for the upcoming election against DYP's candidate Appu. The new decisions were not welcomed well and Sooraj, a senior party member, and several members leave the party to work for the people on their own. The same day, the new leader hires a goon to finish Amarnath, but he ends up getting killed by Amarnath.

Meanwhile, a nameless SI (simply referred as "K") arrives at Nanchenkotta and burns a goon alive as he had taken over the police station. K rallies the other cops and starts clearing Amarnath's goons using illegal methods, where most of the goons change their ways. K visits the illegal gun manufacturing site headed by Appu and threatens him to shut it down. In response, Ummar arrives at the police station and threatens K only to be thrashed by him and K orders him not to work under Amarnath. Under the command of Amarnath, Ummar does various activities to make K leave the town or kill him, but to no avail. In a final attempt, Ummar attacks two policemen and one loses his leg in the process.

An agitated K tracks down Ummar in a factory and thrashes him and his allies, where he finally chops off Ummar's legs with a chainsaw along with his crew. Sooraj meets K and tells him about the people, who have left the place and the problems. Sooraj requests K's help to convince the people to arrive back. K starts working for the people against DYP which enrages Amarnath. Amarnath's goons kill a policeman and stabs K, but K manages to defeat them. In the next step, Amarnath finishes Sooraj, which pulls down the confidence of the locals. K kidnaps Appu and thrashes him severely that he falls into a coma. Amarnath is forced to kill Appu to end his suffering and swears to finish K.

After Appu's death, Sangeetha refuses to become the next candidate and leaves for Hyderabad after a cop threatens her. Amarnath asks K to arrive for a final battle. In the subsequent fight, Amarnath overpowers K, but the latter prevails and defeats Amarnath. K drags Amarnath's body through the streets and orders no one to move until the prison authorities arrive. The people, who had left arrives and walks over Amarnath's unconscious body, thus establishing peace in Nanchenkotta. K secretly leaves Nenchenkotta and arrives at an unknown place in Tamil Nadu to restore peace and order.

Cast

 * Tovino Thomas as SI K
 * Shivajith Padmanabhan as Amarnath
 * Sudheesh as HC Abdullah
 * James Elia as ASI Kuttan Pillai
 * Samyuktha as Dr. Sangeetha
 * Dheeraj Denny as Constable Govind
 * Siyad Yadhu as Constable Biju
 * KPAC Lalitha as Lalithabhai
 * Vini Vishwa Lal as Appu
 * Harish Uthaman as Ummer
 * Saiju Kurup as Sooraj
 * Aparna Nair as Aavani
 * Aneesh Gopal as Shashankan
 * Irshad as SI Vaishakhan
 * Anjali Nair as Vaishakan's Wife
 * Kritika Pradeep as Swapna
 * Jilu Joseph as Abdullah's wife
 * Anand Bal as Adv. Lakshmanan
 * Nazir Mubarak as Jijo

Production
Kalki was announced by Tovino Thomas on 16 September 2018 through his Facebook page. The film is produced by Suvin K. Varkey and Prasobh Krishna under their production house Little Big Films. The first-look poster of the film was also released during the film announcement. Tovino Thomas is portraying the lead role as a police officer, and Samyuktha Menon is playing the female lead. Saiju Kurup playing a supporting role. Principal photography began on 12 March 2019 with a customary pooja function held at Kochi. Filming took place at Tenkasi, Tamilnadu and Kundara, Kerala. The shooting was completed on 29 May 2019 in a single schedule with 62 days of filming.

Music
The music of the film was composed by Jakes Bejoy. The audio rights were acquired by Goodwill Music.

Background score
The background score was released on 30 January 2020.

Theatrical
Kalki was released worldwide on 8 August 2019.

Home media
The satellite and digital rights of the film were sold to Zee Keralam and ZEE5.

Critical response
Anjana George of The Times of India gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote “If you love to enjoy an adrenaline rush, Tovino’s looks and action sequences with blood, Kalki is for you.” Sify gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Kalki is an action flick that is a gripping ride for sure, especially if you have an idea about what you are going to see. It is a delightful Tovino Thomas show that is definitely worth a watch."

Litty Simon gave 3/5 stars and wrote Onmanorama and wrote "Though entertaining, Kalki did had the potential to be the best provided it was made more engaging." Akhila Menon of Filmibeat gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Kalki will surely entertain audiences, who are into mass-action entertainers. This Tovino Thomas movie is a watchable flick, which has its own strengths and flaws."

S. R. Praveen of The Hindu wrote "Kalki wears its philosophy, belonging to the medieval ages, on its sleeve for much of its duration." Vidya Nair from Deccan Chronicle wrote "The larger-than-life portrayal of action has made Kalki an entertaining and one of the fine movies of this year."