Mike (2022 film)

Mike is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language coming-of-age film directed by Vishnu Sivaprasad and wriiten by Ashiq Akbar Ali. It was produced by John Abraham with his company JA Entertainment, marking his debut production in Malayalam. The film stars Anaswara Rajan in the title role along with a debutant Ranjith Sajeev. The music was composed by Hesham Abdul Wahab. The film was released in theatres on 19 August 2022.

Plot
Sarah Thomas, a free spirited young girl is looking to surgically reassign her gender. Antony John is a once exuberant but now a hopeless young man, who has an alcohol use disorder. Sarah alias Mike is on her gender transitioning journey. She meets Antony during the journey. The quick camaraderie developed persuades the duo to travel ahead together.

Production
The marks the debut production of Bollywood actor-producer John Abraham in Malayalam cinema, with his company J.A. Entertainment. Filming began on 20 October 2021 in Mysore, shooting also took place at Kattappana, Vaikom, and Dharamshala.

Release
The film was released in theatres on August 19, 2022.

Music
The original background score and songs were composed by Hesham Abdul Wahab. Music album was distributed by Sony Music.

Critical response
The Times Of India gave it a rating of 2.5/5 and wrote "On the whole, peripherally it could be a one time watch but the regressive thoughts in it would definitely influence the public opinion on gender roles, gender inclusivity and sensibility". Onmanorama wrote that "Empathy is at the core of this Anaswara Rajan film."