Pretham

Pretham is a 2016 Indian Malayalam-language comedy horror drama film, written, co-produced, and directed by Ranjith Sankar. Starring Jayasurya, Aju Varghese, Govind Padmasoorya, Sharaf U Dheen, Shruthi Ramachandran, Pearle Maaney, Dharmajan Bolgatty, and Hareesh Peradi in the prominent roles. It is co-produced by Sankar and Jayasurya. The film was a commercial success and in 2018 a sequel, Pretham 2, was released.

It was remade in Telugu under the title Raju Gari Gadhi 2. It is also the third collaboration of Sankar and Jayasurya after Punyalan Agarbattis and Su.. Su... Sudhi Vathmeekam. Principal photography began in Cherai, Ernakulam, on 24 May 2016. The film was released on 12 August 2016. A sequel titled Pretham 2 was released in 2018.

Plot
Three young men — Denny Kokken, Shibu Majeed and Priyalal, have been friends since college. Together, they work till they hit their 30s and start their own business so that they can enjoy life in a semi-retired manner. They get together and invest all their money in a resort in Kerala. However, their happy beginning is thwarted by paranormal activities, and they approach John Don Bosco, a psychic, who works as a mentalist in cruise ships and the entertainment industry. John Don Bosco also assists the police as a human lie detector with his cold reading techniques.

John informs the three hoteliers that their resort is haunted by a ghost who is seeking answers as to who killed her, why was she killed, and what did they gain from her death. Through his investigations, John reveals that the ghost is of Clara, a bright and intelligent student from National Law College. Amrita (the college principal's daughter) was jealous of Clara's popularity and the fondness of her father towards Clara. Amrita secretly films Clara's nude scenes while bathing (in the same resort owned by the three hoteliers) and leaks it online. Unable to bear the shame, Clara commits suicide. John brings justice to Clara by answering her questions. He asks Amrita to see Clara by touching his hand. She falls down in shock, cringing away from the ghost glaring at her. This proves her guilt beyond any doubt.

Cast

 * Jayasurya as John Don Bosco, a Mentalist
 * Aju Varghese as Denny Kokken
 * Govind Padmasoorya as Shibu
 * Sharaf U Dheen as Priyalal
 * Sharanya Menon as Amritha
 * Shruthi Ramachandran as Clara (Spirit)
 * Pearle Maaney as Suhaanisa
 * Dharmajan Bolgatty as Yeshu
 * Sunil Sukhada
 * Sathi Premji as Mary a.k.a. Dakini
 * Hareesh Peradi as Priest
 * Devan as Principal of National Law College
 * Vijay Babu as Comm.Akash Kurien
 * Nyla Usha as Maya Thomas
 * Arya Rohit as Shalini
 * Biyon as Tony
 * Sini Abraham as Lecture of National Law College

Production
In 2000, Ranjith Sankar wrote the script for the TV serial, Nizhalukal, "probably the first horror serial" to premiere on Malayalam television. Citing it as an inspiration for the film, he said, "(I) have thought of umpteen subjects to explore the genre in movies all these years before arriving on this. Pretham is a horror comedy," on his Facebook profile.

Jayasurya played a Mentalist named John Don Bosco alongside Shruthi Ramachandran and Pearle Maaney. Initially, Mamta Mohandas was considered for the lead role but didn't materialize. Justin Jose, known for his work in the Telugu film Baahubali: The Beginning and the Bollywood film Bajrangi Bhaijaan, did the sound design. The filming began on 24 May 2016 in the small town of Cherai in Ernakulam.

Music
Music: Anand Madhusoodanan Lyrics: Rafeeq Ahamed.

Single

 * Oruthikku Pinnil - Vineeth Sreenivasan

Release
Pretham was released on 12 August 2016.

Box office
The film had over 40% hike in collection from day 1 to day 2 at the Indian box office. It grossed ₹6.7 crore in three days. It remained in more than 185 screens in Kerala in its third week. The film grossed ₹18 crore in 23 days at the Indian box office. The film collected $4,650 from UK box office. The film collected inr 430000000 from USA box office in its third weekend. It was a commercial success.

Sequel
The sequel to the film was titled Pretham 2 and was released on 21 December 2018 during the Christmas season.