Abraham Ozler
- Irshad M. Hassan
- Midhun Manuel Thomas
Mammootty
Anoop Menon
Anaswara Rajan
Arjun Ashokan
companies
Manual Movie Makers
- 11 January 2024 (2024-01-11)
Abraham Ozler is a 2024 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film co-produced and directed by Midhun Manuel Thomas and written by Randheer Krishnan.[1][2][3] The film stars Jayaram in the titular role alongside Mammootty, Anaswara Rajan, Anoop Menon, Arjun Ashokan, Saiju Kurup, Arya Salim, Senthil Krishna, Jagadish and Dileesh Pothan in supporting roles.[4]
The film revolves around ACP Abraham Ozler's efforts to investigate the death of an IT employee and capture a serial killer, only known as "Birthday Killer". The music was composed by Midhun Mukundan while cinematography and editing was handled by Theni Eswar and Shameer Muhammed respectively.
Abraham Ozler was initially set to be released on 25 December 2023, but the release date was postponed to 11 January 2024. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for its acting, cinematography, direction, and musical score, but criticism for its script. The film earned around ₹40.53 crore worldwide, becoming the highest grossing film of Jayaram's career.[5][6]
Plot
ACP Abraham Ozler finds his life shattered when a fake police call lures him away, leading to the brutal death of his wife Aneesha and daughter Jenny. The main culprit is Vineeth, who wanted to avenge Ozler for arresting him in a narcotics case. Vineeth confesses to killing Aneesha and Jenny, cutting them into pieces and burying their body parts somewhere in a forest but claims he doesn't remember exactly where because he was on a high dosage of drugs. Ozler gets distraught about his family's death and struggles to find closure because their bodies are never found.
Three years later, Ozler, who is haunted by hallucinations and insomnia, investigates a series of murders with his subordinates SI Divya Sreedharan and Sijo T Venu. The two killers, one driving a pickup truck and the other posing as a surgeon, leave cryptic notes at the crime scenes. They name the killer as "Birthday killer". As the team unravels the connections, they discover Krishnandas, a man using an artificial larynx, as a key suspect. They also learn that Krishnadas was a child prodigy singer, who lost his voice in a surgery.
Delving into the past, Ozler discovers a shared history among the victim's parents: Shivakumar and Selvaraj were postgraduate medical students at Kozhikode Medical College in 1989. Shivakumar, Selvaraj, a retired police surgeon Xavi Punnoose and Alexander Joseph were all found to have been friends and PG batchmates. They were heard to have gotten into an accident, after which they parted ways. Krishnadas is captured while he kidnaps Alexander. But even as Krishnadas is in Ozler's custody, Xavi is kidnapped. As the truth surfaces, the real Alexander is revealed to be another person. Alexander is arrested as soon as he inflicts the first cut on Xavi's body to kill him. Once in custody, Alexander narrates the flashback to Ozler and his team.
Alexander was a dedicated PG student at the surgery department of Kozhikode Medical College. Xavi, a fellow PG student of surgery, is not as good a surgeon as Alexander, and he is jealous of Alexander. Shivakumar, a PG student of General Medicine, despises Alexander for being in a relationship with a first year MBBS student Suja Jayadev whom Shivakumar had been pursuing. Selvaraj, a PG student of anaesthesia, and a junkie who used to be on drugs even while on duty, was found to use drugs from operation theatre stock by Alexander who then reports this to the college and Selvaraj is dismissed. Professional jealousy of Xavi, fuelled by Shivakumar, led to Xavi orchestrating a failed surgery resulting in Krishnadas losing his voice forever. Alexander reports Xavi's intentional act to seniors, and Xavi, as well as Alexander being the first assistant at the surgery, are suspended from college. Xavi is blacklisted by his professors and told he shall never be allowed to do a surgery on a living human being again. Selvaraj, Xavi and Shivakumar then go ahead to severely injure Alexander, leading him into coma. They made up an accident scene, faked injuries on themselves, and told everyone that a drunk Alexander took them for a drive and crashed the car. Alexander lays in a vegetative state for months and Suja goes into deep depression seeing this. One day, doctors suggested that they remove Alexander's life support and allow him to die peacefully. A depressed Suja becomes heartbroken after overhearing this and in a fit of emotion, she commits suicide by jumping in front of a moving bus. In a fateful irony, Alexander survives life support removal and with years and years of nursing care, regains movement, although he had dissociative amnesia, causing him to forget most of the events of his PG time, including Suja and the cruelty done by Xavi and his friends. 3 years ago, Alexander sees a TV programme featuring Krishnadas, wherein some old videos of him singing are shown. This triggers his memories and Alexander slowly recollects all the past events. He learns about Suja's death and meets up with Krishnadas who had become wayward after losing his voice, and together they plan the murders. The motive behind the murders were to seek revenge on those who ruined their lives.
Back to the present, Xavi meets Alexander and Krishnadas in Ozler's custody and has no remorse at all. Ozler feels very bad in saving Xavi and tells that he needs to die. A surprising turn occurs as Xavi dies on stage at the release ceremony of his autobiography, with forensic surgeon Dr Satheesh Madhavan revealing to Ozler that Alexander had poisoned him with a bacteria-infected surgical ink before making cuts on his body. Later, it is shown that Shivakumar is found dead in his car and Selvaraj became an alcoholic, were his wife leaves him realising that he caused their son's murder.
On his routine visit to Vineeth in prison, Ozler unexpectedly encounters Alexander and Krishnadas in the prison. Alexander cryptically utters "Bone Residue", hinting at an unresolved truth about Ozler's family. Ozler confronts Vineeth, realizing that there is no bone residue on the weapon he allegedly used in the murders. Vineeth challenges Ozler to dig deeper for the truth.
Cast
- Jayaram as ACP Abraham Ozler IPS
- Mammootty as Dr. Alexander Joseph
- Adam Sabiq as young Alexander, Suja's boyfriend
- Anaswara Rajan as Dr. Suja Jayadev, Alexander's girlfriend
- Arjun Ashokan as Vineeth
- Anoop Menon as Dr. Satheesh Madhavan
- Saiju Kurup as Krishnadas PS, Alexander's associate
- Joseph Mathews as young Krishnadas
- Arya Salim as SI Divya Sreedharan, Ozler's subordinate
- Senthil Krishna as SI Sijo T Venu, Ozler's subordinate
- Jagadish as Dr. Xavi Punnoose
- Shivaraj as young Xavi
- Ravi Venkatraman as Selvaraj
- Shajeer P. Basheer as young Selvaraj
- Kumarakom Raghunath as Dr. Shivakumar
- Shiva Hariharan as young Shivakumar
- Dileesh Pothan as Sudhakaran Payyarath / Dr. Alexander Joseph (Fake)
- Assim Jamal as DIG Prasad Rajan IPS
- Arjun Nandhakumar as Dr. Arun Jayadev, Suja's younger brother
- Harikrishnan as Naveen Shivakumar
- Aneesh Gopal as SI Sarat
- Sreeram Ramachandran as speech therapist
- Darshana Sudarshan Nair as Maya, Naveen's wife
- Krishnaprasad as MRI technician
- Boban Alummoodan as Dr. Sreedharan Nambiar
- Alexander Prasanth as Dr. Salam
- Maala Parvathi as Dr. Annapoorneswari
- Sudev Nair as Robert
- Rajan Thrissur as Raghavan
- Rini Udayakumar as Raghavan's wife
- Rakesh Pattu as Ashok Selvaraj
- Mani Shornur as Dr. Zacharia
- Devendranath as Dr. Eeswaran Potty
- Lali Marikar as Krishnadas's mother
- Nandan Unni as Mani, ambulance driver
- Habeeb Thrissur as Dr. Govindaraj
- Jolly Chirayath as CEO Sasikala
- Maya Menon as Alexander's mother
- Sonia Giri as Xavi's wife
- Kala as Shivakumar's wife
- Maya as Selvaraj's wife
Special appearances
- Anju Kurian as Aneesha Ozler, Ozler's wife
- Saniya Rafi as Jennifer, Ozler's daughter
- Sai Kumar as Counsellor
- Benyamin as himself
Production
Development
After the success of Anjaam Pathira (2020), Midhun Manuel Thomas wanted to direct a film featuring Kunchako Boban. However, the commencement of shooting didn't occur due to various reasons. It was during that time that director John Manthrikkal narrated a story to Midhun which was written by ortho surgeon Dr. Randheer Krishnan. He liked the story and decided to direct the film.[7]
In an interview with Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express, Midhun revealed that the film's titular protagonist was named after the Canadian physician William Osler, regarded as the 'Father of Modern Medicine'. He also revealed that he had initially included a backstory, explaining that Abraham Ozler's father, a doctor, named his son after his favorite physician with the hope that Abraham would also become a physician like his father.[8] The film marked Midhun's return to direction after a four-year hiatus. Meanwhile he had penned the screenplay for Garudan (2023) and Phoenix (2023).[9]
Casting
Midhun approached Jayaram to play the titular role.[10] Initially, Jayaram was hesitant to commit to the project as he believed that it was unlike any film he had done till now. He believed it was a heavy character and had to appear in two timelines with different looks.[11] However, he agreed to play the role as Midhun convinced him. In preparing for the role, Jayaram put in some weight and grew a long beard with a tired look to fit the character.[12] Abraham Ozler marks Jayaram's second Malayalam venture since 2019.
There were reports that Mammootty would have a 15-minute cameo appearance in the film which was denied.[13] Reports suggested that Mammootty would have a screen-time of over 45 minutes in the film, and it was also reported that he would be playing a negative role, which was unconfirmed.[14] Regarding Mammootty's cameo, Jayaram revealed that Mammootty was not the first choice to play the role of Alexander. The makers approached actors Sathyaraj, R. Sarathkumar, Prakash Raj, and others.[15] Midhun said that, when he narrated the story of Abraham Ozler to Mammootty, he liked the script and asked him if he could play the antagonist.[16] Midhun was apprehensive about casting Mammootty. However, Jayaram convinced him to give the role to Mammootty.[15] Midhun met Mammootty again, who consented to play the role of Alexander.[17]
Filming
The project was announced on 19 May 2023.[18] Principal photography began on 20 May 2023 in Mission Quarters in Thrissur.[19] Producer Irshad M. Hassan performed the switch-on ceremony.[20] The first scene was reportedly shot between Jayaram and Sai Kumar.[21] Apart from Thrissur, Palakkad, Coimbatore, Idukki and Wayanad were the other shooting locations.[20] The filming wrapped up on 14 November 2023.[22]
Music
The film's music was composed by Midhun Mukundan. It consists of one track, Poomaname, from the 1985 film Nirakkoottu. The track was originally composed by Shyam and the lyrics were written by Poovachal Khader. The song was sung by Nitin K. Siva, while the original song was by K. S. Chithra, G. Venugopal and K. G. Markose.
Release
Theatrical
The film was initially scheduled to release on 25 December 2023, on the occasion of Christmas.[23] The release date was postponed to 11 January 2024 to avoid a clash with other major Christmas releases.[24] The film was released in North America on 12 January 2024.
Home media
Abraham Ozler is released in Disney+ Hotstar on 20 March 2024 and it will also be available in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada languages.
Reception
Critical response
Gopika IS of The Times of India gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Jayaram starrer Abraham Ozler turned out to be an interesting watch and can undoubtedly be seen as a new phase in the actor's career."[25] Sara Anna Eepan of The Week gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Abraham Ozler is worth a watch on the big screen for those interested in an investigation drama with medical thriller elements."[26]
Sajin Shrijith of The New Indian Express gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Abraham Ozler doesn't lack the ability to hook us, but it made me wonder whether it would've worked better as an airport novel than a film."[27] Nikhil Sebastian of Pinkvilla gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Abraham Ozler falls into the category of another half-baked thriller, relying on the performances of the actors and a brilliant original score."[28] Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Midhun Manuel Thomas' film can be dubbed as a crime thriller that meets the essential criteria for the genre. However, determining whether it has done a good job requires more than a simple yes/no answer."[29]
S. R. Praveen of The Hindu wrote "The Jayaram-starrer is marred by generic treatment to the serial killer genre, with a cameo from superstar Mammootty offering only a temporary relief."[30] Vishal Menon of FIlm Companion wrote "By reinventing Jayaram as an actor and by infusing so much information into a stereotypical thriller, Abraham Ozler remains fairly engaging even if you've seen it all before."[31] Princy Alexander of Onmanorama wrote "The initial feeling of repetitiveness affects the thrills in the first half. However, true to the expression "to end with a bang," Midhun employs the right tactics in the second half to provide viewers with a more than satisfactory conclusion."[32]
Box office
Abraham Ozler grossed ₹28.8 million from the Kerala and ₹60 million worldwide, on its opening day.[33] The film grossed ₹2.34 crore on its second day, with worldwide gross exceeding ₹10 crore.[34] Abraham Ozler grossed ₹2.9 crore on its third day and ₹3.19 crore on its first Sunday. The film grossed around ₹11.31 crore in its first four days from Kerala.[35]
The film grossed a total of $61,616 from the North America in the first weekend.[36] The film grossed ₹1.4 crore on its fifth day from the Kerala.[37] The film grossed a total of ₹150 million in its first 8 days from Kerala. The film grossed a total of ₹31 million in its second weekend at Kerala. The film grossed a total of $1.36 million (approx Rs. 113 million) from 11 days at the UAE and GCC box office, while it grossed ₹17 million from ROI circuits in 11 days. In North America, the film grossed $130K in UK and Europe it grossed $150K and in Australia $17K in 11 days at the box office.[38][39] In 16 days, the film grossed more than ₹20 crore from Kerala and became the first commercially successful Malayalam film of 2024.[40]
References
- ^ "Is 'Anjaam Paathira' director Midhun Manuel teaming up with Jayaram for a medical thriller?". The Times of India.
- ^ "Fans excited to see Jayaram's stylish look in Midhun Manuel's 'Abraham Ozler'". Manorama Online.
- ^ "Jayaram says he deliberately took a break from Malayalam film industry: 'I have great hope for Abraham Ozler'". The Indian Express.
- ^ "Actor Jayaram's Salt-and-pepper Look For Malayalam Film Abraham Ozler Viral". News18 India.
- ^ "തിരിച്ചടികൾക്കൊടുവിൽ 'ജയറാംസ് ഒാൾട്ടർണേറ്റിവ്': ഓസ്ലർ റിവ്യു". www.manoramaonline.com (in Malayalam). Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ nirmal. "അപൂര്വ്വ നേട്ടം! നാലാം വാരത്തിലെ സ്ക്രീന് കൗണ്ട് പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ച് 'ഓസ്ലര്' നിര്മ്മാതാക്കള്". Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd (in Malayalam). Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ "ട്രെയിലറിൽ കാണാത്ത താരങ്ങൾ ഓസ്ലറിലുണ്ട്, ആട്-3 ചെയ്യാൻ സമ്മർദം- മിഥുൻ മാനുവൽ തോമസ്". Mathrubhumi. 7 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Who is Abraham Ozler? Director Midhun Manuel Thomas breaks down his new Jayaram film and other thrillers". The Indian Express. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
- ^ "Who is Abraham Ozler? Director Midhun Manuel Thomas breaks down his new Jayaram film and other thrillers". The Indian Express. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ Menon, Vishal (7 January 2024). "I Told Jayaram Sir That If He Turns Down Abraham Ozler, I Would Shelve It: Midhun Manuel Thomas". www.filmcompanion.in. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Jayaram reveals why he hesitated to take on the role of 'Abraham Ozler". The Times of India. 11 January 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ Menon, Vishal (6 January 2024). "I Was Initially Hesitant To Play Abraham Ozler: Jayaram". www.filmcompanion.in. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Is Mammootty playing a 15-minute cameo role in Jayaram's 'Abraham Ozler'?". The Times of India. 22 May 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Mammootty's role in Jayaram and Midhun Manuel Thomas's Abraham Ozler – All you need to know". OTTPlay. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ a b "'Mammootty was not the first choice': Jayaram opens up about the cameo role in Abraham Ozler". PINKVILLA. 16 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Midhun Manuel Thomas Interview: ജയറാമിനെ റീലോഞ്ച് ചെയ്യുന്ന ചിത്രത്തില് മമ്മൂട്ടി എങ്ങനെയെത്തി? മിഥുന് മാനുവല് തോമസ് അഭിമുഖം". www.asianetnews.com. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Jayaram reveals Mammootty was not the first choice for Alexander's role in 'Abraham Ozler'". The Times of India. 16 January 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Jayaram teams up with Midhun Manuel Thomas for Abraham Ozler". Cinema Express. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ "Jayaram-Midhun Manuel Thomas film Abraham Ozler begins". Cinema Express. 20 May 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ a b "Malayalam Actor Jayaram-starrer Medical Crime-drama Abraham Ozler Goes On Floors". News18. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ Web Desk (20 May 2023). "അഞ്ചാം പാതിരക്ക് ശേഷം വീണ്ടും ക്രൈം ത്രില്ലറുമായി മിഥുന് മാനുവല്; ജയറാം നായകന്". MediaOne (in Malayalam). Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ "It's a wrap for Jayaram's Abraham Ozler". Cinema Express. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ "Jayaram's Abraham Ozler to arrive on Christmas". Cinema Express. 25 September 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ "Jayaram's thriller 'Abraham Ozler's release date changed!". The Times of India. 6 November 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ "Abraham Ozler Movie Review: Jayaram's thriller begins well but falters in places". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
- ^ "'Abraham Ozler' review: Jayaram delivers an engaging crime thriller – The Week". The Week. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ "Abraham Ozler review: Intriguing details camouflage an unaffecting thriller". The New Indian Express. 12 January 2024.
- ^ "Abraham Ozler Movie Review: Midhun Manuel's latest thriller with Jayaram offers a decent watch for genre enthusiasts". PINKVILLA. 11 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
- ^ "Abraham Ozler movie review: Midhun Manuel Thomas film is mostly a letdown, saved only by a revived Jayaram and You-Know-Who". The Indian Express. 11 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
- ^ Praveen, S. R. (11 January 2024). "'Abraham Ozler' movie review: A serial killer pursuit that fizzles out soon". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
- ^ Menon, Vishal (11 January 2024). "Abraham Ozler Review: An All-New Jayaram In A Same Old Revenge Drama Disguised As A Serial Killer Thriller". www.filmcompanion.in. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
- ^ "Solid ending and a surprise cameo save the case for Midhun Manuel Thomas' 'Abraham Ozler' | Movie Review". Onmanorama. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
- ^ "Abraham Ozler' box office collections day 7: Jayaram's thriller rakes in Rs 13.24 crores". The Times of India. 18 January 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
- ^ Forum, Keralam (12 January 2024). "Very good hold for #AbrahamOzler on its Day-2 (FRI) as the early estimates suggests Kerala gross collection in the range of ₹2.1cr to ₹2.2cr". Twitter.
- ^ Forum, Keralam (15 January 2025). "#AbrahamOzler 4-day opening weekend Kerala Boxoffice update". Twitter.
- ^ Forum, Keralam (16 January 2024). "#AbrahamOzler 3-day opening weekend North America Boxoffice Reported". Twitter.
- ^ Forum, Keralam (16 January 2024). "Good Hold For #AbrahamOzler on its First working Day (MON) at Kerala Boxoffice with gross collection in the range of ₹1.4cr".
- ^ "Abraham Ozler's box office collections day 11: Jayaram's film continues strong; mints Rs 17.25 crore". The Times of India. 24 January 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
- ^ Forum, Keralam (23 January 2024). "#AbrahamOzler 11 Days UAE & GCC Boxoffice update". Twitter.
- ^ Forum, Keralam (26 January 2023). "#AbrahamOzler All set for another good weekend". Twitter.
External links
- Abraham Ozler at IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes
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