Bangalore Days

Bangalore Days is a 2014 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Anjali Menon,[2] and co-produced by Anwar Rasheed and Sophia Paul under the banner Anwar Rasheed Entertainments and Weekend Blockbusters. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Nazriya Nazim, Nivin Pauly, Dulquer Salmaan, Fahadh Faasil, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Isha Talwar and Nithya Menen.[3][4] The plot revolves around three cousins from Kerala who move to Bangalore,[5] continuing Menon's trend of films about family relationships.[6] The film released on 30 May 2014 in 205 theatres, making it one of the biggest release for a Malayalam film, simultaneously all over India and received positive reviews.[7]

Bangalore Days
Theatrical film poster
Directed by	Anjali Menon
Produced by	Anwar Rasheed Sophia Paul
Written by	Anjali Menon
Starring	Dulquer Salmaan Nivin Pauly Fahadh Faasil Nazriya Nazim Parvathy Thiruvothu Isha Talwar Nithya Menen
Narrated by	Nivin Pauly
Music by	Gopi Sunder
Cinematography	Sameer Thahir
Edited by	Praveen Prabhakar
Production company	Anwar Rasheed Entertainments Weekend Blockbusters
Distributed by	A & A Release Through August Cinema & Tricolor Entertainments
Release date	30 May 2014 (2014-05-30) (Kerala)
Running time	172 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam
Budget	₹10 crores[1]
Box office	₹45 crores[1]

The film received three Kerala State Film Awards including Best Actor and Best Actress awards for Nivin Pauly and Nazriya Nazim respectively, and Best Screenplay for Anjali Menon, while Parvathy Thiruvothu went to win Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress and Anjali Menon winning the Filmfare Award for Best Director. The film was later remade in Tamil as Bangalore Naatkal (2016), directed by Bommarillu Bhaskar.

Plot

The story revolves around three cousins, Divya Prakash aka 'Kunju' (Nazriya Nazim), Krishnan P.P. aka 'Kuttan' (Nivin Pauly) and Arjun aka 'Aju' (Dulquer Salmaan), who have shared a close bond since their childhood. Aju, whose parents are divorced, is a bike mechanic who lives life on his own terms. Kuttan is a software engineer whose heart and soul is back home in his village. Kunju has completed her graduation and aspires to do her MBA from IIM, but is compelled to marry the workaholic corporate executive Shivadas aka 'Das' (Fahadh Faasil) because of her parents' astrologer's suggestions. After their wedding, Divya moves to Bangalore as Das is settled there. Kuttan does the same for his job, while Aju joins a biker gang as a mechanic in the same city.

Kunju feels emotionally alone as Das continues to ignore her. Her only solace is the time she gets to spend with her cousins. Naive Kuttan, who wants a traditional, modest, saree-clad girl for a wife, falls in love with air hostess Meenakshi (Isha Talwar) on the Bangalore-Kochi flight. They date, and Kuttan changes from a reserved and shy person to a trendy person to impress her, but his dreams are shattered when her ex-boyfriend arrives at her flat and he realizes that she was only trying to get back with him. He breaks off his relationship with her.

Kunju and Das's personal life keeps falling into despair. After an argument, one day, Kunju, upon inspecting a room in their apartment that Das never lets anyone enter, is shocked to find it filled with photos, knickknacks, and possessions of a strange girl (Nithya Menen). In horror of not having a place in Das's heart and life, she leaves him and returns home to Kerala in sorrow, with Kuttan. There they are still pulled into despair as Kuttan's father (Vijayaraghavan) has abandoned his rich family and gone for a permanent pilgrimage, willing all his wealth and its rights to Kuttan and his sister. Kuttan has to bring his mother (Kalpana) to Bangalore, after she convinces him to.

Aju was a bike racer, but due to a foul incident, he is forced to serve a year's ban from racing. He falls for a radio jockey named Sarah (Parvathy), but when he finally meets her in person, he finds that she is a paraplegic. He begins to like her attitude and follows her. They become good friends, but Aju is saddened when he learns that Sarah is to leave for Australia on a university scholarship.

Meanwhile, as Kunju and Das are in the middle of getting a divorce, Aju learns that a few years back, Das was a former bike racer. He then went by the name Shiva and was the leader of his biking gang. Shiva had given up on racing after he was involved in an accident that killed his love Natasha Francis (Nithya Menen). Upon knowing what happened, Kunju decides to return to Bangalore and takes up her MBA while staying in the same house as Das. A repentant Das gradually wins her over and she arranges for him to meet Natasha's parents. After the meeting, Das is able to let go of his past. Kunju forgives him and they get their marital life on track.

Kuttan's mother gets to know about the urban Indian culture with her neighbors, and after three months, decides to visit her daughter in Oklahoma. In the airport, Kuttan and his mother see Meenakshi, who will be an air hostess in Kuttan's mother's flight to London. Meenakshi approaches Kuttan and reveals that her relationship with the old boyfriend has broken permanently, and she will be waiting for his call. Just seconds after that, Kuttan goes by and talks with her. Though what he says is not revealed, it is clear that he used vulgar language, and he tells his mom to board the flight.

Aju gets a chance to race on the same day that Sarah has to leave for Australia. With Kunju, Kuttan, and Das cheering for him, he wins the race. After the race, Aju realizes how important Sarah is to him and that meeting her changed his life. He asks her not to leave for Australia. Sarah forgoes her scholarship to stay with Aju in Bangalore. In the end, Kuttan marries his neighbor in Bangalore, a foreigner named Michelle (Paris Laxmi), a European Bharathanatyam dancer who has embraced the culture of India. The film ends with Kunju, Das, Aju, and Sarah breaking into their room and all of them posing for a photo.

Cast

• Dulquer Salmaan as Arjun "Aju" Menon, a bicycle mechanic
• Nivin Pauly as Krishnan "Kuttan" P.P., a software engineer
• Fahadh Faasil as Shivadas "Das" Menon, a business executive
• Nazriya Nazim as Divya "Kunju" Prakash, B.Com, MBA
• Parvathy Thiruvothu as Sarah, radio disk jockey, Aju's love interest
• Isha Talwar as Meenakshi, air hostess, Kuttan's love interest
• Nithya Menon as Natasha Francis, Das' late girlfriend
• Paris Laxmi as Michelle, Bharatnatyam dancer, Kuttan's wife
• Maniyanpilla Raju as Prakash, Divya's father
• Praveena as Shobha, Divya's mother
• Vijayaraghavan as Kuttan's father
• Kalpana as Kuttan's mother
• Prathap Pothen as Francis, Natasha's father
• Vinaya Prasad as Mrs Francis, Natasha's mother
• Rekha as Sarah's mother
• Sijoy Varghese as Coach Zakariah
• Shishira Thomas as Rhea, Sarah's cousin
• Sajid Yahiya as Samy, member of Storm Riderz
• Vivas as Divya's brother
• Thrissur Balan as Das' father
• Bindu as Das' mother
• Mridula as Das' sister
• Krishna Prasad as Kuttan's uncle
• Abhinav as Rakesh, member of the opposing team and Arjun's rival

Production

Development

After the success of Manjadikuru and Ustad Hotel, Anjali Menon announced her new project named L for Love, and said it will be produced by Anwar Rasheed and Sophia Paul in later Anjali clarified that the film was titled Bangalore Days. Anjali described the film as simple at its core, about people we all know, about dreams, relationships, love and how our environment can transform us and yet within.[8] In a conversation to a leading newspaper, Anjali said that most of the film would be shot completely in Bangalore, the City of Garden, as the story demands it and the film will features bunch of youngsters who have migrated to Bangalore for work and their lives in the city.[9] The film was again from the friendship of Anjali and Anwar Rasheed shared when they worked together in the previous films. Menon announced that the film features new actors and actress of Malayalam cinema including Nivin Pauly, Dulquer Salmaan, Nazriya Nazim and Fahadh Faasil. Rafeeq Ahmed, Santhosh Varma and Anna Katharina Valayil wrote the lyrics while Gopi Sunder signed to compose the music of the film. Cinematography was handled by Sameer Thahir and editing was given to Praveen Prabhakar. The first look trailer of the film was released online on 7 May 2014, followed by a subtitled version on 12 May.[5] Anjali selected Nazriya, Dulquer and Nivin which will be perfect and fit for the role of three cousins. Fahadh was later selected to do his character. Maniyanpilla Raju, Praveena, Vijayaraghavan, Kalpana and Vivas were signed for supporting roles.[8]

Filming

Filming of Bangalore Days started in December 2013. The filming was wrapped in February 2014 and completed shooting in 40 days. The film was shot in Bangalore, Kochi at a budget of ₹8.5 crore (US$1.2 million).[10] The song "Ethu Kari Raavilum" was shot in Mysore and some of the scenes in Sankey.

Music

Bangalore Days
Soundtrack album by Gopi Sunder
Released	2014
Recorded	2014
Studio	Sound Factory
Genre	Film soundtrack
Language	Malayalam
Label	Muzik 247
Producer	Gopi Sunder
Gopi Sunder chronology
How Old Are You (2014) Bangalore Days (2014) Koothara (2014)

The soundtrack features five songs composed by Gopi Sunder. He was sued for copyright violation by Bryan Adams on the basis that the song "Nam Ooru Bengaluru" bore a strong resemblance to Adams' song "Summer of '69".[11] The lyrics were written by Rafeeq Ahmed, Santhosh Varma and Anna Katharina Valayil.

Track list

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Maangalyam"	Santhosh Varma	Vijay Yesudas, Sachin Warrier, Divya S. Menon	3:50
2.	"Nam Ooru Bengaluru"	Santhosh Varma	Gopi Sunder & Bryan Adams[12]	3:01
3.	"Ethu Kari Raavilum"	Rafeeq Ahammed	Haricharan	5:29
4.	"Thumbi Penne"	Santhosh Varma	Siddharth Menon	5:06
5.	"Ente Kannil Ninakkai"	Gopi Sunder, Anna Katharina Valayil, Rafeeq Ahammed, Santhosh Varma	Nazriya Nazim, Gopi Sunder	5:19

Release

The film was originally scheduled for release on 9 May 2014, but was rescheduled due to delays in production.[13] The film released on 30 May 2014 in 205 theatres, making it one of the biggest release for a Malayalam film, simultaneously all over India.[7] At the time of release, Bangalore Days was the Malayalam film to have a subtitled release in maximum number of screens. The movie released with English subtitles, in more than 200 screens across India.[14][15] The film released in UAE on 3 July 2014.[16]

Bangalore Days was distributed in India by A & A Release through August Cinema. Star Movie was the distributor in the United States, Indian Movies in United Kingdom and Tricolor Entertainments in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan.[17]

Reception

Critical reception

The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise towards the direction, performances, music and cinematography.[18] Veeyen of Nowrunning.com stated that "Bangalore Days is a buoyant examination of love, the basest of all human emotions and the bonds and bondages that it leaves in its wake. Pungently played out in the metro city of Bangalore, it's a stunning reminder of a spectacular marvel that unravels before us every day — a marvel called life."[19] The reviewer of Sify.com gave the verdict as "Good" and said, "Bangalore Days is a young, vibrant film that is colourful and peppy."[20] Krishnanunni U. of Oneindia.in rated the film 4 in a scale of 5 and described it as a "perfect youth entertainer."[21] Aswin J Kumar of The Times of India wrote, "Bangalore Days might not be charming as a whole, still Anjali shows intent in knitting together family bonds in purely comic vein, throwing up characters like a wife and husband who just drift apart from each other out of love for independent life. This is a film that talks cheerfully about love and hope," and rated the film 3.5 in a scale of 5.[22] Paresh C Palicha of Rediff.com wrote, "The first feature film Anjali Menon directed was Manjadikuru where children get a perplexed view of the adult world. Bangalore Days can be seen as an extension of that, where those children are grown up but still want to hold on to their childhood." He gave the film 3 out of 5 stars.[23]

Box office

The film collected ₹8.5 crore (US$1.2 million) in its first week.[24] According to Hindustan Times, the film's total gross collection was about ₹45 crore (US$6.3 million) worldwide, making it the highest grossing Malayalam film of the year and one of the highest grossing Malayalam films of all time.[1][25] The film ran for two months in Hyderabad.[26]

Awards and nominations

Award	Date of ceremony[lower-alpha 1]	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Asianet Film Awards	11 January 2015	Best Popular film	Bangalore Days	Won	[27]
		Best Director	Anjali Menon	Won
		Star of The Year	Dulquer Salmaan	Won
		Performer of The Year	Fahadh Faasil	Won
		Best Supporting Actress	Parvathy Thiruvothu	Won
		Best Music Director	Gopi Sundar	Won
		Best Lyricist	Rafeeq Ahamed ("Ethu Kari Raavilum")	Won
		Best Male Playback Singer	Haricharan ("Ethu Kari Raavilum")	Won
Asiavision Awards	14 November 2014	Best Entertaining Movie	Bangalore Days (Anjali Menon)	Won	[28]
		Performer of The Year - Male	Dulquer Salmaan	Won
		Star of The Year – Male	Nivin Pauly	Won
		Star of the Year - Female	Nazriya Nazim	Won
		New Sensation in Acting	Parvathy Thiruvothu	Won
		Best Music Director	Gopi Sundar	Won
		Best Cinematographer	Sameer Thahir	Won
Filmfare Awards South	26 June 2015	Best Film – Malayalam	Bangalore Days	Nominated	[29] [30]
		Best Director – Malayalam	Anjali Menon	Won
		Best Supporting Actor – Malayalam	Fahadh Faasil	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress – Malayalam	Parvathy Thiruvothu	Won
		Best Music Director – Malayalam	Gopi Sundar	Won
		Best Male Playback Singer – Malayalam	Haricharan ("Ethu Kari Raavilum")	Won
			Vijay Yesudas & Sachin Warrier ("Thudakkam Mangalyam")	Nominated
Kerala State Film Awards	10 August 2015	Best Actor	Nivin Pauly	Won	[31]
		Best Actress	Nazriya Nazim	Won
		Best Screenplay (Original)	Anjali Menon	Won
South Indian International Movie Awards	6—7 August 2015	Best Film – Malayalam	Bangalore Days	Won	[32] [33]
		Best Debut Producer – Malayalam	Anwar Rasheed & Sophia Paul	Won
		Best Director – Malayalam	Anjali Menon	Won
		Best Cinematographer – Malayalam	Sameer Thahir	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress – Malayalam	Parvathy Thiruvothu	Won
		Best Music Director – Malayalam	Gopi Sundar	Won
		Best Lyricist – Malayalam	Rafeeq Ahamed ("Ethu Kari Raavilum")	Nominated
		Best Male Playback Singer – Malayalam	Haricharan ("Ethu Kari Raavilum")	Nominated
		Best Dance Choreographer – Malayalam	Brinda ("Thudakkam Mangalyam")	Nominated
Vanitha Film Awards	15 February 2015	Most Popular Actress	Nazriya Nazim	Won	[34]
		Popular Song of the Year	"Mangalyam Thanthunanena"	Won

Remake

The remake rights of the film, for Tamil, Telugu and Hindi languages, was jointly acquired by Dil Raju and PVP Cinemas. The Tamil version of this film, titled Bangalore Naatkal was released on 5 February 2016. The film is directed by Bhaskar and produced by Prasad V. Potluri under the production companies PVP Cinema and Bommarillu Bhaskar Cinema. The film stars Arya, Bobby Simha, Sri Divya, Rana Daggubati, Raai Laxmi, Parvathy and Samantha Ruth Prabhu in starring roles.[35][36][36][37]

Notes

1. Date is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.

References

1. Pratibha Parameshwaran (25 February 2017). "Dulquer Salmaan: How Mammootty's son became face of the cosmopolitan Malayali". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
2. "Funny, real, and surprising: Why 'Bangalore Days' is a rare urban entertainer".
3. Radhika C Pillai (24 January 2014). "Anjali Menon's movie is Bangalore days". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
4. Prathibha Joy. "Anjali Menon's next based in Bangalore". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
5. "Bangalore Days trailer: Fun, young and intriguing". Sify. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
6. Thiruvananthapuram (29 May 2014). "Heart of the matter". The Hindu. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
7. "Bangalore Days Strikes Gold At Box Office". OneIndia. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
8. "Heart of the matter". The Hindu. P. Anima. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
9. Gayathry. "Fahad, Dulquar, Nivin, Nazriya, Isha's Movie Titled L For Love". FilmiBeat. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
10. "With new stars "Bangalore Days"". Mathrubhumi. 11 March 2014. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
11. T Sudheesh (17 September 2014). "Bryan Adams' office ups ante against Bangalore Days over alleged plagiarism". Deccan Chronicle.
13. "Release reshuffle in May!". Sify. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
14. "Bangalore Days with English subtitles from Friday". The Times of India. 5 June 2014.
15. "'Bangalore Days' Box Office: Will Anjali Menon Directorial Beat 'Drishyam' Collections?". International Business Times. 10 June 2014.
16. "'Bangalore Days' Releasing in UAE on 3 July". International Business Times. 26 June 2014.
17. "Bangalore Days' Releasing in UAE on 3 July". International Business Times. Nicy V.P. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
18. "'Bangalore Days' Review Roundup: Fun-Filled Entertainer; Worth Watching". International Business Times. 1 June 2014.
19. Veeyen (30 May 2014). "Bangalore Days Review". Retrieved 30 May 2014.
20. "Bangalore Days review: A joyous trip you musn’t miss!". Sify. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
21. Krishnanunni U (30 May 2014). "Bangalore Days - Movie Review". Oneindia.in. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
22. Aswin J Kumar (1 June 2014). "Bangalore Days-Review". The Times of India.
23. "Review: Bangalore Days is a highly recommended watch". Rediff. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
24. "Box Office Collection: 'Bangalore Days' Grosses rs 8.5 crore in First Week". International Business Times. 6 June 2014.
25. S. S. Kamal (6 January 2015). "No Hyderabad days yet". Bangalore Mirror. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
26. "Tollywood hit by a Malayalam wave". The Times of India. 20 August 2014.
27. "17th Asianet Film Awards". International Business Times. 12 January 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
28. "Asiavision Awards 2014". International Business Times. 3 November 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
29. "62nd Filmfare Awards South 2015". International Business Times. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
30. "Winners of 62nd Britannia Filmfare Awards South". Filmfare. 27 June 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
31. "Kerala State Film Awards 2014". International Business Times. 10 August 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
32. "SIIMA 2015 Malayalam Nominations". International Business Times. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
33. "SIIMA 2015 Malayalam Winners". South Indian International Movie Awards. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
34. "Vanitha–Cera Film Awards". International Business Times. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
35. "Bangalore Days to be remade in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi". The Times of India. 30 June 2014.
36. "PVP, Dil Raju to Remake 'Bangalore Days' with Arya, Samantha and Bharath in Lead". International Business Times. 2 July 2014.
37. "Watch: New teaser of the Tamil remake of 'Bangalore Days'". dna. 9 January 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.

External links

• Bangalore Days on IMDb