Abrahaminte Santhathikal

Abrahaminte Santhathikal (lit.: Descendants of Abraham) is an Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film released in 2018, directed by debutant Shaji Padoor and written by Haneef Adeni. The film stars Mammootty and Anson Paul in the lead roles and pivotal roles of Kaniha, Tarushi, Renji Panicker, Yog Japee and Kalabhavan Shajon. Shot in Ernakulam, principal photography began on 5 January 2018 and ended in March. Gopi Sundar scores music for the film, and Mahesh Narayan handles editing.

The film was released on 16 June 2018.

Plot

A series of nine murders occur. ASP Derick Abraham figures out that the serial killer is a hard-line Christian extremist using the killer's note, and those targeted are atheists. He captures the killer: Brother Simon of the local seminary. Simon tells him that he will reach his target of 10 people. When Derick leaves and returns, Simon is found dead with a slash on his throat and a knife in his hand. Derick assumes he committed suicide, becoming the tenth victim. Derick is suspended because of this. Later, he gets reinstated into the force also. Derick's family consists of only his younger brother Philip Abraham, who is training as a sharpshooter. Their parents died in a car accident when they were young. Philip is later accused of killing his girlfriend Aleena while drunk and is severely beaten up by Derick's senior officer, Narayana Sethupathi.

Derick is forced to arrest Philip as the evidence is against him. Philip pleads that he's innocent and has been trapped. Unable to cope with his brother's arrest, Derick becomes a drunkard. Meanwhile, Phillip starts to hate him at the prison and vows to kill Derick once he's released. Dinesh, the jail warden, learns of this and tells him he can assist with the escape to settle his score with Derick. The latter had once arrested Dinesh's and Narayana's sons in a kidnapping case. Narayana's son kills himself before being arrested, so these two have a grudge against Derick. Philip, with the help of Dinesh and Narayana, later escapes prison. Philip's close friend Nisam meets Derick and discloses the events on the night of Aleena's murder. Philip was with Nisam and two of his other friends, Arun and Salman, at night when Philip was intoxicated and fell asleep.

Aleena called to meet him at the beach, but Arun answered the phone and reached the place with the others instead. They accidentally kill her in the process. On realizing this, Derick wants to convince the police department that Phillip is innocent. However, the next day Nisam kills himself. Philip attempts to kill Derick in a supermarket but fails. Derick finds Arun and Salman at a car wash and tells them to surrender, but they refuse and fight him instead. Derick's ex-girlfriend, Diana's child, is kidnapped and, despite her hatred towards Derick, is forced to seek his help, and Derick accepts. To avoid harm to him, the ransom money of ₹ ten crores (US$1.3 million) is arranged, and Derick goes with the police to keep a safe distance. The kidnappers are shown to reach the place and take the money, but they don't release the kid.

The police follow and catch them, but on inquiring, they learn that they were paid to be the decoy. CI Sukumaran, Derick's subordinate and close friend, tells Diana, Dinesh, Narayana and SP Shahul Hameed, the head of the investigation, that all this is part of a plan by Derick and Philip. They planned to escape prison in the first place, make the others believe that there was hatred between them, and kill Arun and Salman: the real culprits. He also tells them that Derick killed Arun and Salman by shooting them point-blank. Derick wanted to get Philip out of the country for his safety and secure his life with the help of Isaac, so the ransom amount was used for this purpose. However, all this was done without leaving any evidence. Derick emotionally bids farewell to Phillip as he goes. At the police station, DYSP Johnny mocks Derick for his suspension three years ago. However, it's revealed that Derick killed Brother Simon and cleared up the evidence.

Cast

Production

Produced under Goodwill Entertainments, producer Joby George announced Abrahaminte Santhathikal on 7 September 2017, on Mammootty's birthday. It is the directorial debut of Shaji Padoor, an associate director in Malayalam cinema for 22 years, and is scripted by Haneef Adeni. IMammootty had been asking Shaji to direct a film for over 15 years and had given an open date. Mammootty plays an IPS officer named Derrick Abraham in the film. Shaji said that the plot revolves around an investigation, but it is not a dark thriller, and the protagonist appears uniformly in one or two shots only. The other cast and crew had yet to be finalised as of January.

Anson Paul, Kaniha, Siddique, Renji Panicker, Suresh Krishna and Tamil actor Yog Japee were confirmed by December end. With a puja event in Kochi on 1 January 2018, cinematographer Alby, editor Mahesh Narayan, composer Gopi Sundar and make-up artist Ronex Xavier joined the crew. At the event, Mammootty introduced his and Anson Paul's roles as "Abraham's two children". Anson and Ratheesh Krishnan, who plays a role, were also Mammootty's suggestions in the cast. Principal photography started on 5 January 2018 in Kolenchery, Ernakulam. Mammootty was shot on that day at a house in Choondy. Kaniha chose as a Mammootty film and joined in January's second week, playing a public prosecutor. Tarushi, who plays Anson's love interest, was shot for ten days. Filming ended by mid-March.

Release

The movie was released on 16 June 2018 in Kerala. It was released in Gulf countries on 21 June and the rest of India the following day. The Times of India and International Business Times gave the film positive reviews.

Box office

The film collected ₹41 lakhs from the US box office in four weeks. The film grossed $860,055 at the UAE box office in six weeks. It grossed a total of ₹40 crore worldwide at the end of its theatrical run.

Soundtrack

Gopi Sundar composed the film score and two songs; the Christian devotional "Yerusalem Nayaka" video song was released in May. All the lyrics are penned by Rafeeq Ahamed.

References

External links

• Abrahaminte Santhathikal at IMDb