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Mikhael
Mikhael
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Haneef Adeni
Written by	Haneef Adeni
Produced by	Anto Joseph
Starring	Nivin Pauly; Unni Mukundan
Cinematography	Vishnu Panicker
Edited by	Mahesh Narayanan
Music by	Gopi Sundar
Production; company	Anto Joseph Film Company
Distributed by	Anto Joseph Film Company
Release date	18 January 2019;
Running time	150 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam
Box office	$9,237

Mikhael is a 2019 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by Haneef Adeni and produced by Anto Joseph.^[1] It stars Nivin Pauly in the titular role, alongside Unni Mukundan, Manjima Mohan, Siddique, JD Chakravarthy, Suraj Venjaramoodu, K.P.A.C Lalitha, Ashokan, Jayaprakash, Sudev Nair, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Sijoy Varghese, Babu Antony and Baiju Santhosh.^[2] The music was composed by Gopi Sundar, while the cinematography and editing were handled by Vishnu Panicker and Mahesh Narayanan.^[3]

Mikhael was released on 18 January 2019. The film received mixed reviews and was an average venture at the box office.

Plot

George Peter, an influential gold smuggler in Kerala, and his driver are killed under mysterious circumstances. ACP Muhammed Easa and CI Isaac John begin the investigation and discover that the murders were carried out with a surgical blade, deduce that a doctor committed them and start investigating medical stores. At the same time, George's cold-blooded younger brother, Marco Peter, meets George's partners, William Davis, and his elder son, Abraham Davis, to ask whether it was their work. When Abraham speaks in a disgusting manner, an agitated Marco shoots him to death. During his funeral, Easa asks William and his younger son, Francy Davis, about Abraham's murder, but they do not reveal anything.

One night, a mysterious person shoots Patrick, Davis's secretary. Easa and Isaac take him to Star Hospital, where he is murdered despite being protected with maximum security. This solidifies the theories of Easa and Isaac that the killer is a doctor and the gangs start believing that someone is after them. Isaac becomes suspicious of Easa since he revealed that he had an informant, but did not reveal anything about him. Isaac investigates on his own, discovering that Dr. Mikhael John, a young surgeon of Star Hospital is the killer and Easa's informant. Issac also finds that Easa is helping Mikhael since they have contacted each other several times. Issac forces Easa to reveal everything to prevent Mikhael's arrest, where Easa reveals Michael's past.

Past: A ten-year-old Mikhael persuades his father John, a martial arts trainer, to let him drive his car, which results in John's death. Mikhael's mother, Ancy, blames him for his father's death, resulting in Mikhael separating from Ancy. Meanwhile, George's son, Gerald Peter, challenged Jenny, Mikhael's younger sister, to a kung-fu fight in front of the school. Jenny defeats him, causing his friends and other students to tease him for losing to a girl. Depressed over the matter, Gerald commits suicide by jumping from the school terrace. George visits Jenny and asks her to jump from the school terrace in the same way Gerald had jumped or he will kill her entire family.

George continuously disturbs and harasses Jenny, who decides to jump off the school terrace. Before Jenny jumps off the school terrace, Michael saves her. After learning about the harassment, Michael files a complaint to the police, but the SI warns him as they are allied with George. Ancy asks him to visit them on Christmas, but Mikhael refuses. George later kills Ancy, causing him to burn his Audi Q7 car. George and his henchmen capture Michael and thrash him brutally, leaving him on a railroad track to his death. Michael manages to escape and eventually catches up to George and his driver, killing them.

Present: Marco learns about Michael and Jenny and vows to finish them. Easa also reveals that he ordered Mikhael to kill Patrick since he was a common connection between the gangs and killing him will provoke a gang war. Meanwhile, William and Francy kidnap Jenny as they learnt about Mikhael's involvement in Patrick's death, but he manages to save Jenny. William and Francy are arrested by Easa, who also arrests Marco for killing Abraham. However, Marco gets released on bail, where he kidnaps Jenny and takes her to the helipad of a skyscraper and challenges Michael to a hand-to-hand combat. Michael arrives at the helipad and fights with Marco. Using a hidden surgical blade in his pocket, Michael severely injures Marco and signs him up for organ donation, finally walking away with Jenny.

Cast

Nivin Pauly as Dr. Michael John
- Gowri Shankar as Young Michael
Unni Mukundan as Marco Peter Jr.
Siddique as George Peter, Marco's brother
J. D. Chakravarthy as ACP Muhammad Easa IPS
Suraj Venjaramoodu as CI Isaac John
Manjima Mohan as Dr. Mary, Michael's workmate & friend
Navani Devanand as Jennifer John, Michael's sister
V. Jayaprakash as William "Davichayan" Davis
Sudev Nair as Francy Davis, William's younger son
Ashokan as Antony, Michael's and Jenny's step-father
Shanthi Krishna as Ancy, Michael's and Jenny's mother
KPAC Lalitha as Mariamma, Peter's mother and Mar
Baiju as Dr. James Cheriyan
Vishnu Premkumar as CI Philip Kora
Kalabhavan Shajon as Patrick, William's Right-hand man
Babu Antony as John, Michael and Jenny's father
Kishore as ACP N.Sreenivasan IPS
Sijoy Varghese as Abraham, William's elder Son
V. K. Prakash as Psychiatrist Charles Tharakan
Balaji Sharma as Sathyanathan, Karate teacher
Amal Shah as Gerald Peter, George's son, and Marco's nephew
Govind Krishna as Albert, Medical College Senior
Nitha Promy as Deepa, School Teacher
Reba Monica John as Anna, Mikhael's ex-girlfriend

Production

Mikhael is the second directorial venture of Haneef Adeni after The Great Father , with Anto Joseph produced the film under Anto Joseph Film Company. The film was announced on 12 July 2018.^[4] The pooja function was held in Kochi on 3 September 2018.^[5]

Principal photography ended on November 26, 2018.

Music

The film features songs composed by Gopi Sundar.

Spin-off

A standalone spin-off to the film titled Marco was released on 20 December 2024, with Unni Mukundan and Siddique reprising their roles from this film.^[6] Marco features Marco and George, the negative characters of Mikhael in the lead roles.^[7]

Reception

Critical response

Sajin Shrijith of Cinema Express gave 4/5 stars and termed Mikhael as "tightly-paced, testosterone-fueled entertainment."^[8] Renukha Padmanabhan of The Week gave 3/5 stars and wrote "The narrative takes recourse to frequent flashbacks, but the director makes sure that the audience do not lose track of the happenings as he switches between the past and the present. Gopi Sundar's background score fits well into the proceedings; however, there isn't much novelty and you are left with a sense of deja vu while listening to the score."^[9]

Deepa Soman of The Times of India gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "By the first half itself, the reasons for the events yet to unfold are almost clear and those waiting to be revealed post intermission hardly evoke any thrill as they arrive. The long second half is all about waiting to see what all the hero gets to do to the villains, to punish them."^[10] Behindwoods gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Mikhael is the kind of film which will entertain you if you do not expect everything to be logical. To enjoy the movie to the fullest you should let the film go in whichever direction it feels like going, and not think too much about anything."^[11]

Sowmya Rajendran from The News Minute wrote that "Even if you watch the film knowing what to expect of Haneef Adeni, 'Mikhael' is disappointing."^[12] Manoj Kumar of The Indian Express gave 0.5/5 stars and wrote "Adeni could have named this film The Great Brother, instead of Mikhael" and also termed the film as a "migraine-inducing incoherent mess, which kills our desire to be entertained."^[13] Anna M. M. Vetticad of Firstpost rated the film 0.75 in a scale of 5 and wrote that "Nivin Pauly struggles through a pretentious, pompous affair ... the irritating music and pseudo-philosophical mumbo jumbo overshadow both the storyline and the usually reliable Nivin Pauly's natural charm".^[14]

Navamy Sudheesh of The Hindu called the film an average action fare, wrote that "while the film is engaging at some levels, it lacks that raw energy and intensity of a thorough thriller."^[15] Litty Simon of Malayala Manorama wrote "The slow-paced thriller won't really blow your mind, but it comes with enough masala for a Nivin Pauly movie."^[16] Calling the film "loud" and "confused", Neelima Menon from Huffington Post wrote that Nivin Pauly "is a thorough misfit" in the film. She was also heavily critical about the film's music.^[17]

Upon release, the makers of the film faced criticism from public and media outlets for allegedly attempting to suppress negative reviews on social media. Reports indicated that they requested Facebook to remove such posts, citing copyright issues. This effort reportedly also resulted in Facebook blocking two film-related groups.^[18]