Pranchiyettan, a devotee of St. Francis of Assissi, attains the best of riches, he is unsatisfied with his reputation and sets off to popularise himself as a celebrity in society.
Cast
Mammootty as Cherammal Enashu Francis a.k.a. Pranchiyettan
The film was announced in June 2010. The film is produced by Renjith, under the banner of his Capitol Theatres.[3] Shooting began on 1 July 2010.[4]
The cast includes Mammootty, he plays the role of Cherammal Enashu Francis, a rice merchant in Thrissur. Hafis Firosh plays Mammootty's childhood counterpart. Innocent plays the role of Vasu Menon, friend of Pranchiyettan. Australian theatre artist Jesse Fox Allen played the role of the Saint. Apart from cine-artistes, this film also features many faces from the professional drama world, as in Renjith's Paleri Manikyam.[5]Jagathy Sreekumar plays Deena Dayal. "My character is there only in a few scenes but he makes a definite impact, which is quite exciting for an actor. He is an idealistic teacher, who lives as per Gandhian principles and leads a simple life," says Jagathy Sreekumar.[3] Master Ganapathy, who plays Pauli, says, "It is indeed great to be doing such a nice role with some of the big names in the industry. My character is a live wire."[3]
Music
The score and the only song of the film were composed by Ouseppachan; the lyrics were penned by Shibu Chakravarthy. The music by Ouseppachan was "among the highlights of the film", according to one reviewer.[6]
Reception
Box office
The film was commercial success.[7][8][9][10][11] It ran for more than 200 days in a theatre in Kerala.[12][13][14][15] The film grossed close to ₹3 crore (US$360,000) from 19 days.[16] The film collected US$957 from UK box office.[17] It was made on a budget of ₹1.50 crore[18] The film ran for 63 days in Oman box office, which is the longest running Malayalam film till date in Oman box office.
Critical response
Rediff's reviewer rated the film 5 out of 5 and said, "Pranchiyettan and the Saint is impressive... the success of [the film] rests on the shoulders of writer director Ranjith who gives a meaty story to actors to dig their teeth into."[19] The performance by Mammootty as well as the supporting cast also earned appreciation from critics. The review on Rediff said, "The film depends heavily on Mammootty's histrionic skills to be convincing and it works. It is this effortless and natural performance that gives Pranchiyettan [its] lifeblood."[19] Nowrunning comments: "Very few films are complex and comic at the same time, but Pranchiyettan achieves this almost impossible feat by employing clever plot devices, a fresh narrative structure and a string of metaphoric scenarios." The review praises Ranjith's work, saying, "There shouldn't be any trouble enthroning Ranjith as the harbinger of change in Malayalam cinema".[20]Sify called the film "Very Good" and rated it 4 out of 5. Their review focused mainly on the apt usage of Thrissur slang by Mammootty.[6]
