Mikhael (film)

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 (2019-01-18)
Running time	150 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Mikhael is a 2019 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by Haneef Adeni and produced by Anto Joseph. It stars Nivin Pauly in the title 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. The music was composed by Gopi Sundar, while Mahesh Narayanan and Vishnu Panicker handled the cinematography and editing.

Mikhael was released on 18 January 2019 and received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

George Peter is an influential gold smuggler and don in Kerala. One day, George and his driver are killed under mysterious circumstances where ACP Muhammed Easa and his colleague CI Isaac John arrives at the spot and discovers that the murder was carried out with a surgical blade, deducing that a doctor was behind it. They start investigating medical stores. At the same time, George's younger brother and cold-blooded gangster Marco meets their partners, William Davis and his elder son Abraham to ask whether it was their work. Abraham speaks in a condescending manner, which provokes Marco to shoot Abraham. During his funeral, Easa asks William and his younger son Francey about Abraham's murder, but they doesn't reveal anything.

One night, a mysterious person shoots Patrick, Davis's secretary. Easa and Isaac take him to Star Hospital where he gets murdered despite being protected with maximum security. This solidifies Easa and Isaac's theory that the murderer is a doctor. A contract killer interrogates a pharmacist to learn the truth about the murders. Both the gangs start believing that someone is after them. Isaac becomes suspicious of Easa since he earlier revealed that he had an informant, but didn't reveal anything about him. Isaac investigates on his own, discovering that Dr. Michael John also known as Mikhael, a young surgeon of Star Hospital is both the killer and the informant. Issac also finds that Easa is helping Mikhael since they had contacted each other several times. Issac forces Easa to reveal everything in order to prevent the arrest of Dr. Mikhael.

Past: When Mikhael was 10 years old, he persuaded his father to let him drive his car, which resulted in an accident that killed his father John (who is a martial arts trainer). Michael's mother Ancy blamed him for his father's death. Meanwhile, George's son Gerald challenged Jenny, Mikhael's sister to a kung-fu fight in front of the entire 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 ask her to jump from the school terrace in the same way Gerald had jumped or he will kill her entire family.

After George continuously disturbs and harasses her family, Jenny decides to jump off the school terrace. Before she jumps, Mikhael arrives and saves her. After learning about the harassment, Mikhael files a complaint to the police, but the SI thrashes and warns him, as they are allied with George. Ancy asks him to visit them in Christmas, but he refuses. George later kills Ancy, causing Michael to burn Peter's Audi Q7 car. George and his henchmen catch Michael, beat him brutally and leave him on a railroad track to die. Michael manages to escapes, where he eventually catches up George and his driver and kills them.

Present: Marco learns about Mikhael and Jenny and vows to finish them. Easa also reveals that he ordered Mikhael to kill Patrick, since he was a common connection between both teams and killing him will provoke a gang war. Meanwhile, Jenny gets kidnapped by William and Davis, who learned that Mikhael was responsible for Patrick's death, but Mikhael is able to save Jenny. William and Francey are arrested by Easa, who also arrest Marco for killing Abraham, but Marco is released on bail. Marco kidnaps Jenny and takes her to the helipad of a skyscraper and challenges Mikhael to a fight. Mikhael arrives at the helipad and fights with Marco. Using a hidden surgical blade in his pocket, Michael is able to kill Marco and illegal donates Marco's organs to save three people, thus saving his family.

Cast

• Nivin Pauly as Dr. Michael John a.k.a. Mikhael
• Unni Mukundan as Marco Jr.
• Siddique as George Peter
• J. D. Chakravarthy as ACP Muhammad Easa IPS
• Suraj Venjaramood as CI Isaac John
• Manjima Mohan as Dr. Mary, Michael's girlfriend
• Navani Devanand as Jennifer John, Michael's sister
• Jayaprakash as William "Davichayan" Davis
• Sudev Nair as Francey, William's Younger Son
• Ashokan as Antony, Michael and Jenny's Step-Father
• Shanthi Krishna as Ancy, Michael and Jenny's Mother
• KPAC Lalitha as Mariamma
• Baiju as Dr. James Cheriyan
• Vishnu Premkumar as CI Philip Kora
• Kalabhavan Shajon as Patrick, William's Right-hand man (cameo)
• Babu Antony as John, Michael and Jenny's father (cameo)
• Kishore as ACP N.Sreenivasan IPS (cameo)
• Sijoy Varghese as Abraham, William's Elder Son (cameo)
• V. K. Prakash as Psychiatrist Charles Tharakan
• Amal Shah as Gerald Peter, George's Son and Marco Jr's Nephew
• Romanch as Medical Student
• Govind Krishna as Albert, Medical college Senior
• Nitha Promy as School Teacher
• Reba Monica John as Anna, Mikhael's ex-girlfriend (Cameo)
• Sakhil Sajeevan as Karate student
• Vishnudarsan.S as Karate Student
• Harinandanan as Karate Student
• Balaji Sharma as Karate Teacher
• Nandhansenanipuram as MBBS student

Production

Mikhael is the second directorial venture of Haneef Adeni, produced by Anto Joseph under the banner Anto Joseph Film Company. The film was announced on 12 July 2018. The pooja function was held in Kochi on 3 September, with principal photography beginning the same day.

Principal photography ended on November 26, 2018.

Music

The film features songs composed by Gopi Sundar.

Reception

Mikhael received mixed reviews from critics.

Critical response

Sajin Shrijith of Cinema Express gave 4 out of stars and wrote "Mikhael sees Nivin successfully accomplishing something he failed to do in films like Richie and Kayamkulam Kochunni. With a role tailor-made for Nivin's personality, rides solely on the actor's shoulders, and he carries the film effortlessly." Renukha Padmanabhan of The Week gave 3 out of 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."

Deepa Soman of The Times of India gave 2.5 out of 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." Behindwoods gave 2.5 out of 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. There are many characters and stories revolving around Mike's and his sister's story. Some characters are interesting while some are cliches in new covers."

Sowmya Rajendran from The News Minute gave 2 out of 5 stars and wrote "Even if you watch the film knowing what to expect of Haneef Adeni, 'Mikhael' is disappointing." Manoj Kumar of The Indian Express gave 1.5 out of 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." 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." 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."

External links

• Mikhael at IMDb