Geethaanjali is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language horror film directed by Priyadarshan and written by Abhilash Nair, with dialogue by Dennis Joseph.
The film also features Keerthy Suresh as the dual title characters, Nishan, Siddique, Madhu, Swapna Menon, Innocent, and K. B. Ganesh Kumar.
Sunny Joseph arrives at a mansion to treat Anjali, who is haunted by her deceased twin sister Geetha, and investigates the paranormal activities.
When her mother falls from a terrace and is bedridden paralysed, Anjali and Anoop go to her house in Arackal, Kerala.
The future owner of the house Vasu claims that he had seen Geetha in a car and wrote down the number on a file.
He says that he could give it to them the next day, but he gets a phone call from Geetha's spirit asking him to meet her in the church next morning.
Sunny then seeks help from Kadalikkattu Thirumeni who too discovered that Anjali was possessed by Geetha's ghost.
The feeling of guilt in her mind led her to see Anjali wherever she goes, and all the horrible incidents that happened were just illusions seen by Geetha.
Priyadarshan had earlier worked as a second-unit director, along with Siddique, Lal, and Sibi Malayil, on Manichitrathazhu (1993), which was directed by his friend Fazil.
[3] He said, "I had been telling [Priyadarshan] that he should revive Sunny as I felt that he was a character with immense potential for a new film; someone who can fit into any background or period.
[10] The production team were looking for a heroine; they shortlisted a few people from the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi film industries during pre-production in June 2012.
[14] Actor Innocent made a comeback to films with Geethanjali after his cancer treatment, he agreed to act on the insistence of Priyadarshan and Mohanlal and allotted ten days for the shoot.
[6] Swapna Menon was cast as the daughter of Thankappan (Innocent); her characterisation was similar to that of the female version of Chanthu (Sudheesh) in Manichithrathazhu.
[17] Late actor-director Cochin Haneefa's twin daughters Safa and Marwa played the childhood of Geetha and Anjali.
[11] Priyadarshan also intended to use the Auro sound format, but no theatre in Kerala was equipped with that technology at that time, so he abandoned that idea too.
[27] The film's theatrical release, which was earlier planned for October 2013, was postponed until 14 November because of a delay in graphics works.
[29][30] PJ Entertainments bought the distribution rights for Europe; they released in the United Kingdom in 61 theatres, Austria, Finland, Germany, Sweden, and Italy.
No amount of incredible performances or stunning cinematography by Thiru can save 'Geethanjali' from collapsing into another cluttered film that bites the dust".
[39] Ajin Krishna of Filmibeat.com awarded two stars out of five, he appreciated Mohanlal's performance and the cinematography, he said, "Geethanjali fails to entertain and horrify, even by following the same path of the usual horror movies.
"[40] Aswin J. Kumar of The Times of India gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of five, and stated, "Geethanjali plays around a script that is constantly unsteady, giving away hints far too quickly or getting immersed in trifles just for the purpose of stretching the narrative.
"[41] IndiaGlitz.com rated it four-and-a-half stars out of ten, and said it is a "rip-off" of Alone, Chaarulatha, and Nadiya Kollapetta Rathri; he said, "'Geethanjali' stands on a weak script, which scares and shocks in bits and spurts.
[42] Raj Vikram of MetroMatinee.com gave a mixed review, saying, "The script of Abhilash Nair has loopholes dime a dozen but the directorial experience of Priyadarshan supported by some excellent camera work by Tirru and well crafted graphics do make the movie a watchable one", and, "As a standalone horror thriller 'Geethanjali' has its moments and Dr.
[45] In the UK, Geethanjaly grossed £14,403;[46] considering the theatrical revenue, it was unsuccessful at the box office in its final run.
[37][38][39][42] Geethanjali was mentioned in an online article published by International Business Times in 2014 which described that the film was partially inspired by the detective novel Elephants Can Remember written by Agatha Christie.
The tracks "Koodilla Kuyilamme" and "Pavizha Munthiri" were revisions of "Jaana Hai Tujhko" and "Maine Hawa Ke Paron" from Priyadarshan's 2008 Hindi film Mere Baap Pehle Aap.
[52] The original soundtrack album of the film was officially released at a function held at Dreams Hotel, Kochi, in November 2013.