Lightning Murali) is a 2021 Indian Malayalam-language superhero film directed by Basil Joseph and produced by Sophia Paul, under the banner of Weekend Blockbusters.
In September 2021, the makers announced that the film would be released directly through the streaming platform Netflix, as a result of closure of theatres due to the pandemic.
[3][4] It received critical acclaim praising the cast performances (particularly Tovino Thomas and Guru Somasundaram), writing, direction, action sequences, VFX and soundtrack.
In the 1990s, Jaison, a young tailor from the village of Kurukkanmoola, dreams of building a career in the US, but his plans are hindered by obstacles in his personal life.
Meanwhile, Shibu, a social outcast, harbors feelings for his childhood sweetheart Usha, who happens to be the sister of Daasan, a worker in Jaison's father Varkey's tailor shop.
Disguised as Minnal Murali, a character from Martin's unfinished play, Jaison attacks Saajan and others at an event, leaving behind clues that point to his implication.
Initially overpowered, Jaison taps into his inner strength, remembering his father's sacrifice, and defeats Shibu, ending his reign of terror.
In January 2019, Tovino Thomas announced that he will collaborate with Basil Joseph for the second time after Godha (2017), for a superhero film titled Minnal Murali and Sophia Paul bankrolled this project under the Weekend Blockbusters banner.
In an interview with The Times of India, he said that "I will be working closely with the VFX team in the pre-production stage for developing the storyboards as well as understanding what is possible before we start shooting the movie".
[15] He also said that "the team had planned to present the fantasy element convincingly and realistic in some manner", by saying "If you search online, you would find several instances of those struck by a lightning, experiencing differences in their lives like being able to make a bulb glow for a second or their watches stopping.
[19] The technical crew consisted of cinematographer Sameer Thahir, music directors Shaan Rahman and Sushin Shyam and editor Livingston Mathew.
[11] After completing major schedules in Alappuzha, the team headed to Wayanad to shoot the sequences further, where few portions were shot in Manathavady during February 2020.
[22] The team continued their shooting progress in Hassan during the same month,[23] but was halted in April 2021 after Tovino Thomas got diagnosed with COVID-19, and adding to the factors were, the second wave of the pandemic with cases uprising in Kerala.
Several activists of Antharashtra Hindu Parishad (AHP) and Bajrang Dal took credit for destroying the Church-replica by posting on their social media pages about it.
[37] Minnal Murali was initially set for theatrical release but had to be rescheduled multiple times in response to the closures of theatres due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in India.
[39] However, following the impact of COVID-19 lockdown and the escalation of costs due to the delayed production, the film's producer Sophia Paul opted for a direct-to-streaming release,[40] which was officially confirmed by Netflix in September 2021.
This was confirmed by Netflix, which released a live online interaction with Tovino, Joseph, Chopra and Smriti Kiran, who was the artistic director of MAMI.
[47][48] On 25 September 2021, coinciding with the third edition of Tudum Festival sponsored by Netflix, a featurette titled World of Minnal Murali, which has Tovino Thomas and Basil Joseph, sharing an interview about the film was premiered during the live event.
[51] Prior to the release, the team further collaborated with professional wrestler The Great Khali and cricketer Yuvraj Singh for the promotions of Minnal Murali.
"[61] Writing for Hindustan Times, Devarsi Ghosh wrote that Minnal Murali has "finally cracked the superhero formula for India."
"[62] Deepa Soman of The Times of India gave 3.5/5, praising the score, performances, VFX, emotional weight, and character development calling the film a "modest and jocular entertainer with both a likeable superhero and villain".
"[65] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave 3.5/5 and wrote that "like all the best superhero movies, this is a coming-of-age film, where a lost child finally finds direction, knowing where he came from, and where he has to go.
"[66] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote that "That is how Minnal Murali saunters along, embracing an all-too-literal manner and abandoning a sense of irony as it seeks to convince us that a Batman-like superhero is par for the course in Kerala.
"[68] Rediff rated the film 3/5 and wrote, "while Basil's idea and thought process of how a superhero is born is meant to win your heart, the plot may not necessarily inspire you.
[70] Behindwoods rated the film 3/5 and gave a verdict "Minnal Murali is India's answer to Hollywood's Superhero movies, in its own ways".
[71] Nandini Ramanath of Scroll.in stated "Minnal Murali has an improvisational feel that matches the origin story of an unlikely saviour [...] Despite being overstretched, the saga of two superheroes for the price of a single ticket benefits from being pitched at the right scale.
"[72] Sowmya Rajendran of The News Minute gave 4/5 and stated "Minnal Murali hides its surprises well, and just when you've settled down to watch a comedy about a buffoonish superhero, it changes the game [...] Everyone knows that the superhero will save the day, but it requires superhuman effort to create a film that grabs your attention and makes you watch till the end, and Minnal Murali certainly ticks that box.