Kho-Kho (2021 film)

Kho-Kho
Theatrical release poster
Malayalam	'ഖോ-ഖോ'
Directed by	Rahul Riji Nair
Written by	Rahul Riji Nair
Produced by	First Print Studios
Starring	Rajisha Vijayan Mamitha Baiju
Cinematography	Tobin Thomas
Edited by	Christy Sebastian
Music by	Sidhartha Pradeep
Production company	First Print Studios
Distributed by	Capital Studioz
Release date	14 April 2021 (2021-04-14)
Running time	119 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Kho-Kho is a 2021 Indian Malayalam-language sports drama film written and directed by Rahul Riji Nair starring Rajisha Vijayan, Mamitha Baiju and produced by First Print Studios. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} The film was released on 14 April 2021.

Synopsis

The story revolves around Maria Francis, a Kho Kho school coach. ^[5] The film tells the story of the formation of a team of kho kho players in a school where only girls study and the events that follow. In the end, she is very happy and proud to learn that Anju, the most promising player of her former Kho Kho school team has gotten into the national Kho Kho team, under Maria's name.

^[6] fun fact: the kho kho players in the movie are kho kho players in real life!

Cast

• Rajisha Vijayan as Maria Francis, a former athlete, PE teacher and school Kho kho team coach
• Mamitha Baiju as Anju, school Kho kho team captain ^[7]
• Venkitesh VP as Ben, Maria's husband who is a former athlete and a businessman ^[8]
• Renjit Shekar Nair as Peon Shivaprasad, manager of the team
• Vettukili Prakash as Francis, Maria's father
• Rahul Riji Nair as Vinod
• Arjun Ranjan as Sports Official
• Sreejith Babu
• Jeo Baby as Meenakshi's father (cameo appearance)
• Geethi Sangeetha (cameo appearance)

Production

In August 2020, Rahul Riji Nair announced that the next venture will be a sports movie one which will star Rajisha Vijayan in the lead role. After the 2019 film Finals , Rajisha Vijayan returns with another sports film. ^[9] Rajisha Vijayan played the lead role as a Kho Kho coach in the movie. Mamitha Baiju played a supporting role as a Kho Kho school captain and she won the Best Supporting Actress at Kerala Film Critics Award. Tobin Thomas is the cinematographer, Sidhartha Pradeep is the music director and Christy Sebastian is the editor.^{[ citation needed ]}

Awards

Kerala Film Critics Award 2020

• Best Supporting Actress : Mamitha Baiju ^[10]
• Special Jury Award : Rahul Riji Nair

Music

Kho Kho
Soundtrack album by Sidhartha Pradeep
Released	24 March 2021
Recorded	2019–20
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	27:33
Language	Malayalam, English
Label	123 Musix
Producer	First Print Studios
Sidhartha Pradeep chronology
Ottamuri Velicham (2017) Kho Kho (2021)
External audio Audio Jukebox on YouTube

The film's soundtrack album and score was composed by music director Sidhartha Pradeep. The Malayalam lyrics on the album were penned by writers Rahul Riji Nair, Arjun Ranjan and Vinayak Sasikumar, and the English rap lyrics by Aditi Nair R. The album was launched on 24 March 2021 by 123 Musix. ^{[11] [12] [13] [14] [15]}

List of songs

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Theeram Thane Unarum"	Rahul Riji Nair	Nandagopan V	2:15
2.	"Kaalam Varum Nin"	Arjun Ranjan	Bindu Anirudhan
3.	"Ninave Vaa"	Vinayak Sasikumar	Amritha Jayakumar
4.	"Rise theme"	Aditi Nair R	Aditi Nair R
5.	"Bayathe Karuthal Porutham"	Vinayak Sasikumar	Bharath Rajesh
6.	"Nin Neram Vanne"	Vinayak Sasikumar	Jazz Rathore
7.	"Smack with the Kho"	Aditi Nair R, Sidhartha Pradeep	Aditi Nair R, Nithin Raj
8.	"Boom boom bam"	Aditi Nair R	Aditi Nair R
9.	"Did She Catch Me"	Aditi Nair R	Aditi Nair R
10.	"Betterness"	Aditi Nair R	Aditi Nair R
11.	"Kho Kho Theevandi"	Vinayak Sasikumar	Souparnika Rajagopal, Aparna Sathyan
12.	"Venal Paathiyil"	Vinayak Sasikumar	Nandagopan V
Total length:				27:34

Release

Theatrical

The film was released on 14 April 2021. ^{[16] [17]} On 20 April, the film was withdrawn from the theatres due to COVID-19 crisis. ^{[18] [19]}

Reception

Critical reception

Sujit Chandrakumar of The Times of India described Kho Kho as "an inspirational sports drama." ^[20] Writing for Cinema Express , Sajin Shrijith lauded the film as a predictable but empowering sports drama. "The film doesn’t bring anything new to the table in terms of storytelling. But at the same time, one wonders how many new ways can one narrate a sports drama, especially when motivation is its primary intention". He rated it as a film worth watching. ^[21] In a review for Firstpost , Anna MM Vetticad wrote, "Kho Kho stumbles intermittently when it gets too didactic or veers away from its slice-of-life narrative style. Nonetheless, it achieves a charming overall sweetness and positivity." ^[22]

References

1. "Rajisha to play a kho kho coach in her next film - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
2. "Rajisha Vijayan to lead Rahul Riji Nair's sports drama 'Kho Kho'". The New Indian Express. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
3. "'ഖൊ ഖൊ' താരമായി രജിഷ വിജയൻ". ManoramaOnline (in Malayalam). Retrieved 29 August 2020.
4. "'ഖൊ ഖൊ' താരമാവാന്‍ രജിഷ വിജയന്‍; സംവിധാനം രാഹുല്‍ റിജി നായര്‍". Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd (in Malayalam). Retrieved 29 August 2020.
5. "Rajisha Vijayan to lead sports drama Kho Kho". Cinema Express . 28 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
6. "Rajisha Vijayan turns a Kho Kho coach - Malayalam News". IndiaGlitz.com. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
7. Soman, Deepa. "Mamitha Baiju plays the team captain in Rajisha-starrer 'Kho Kho' - Times of India". The Times of India.
8. MB, Anandha (14 April 2021). "'രജിഷയ്ക്കൊപ്പം വീണ്ടും അഭിനയിക്കാനായതിൽ സന്തോഷം'; അണിയറപ്രവർത്തകർക്ക് നന്ദിവാക്കുകളുമായി വെങ്കിടേഷ്!". samayam. malayalam. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
9. "വീണ്ടും കളിക്കളത്തിലിറങ്ങാന്‍ രജീഷ, ഫസ്റ്റ്‌ലുക്ക് പുറത്ത്". Mathrubhumi. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
10. "Kerala Film Critics Award". Archived from the original on 13 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
11. "Rap Kid next door". The New Indian Express. 27 March 2021.
12. "Check Out Latest Malayalam Songs Audio Jukebox From Movie 'Kho Kho' | Malayalam Video Songs - Times of India". The Times of India.
13. "Kho Kho | Song - Ninave Vaa | Malayalam Video Songs - Times of India". The Times of India.
14. "Kho Kho | Song - Venal Pathayil | Malayalam Video Songs - Times of India". The Times of India.
15. "Kho Kho | Song - Kho Kho Theevandi | Malayalam Video Songs - Times of India". The Times of India.
16. "Mollywood celebs congratulate Superstar Rajinikanth - Malayalam News". IndiaGlitz.com. 1 April 2021.
17. "Rajisha Vijayan's 'Kho Kho' to hit theatres on April 14". Mathrubhumi. Archived from the original on 2 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
18. "Rajisha Vijayan's 'Kho Kho' screening stopped due to COVID crisis". Mathrubhumi. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
19. "Rajisha Vijayan's 'Kho Kho' screening stopped due to COVID crisis". Mathrubhumi. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
20. "Kho Kho Movie Review: An inspirational sports drama". The Times of India .
21. "Kho Kho Movie Review: A predictable but empowering sports drama". The New Indian Express. 16 April 2021.
22. "Kho Kho movie review: Rajisha Vijayan strikes a chord in an uneven but pleasant sports drama". Firstpost. 15 April 2021.

External links

• Kho-Kho at IMDb
• Kho-Kho on Facebook