Mohini (2018 film)

Last updated

Mohini
Mohini poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ramana Madhesh
Written byRamana Madhesh
Produced byS. Lakshman Kumar
Starring
Cinematography R. B. Gurudev
Edited byDinesh Ponraj
Music by Vivek-Mervin (Songs)
Aruldev (Background Score)
Production
companies
Prince Pictures
Marvel Worth Productions
Distributed by Eros International
Release date
  • July 27, 2018 (2018-07-27)(India)
Running time
138 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Mohini is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language supernatural horror film written and directed by Ramana Madhesh, starring Trisha and Jackky Bhagnani in the lead roles. The film, which was predominantly shot across London, began production in June 2016.

Contents

The film was released on 27 July 2018. [1] Upon release, the film received negative reviews and was declared a flop. [2] [3] This marked Bhagnani's debut in Tamil cinema as well as his penultimate acting credit.

Plot

Vaishnavi is a popular YouTube chef living in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Her friend Ambuja's fiancé Cotton is stuck in a situation that demands him to go to London to work as a chef, but he is unqualified and steals Vaishnavi's recipe to get a job. He asks Vaishnavi to accompany him to pose as an assistant and help him secure the job so that he can be financially stable. After Ambuja and Cotton's wedding, Vaishnavi agrees and travels to London with Cotton and a relative Balki. They stay with their friends Ganesh (Ganeshkar) and his wife Madhu and work as chefs at a restaurant in the Park Grand Hotel in Hounslow. Vaishnavi meets Sandeep there, and they fall in love.

One day, on a boating trip in the Thames River, Madhu loses her bracelet but Vaishnavi finds it and a shankha comes along with it. Vaishnavi accidentally injures herself and washes off her blood in the water. This drop of blood triggers the vengeful spirit of a dead woman at the bottom of the river. She possesses Vaishnavi, who goes on a killing spree. Her friends experience numerous paranormal occurrences soon after and consult with a priest to find that Vaishnavi is possessed. The spirit turns out to be Mohini, a doppelganger of Vaishnavi. Meanwhile, Sandeep proposes to Vaishnavi, and they get engaged in the presence of his family. They meet Sandeep's mother Menaka and his estranged father Vicky/KVR. Mohini is enraged upon seeing him, and this reminds her of why she was killed. When Vicky/KVR announced Sandeep as heir to his Property, Mohini decides to kill Vicky/KVR and his goons who had killed her.

Mohini was an architect working for a construction company owned by KVR in London. She finds out about the child sacrifice rituals (Narabali) that KVR believes in and goes on to rescue children from a child trafficking gang owned by KVR. KVR and the gang are arrested, but they get released because of KVR's political influence. KVR and his men then capture Mohini, kill her, and throw her body into the Thames River. Now that she has found a doppelgänger in Vaishnavi, Mohini returns for revenge. She goes after Vicky/KVR and kills him, but not before telling that all of his generation will be killed by her, and that includes Sandeep. Menaka, KVR's wife, learns of this and tries to protect Sandeep from Mohini with the help of a Buddhist monk. She also contacts Mohini's mother, who agrees to help with the rituals that they are performing. The monk tells that in addition to the rituals, either Vaishnavi's body must be destroyed or a human sacrifice has to be done to appease Mohini. Meanwhile, when Sandeep and Vaishnavi move into their new home, Vaishnavi sees a picture of Vicky/KVR whom Mohini had killed. This triggers Mohini's anger and tries to kill Sandeep and chases him into a church. Mohini taunts Sandeep that she will kill Vaishnavi. The monk calls Sandeep and tells him that there is a waterfall behind the church which makes the water holy. Sandeep tries to swim through the river to reach the monastery, where his mother, the priest, Cotton, Madhu, Ganesh and Balki are waiting, but Mohini cannot follow him through the river and can only run on dry land. When the two reach, They all prevent Mohini from attacking Sandeep and try to save Vaishnavi from dying in the process. Mohini's mother finds that because of her daughter's vengeance, two innocent lives will be lost. She realizes that Mohini's spirit needs just one human life in order to be satisfied, so she kills herself and offers as a sacrifice to Mohini in front of the Goddess. Mohini's spirit is finally at peace and leaves Vaishnavi and Sandeep alone.

Later on, it is shown that Mohini's spirit still lives on and hunts down anyone who tries to cause harm to children, She possesses Neha, a child who was groped by the school bus driver.

Cast

Production

Development

Trisha signed on to play the titular role in the film during early May 2016 and announced that she would collaborate with director Ramana Madhesh for the first time. [4] Titled Mohini, the film was announced as a production venture for Prince Pictures, with Vivek-Mervin as music composers and Dinesh Ponraj as the editor. [5]

Filming

The film began production in London during June 2016 with scenes shot in areas including Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus and Tower Bridge. They held a month long schedule, with Hindi actor Jackky Bhagnani joining Trisha and a team of comedians for the schedule. [6] [7]

Music

Mohini
Soundtrack album by
Released24 December 2017 (2017-12-24)
Recorded2016–2017
Genre Film soundtrack
Length15:29
Label Think Music India
Producer Vivek–Mervin
Vivek–Mervin chronology
Gulaebaghavali
(2017)
Mohini
(2017)
Vedigundu Pasangge
(2018)

The soundtrack was released on 12 January 2018 through Think Music India.

All music is composed by Vivek–Mervin

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Hey"
4:02
2."Bomb Figure Baby"
  • Samuel Deepak
  • Switche
2:58
3."YouTube La Melam"Vivek
3:49
4."Mohini's Rage"Pa Vijay4:40
Total length:15:29

Release

Tamil Nadu theatrical rights of the film were valued at 6 crore. [8] The satellite rights of the film were sold to Zee Tamil. [9]

Reception

The moral of the film's story was questioned, since according to the plot human sacrifice was necessary, which took place during the final scenes. [10] Other controversies include some negative portrayals of London, England, and the mentioning about the British rule of India and the plunder of India by the British East India Company. Some critics claimed that India should refrain from discussing about its colonial past and never criticise Britain. They also denied the importance of freedom struggle and revolutionaries. [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>Jeans</i> (film) 1998 film directed by S. Shankar

Jeans is a 1998 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by S. Shankar, and produced by Ashok Amritraj and Murali Manohar. The film stars Prashanth and Aishwarya Rai, while Lakshmi, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nassar, Senthil and Raju Sundaram play supporting roles. The background score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman, while Ashok Kumar and the duo B. Lenin and V. T. Vijayan handled the cinematography and editing, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trisha Krishnan</span> Indian actress (born 1983)

Trisha Krishnan known mononymously as Trisha is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films. She gained prominence after winning the 1999 Miss Chennai pageant, which marked her entry into Cinema. Often referred to as the "Queen of South India", Trisha has received numerous accolades, including five Filmfare Award South, one Tamil Nadu State Film Award, one Nandi Award and eight SIIMA Awards.

<i>Manichitrathazhu</i> 1994 film directed by Fazil

Manichitrathazhu is a 1993 Indian Malayalam-language epic psychological horror film directed by Fazil, written by Madhu Muttam, and produced by Swargachitra Appachan. The film stars Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi and Shobana in addition to Nedumudi Venu, Innocent, Vinaya Prasad, K.P.A.C.Lalitha, Sridhar, K.B. Ganesh Kumar, Sudheesh, Thilakan and others in supporting roles. The story is inspired by a tragedy that happened in an Ezhava tharavad, the Alummoottil meda, located at Muttom, belonging to a central Travancore Channar family, in the 19th century. The writer of the film, Madhu K Panicker or Madhu Muttam, is a member of the Alummoottil Tharavad.

<i>Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein</i> 2001 film by Gautham Menon

Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, also known by the initialism RHTDM, is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, starring R. Madhavan, Saif Ali Khan and Dia Mirza in the lead roles. The film is a remake of the director's own Tamil film Minnale, which also starred Madhavan in his reprised role. This is Dia Mirza's debut film as well as Tamil actor, Madhavan's official Bollywood debut film after having an uncredited appearance in a song sequel during the mid-90s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. Madhesh</span> Indian film director

Ramana Madhesh, known as R. Madhesh, is an Indian director, producer and writer in Tamil cinema. He is mainly known for his debut film Madhurey (2004) and Vijayakanth's 150th film Arasangam (2008).

Ganapathi, credited as Ganeshkar, is a Tamil comedian actor who prominently plays supporting roles. Appearing in many Tamil films (Kollywood), he is also a host for Super 10 on Sun TV in Chennai. He took part in Kalaignar TV's dance show, Maanada Mayilada, with Aarthi whom he married. They won 500,000 Indian Rupees as a 2nd prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menaka (actress)</span> Indian actress

Padmavathy Iyengar, better known by her stage name, Menaka, is an Indian actress and film producer. She made her debut in the 1979 Tamil film Ramayi Vayasukku Vanthutta. In an acting career spanning from 1980 to 1987, Menaka appeared in over 125 films as a heroine, mostly in Malayalam. She also appeared in few Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. She married Malayalam film producer G. Suresh Kumar. After 19 years, she made a comeback through the television serial Kaliveedu. At 8th SIIMA, she received SIIMA Lifetime Achievement Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackky Bhagnani</span> Indian actor and film producer (born 1984)

Jackky Bhagnani is an Indian actor, film producer and also an entrepreneur. He is the Founder of Indian music label Jjust Music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Male</span> International Indian Film Academy Award

The IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Male is given by the International Indian Film Academy as part of its annual award ceremony to recognise a male actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in his debut film. Originally known as the "IIFA Award for Fresh Face of the Year (Male)", it was officially given its new title in 2006. During its inaugural year in 2001, four separate actors were presented with an award.

<i>Seema Tapakai</i> 2011 film by G.Nageswara Reddy

Seema Tapakai is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language comedy film written and directed by G.Nageswara Reddy, produced by Dr. Vijaya Prasad Malla under Wellfare Creations banner and starring Allari Naresh and Shamna Kasim. The soundtrack was composed by Vandemataram Srinivas and cinematography was handled by Adusumilli Vijay Kumar. The dialogue of the movie was written by popular writer Marudhuri Raja. The screenplay was handled also by G Nageswara Reddy. The film was released on 13 May 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rakul Preet Singh</span> Indian actress (born 1990)

Rakul Preet Singh is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. She has won several awards including a South Indian International Movie Award, in addition to four nominations at the Filmfare Awards South.

<i>Ajab Gazabb Love</i> 2012 Indian film

Ajab Gazabb Love is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Sanjay Gadhvi and produced by Vashu Bhagnani. The film stars Arjun Rampal in a double role, along with Jackky Bhagnani opposite Nidhi Subbaiah in lead roles and Darshan Jariwala and Kirron Kher in supporting roles, whilst Arshad Warsi appears in a cameo role. The screenplay and dialogues were written by Mayur Puri. The theatrical trailer of the film revealed on 13 August 2012, whilst the film released worldwide on 26 October 2012, and received mostly negative response. The storyline is remade from the Telugu film Seema Tapakai.

<i>Avunu</i> (film) 2012 film by Ravi Babu

Avunu (transl.Yes) is a 2012 Telugu-language horror thriller film written, produced and directed by Ravi Babu and presented by Suresh Productions. Malayalam actress Poorna plays the lead role and Harshvardhan Rane plays the male lead. The score is by Shekar Chandra and cinematography by N. Sudhakar Reddy. The film was made on a budget of 45 Lakhs. It is loosely based on the 1982 American supernatural horror film The Entity and was dubbed in Hindi as Aatma Ka Ghar.

<i>Geethaanjali</i> 2013 film directed by Priyadarshan

Geethaanjali is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language horror film directed by Priyadarshan and written by Abhilash Nair, with dialogue by Dennis Joseph. Though promoted as spin-off of the 1993 film Manichitrathazhu, it was an adaptation of the 2007 Thai film Alone which was loosely based on the novel Elephants Can Remember. Mohanlal reprises his role from Manichitrathazhu and Suresh Gopi appears in a cameo role. It also features Keerthy Suresh, Nishan, Siddique, Madhu, Swapna Menon, Innocent, and K. B. Ganesh Kumar. In the film, psychologist Dr. Sunny Joseph arrives at a mansion to treat Anjali, who is haunted by her deceased twin sister Geetha, and investigates the paranormal activities. It marked the Malayalam and film debut of Keerthy Suresh.

<i>Aranmanai</i> 2014 film by Sundar C

Aranmanai (transl. Palace) is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language comedy horror film written and directed by Sundar C. The film stars Sundar alongside an ensemble cast including Hansika Motwani, Vinay Rai, Andrea Jeremiah, Raai Laxmi, Santhanam, Kovai Sarala, Manobala, Chitra Lakshmanan and Nithin Sathya. This film was the first installment in Aranmanai film series. In the film, a family returns to their hometown to sell their ancestral palace. However, their arrival is marked by supernatural events, and Ravi, a relative of the family, decides to uncover the truth.

<i>Aranmanai 2</i> 2016 film by Sundar C

Aranmanai 2 is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language comedy horror film directed and co-written by Sundar C. The film stars Sundar, Siddharth, Trisha Krishnan, Hansika Motwani, Poonam Bajwa, Soori, Kovai Sarala, Manobala, Chitra Lakshmanan, Radha Ravi and Vaibhav Reddy. The film is the second installment in the Aranmanai. The film revolves around Murali (Siddharth) who returns to his ancestral home along with his fiancée Anitha (Trisha) when his father lands in a coma under mysterious circumstances. His life takes a turn when he uncovers his family's dark secrets with Ravi (Sundar).

<i>Nayaki</i> 2016 Telugu-Tamil bilingual film by Goverdhan Reddy

Nayaki / Nayagi ( transl. Heroine) is a 2016 Indian comedy horror film, directed by Goverdhan Reddy. The film stars Trisha in the lead role, with Ganesh Venkatraman, Satyam Rajesh and Sushma Raj in supporting roles. The film, a Telugu-Tamil bilingual, is produced by Giridhar Mamidipally, who was the former manager of Trisha under Giridhar Production House, and has cinematography by Jagadeesh. Both versions of the film opened to negative reviews and became commercial failure at box office. The film was later dubbed into Hindi under the same name for television release on Zee Cinema on 16 April 2018.

Theeyavan is a 2008 Tamil language romantic thriller film produced, written and directed by B. Kathir. The film stars newcomer Sriranjan, newcomer Udhay and Midhuna, with newcomer Saritha, Radha Ravi, Kuyili, M. S. Bhaskar, Aarthi, Vennira Aadai Moorthy, Pandu, Nizhalgal Ravi and Ganeshkar playing supporting roles. It was released on 31 October 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deepshikha Deshmukh</span> Indian film producer and entrepreneur

Deepshikha Deshmukh is an Indian film producer who works in the Hindi cinema industry.

<i>Kumkuma Puvvu</i> Television series

Kumkuma Puvvu is an Indian Telugu soap opera that aired on Star Maa from 18 July 2016 to 26 April 2024. It is a remake of Asianet's Malayalam television series Kumkumapoovu. It starred Haritha, Princy B Krishnan and Akshitha Sathyanarayana in lead roles and was the longest-running serial on Star Maa.

References

  1. "Trisha-starrer Mohini to release on July 27". Telangana Today . 21 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  2. "Mohini movie review: Trisha's horror film is a tragedy". 27 July 2018.
  3. "Mohini Movie Review {2.0/5}: Critic Review of Mohini by Times of India".
  4. "Trisha to act in one more horror film?". Sify . Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  5. "Trisha's next horror thriller titled 'Mogini'". Sify . Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  6. "Trisha's supernatural thriller Mohini progressing well in London". The News Minute . 17 June 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  7. "Trisha starts shooting for 'Mohini' in London". The News Minute . 6 June 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  8. "ஜுங்கா, மோகினி - ஒரிஜினல் கலெக்‌ஷன் ரிப்போர்ட்! | #311 | Valai Pechu". YouTube . Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  9. "ZEE TAMIZH MAKE THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT ON THEIR NEXT FILM!". Behindwoods. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  10. "Mohini movie review: Save your money, skip this one". Indianexpress.com. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  11. "'Mohini' movie review: The real horror is that a film like this got made". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2021.