Queen (2018 film)

Queen
Queen
Soundtrack album by Jakes Bejoy
Released	3 January 2018
Genre	Filmi
Label	Satyam Audios
Jakes Bejoy chronology
Singles from Queen
	"Lal Anthem"; Released: 23 January 2018;

Queen
Queen
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Dijo Jose Antony
Written by	Sharis Mohammed; Jebin Joseph Antony
Produced by	Shibu K. Moideen; Rinshad V
Starring	Saniya Iyappan; Dhruvan; Ashwin Jose; Eldho Mathew; Arun H. Das;
Cinematography	Suresh Gopi
Edited by	Sagar Dass
Music by	Jakes Bejoy
Production; company	Arabian Dreams Entertainment
Distributed by	Central Pictures
Release date	12 January 2018 (India);
Running time	157 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Queen is a 2018 Indian Malayalam-language drama thriller film directed by Dijo Jose Antony and produced by Arabian Dreams Entertainment Co by Shibu K Moideen & Rinshad Vellodathil. It features Saniya Iyappan as a student in Mechanical Engineering batch.^[1] The idea was inspired from the 2015 Onam Celebration that took place in College of Engineering Adoor, Pathanamthitta, which was a massive controversy, and Sree Buddha College of Engineering, Pattoor, Alappuzha an institution in Kerala where a mass gang of boys and their only female classmate of the Mechanical Engineering Department made a dramatic entry making it a unique event becoming viral on internet, too.^[2]

Queen was released in India on 12 January 2018, where it became a commercial success at the box office. Saniya Iyappan won Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South for her performance in the film.^[3] It was remade in Tamil as Friendship in 2021 starring Harbhajan Singh, Arjun Sarja and Losliya Mariyanesan.

Plot

Chinnu is a first semester mechanical branch student, who joins the college and soon becomes a lovable character within the entire first year batch of the college. Her classmates discover that she is an orphan and a cancer patient. During her time at the hospital, Chinnu's friends keep her company and makes friends with other patients. Chinnu recovers from the cancer through chemotherapy and surgery, where she visits college during Onam celebrations just to have fun with her friends and enjoy the campus life. Chinnu returns home in the evening to recuperate completely, but she gets kidnapped and sexually assaulted causing her death. Chinnu's friends and the people from the community fight for justice, where Adv. Mukundan also helps them. The real culprits are caught and delivered a death sentence by the trial court. In the aftermath, the students turn to social services and the film ends with the message that "women are not opportunities, but responsibilities of men".

Cast

Salim Kumar as Adv. Mukundan Unni (Extended Cameo) (Character from the movie Meesa Madhavan)
Saniya Iyappan as Chinnu
Dhruvan as Balu
Aswin Jose as Muneer / Kooli
Eldho Mathew as Eldho
Arun Haridas as Jaban
Sooraj Kumar as Varghese Kurien / Varkichan
Sam Sibin as Shankar / Gymman
Muhasin Moozi as Shyam / Shyama
Jenson Alappat as Madapravu Ajith
Vijayaraghavan as Principal Alex Abhraham
Nandhu as Adv. Kaaloor
Kalasala Babu as Judge
Sreejith Ravi as Minister
Junice I V as Comrade Naushadikka
Midhun A. E. as Senior student
Monika Thomas Puthuran as Eliza
Sunil K Babu as Viswaroopan (Buji)
Kalabhavan Niyas Aboobacker as Head of Mechanical Department
Dijo Jose Antony as Professor at Mechanical Department, Signing Professor at Marriage (Guest Appearance)
Aneesh G Menon as Minister's assistant
Sethu Lakshmi as Mother Thresiamma
Santhosh Keezhattoor as Bride's father
Malini Sivaraman as Bride's friend
Baby Meenakshi as Bride's sister
Jaimi Afzal as Bride
Leona Lishoy
Deepika Mohan as Balu's mother
Hochimin K C
Unni Meghalan as Unni

Production

The movie was produced by Shibu K Moideen and Rinshad Vellodathil, from the studio Arabian Dreams Entertainment.

Music

The original songs for the film were composed by Jakes Bejoy, with lyrics written by Joe Paul, Sharis Muhammed, and Jyothish T. Kasi. The soundtrack album was released by Satyam Audios on 3 January 2018.^[4] Dijo Jose Antony and Arun Nandakumar choreographed the songs "Saare Njangal" and "Podi Parane" respectively.^{[citation needed]}

Queen (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Saare Njangal"	Jakes Bejoy, Benny Dayal, Ziya Ul Haque, Kavitha Gopi, Zonobia Safar	4:30
2.	"Aarandda"	Ajaey Shravan, Kesav Vinod, Jakes Bejoy	2:04
3.	"Vennilave"	K. S. Harisankar, Sooraj Santhosh, Ziya Ul Haque, Ajaey Shravan	5:27
4.	"Podipaarana"	Ajaey Shravan, Kesav Vinod, Sunilkumar P. K.	4:35
5.	"Ponnumkasavinte"	Neha Nair	4:24

Release

The film was released on 12 January 2018 across 84 theaters in Kerala.

Reception

Critical response

Arjun R Krishnan from Malayala Manorama has written that 'Queen', the debut work by director Dijo Jose Antony, presents quite a few contemporary issues in a titillating cinematic wrap and rated the movie 3.5 out of 5.^[5]

The film, however, was not received well by some critics. Anna MM Vetticad of Firstpost refused to rate the film, calling it a 'non-film', and was outraged by the fact that this 'nondescript' film managed to get released not only in Kerala, but outside it as well, when far superior films were struggling to find theaters.^[6] Sowmya Rajendran of The News Minute wrote that the film does a disservice to rape survivors by suggesting that the rape and murder of the female protagonist in the film is tragic only because she was an orphan, a cancer patient, and blameless in all respects. She also criticized the film's concluding message that men should see women as their responsibility and assume the role of their protectors.^[7]