Things You Should Know Before You Watch Kurup

Dulquer Salmaan’s Kurup is all set for a phenomenal theatrical release on the 12th of November. The film is based on Sukumara Kurup, a fugitive who is on the run for murdering Chacko in a horrifying attempt to get insurance money. As we all know by now, he’s Kerala’s most-wanted criminal and his story has always fascinated the public. In an interview, DQ shared that growing up, the story of Sukumara Kurup has always been a pop culture phenomenon and he feels great to share the story. Before you watch Kurup in the theatres, here’s what you should know:

The making of Kurup cost around 35 crores.

Director Srinath Rajendran conceived the idea for Kurup back in 2012 when Dulquer Salmaan finished filming Second Show. Back then, he knew that DQ would do justice to Kurup’s character. Apparently, DQ asked Srinath to prepare a script and that he would definitely do the movie with him. Even though months and years passed, Srinath finally kept his promise. 

If you’re wondering what took Srinath so many years to prepare the script, he was doing his research. Since the movie is based on a real person, he had to corroborate the facts, speak to people, and understand the story in its entirety.

Courtesy: The News Minute
Courtesy: The Indian Express

When DQ read the script for the first time, he immediately said that his production company would produce the film. Srinath, even though surprised, was proud of the choice.

Kurup isn’t the only Malayalam movie that was inspired by Sukumara Kurup. In 2016, Dileep and Kavya Madhavan’s Pinneyum, directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, was also inspired by the Chacko murder.

The 1984 film, NH47, has a weird connection with Kurup. NH47 was released during the same time the Chacko murder took place. The movie tells the story of Sudhakaran (played by TG Ravi) and his vicious plan to get insurance money, which he is entitled to receive after his death. The movie was clearly inspired by the real-life murder. What’s interesting is that Indrajith’s late father, Sukumaran played Chacko’s role. In Kurup, Indrajith will play the officer who tries to catch Kurup.

Kurup was never meant to be an OTT release. In fact, when Srinath first conceptualised the film, he visualised it happening within the four walls of a theatre. The sound design of Kurup was done using Dolby and filmed using an anamorphic lens which would do justice only in theatres. Now you know why you should watch Kurup on the big screen.

In fact, DQ and the team had to wait for two years to release the movie in the theatres owing to COVID. It was slated to release in May 2021 but had to be postponed. He knew it was a big risk not to release it in OTT, but he believed that the film would only make sense for the viewers to watch it in the theatres. 

Chacko’s son, Jithin, had watched the film to make sure that Sukumara Kurup wasn’t glorified in any manner. After watching the film, he told Manorama that all the misunderstandings and apprehensions he had about the movie had been cleared.

Jithin’s mother was pregnant with him when Chako was murdered. He grew up learning about his father’s death from newspaper reports. Since his mother still finds it hard to talk about it, he never really questioned her. After watching Kurup, he shared, “To be honest, I could understand the reality behind all that happened, only when I watched the movie.”

Courtesy: The Hindu

If Sukumaran Kurup is alive somewhere in the world, he would be 74 years old now. 

Kurup is the first Indian film to launch an NFT as part of its promotions. The digital poster of the movie was launched in Ammbr NFT marketplace, an Abu Dhabi-based decentralised technology company in October.

The film has a stellar cast featuring Dulquer Salmaan, Indrajith Sukumaran, Sunny Wayne, Shine Tom Chacko, Sobhita Dhulipala, Anupama Parameswaran and ShivajithPadmanaban. We’re not sure if this is true, but word on the street is that Chacko’s character will be played by Tovino Thomas. There are also rumours that Bharath and Prithviraj will have cameo roles in the movie. We won’t know unless we watch it.

Indrajith Sukumaran will be playing the role of DYSP Krishnadas. In reality, he’s the only police officer who was very close to nabbing Sukumara Kurup.

Watch the trailer of Kurup here:

So, are you ready to watch Kurup?

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