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Bazooka (film)

Bazooka is a 2025 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film written and directed by Deeno Dennis in his directorial debut. It is produced by Yoodlee Films and Theatre of Dreams, starring Mammootty and Gautham Vasudev Menon in the lead roles while Shine Tom Chacko.

The project was developed in March 2018 when Dennis was reported to debut as a director for a film which he had written for almost three years. He had approached Mammootty, whom he had in mind, with the script, who persuaded the former to direct it himself. Dolwin Kuriakose and Jinu V. Abraham were announced to produce the film through their banner Theatre of Dreams in July 2022. Later, Abraham revealed that the film was not the one that Dennis developed in 2018. The film was announced in April 2023 with Bazooka as the title. Principal photography began by mid-May that year in Kochi and concluded in October 2024. It has music by Saeed Abbas, cinematography by Nimish Ravi and editing by Nishadh Yusuf and Praveen Prabhakar. Early reviews have been negative.

Plot

Benjamin Joshua, a brave police officer from Kochi, tries to track down a group of serial robbers who disguise themselves and loot items from certain areas. During the investigation, Benjamin learns that the killers are following the pattern of a video game. Parallel to this, John Caesar, a retired forensic scientist and also an ethical hacker, helps Benjamin track down the criminal group.

Cast

Production

Development

In March 2018, it was reported that Deeno Dennis, son of veteran scriptwriter Kaloor Dennis, would direct a film starring Mammootty in the lead role. It would also mark his debut as a director. The film, also written by Dennis, would be the first "game thriller" in Malayalam cinema, according to him. "The story will have elements of gaming in the story, and will be the first of its kind in Malayalam", he added. About the story, he said, "A series of mysterious incidents occur in Kochi city. Mammootty plays a 39-year-old, named Vinod Menon who is a travel buff. Vinod starts his journey from Kochi and on the way he comes across several characters, and these encounters link him to the mysterious events." Dennis described the film as a "mass thriller" which would have elements of action, drama, romance, humour and adventure.[5]

"I knew Mammootty listens only to one-liners so I made a story outline and approached him. But he listened for two and a half hours, and asked me to take my time and write the entire script. I was planning to rope in another director but Mammootty asked me to direct the film myself, so here I am."

 – Deeno Dennis, on Mammootty's involvement in the film.[5]

Four years later, on 2 June 2022, production manager N. M. Badusha announced through social media that the film would be bankrolled by Dolwin Kuriakose and Jinu V. Abraham under the banner of Theatre of Dreams. At the same time, Nimish Ravi was signed on as the cinematographer.[6][7] Abraham revealed to OTTplay that the film was not the project that Dennis had planned in 2018.[8] On 9 April 2023, Mammootty announced the film officially by sharing the first look poster, which would also be produced by Saregama under their film studio Yoodlee Films.[9] Vikram Mehra and Sidharth Anand Kumar served as co-producers while Nishadh Yusuf and Midhun Mukundan were recruited as editor and music composer respectively.[10] Midhun was later replaced by Saeed Abbas.

Casting

In March 2023, Gautham Vasudev Menon was signed to play a prominent role.[11][12] In May 2023, Neeta Pillai joined the cast as one of the female leads.[13][14] Divya Pillai and Iswarya Menon were chosen for key female roles.[15] The other female actors include Gayathiri Iyer and Bhama Arun.[16] Siddharth Bharathan was also cast in a significant role.[17] Sumith Naval, known for appearing in early Amal Neerad films, is making a comeback and joined the cast in July 2023.[18] In July 2023, Babu Antony was reported to play the role of an antagonist.[19] Abin Bino was cast to play a role in the film.[20]

Filming

It was reported that the filming would begin by the end of April 2023 and was expected to be completed by July–August, with 90–100 days of shooting in Coimbatore, Kochi and Bengaluru.[21][22] Filming was later postponed following the death of Mammootty's mother.[23] Principal photography began on 10 May 2023 with a puja ceremony at the Samudrika Convention Centre in Willingdon Island.[24][25] Mammootty joined the sets on 12 May 2023.[26] Mammootty completed his shooting portions on 5 August 2023.[27] In August 2023, Hakkim Shah met with an accident on the set while riding a bike as part of a chase sequence.[28][29] Mammootty shot for 45 days for the film.[30]

The final shooting schedule started on 21 February 2024 progressing in Kochi, primarily filming the scenes featuring Gautham Vasudev Menon.[31] It was reported that shooting concluded after 90 days on 22 March 2024.[32] However, the filmmakers revealed that some scenes involving Gautham Vasudev Menon were yet to be completed, with plans for a short 2-3 day schedule. The delay has been due to scheduling conflicts, as both Mammootty and Gautham are currently working on an untitled upcoming project.[33] The entire filming was wrapped up in October 2024.[34] The cinematography will be handled by Nimish Ravi.[35] Stunt Silva is in charge of choreographing action sequences.[36]

Post production

The post-production works started in July 2024.[37] The patchwork shoots were conducted in Kochi in September 2024.[38]

Music

The film's music was composed by Saeed Abbas. Midhun Mukundan was initially attached as the composer. However, newcomer Saeed Abbas was selected to compose the teaser music. Abbas, an assistant of Sushin Shyam had earlier composed for Mahesh Narayanan's segment Sherlock in the anthology film, Manorathangal.[39][40][41] After scoring the teaser Abbas was selected to do the background score of the film, with Midhun Mukundan still retained as the song composer. However, gradually Abbas replaced Mukundan as the sole composer of the movie.

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Loading Bazooka"BinsSaeed AbbasSreenath Bhasi2:40

Marketing

The teaser of the film was released on 15 August 2024, coinciding with India's Independence Day. A promotional poster was also released, revealing the film's official release date.[42] The official trailer was released on 26 March 2025.[43]

Release

Earlier reports indicated that Bazooka would be released alongside Mohanlal's directorial debut Barroz in December 2023, during Christmas.[44] However, it was delayed and pushed to 2024.[45][46] It was later reported that Bazooka and Barroz would release on the same day, 12 September 2024, during Onam.[47] Despite these plans, the film was further delayed and was later released on 10 April 2025.[48][49][50]

Reception

Bazooka received negative reviews from audience and critics. Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express rated the film with 2/5 stars and wrote "A dashing Mammootty powers through a severely underwritten, yet sleek flick".[51]

"Sajin Shrijith of The Week rated the film 1/5 stars and wrote "Watching 'Bazooka' feels like attending multiple lectures given by some of the most boring teachers who took a crash course in their respective subjects".[52]

References

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  4. ^ "Mammootty's Bazooka to have Babu Antony as its antagonist?". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
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  7. ^ "Mammootty To Play The Lead In Dino Dennis's Debut Directorial". Outlook. 2 June 2022.
  8. ^ Sidhardhan, Sanjith (2 June 2022). "Mammootty signs his third thriller this year, to team up with Kaloor Dennis' son Deeno next for big budget film". OTTplay. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  9. ^ Srinivasan, Latha (10 April 2023). "Mammootty gives James Bond vibes in new look from Bazooka. Seen yet?". India Today. Archived from the original on 19 January 2025. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
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  51. ^ "Bazooka Movie Review: A dashing Mammootty powers through a severely underwritten, yet sleek flick. It feels like serving a colourful dessert after a tasteless undercooked main course". The Indian Express. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  52. ^ "'Bazooka' review: Mammootty gets the worst kind of tribute — a 'game' where the audience becomes the loser". The Week. Retrieved 11 April 2025.