RDX: Robert Dony Xavier

RDX: Robert Dony Xavier (also known as RDX) is a 2023 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by Nahas Hidayath in his directorial debut, and produced by Sophia Paul under Weekend Blockbusters. It stars Shane Nigam, Antony Varghese and Neeraj Madhav in the lead title roles, alongside Lal, Babu Antony, Mahima Nambiar, Aima Rosmy Sebastian, Maala Parvathi and Baiju in supporting roles. The film follows Robert, his brother Dony and Xavier who set out to exact vengeance against a gang for assaulting their family.

This article is about the 2023 Malayalam film. For other uses, see RDX (disambiguation).

RDX: Robert Dony Xavier
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNahas Hidayath
Screenplay byAdarsh Sukumaran
Shabas Rasheed (dialogues)
Story byNahas Hidayath
Produced bySophia Paul
StarringShane Nigam
Antony Varghese
Neeraj Madhav
CinematographyAlex J. Pulickal
Edited byChaman Chakko
Music bySam C. S.
Production
company
Release date
  • 25 August 2023 (2023-08-25)[1]
Running time
151 minutes[2]
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam
Budget₹8 crore[3][4]
Box officeest. ₹100 crore[5]

The principal photography commenced on 15 December 2022, and the film was wrapped up on 13 April 2023 and entered the post-production stage. Sam C. S. was signed to compose the music after his debut in Odiyan (2018). The editing is done by Chaman Chakko, while the cinematography is handled by Alex J. Pulickal.[6]

RDX was released on 25 August 2023 during Onam, where it received positive reviews from critics and grossed over ₹100 crore worldwide and ₹50 crore from Kerala, thus becoming the fourth Malayalam film to achieve this feat after Pulimurugan, Lucifer and 2018.[7][8][9] It became the second highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year and is currently one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films.[10]

Plot

1998: Robert, his elder brother Dony, and Xavier are best friends who train in karate and boxing under the supervision of Antony Aashaan, the father of Xavier and a friend of Robert and Dony's father Philip. Robert, Dony, and Xavier always get entangled in fights, which causes headaches for both families. During the Cochin carnival, Robert gets involved in a fight with Jaison, who is from his girlfriend Mini's colony, after he caused problems during Mini's performance. Robert, Dony, and Xavier beat everyone and break Jaison's legs. During the fight, Robert unknowingly causes a fire accident that puts an end to the entire carnival. Fearing for Robert's safety from Jaison and his men, Philip sends Robert to Bangalore.

2005: During a yearly church festival in Kochi, Philip tries to stop a gang of people from creating trouble but gets beaten by the gang. Seeing this, Dony thrashes them. Later, the same gang breaks into Philip's house and ambushes all of them, which leaves Dony, his family and his wife Simi severely injured and rob things, including his daughter Serah's necklace that makes a deep cut on her neck. Robert, who is now a bartender, learns about the ambush on his family, so he returns home and joins Dony to exact revenge on the gang members. Through one of the gang members named Suni, Robert and Dony reach the colony to fight them, where they get outnumbered easily after the gang is informed about their arrival. Xavier arrives in time to save them, escaping from the colony.

Xavier reveals that the gang that ambushed the family of Robert and Dony was led by Jaison's brother Paulson, who wanted to exact revenge for attacking Jaison at the carnival. Paulson sends his men to attack Robert, Dony, and Xavier at the hospital, but the trio, along with Philip, Simi, and Antony, escape from the hospital in an ambulance.Paulson and the rest of the colony members chase after them. Robert, Dony, Xavier, and Antony finally defeat Paulson's men and incapacitate Paulson by breaking his spinal cord. During the celebration of Dony's daughter Sera's birthday, Robert, Dony, and Xavier learn that Paulson's sidekick Davis has been released from prison, where they meet and thrash him.

Cast
  • Shane Nigam as Robert, Philip and Kunjumol's younger son, a Bartender in Banglore
  • Antony Varghese as Dony, Philip and Kunjumol's elder son[11], a trained Boxer
  • Neeraj Madhav as Xavier, Antony's son and Robert and Dony's friend[12]
  • Lal as Philip, Robert and Dony's father, a Buisnessman
  • Babu Antony as Antony Aashaan alias Antony Master, Xavier's father and a karate trainer
  • Mahima Nambiar as Mini, Robert's ex-girlfriend and Ratheesh's wife
  • Aima Rosmy Sebastian as Simi, Dony's wife
  • Maala Parvathi as Kunjumol, Philip's wife and Robert and Dony's mother
  • Baiju as CI Roy Sebastian, Philip's brother-in-law
  • Nishanth Sagar as Davis
  • Sujith Shanker as Jaison, Paulson's elder brother
  • Vishnu Agasthya as Paulson
  • Sreejith B. Nair as Peter
  • Dineesh P. as Suni
  • Sandeep Raj as Seban
  • Midhun Venugopal as Faisal
  • Siraj as Ratheesh, Mini's husband
  • Arya Salim as Jancy, Jaison's wife
  • Harisankar Rajendran as Anas
  • Nahas Hidayath as an announcer at a cricket match

Production

Development

RDX: Robert Dony Xavier marks the debut of Nahas Hidayath as a director who was an assistant director in Godha (2017)[13] and had to shelve his first film, Aaravam, after a few days of shooting.[14] The film is produced by Sophia Paul under the banner Weekend Blockbusters.[15] The film was made on a budget of ₹8 crore. On the technical front, Rasheed Shabazz and Adarsh Sukumaran have penned the screenplay and dialogues for the film, while Sam C. S. has been hired as the music director and Manu Manjith has written the lyrics for the songs. Alex J. Pulickal was hired for the cinematography while Chamman Chacko handled the editing. Stunt choreographer duo Anbariv are hired to design the action sequences.[16]

Casting

Antony Varghese, Shane Nigam and Neeraj Madhav are cast in the lead roles, alongside other actors like Lal, Babu Antony, Mahima Nambiar, Aima Rosmy Sebastian, Maala Parvathi and Baiju. Lead actor Shane Nigam has found himself in the spotlight after he walked out of the set multiple times, interrupting the shoot.[17]

Filming

The makers had originally planned to begin filming in August 2022, but a four-month delay due to Antony Varghese's injury and unsuitable weather pushed them to start production in December 2022.[18][19] The principal photography began on 15 December 2022 in Kochi.[20][19] The shooting was wrapped up in four months, on 13 April 2023.[21][22] The film was shot at various locations in Kochi, with the principal events taking place during the Cochin Carnival.

Music
RDX
Soundtrack album by
Sam C. S.
Released2023 (2023)
Recorded2022–2023
GenreFilm soundtrack
LanguageMalayalam
LabelSaregama
Sam C. S. chronology
Nene Naa
(2023)		 RDX
(2023)		 Tamil Kudimagan
(2023)
Singles from RDX
  1. "Halaballo"
    Released: 26 July 2023
  2. "Scene Mone"
    Released: 17 August 2023

The soundtrack and background score were composed by Sam C. S, while the song lyrics were written by Manu Manjith. The audio rights were bagged by Saregama. The first single titled "Halaballoo" was released on 26 July 2023.[23] The second single titled "Scene Mone" was released on 17 August 2023.[24]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Halaballoo"Manu ManjithSam C. S.Benny Dayal, Ranjith K Govind, Naresh Iyer, Sam C. S.3:35
2."Neela Nilave"Manu ManjithSam C. S.Kapil Kapilan4:17
3."Scene Mone"Neeraj MadhavRzeeNeeraj Madhav3:33
4."RDX Theme"—Sam C. S.—0:52

Release

Theatrical

RDX: Robert Dony Xavier was theatrically released on 25 August 2023, coinciding with Onam.[25]

Home media

Netflix has acquired the post-theatrical digital rights and began streaming it on 24 September 2023 in Malayalam and in dubbed versions of Hindi, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu languages.[26][27]

Reception

Critical reception

RDX received positive reviews from critics.[28]

Anjana George of The Times of India gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Debutant Nahas Hidayat presents an enthralling entertainment for action movie fans. Screenwriters Adarsh Sukumaran and Shabas Rasheed expertly blend action and family drama, incorporating elements of romance, friendship, and family bonds. Action director Anbariv captures the film's essence, choreographing an exceptional fighting movie in Malayalam that leaves audiences invigorated."[29] Sanjith Sidhardhan of OTTplay gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Each of these sequences is mounted on a big scale or at least has a novel aspect to it, keeping the audience hooked. The makers of RDX made no other claims other than it's an action-packed film and they deliver on that promise. Don't go expecting anything else."[30]

Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "RDX serves as the gift that Malayalam audiences have longed for — a theatrical entertainment that matches the electrifying experiences found in other languages."[31] Vignesh Madhu of Cinema Express gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "RDX relies on such familiar moments to create a rousing experience. The film also smartly overcomes the redundancy in the fights by placing the action sequences in different locations—open grounds, a massive carnival field, passenger boat and a thickly populated colony."[32]

Princy Alexander of Onmanorama wrote "The stunts by Anbariv and Irfan Khan elevate the film's quality. Yet, it's the actors who deserve credit, having executed punches and kicks with finesse. In conclusion, the film will likely resonate more with audiences seeking a cinematic experience with high-octane and high-voltage fight sequences this Onam season."[33] S. R. Praveen of The Hindu wrote "RDX certainly lacks the technical flair or finesse of these films, but it makes up for it in having a bare-minimum story, which gives the audience the emotional need to root for the three, and in having some pulsating action sequences courtesy the action choreographer duo Anbariv."[34]

Box office

RDX was a commercial success at the box office, earning over ₹100 crore (US$13 million) worldwide,[5] with Kerala grossing over ₹50 crore (US$6.3 million).[35] The film grossed over ₹1 crore (US$130,000) on its first day.[36] Within three days of its release, it had grossed ₹13.80 crore (US$1.7 million) worldwide, with ₹7.70 crore (US$960,000) coming from Kerala and ₹6.10 crore (US$760,000) coming from overseas.[37] It earned around ₹30 crore (US$3.8 million) on its sixth day.[38] The film grossed ₹50 crore (US$6.3 million) at the box office within nine days, making it one of the quickest in Malayalam cinema.[39]

References
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  3. Saini, Narendra. "Another blockbuster has arrived from the South, this action film of Rs 8 crore collected Rs 65 crore at the box office". NDTV. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  4. Daily, Keralakaumudi. "Dream run: Rs 8 crore budget movie featuring youngsters crosses Rs 70 crore mark". Kerala Kaumudi. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
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