Ezra

<p>After the death of the last in , an antique seller steals from his house. Among the looted item is a strange box with Jewish inscriptions. At night, an unseen force from the box mauls and kills a worker in the shop. Shafeer Ahammed ( ) is assigned the case but has no lead. Ranjan Mathew ( ), a specialist based in , is transferred to with his wife Priya Raghuram ( ). Being both a and a , Priya finds it hard to adjust to the shift of environment. On a , Priya buys the strange box from the antique shop. After she opens it, paranormal experiences begin. After settling in, Ranjan invites Father Samuel ( ), who looked after him as an orphan, to his house. Seeing the box, Samuel informs Ranjan that it is a box. Ranjan consults David Benyamin ( ) in Mumbai. Rabbi Benyamin tells Ranjan that the Dybbuk only possesses people with or children under 3 years, and whoever exorcises the Dybbuk becomes its worst enemy. The next day, Rabbi Benyamin dies. Ranjan learns that Priya is pregnant and realizes his child will be possessed by the dybbuk. Ranjan requests Rabbi Benyamin’s son, Marques ( ) for help. Marques arrives in Kochi and learns the Dybbuk’s name is Abraham Ezra, which is written on the box in Hebrew. Ranjan and Marques contacts Joshua Yehudi, a former friend of Rabbi Benyamin. He gives them a book detailing the story of Abraham Ezra in 1941 in . In a flashback, during his visits to , a rich boy named Abraham Ezra ( ) and a poor girl Rosy (Ann Sheetal) fall in love. Rosy becomes pregnant with his son, but hides it from everyone. Ezra’s father Yakoob Ezra refuses to let him marry Rosy because of their difference in statuses and beliefs. Months later, a depressed Ezra reluctantly writes to Rosy telling her to end the relationship. Rosy commits suicide in heartbreak. Finding Ezra’s letter, Rosy’s father along with the villagers confronts the father-son duo. In the ensuing scrimmage, Rosy’s father is killed and Ezra is declared by the doctors. An enraged Yakoob decides to take revenge on the town using . He euthanizes and puts his Ezra’s soul into a Dybbuk box. A wooden is buried in Ezra’s place, while his real body is dumped into the sea by Yakoob. The Dybbuk box eventually finds its way to Ranjan. Marques and Samuel take Shafeer into confidence. After digging up Ezra’s grave and finding the mannequin, they believe Abraham Ezra’s story is true. Later, it is revealed that it is not Priya, but Ranjan who has now been possessed by the spirit. Ranjan, as an orphan, had mental problems, and is vulnerable to the Dybbuk. The spirit, the group surmises, understands the meaning of Ranjan’s job of handling nuclear waste, and plans to control him to destroy the city. Marques, using rituals to exorcise Ranjan, sends the dybbuk back into the box. Marques and Shafeer throw the box into the ocean, like Ezra’s body years ago. Priya gives birth to a healthy baby and she and Ranjan share the news with Marques. In a , the box is found by two young men along the seashore. They carry it away, planning to open it. In February 2016, Jay K, who was an associate director to , announced that he will make his directorial debut through a film called Ezra. It was announced that the film will be a horror thriller involving a love story and will explore the history of in . Jay K said that the film is not made to frighten the spectators, but has a strong plot. He also confirmed that the film will be dubbed in and languages. Mukesh R. Mehta, C. V. Sarathy and A. V. Anoop produce the film under the banner of E4 Entertainment and AVA Productions. and were roped in for the music and cinematography respectively. But both of them left the project for reasons unknown. While Tirru left in the early stage of production, Rahul Raj left after giving the song . The international distribution of was overseen by Josemon Simon. The film grossed 1.6 crore in the opening day and 2.5 crore on second day from Kerala box office. It grossed 15.02 crore in its first week from Kerala . The film grossed around 40 from Kerala box office. It grossed 50 from worldwide box office. K R Rajeesh of nowrunning has given a 3.5/5 and praised it for the extensive paranormal research and visuals. Indian Express rated it at 3/5. Ezra not only tries to frighten the audience but it has got an extraordinary storyline, too.<br /> It also tells the history of the Jews who once lived in Kerala. The remarkable flashback stays as a feeling of sorrow in the audience. It describes how the caste system and discrimination of the society spoils the relationships between people. was signed as the composer of the film. He composed the song and left the project for reasons unknown. , who had worked in was then selected to compose the background score in addition to two songs (“Thambiran” & “Irul Neelum”). The song became a smash hit, prompting several cover versions, including one by Rahul Raj himself. An album containing the for the film was released separately by in 2017. In April 2019, it was officially confirmed that the remake of the film has been commissioned by the production company and has signed to star in the lead role. Jay K. was signed to direct the remake as well. The film started shooting in on 18 July 2019. The film titled as premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 29 October 2021.</p>