After taking the theaters by storm in South India, the Malayali movie Rifle Club was released on Netflix on January 16, 2025. Directed by Aashiq Abu, Rifle Club has made its way into the most-watched movies of the week on Netflix. Rifle Club is a crime thriller set in the backdrop of 1991 that revolves around Mangalore-based gangster Dayanand Bhare and Shajahan who is an actor preparing for a hunter role in the film Vetamrugam. Rifle Club also features rapper Hanumankind in the leading role. Since, the movie makes real-life references to Mrugaya, Mammootty, and Sultan Bathery, many fans are digging deep into Rifle Club Real Story or Rifle Club True Story. Below is everything you need to know about Rifle Club Real Story or Rifle Club True Story-
Is there a real Rifle Club in Wayanad's Sultan Bathery?
The answer is no. Rifle Club is a fictional story about a family of gun enthusiasts who run a rifle club in Kerala in 1991. The confusion around Rifle Club real story emerges as the characters mention Wayanad's real-life Sultan Bathery aka Sultan Battery.
While actor Shahjahan was on his way to Rifle Club, one of the characters explains, "This club in Wayanad used to be a British Palace. During Tipu Sultan's invasion, he drove the British out and took it over. He locked their guns, weapons, and other stuff in the vault. The palace became an armory for Tipu Sultan for a while. After Tipu Sultan fell, some migrating Christians took over the palace. Now, they rule that place. That's how the place came to be known as 'Sultan Bathery' or Sultan's Battery."
Shahjahan decides to go to Sultan Battery, especially at the Rifle Club so that he can use the experience from there i.e. method acting in one of his movies. The movie showcases Shahjahan wants to shed his romantic image and do a film that involves shooting and hunting. It is because hinting and shooting were the trend in the early 1990s after the release of Mrigaya. Tailing him into the club is a couple, close to the superstar, who has rubbed a much-feared Mangalore-based arms dealer Dayanand (Anurag Kashyap) the wrong way.
Where is real-life Sultan Bathery?
Sultan Bathery aka Sultan Battery is in Wayanad, Kerala. As per the information available on real life Sultan Bathery, during the invasion of Malabar by Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan, the town was used by the Mysore army as the storeroom or battery for its ammunition and used a 13th-century Ganapathi Temple located here as a battery. It means the makers have mentioned real-life story about Sultan Bathery.
Rifle Club Characters Guide: Who plays what?
Rifle Club features Dileesh Pothan as Avaran Skaria, Anurag Kashyap as Dayanand Bare, Vijayaraghavan as Kuzhiveli Lonappan, Vani Viswanath as Ittiyanam, Hanumankind as Bheera Bare, Vineeth Kumar as Shajahan, Suresh Krishna as Dr. Lazar and more in the leading roles.