Tovino Thomas storms into Athiradi like a one-man festival riot, turning this colourful campus entertainer into a loud, chaotic and mostly enjoyable ego clash, observes Sreeju Sudhakaran.
Key Points
- Basil Joseph debuts as a producer with Athiradi, a film directed by Arun Anirudhan.
- The movie is a campus entertainer driven by the conflict between Samkutty (Basil Joseph) and Thotta Kuttan (Tovino Thomas).
- Tovino Thomas delivers a standout performance as the egotistic antagonist with a tough act and dialogue delivery.
It has taken some time, but actor-director Basil Joseph has finally donned the much-expected new hat of producer with Athiradi. Marking Arun Anirudhan’s directorial debut, Athiradi begins as a breezy campus entertainer before gradually embracing a larger mass-movie energy with the arrival of its outsider antagonist.
The film eventually transforms into a clash of egos between its two central characters, a familiar terrain Malayalam cinema has explored memorably through films like Ayyappanum Koshiyum, Driving Licence, Thallumaala, Ponman et al.
Athiradi may not possess the storytelling heft of Ayyappanum Koshiyum or Ponman nor the technical jazziness of Thallumaala, but it remains a colourful, energetic entertainer powered significantly by spirited performances from Basil Joseph and especially Tovino Thomas.
What’s Athiradi About?
The story unfolds at an engineering college in Thiruvananthapuram called BCET, where Samkutty (Basil Joseph) joins as a civil engineering student. The college once hosted a popular fest called Arohan, which was discontinued years earlier after a tragic mishap.
Determined to impress fellow student Arathy (Riya Shibu), Samkutty decides to revive the fest at any cost, and by his third year, he even manages to secure official approval.
But in trying to promote the event on a grand scale, the students end up clashing with the organisers of a nearby temple festival led by former goonda Thotta Kuttan (Tovino Thomas). Kuttan’s pride takes a severe hit after the confrontation, and he becomes hell-bent on ensuring the college fest collapses no matter what.
Tovino Thomas Steals the Show
Nearly two-thirds of the first half unfolds in a light and playful fashion, driven by Samkutty’s failed attempts to woo Arathy and his more successful efforts to revive the fest.
The film delivers several amusing one-liners during these stretches, while Basil injects the proceedings with an infectious youthful energy. The campus portions are mounted vibrantly, becoming even more visually lively as the festival approaches.
Athiradi truly comes alive the moment the man responsible for the central conflict arrives. With Kuttan’s entry, the film suddenly finds its pulse.
As Thotta Kuttan, Tovino Thomas is a blast. Though he enters relatively late, he immediately dominates the screen with sheer presence. Between the character’s eccentric look, his obsession with singing, and Tovino effortlessly nailing the Thiruvananthapuram slang, you are instantly drawn to this simmering volcano of a man waiting to erupt.
And when he finally does, the explosion is spectacular.
This is also where Arun Anirudhan’s command over the narrative begins to stand out. He already hints at his ability to orchestrate chaos in the opening sequence involving the ill-fated fest, but he sharpens that strength considerably during the sequence that escalates tensions between Samkutty and Kuttan’s groups through a neatly constructed domino effect.
The entire stretch is packed with comic flourishes, including the hilarious ‘face-off’ between two effigies, while the mounting chaos is staged with impressive rhythm. The hospital sequence, which awakens the goonda instincts within Kuttan, allows Tovino to excel through restraint before unleashing full-blown mayhem in the following scene where he storms into Samkutty’s college with his gang.
The Uneven Tempo of the Second Half
The conflict sets up an entertaining second half, drawing clear battle lines between Samkutty the underdog and Kuttan the unstoppable force.
The latter half further builds on that momentum with Vineeth Sreenivasan and Shaan Rahman appearing as fictionalised versions of themselves. While Vineeth is expectedly funny, it is Shaan Rahman who emerges as the surprise package with his comic timing.
The entire stretch set inside Kuttan’s house is uproarious, with Tovino, Shaan and Vineeth bouncing off one another brilliantly.
In fact, I almost wished for a separate film entirely about a desperate temple festival organiser kidnapping celebrities just to salvage his prestige and festival reputation. Not that I am complaining when the film eventually shifts back to the college-fest drama.
Unfortunately, this is also where Athiradi begins slipping on the smooth slope it had built for itself. The humour works so effectively for large stretches that the sudden shift towards melodrama feels uneven.
Samkutty’s emotional stakes never land with the impact they should because the screenplay appears uncertain about his motivations.
Is he reviving the fest merely to impress Arathy, or is he trying to pull his elder brother (Vishnu Agasthya) out of a guilt-ridden emotional slump?
The latter angle carries stronger emotional weight, but the film never develops it with enough clarity or depth. Although Athiradi includes scenes involving Samkutty’s family, the emotional arc lacks the coherence needed to truly resonate. More camaraderie between Samkutty and his brother would have strengthened those portions considerably.
Thankfully, the film continues to pepper even its dramatic stretches with humour, preventing the proceedings from becoming dull. Samkutty’s payback mission and his desperate attempts to save the fest contain several entertaining moments, although portions do feel stretched and less sharp than the excellent middle act.
There is also a cameo from a young star who recently headlined a major hit, but the appearance exists largely to provoke whistles and applause rather than contribute meaningfully to the narrative. You keep getting this feeling that the movie is packing a bit too much here than needed.
Still, Arun keeps the third act engaging through cleverly structured payoffs to smaller moments seeded earlier in the screenplay.
Some are genuinely surprising, particularly one involving ‘concrete’, while others cleverly subvert expectations.
By the time the film arrives at a major payoff involving Vineeth Sreenivasan, however, the payoff there becomes predictable simply because the screenplay has conditioned you to expect that one there. Fortunately, the visually vibrant manner in which the finale is staged ensures you have not much to complain about.
The Performances Etc
A huge contributor to the film’s entertaining vibe is Chaman Chakko’s stylish editing, whose snappy cuts sync beautifully with the movie’s restless energy, especially during scenes requiring escalating chaos.
Samuel Henry’s cinematography also captures the vibrancy of campus life and adjoining temple festivities with considerable flair.
As for the performances, Basil Joseph is, borrowing a phrase from the film itself, on full ‘patti show‘ mode, and I mean that as a compliment. It is an intentionally flashy performance, somewhat in the vein of his turn in Maranamass, and he captures Samkutty’s restless enthusiasm effectively.
He particularly shines in the scene where he explains his fascination with civil engineering, aided by delightfully quirky sound effects, and later when he finally gathers the courage to confess his feelings to Arathy.
That said, Basil inevitably gets overshadowed once Tovino Thomas fully takes control of the film, and honestly, I do not think Basil would mind that at all.
Comparisons may be drawn between Tovino’s performance and Biju Menon’s work in Ayyappanum Koshiyum or Fahadh Faasil’s turn in Aavesham, which also receives a playful nod here, but Tovino still manages to make Thotta Kuttan entirely his own creation within the defined parameters.
Riya Shibu is likeable in her second film, even if the role does not offer the same spotlight-grabbing opportunities she enjoyed in Sarvam Maya.
I also wished to the film had more space to give Zarin Shihab, who is excellent in her limited screen time as Kuttan’s wife.
Shelvin James impresses as Samkutty’s best friend Purushan, while Vishnu Agasthya leaves a mark during the emotional breakdown scene with his younger brother. Jeo Baby, meanwhile, enjoys some amusing moments as the local SI caught in the middle of the escalating chaos.
In the end, Athiradi has some unignorable imperfections, but its lively staging, entertaining humour and uninhibited performances from Basil Joseph and Tovino Thomas ensure the film remains a crowd-pleasing ride for most of its runtime.
Athiradi Review Rediff Rating:
