Basil Joseph unleashes his cringe ultra pro max version in "Athiradi" — and I mean this in a good way. Because anyone who has done their share of embarrassing things in their early 20s, mostly on account of them leading a sheltered existence for the longest time, will relate. Because their parents never let them have a proper social life, when they find themselves finally liberated in college, they don't know what to do. So, they end up doing so many things at the same time that they become one of the most uncool and boring characters among their peers.
Basil's Samkutty, or Sam Boy, is someone like that. But everyone matures at some point, and there comes a time when they'll laugh at the memory of their silly college-era shenanigans. Silly, because after a point, life throws at you much bigger challenges that make everything that came before seem smaller and insignificant in comparison.
"Athiradi", from first-time director Arun Anirudhan, shares some qualities with that much-celebrated superhero movie which he helped co-write, "Minnal Murali". It is, like that film, a 'heroic' origin story, but one where the 'hero' doesn't have any superpowers. The challenge and conflicts in front of him may seem smaller compared to what fictional and real 'superheroes' do, but in this particular world, it's a big deal — not just for Samkutty but for a lot of people associated with him. And being associated with him is something a lot of people initially didn't wish to do. It takes time.
Anirudhan, who wrote "Athiradi" with "Kaathal: The Core" co-writer Paulson Skaria, keeps Samkutty's goal rooted in simple family emotions. Though largely a laugh riot, the film is also a coming-of-age drama that opens with a shattering tragedy, one that creates long-term trauma for Samkutty's elder brother (the ever-reliable Vishnu Agasthya in his most moving role yet). That tragedy led to authorities putting a lid on an annual college fest. Samkutty, who is his brother's principal emotional support, now wants to bring the fest back. But how does an unpopular new kid on the block do it?
Along the way, "Athiradi" makes it clear that reviving the fest seems a smaller challenge when a local thug-turned-reformed singer, Sreekuttan Vellayani, who is running his own concert in the neighbourhood, gets in the way. The man who played the superhero in "Minnal Murali" becomes the arch-nemesis of the hero in "Athiradi". There have been many attempts to get Tovino Thomas to play a larger-than-life character, but only a few directors have had a good understanding of where it becomes overkill.
After the extremely disappointing "Pallichattambi", it's a relief to see Tovino playing a gold-hearted thug of a relatively more manageable and tolerable (for us) temperament in "Athiradi" despite going loud at times with his performance. I felt the preceding build-up to Sreekuttan’s true personality was slightly diluted since we already know he is a devoted family man, and we begin to sense that he cannot be as ruthless as everyone makes him out to be.
That said, a small measure of giddy excitement is to be found in the anticipation of him making things difficult for Basil and gang. In essence, the 'interval' moment of "Athiradi". It may seem like the team is going for an Aavesham-ification with Sreekuttan, but that Fahadh Faasil blockbuster is not the first film to venture into this territory. It goes way back to Mammootty's iconic 1990 film "Kottayam Kunjachan". Even Anirudhan worked on a similar film long before "Aavesham" — the 2018 action-comedy "Padayottam", where Biju Menon essayed a likeable Thiruvananthapuram-based gangster, and Basil played a central character. In fact, “Padayottam” was the first film that, to me, demonstrated Basil’s potential leading man capabilities.
Thankfully, the loudness here is played for laughs, particularly in the scenes involving Vineeth Sreenivasan, who plays... Vineeth Sreenivasan... and Shaan Rahman as himself (he is one of the film's most delightful surprises). I'm not going to tell you how the gangster ends up in the same room as a celebrity. It's this idea that plumbs the most fun out of "Athiradi". Just like Basil, even the celebrities who show up as themselves are playing the cinematic, louder versions of who they actually are in real life. (Anyone who has met Vineeth and Shaan in person will tell you that they are nothing like their characters in this film.)
I have to say this, though. It takes some patience to get over not just Basil's deliberately over-the-top, cringe-inducing pre-interval persona, but also some of the content creators who are made to do the same thing repeatedly. And when it happens to be someone whose content you always try to ignore/mute whenever you see it on social media, it's quite a challenge to see their face on a LARGE screen, interrupting the film’s tempo. It has the effect of someone blocking the screen when a beautiful spectacle is underway. I don't have a problem with the over-the-top humour or action, provided there's a bit of restraint.
There are two content creators, though, whose presence enhanced the film. One of them, who was the lead actor of a recent Malayalam blockbuster, brought the house down in an unexpected cameo. The other is brought in for a crucial crisis-control situation. These two are sensible creative choices. I'm glad that Anirudhan and team didn't call more content creators, because they would've ended up being unnecessary distractions.
And as pleasing as Riya Shibu's presence is, I wish her character, Swati, had more depth. While the choice to create a sense of ambiguity around Swati's character with Samkutty was smart, one cannot help but feel that she existed merely to make Samkutty look cooler.
Given the number of actors and the number of extras involved, "Athiradi" gives off the vibe of a festival entertainer, and it would've been an ideal choice for an Onam or Vishu release. The film is built on two pivotal events, one a disaster and the other a near-disaster. So, if anyone enters the movie late, they wouldn't get the full emotional impact of Samkuttutty. There were a few people in the theatre I was in who missed the opening tragic event, and then later behaved as though something was wrong with the film. No, it's your fault for coming in late.
In terms of its overall energy, it comes close to "Thallumala" even though it doesn't come close to its visual wizardry and inventiveness. Shot by Samuel Henry, "Athiradi" benefits from editor Chaman Chakko's skillful editing that, in a particularly tense third-act situation, employs cross-cutting to amplify the chaos.
In terms of the character arcs, there's a clear, coherent line. Everything that happens in the film makes sense, if not always tolerable. For instance, when Zarin Shihab, who plays Tovino's wife (in a stereotype-breaking role), says she got a pedicure, it seems unnecessary at first, but, considering what happens later, we begin to see the darkly comical aspect of it. Or when one of the senior college authorities mentions, during an early scene, this "pattern" in Samkutty's family, where the men seem like losers initially, but have reformed themselves later, and you begin to see how the film's writing choices stay true to that information.
Regardless of its shortcomings, “Athiradi” cannot be accused of not staying true to its protagonist’s journey. And that counts for something for a viewer like me.
Film: Athiradi
Director: Arun Anirudhan
Cast: Basil Joseph, Tovino Thomas, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Riya Shibu, Shaan Rahman, Vishnu Agasthya
Rating: 3.5/5