Athiradi (2026 film)
2026 Indian film by Arun Anirudhan
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Athiradi (trans. Strike) is a 2026 Indian Malayalam-language action comedy film written and directed by Arun Anirudhan and produced by Basil Joseph and Ananthu S. The film features Tovino Thomas, Basil Joseph, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Riya Shibu and Zarin Shihab.[3][4]
Paulson Skaria
Ananthu S.
Basil Joseph
Vineeth Sreenivasan
Riya Shibu
Zarin Shihab
| Athiradi | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Arun Anirudhan |
| Written by | Arun Anirudhan Paulson Skaria |
| Produced by | Basil Joseph Ananthu S. |
| Starring | Tovino Thomas Basil Joseph Vineeth Sreenivasan Riya Shibu Zarin Shihab |
| Cinematography | Samuel Henry |
| Edited by | Chaman Chacko |
| Music by | Vishnu Vijay |
Production companies | Basil Joseph Entertainment Dr. Ananthu Entertainments |
Release date |
|
Running time | 157 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Budget | ₹30 crore[1] |
| Box office | est. ₹71 crore[2] |
Plot
Few years back, 2 BCET students Joseph Oommen and Merin are conducting the Aarohan Fest as coordinators. The fest ended up in a tragedy after Merin got killed in a stampede. The tragedy was caused by the juniors who entered the hall after Joseph opened the gates. The incident made Joseph get depressed and he left the college.
Years later, Samkutty aka 'Sam Boy', the younger brother of Joseph joined the college. As a part of impressing his crush Swathi R. Krishna, he decided to restart the event. As the coordinator of the event, he succeeded in making Vineeth Sreenivasan approve to perform in their college which increased the hype of the event.
During the car stunt as a part of the fest, the students blocked the path of local temple circumambulation, leading to a chaos causing Sreekuttan Vellayani, a retired goon and an aspiring singer being humiliated by the students who beat him. Being humiliated, he created chaos in the event by removing the head of a robot and also kidnapping Vineeth Sreenivasan along with Shaan Rahman, who accompanied him.
Sreekuttan after kidnapping Vineeth and Shaan decided to arrange a concert with him in his temple avenging Samkutty. Samkutty being helpless in rescuing Vineeth, initially masked the kidnapping from the students, but was exposed by Sreekuttan who welcomed the students to the concert in the temple.
Samkutty manages to find the hideout of Sreekuttan who with the help of his friends rescued Vineeth and Shaan and succeeded in bringing them in the stage. Sreekuttan became relaxed after hearing Vineeth singing the song which he composed in memory of his mother, for which he created all the chaos. The event also witnessed the reunion of Joseph with his college and the unveiling of magazine which was failed due to Merin's death years back. Samkutty is celebrated in the event after successfully conducting the event and the college rejoicing in the event.
The film ends with Kuttan calling Vineeth and debuts his composition in the temple festival.
Cast
- Tovino Thomas as Sreekuttan "Kuttan" Vellayani / "Thotta Kuttan"
- Basil Joseph as Samkutty "Sam Boy" Oommen
- Vineeth Sreenivasan as a fictionalized version of himself
- Riya Shibu as Swathy R. Krishna, Samkutty’s love interest
- Zarin Shihab as Varada, Kuttan's wife
- Shaan Rahman as a fictionalized version of himself
- Vishnu Agasthya as Joseph "Joppan" Oommen
- P. Sukumar as Oommen "Chachan", Samkutty's and Joseph's father
- Shelvin James as Prashanth "Parashu", Samkutty's friend
- Arsha Jayaram as RJ Elizabeth
- Shersha Sherief as Vivi "Alpha Male"
- Tiss Thomas as Bosco, Samkutty's friend and his junior
- Jeo Baby as SI Manichan
- Vineeth Thattil David as Fr. Paul Markose, Bursar of BCET College
- Reena Indrayani as Vivi's mother
- Niyas Backer as Sabu
- Shivam Gupta as Ozin, Samkutty's friend
- Hariharan as Charlie, Samkutty's friend
- Suryanarayanan as Anto, Samkutty's friend
- Yadhukrishnan as Marley, Samkutty's friend
- Aaryan
- Sarath Vedi
- Sonu Surendran
- Ganga Meera as Dr. Lovely Mathew, Principal of BCET College
- Rini.K.Rajan
- Nirupama Thomas
- Divya AB as Tanvi
- Abin John
- Rajkumar R
- Aravind SK as Shambhu, Joppan's colleague
- Aromal Devaraj
- Athul Singh as Vivi's friend
- Kannan Nayar as CPO Saji
- Santhivila Dinesh as Sanal Kumar
- Mahesh Kunjumon as Varkala Sudheesh
- Annmiya Antony as Kuttan's daughter
- Sivadas Kannur as Jayaraj, Professor of BCET College
- Nithin Parameswar
- Kiran Peethambaran as Merin's father
- Aswathy Chandra Kishor
- Manoj Guinness as Master Agnivesh's father
Cameo Appearances
- Benjamin P. Joby as Master Agnivesh
- Darshana Rajendran as Merin, Joppan's love interest
- Devan as himself
- Hashir H as Dennichan
- Annam Johnpaul as Kuttan's mother in this song "Ammaputhappe"
- Sangeeth Prathap as Student (Voiceover)
Music
| Athiradi | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 14 May 2026 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 4:55 | |||
| Language | Malayalam | |||
| Label | Saregama | |||
| Vishnu Vijay chronology | ||||
| ||||
The music and background scores of the movie were composed by Vishnu Vijay. The first single of the movie, "IFYKYK", was released on 28 April 2026.[5] The second single, "Patti Show" was released on 4 May 2026.[6]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "IYKYK" | Suhail Koya | Fejo, Poornima Kannan | 2:23 |
| 2. | "Patti Show" | Suhail Koya, Arivu | Dabzee, Arivu, Suhail Koya | 2:32 |
| 3. | "Mic Check" | Suhail Koya | Suhail Koya | 2:03 |
| 4. | "Ammaputhappe" | Suhail Koya | Vineeth Sreenivasan, Vishnu Vijay | 4:20 |
| Total length: | 11:18 | |||
Release
Theatrical Release
The film had a paid premiere on 13 May, a day before its release.[7][8] The film was released on theatres on 14 May 2026.[9] The film received a clean U certificate from the CBFC[10]
Home Media
The post-theatrical streaming rights were acquired by SonyLIV. The film premiered via SonyLIV on 19 June 2026.
Reception
The movie received mixed to positive responses from the critics. Anjana George of The Times of India gave 4 on 5 rating for the movie and wrote that, despite its familiar setup, Athiradi turns out to be one of the most enjoyable entertainers in recent time - a colourful, laughter filled celebration of youth, friendship dreams and second chances.[11] Maruti Acharya of India Today rates 3.5 on 5 for the movie and wrote that, Athiradi is messy in parts and stretched in others, but it never feels dishonest. The friendships work, the humour lands more often than not, and the emotional core involving the brothers gives the film its heart.[12]
Nainu Oommen of The Hindu opined that, the movie is a fun watch, which does not take itself too seriously. The film that recreates the vibes of a loud, energetic college fete, consistently makes you laugh, if you catch the references.[13] Vignesh Madhu of The New Indian Express wrote that Athiradi is one of those films that does not warrant a lot of digging, but just vibing along.[14] Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express gave 2 on 5-star rating for the movie and wrote that, this action comedy is weighed down by a hollow narrative, forced Gen-Z stereotypes, a meme-heavy script, and contrast between its ambitious setup and lack of emotional depth.[15]
The film became a hit in the box office collecting 71 Crore INR worldwide