Athiradi

Basil and Tovino turn Athiradi into a fun riot

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. 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.

The Athiradi balloon is so transparent that the hollowness within is quite evident. Arun Anirudhan and his co-writer Paulson Skaria have tried to fill the gaps in the narrative with Gen-Z lingo, pop culture references, and the partial recreation of popular memes. Sadly, there were simply too many holes.