Athiradi (2026): Tovino Thomas Is lifts key stretches, not the full runtime

The reopening of Arohan, a college festival shut down after a deadly stampede, arrives with the force of a dam breaking. Samkutty (Tovino Thomas) steps into BCET College with one mission, and the crowd-surge sequences that follow are pure spectacle, loud, bright, and engineered to make you forget the weight of what happened before.

This is a film that knows exactly what it is. Whether that is enough depends entirely on how much you value energy over coherence.

Tovino Thomas Is the Engine That Keeps Athiradi Running

Thomas carries this film the way the festival carries its crowd, with instinctive, magnetic ease. His Samkutty is the anchor in every chaotic frame, and several reviews noted that his performance was the main reason the film worked at all.

He moves through the campus-heavy sequences with a physical confidence that sells the film’s momentum. Without him, the spectacle would likely collapse under its own noise.

Arun Anirudhan’s Direction Masters Chaos but Misses Logic

Anirudhan controls crowd energy with a steady hand, and the festive tone rarely slips into tonal confusion. The self-awareness in how the film handles its own madness is a genuine strength.

But the screenplay is a linear, functional setup that prioritises spectacle over structure. The sections where style and crowd-pleasing momentum are pushed ahead of story logic are exactly where the film starts to wobble.

The Festival Sequences Are the Genre Showcase

The action-comedy core here is built on group scenes and public chaos, not on choreographed fights or setpieces. The festival revival functions as the film’s main genre engine, with the crowd itself becoming the co-star.

Cinematography leans into bright, energetic campus visuals with crowd-heavy framing that supports the chaos. The background score, though under-documented, clearly works to amplify the festive, chaotic tone.

The escalation happens through event staging rather than procedural drama. That choice keeps the film moving, but it also means the conflict never gains real narrative weight.

An Ensemble That Signals Intent More Than Depth

Basil Joseph, who also produces, is positioned right at the centre of the campus-energy dynamic. His casting signals a commitment to the chaotic tone, even if specific scene-level observations are thin in the coverage.

Vineeth Sreenivasan, Riya Shibu, and Zarin Shihab round out a principal cast that clearly aims for mass-friendly appeal. Their presence suggests the film’s priority is vibe and collective energy rather than individual character arcs.

Box Office Verdict: A Hit Built on Crowd Appeal

The film opened with an India net of 5.55 crore and a worldwide gross of 10.54 crore, as reported by The Week on May 15. By the first week, India net collections climbed to 28.15 crore per Koimoi, against a stated budget of around 30 crore.

Trade coverage from Sacnilk confirmed the film crossed its budget and reached break-even quickly, earning a “Hit” verdict. The numbers tell the same story as the reviews, this is a film that found its audience despite, or perhaps because of, its structural looseness.

Cinema Express captured the consensus well, saying the film “clicks as a fun, self-aware entertainer packed with festive energy” despite prioritising vibe over substance. India Today noted the straightforward premise of a student reviving a banned festival after a stampede, while Onmanorama observed that the film “rides high on chaos, and goes beyond the campus.”

If you want a tightly written drama about campus politics, this is not the film for you. But if you want to watch a star hold a crowd in his palm for two hours, Athiradi delivers exactly that, loud, proud, and unapologetically shallow.

I would argue the film’s self-awareness saves it from being a total washout, but only just.

Go in with low expectations for plot and high tolerance for noise, and you will leave entertained. Watch it in a packed hall, because the crowd energy is half the experience.

Athiradi is a chaotic, crowd-pleasing hit that earns a 3 out of 5 for sheer entertainment value, even as its screenplay begs for more discipline.

For more Malayalam action reviews, browse our full coverage of the latest releases.

If you enjoyed Tovino Thomas’s energy here, you might also appreciate how another star anchors a film in Karuppu.

And for a contrasting take on performance-led storytelling, Dridam offers a different kind of restraint.

Readers looking for more malayalam drama reviews can explore them on HDHub.