Latest news with #Malayalam-language
Pink Villa
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Azadi OTT release: When and where to watch Sreenath Bhasi starrer action thriller in Malayalam, Tamil
Azadi, starring Sreenath Bhasi in the lead role, hit the big screens on May 23, 2025. As the Malayalam-language movie has completed a month since its theatrical release, it is now available for streaming on OTT. If you're planning to watch the action thriller, here are the streaming details about it. When and where to watch Azadi Azadi is now available for streaming on the OTT platform ManoramaMAX, starting from June 27, 2025. The original Malayalam version will be available on the mentioned streaming space, while its Tamil dub is streaming on SunNXT. The official update about the Malayalam version was shared by ManoramaMAX on Instagram. On the other hand, SunNXT shared the announcement of the Tamil version through their handle. Here are the official updates for the Azadi OTT release Official trailer and plot of Azadi Azadi features the tale of Ganga, a pregnant woman who is accused of murdering a political leader's son. While serving her sentence, the woman is moved to Kottayam Medical College to deliver her baby. However, to help her escape the prison confines, her husband, Raghu, devises a 24-hour-long plan to free her with the help of a network of insiders. Although the plan seemed to be going well, their past catches up, with former adversaries resurfacing. How Raghu and Ganga manage to escape from the hospital, overcoming every challenge that comes their way, forms the entire story. Cast and crew of Azadi Azadi features Manjummel Boys fame Sreenath Bhasi in the lead role. Apart from him, the movie features an ensemble cast of actors, including Love Today fame Raveena Ravi, Lal, Vani Viswanath, Saiju Kurup, Vijayakumar, Maala Parvathi, Gilu Joseph, Abhiram Radhakrishnan, and many more in key roles. The movie is directed by debutant Jo George, based on a story and screenplay by Sagar. Azadi was bankrolled by Faizal Raja with Varun Unni handling the musical tracks and background scores. The film's cinematography is crafted under the expertise of Saneesh Stanly with Noufal Abdulla editing it. Coming to Sreenath's work front, the actor has a lineup of movies like Unlock, Dhuniyavinte Orattathu, Namukku Kodathiyil Kaanamm, and more.
Pink Villa
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Kerala Crime Files 2 Ending Explained: Who was responsible for Ambili Raju's disappearance in Aju Varghese starrer web series?
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers. Kerala Crime Files is a Malayalam-language crime drama web series that is available for streaming on JioHotstar. The first season of the show, titled Kerala Crime Files - Shiju, Parayil Veedu, Neendakara, was released on June 23, 2023. Nearly 2 years after the 1st season, the second season of the series titled Kerala Crime Files 2 - The Search for CPO Ambili Raju is here. The subsequent season began streaming on the OTT platform from June 20, 2025. Kerala Crime Files 2 features the tale of SI Noble, a newly assigned police officer who is assigned to a remote police station in rural Thiruvananthapuram. Accompanied by Officer Kurian Avaran and the team, the SI comes across a mysterious case. In a turn of events, Civil Police Officer (CPO) Ambili Raju goes missing shortly after being transferred. The policeman is known for having suspicious ties with questionable people. As the investigation intensifies, SI Noble and the rest of the team realize how CPO Ambili had quite a reputation among the people. While being noted to have a personality with integrity, the man is known to be dominant and makes people he helps feel indebted towards him. Owing to his ties with criminals, he is linked to a criminal case with the Bengaluru police demanding a bribe of Rs 20 lakh from him to remove his name. In hopes of finding the money, Ambili and a criminal, Ayyappan, try to procure an antique ring. However, things take a turn when a dog called Terry accidentally swallows it. Now, Ambili and Ayyappan need to end the dog's life and take out the ring from its body. Despite the latter's hesitation, they do it, but soon, both of them go missing. Spoiler Alert As SI Noble, along with the rest of the team, investigates the case, they find out that Jaismon, the son of a petty thief, was responsible for Ambili and Ayyappan gone missing. Soon, we are shown that Jaismon was a dog trainer who had an immense love for dogs. The man had planned to adopt Terry from the shelter, but before he could, Ambili and Ayyappan ended the dog's life. After learning the truth, Jaismon kills them both and feeds their lifeless bodies to stray dogs.
Pink Villa
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Prince and Family Movie Review: Dileep starrer is a mismanaged exploration of finding love but fails miserably
Prince and Family is a Malayalam-language comedy drama starring Dileep in the lead role, which was released in theaters on May 9, 2025. Following the theatrical release, the film is available for streaming on ZEE5. The Binto Stephen directorial is penned by Sharis Mohammed, and if you're planning to watch it, here's the Pinkvilla review. The Plot Prince and Family features the story of Prince Chakkalakkal, the eldest in his family, who is an introverted boutique owner. Raised in a small rural town in Kerala, he is considered the most eligible bachelor, but he cannot find 'The One' meant for him. As the man tries to balance his happiness and family expectations, the film focuses on him exploring love. The Good Prince and Family is a seemingly better film among recent duds featuring Dileep in the lead. The movie offers a stereotypical template of a slice-of-life drama coupled with humor and drama. As the film manages to uphold the integrity in terms of balancing humor and chaos, the movie keeps hold of its path for most of the time. While in terms of acting, performers like Dileep, Siddique, Bindu Panicker, and even Dhyan Sreenivasan manage to keep their charm, while it may be let down by the subpar writing. From a technical standpoint, the film does not manage to click with a refreshing tone, but the music by Sanal Dev is commendable, with some melodious compositions. The Bad Prince and Family is best labelled as a cinematic venture aimed at creating an 'average' cash grab for its own sake. The movie, which marks Dileep's 150th cinematic venture since his debut, heavily relies on the actor's emotional value amongst the audience. From the title card, the film seeks to remind the audience who the actor is and how relevant he is to the pop culture of Malayalam cinema. While it is undeniable that the actor is an irreplaceable part of cinema amongst Malayalis, it reaches a saturation point where one must feel, enough is enough. Apart from the spoonfeeding of nostalgia and the amateur attempt to trigger the connection the audience has towards the actor, the film fails to become a comedy drama from its writing. While including Jana Gana Mana fame Sharis Mohammed as the writer was expected to create some awe, many would forget that the characters are not being played by Prithviraj Sukumaran or Suraj Venjaramoodu. The inability of the characters to pull off the dialogue can suffocate the audience to a point where it is difficult to sit through without letting out a deep sigh. What makes the narrative of Prince and Family sheepish is the unnecessary whitewashing of the main lead's image in real life. The interaction between Prince and one of his friends during a particular scene feels like an unofficial PR strategy for the actor. Often claimed as the victim of the 'media trial' by his fans, the character and the movie as a whole seem to be a crash course for the audience to remember who Dileep was over the past years. The Performances Talking about the performances depicted by actors, Dileep manages to play a solid role. However, there are points where one feels like the actor has lost his natural charm, which he was once famous for. On the other hand, Dhyan and Siddique manage to hold up well, with Bindu Panicker being the saving grace with her humor. Watch trailer of Prince and Family The Verdict Prince and Family is, at best, an average comedy drama, which does have its moments. If you're someone who enjoys such ventures, then surely tune into ZEE5 to give it a watch.
Indian Express
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Alappuzha Gymkhana: Bollywood directors keep talking about ‘rooted cinema', but they have no idea what it even means
In recent years, several Bollywood big-shots with varying degrees of wealth and intelligence have said that South Indian movies are performing better than their Hindi counterparts because they're more 'rooted'. The word has become a part of the lexicon, alongside terms such as 'elevation scene' and 'BGM'. Anurag Kashyap has said it; Javed Akhtar has said it; if they'd asked the women, they'd have said it as well. But what does the word 'rooted' even mean? The one movie that perfectly captures all the ingredients that are missing from Hindi cinema these days, the one movie that Bollywood would do well to emulate, is the Malayalam-language sports comedy Alappuzha Gymkhana, which debuted recently on SonyLIV after an excellent theatrical run. It's as rooted as they come. But the definition of this kind of cinema could vary. While Kashyap thinks that 'rooted' cinema refers to stories of the heartland, Akhtar has complained that Hindi filmmakers are losing touch with the language. He forgets that his own children write in English and have their scripts translated. For most Bollywood producers, 'rooted' is merely a code word for a very specific kind of big-budget movie; the chauvinistic and bombastic sort of cinema popularised by the Telugu industry and bastardised by the north. Also read – Chhaava: Vicky Kaushal's worrisome streak hits an all-time low; who'll take responsibility for inciting violence? Were something like Alappuzha Gymkhana pitched in Bollywood, it would be laughed out of the room. It has no major stars, it has neither scale nor stakes, and most surprisingly (for a sports movie), it has no villain. Directed by Khalid Rehman, Alappuzha Gymkhana is a hang-out movie, where the characters dictate which direction the plot should go in, and not the other way around. It follows a group of teenage boys in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, who concoct the kind of plan that only teenagers staring at an uncertain future can. After flunking their class 12 boards, they decide to enrol at the local sports club and become boxers. This way, they figure, they could probably get into a college through the sports quota. At the same time, they could impress all the girls they have crushes on, get away from their nagging parents for several hours a day, and have a new excuse to chill out with each other. Led by Jojo, the boys aren't defending the world; they're defending their pride. Forget delivering 'larger-than-life' action and spectacle, Alappuzha Gymkhana barely leaves its district. It goes against all the rules that Bollywood has convinced itself it must follow in the post-pandemic era. And this isn't the first time that the Malayalam industry has proven that smaller stories have just as much of a chance at the box office than those hyper-masculine revenge epics that Hindi filmmakers have devoted themselves to aping. Speaking of hyper-masculine cinema, there's a scene in Alappuzha Gymkhana in which Jojo invites his buddies for a house party. He takes the girl he's been talking to up to the bedroom, where she throws him off balance by asking what kind of kiss he'd prefer they get things started with. After panicking for a second, he tells her that he's too nervous to make out, and promptly gets dumped. If this was Rocky Bhai, he'd have physically restrained the girl from leaving the room despite her protests. In case you'd forgotten, this is exactly what happens in the first KGF movie. The blockbuster Kannada film has proven to be incredibly influential, paving the way for a new wave of angry cinema in which everybody shouts at each other. Just because their protagonists hail from villages doesn't make stuff like Kantara and Pushpa 'rooted'. Naslen, who plays Jojo in Alappuzha Gymkhana, broke out with the similarly lowkey Premalu last year. But when Bollywood tries to make small scale films these days, they typically end up being inauthentic farces. Even when they're competently made, like the film Laapataa Ladies, they tend to have a condescending gaze. Heck, Hindi filmmakers can't even be bothered to go shoot in real-life locations, because the people making them have no idea what separates one culture from the other. It's some strange form of reverse racism, where the entirety of the 'north' is presented as a place populated by Thar-driving, pakoda-popping loudmouths. The films Jayeshbhai Jordaar and The Great Indian Family — both were headlined by A-list movie stars and produced by YRF — were shot entirely on indistinguishable soundstages. Read more – Chandu Champion: Kabir Khan's hollow biopic can't stop humiliating its own protagonist The thing that really stands out in Alappuzha Gymkhana, besides the cultural specificity, is how tactile it all seems. Although most of the second half is set inside a stadium and filmed with the sort of music video-style flashiness that Rehman displayed in Thallumala a couple of years ago, the first half unfolds on the streets of Alleppey. It gives the movie character; you can see the post-rain dampness on the narrow lanes, and the paint chipping off the walls of old homes. Jojo and his gang feel like real people, experiencing real growing-pains. They aren't invulnerable superheroes bashing up their enemies. In fact, the inciting incident of the film — the moment that pushes Jojo to enrol at the gymkhana — is when one member of the gang gets sucker punched for flirting with another guy's girlfriend. Rahman's Thallumala kicked off on a similar note, when someone stepped on the protagonist's brand-new sneakers. Malayalam cinema seems to have cracked the code. Even when they make a big-budget superhero movie Minnal Murali, it feels intimate. In Alappuzha Gymkhana, Jojo and his friends' inadequacies manifest during the boxing competition that takes up much of the film's second half. It wouldn't be a spoiler to reveal that Jojo doesn't magically become a heavyweight champion at the end. But he scores something far more valuable: a purpose. A road that could've led him towards drunkenness and despair is, hopefully, avoided. Jojo and his buddies could've very easily turned into Pepe and his gang from Angamaly Diaries, but it seems like they'll turn into the Manjummel Boys instead. Hallelujah. Post Credits Scene is a column in which we dissect new releases every week, with particular focus on context, craft, and characters. Because there's always something to fixate about once the dust has settled. Rohan Naahar is an assistant editor at Indian Express online. He covers pop-culture across formats and mediums. He is a 'Rotten Tomatoes-approved' critic and a member of the Film Critics Guild of India. He previously worked with the Hindustan Times, where he wrote hundreds of film and television reviews, produced videos, and interviewed the biggest names in Indian and international cinema. At the Express, he writes a column titled Post Credits Scene, and has hosted a podcast called Movie Police. You can find him on X at @RohanNaahar, and write to him at He is also on LinkedIn and Instagram. ... Read More
Pink Villa
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Is Mammootty not well? MP John Brittas shares BIG update on actor's health
Malayali superstar Mammootty hit the headlines after reports of him being diagnosed with cancer started doing the rounds. The actor's team reacted against the claims. Now, Rajya Sabha MP and the actor's close friend John Brittas has shared an update on his health. In a recent interaction with the news channel Reporter TV, the politician revealed that Mammootty has a minor health issue and is undergoing treatment for it. As per his words, Brittas said, 'Mammootty is suffering from a minor health complication and is currently receiving treatment. He is okay, and I just had a phone conversation with him.' 'Even though we have been friends for quite a long time, we were never the kind of people who talked much about our personal lives. However, in recent days, we have been sharing such details as well,' he added. (Translated from Malayalam) According to early reports, Mammootty was reported to have been diagnosed with cancer. While the claims were spreading online, the actor's team issued a statement contradicting the reports. The team said, 'It is fake news. He is on vacation because he is fasting for Ramzan. He is on a break from his shoot schedule as well because of that. In fact, after the break, he will go back to shooting for Mahesh Narayanan's film with Mohanlal.' Coming to Mammootty's work front, the megastar was last seen in a lead role in the movie Bazooka. The Malayalam-language action thriller was written and directed by Deeno Dennis in his directorial debut. The movie featured the story of a businessman and gamer getting involved in a hunt against a serial offender along with a police officer. Apart from Mammootty, the film had Gautham Vasudev Menon, Divya Pillai, Sidharth Bharathan, Iswarya Menon, and many more in key roles. While the cinematic venture released in theaters on April 10, 2025, it was met with negative reviews and tanked at the box office. Now, the film is expected to hit the streaming platform ZEE5 soon. Moving ahead, the actor is set to appear in the crime drama flick Kalamkaval, co-starring Vinayakan. Furthermore, Mammootty is headlining a magnum opus venture by director Mahesh Narayanan, tentatively titled MMMN (Patriot). The film is touted to be an action thriller with a multistarrer cast consisting of Mohanlal (cameo), Fahadh Faasil, Kunchacko Boban, Nayanthara, Darshana Rajendran, and more.
