Aravindante Athidhikal: A pleasant feel-good entertainer

Aravindante Athidhikal: A pleasant feel-good entertainer

Vineeth Sreenivasan’s latest outing as a lead actor, Aravindante Athidhikal looked highly promising from the songs and promo videos. With an ensemble cast comprising of Urvashi, Sreenivasan, KPAC Lalitha, Shanthi Krishna, Sreejaya, Prem Kumar and many others, the movie has a set of proven actors. Let’s see how Aravindante Athidhikal actually turned out to be.

Rajesh Raghavan has woven a simple feel-good tale set in the premises of Mookamika temple in Kollur. It is a milieu that has not been shown much in Malayalam cinema and that itself gives the movie a lot of freshness. Our protagonist Aravindan is an orphan who is raised by Madhavan (Sreenivasan), the owner of Mookambika Vilasom lodge. The movie explores Aravindan’s relationship with his guests and his wait for his long lost mother.

M Mohanan, who has made hit films like Katha Parayumbol and Manikyakallu, has directed Aravindante Athidhikal. Coming from the old-school style of filmmaking, his narrative pattern is very simple and takes its sweet time to unfold. The director has emerged successful in maintaining the feel-good element throughout its run-time courtesy some fine natural humour and subtle emotions.

Vineeth Sreenivasan has delivered one of his career best performances in this movie. The do-gooder guy-next-door image suits him perfectly and he carries the role without any fuss. Urvashi is arguably the standout performer in the movie. The veteran is at her finest best with her terrific comic timing which instantly reminds us of her yesteryear classics. Nikhila Vimal, who is making her comeback to Malayalam cinema, looked gorgeous on-screen and it reflected on her performance as well. Aju Varghese, Biju Kuttan and Prem Kumar take care of the comedy department. Another notable thing about the movie is there is no seperate comedy-track just for the sake of it. Barring the whole sequence where the tap breaks, humour is finely laced around the narrative. Senior actors like Sreenivasan, Shanthi Krishna, KPAC Lalitha and Vijayaraghavan, like always, did their parts well.

Shaan Rahman’s music is the backbone of this movie. Songs are already chartbusters and his background score at some portions convey the emotions perfectly without the need of any dialogues. DOP Swaroop Philip has captured the vibes and sanctity of the temple city.

Overall, Aravindante Athidhikal is definitely a good watch for the families this holiday season. A smile is guaranteed when you leave the cinema halls.