''Ajagajantharam'' () is a 2021 Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

-language

action thriller film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

directed by Tinu Pappachan and written by Kichu Tellus and Vineeth Vishwam. It stars

Antony Varghese Antony Varghese, is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films. He made his debut in 2017 through the film ''Angamaly Diaries''. Personal life Antony Varghese was born in Angamaly, Kerala to Varghese and Alphonsa on 11 October 1989. He d ...

, Kichu Tellus,

Arjun Ashokan Arjun Ashokan (24 August 1992) is an Indian actor working in the Malayalam film industry. Known for his roles as a supporting actor, he is the son of a Malayalam actor called Harisree Ashokan. Making his debut with ''Orkut Oru Ormakoot'', alo ...

and Sabumon Abdul Samad. The soundtrack and background score were composed by

Justin Varghese Justin Varghese (born 10 October 1983) is an Indian music composer, music producer, and sound engineer who works predominantly in the Malayalam cinema industry. He is known his works in ''Thanneer Mathan Dinangal'' (2019), '' Joji'' (2021) and ...

. ''Ajagajantharam'' was scheduled to release on 26 February 2021, but was postponed due the second wave of

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The film was later released worldwide on 23 December 2021 and emerged as a commercial success at the box office.

Plot

Lali and Ambi are

mahout A mahout is an elephant rider, trainer, or keeper. Mahouts were used since antiquity for both civilian and military use. Traditionally, mahouts came from ethnic groups with generations of elephant keeping experience, with a mahout retaining h ...

s who live in the village of Aranjali, where most of the youth and middle-aged villagers consumes alcohol, substances and are filled with ego. Lali and Ambi supply an

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

named Neysseri Parthan for the temple festival, where they get a bit uninhibited and carries on themselves with high ego. Kannan is an unemployed youth who along with his friends, tries to be a bit brash and bumptious with them due to a small disagreement. Lali kicks Kannan for being in his face for long, where Kannan and his group launches a full scale mayhem in the village festival and attacks Lali and Ambi. However, Lali and Ambi fights Kannan and his group with Parthan's help, where they finally escape and head back to their home.

Cast

as Lali *

as Kannan *Kichu Tellus as Ambi *

Sabumon Abdusamad Sabumon Abdusamad, also known mononymously as Sabu, is an Indian actor and television presenter who works in Malayalam cinema. He was the winner of the first season of ''Bigg Boss''. Personal life Sabu hails from Kayamkulam, Alappuzha. He hol ...

as Kachamber Das *Vineeth Vishwam as Vinu *

Anil Nedumangad Anil Nedumangad (also known as P. Anil; 30 May 1972 – 25 December 2020) was an Indian actor who appeared in Malayalam films. Acting career He made his debut in '' Thaskaraveeran'' with an uncredited appearance. His breakthrough was in the ...

as Sony *

Sudhi Koppa Sudhi Koppa is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films. He made his film debut in 2009 with an uncredited appearance in ''Sagar Alias Jacky Reloaded'' (2009). Personal life Sudhi hails from Kochi. His father, who was a government offic ...

as Pindy * Tito Wilson as Kottappuram Surendran *

Jaffar Idukki Jaffar Idukki is an Indian actor, impressionist, and comedian, who predominantly works in the Malayalam cinema. Started his career with the 2007 film ''Kaiyoppu'', he has acted in about hundred films and has performed in a number of comedy sta ...

as Committee President *Bitto Davis as Pottachira Hari *

Vijilesh Karayad Vijilesh Karayad is an Indian actor works in malayalam cinema, known for his performances in '' Maheshinte Prathikaaram'', ''Varathan'', '' kothth'' and Krishnankutty Pani Thudangi. Early life and career Vijilesh grew up in Karayad in the Kozhik ...

as Eden * Lukman Avaran * Sinoj Varghese as Joly *Sree Renjini as Meera *

Chemban Vinod Jose Chemban Vinod Jose is an Indian actor, film producer, and screenwriter, who predominantly works in Malayalam films. He is a physiotherapist by profession.cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

) * Nadackal Unnikrishnan (Elephant) as Neysseri Parthan

Production

Antony Varghese and Tinu Pappachan had earlier collaborated in the latter's debut directorial ''

Swathanthryam Ardharathriyil ''Swathanthryam Ardharathriyil'' (also spelt ''Swathandriam Ardharathriyil'') () is a 2018 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by Tinu Pappachan and written by Dileep Kurian. It was produced by B. C. Joshi, with Lijo Jose P ...

''. The film's title ''Ajagajantharam'' was given by

Lijo Jose Pellissery Lijo Jose Pellissery (born 18 September 1978) is an Indian filmmaker and actor who works in Malayalam cinema. Known for his unconventional approach in directing, his films are characterized by nonlinear storylines and very long takes. His best ...

, while the story has been written by Kichu Tellus and Vineeth Vishwam. It was produced by Emmanuel Joseph and Ajith Thalapilliy. The soundtrack and background score were composed by

. Jinto George is the cinematographer while

Shameer Muhammed Shameer Muhammed is an Indian film editor and Film producer, producer predominantly working in Malayalam cinema. He was an alumnus of Chethana Media Institute, Thrissur. He worked as a spot editor in several movies and his debut as an independen ...

and Arjun Kallingal served as the editor and photographer.

Music

Track Listing

Original Soundtrack

Release

The film was initially scheduled to be released on 26 February 2021, but was postponed due to

. It was finally released on 23 December 2021.

Home media

The satellite and digital rights of the film were sold to

SonyLIV SonyLIV is an Indian over-the-top freemium streaming platform owned by Culver Max Entertainment. SonyLIV was introduced in 2013 as the first OTT service in India. As a streaming service, it is carrying content from its local networks, includi ...

and Surya TV.

Reception

''Ajagajantharam'' received positive reviews from critics who praised its action sequences, cast performances, direction, music and cinematography.

Critical response

Sajin Shrijith of ''

The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naid ...

'' gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Like his mentor

, Tinu Pappachan proves once again that he is one of the few filmmakers in Malayalam cinema right now supremely adept at staging chaos." Akshay Krishna of ''

OTTplay HT Media is an Indian mass media company based in Delhi, India. It has holdings in print, electronic and digital media. HT Media's flagship newspaper is the ''Hindustan Times'', the second most widely read English newspaper in India after ''The ...

'' gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Ajagajantharam is a film that offers impeccable, grounded and realistic action scenes that can be best enjoyed in a theatre." ''Behindwoods'' gave 2.75/5 stars and wrote "Ajagajantharam is an entertaining action thriller. Those who love action sequences will have a treat with this film this

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

season because there are a lot of fights in the story. With the visual and aural spectacle that the film offers, Ajagajantharam is a movie to be watched in the theatres." Anna Mathews of ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'' gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Ajagajantharam seems purely a movie for the sake of stunts and there is hardly the slightest sliver of a story holding together the fight sequences." S. R. Praveen of ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' wrote "The tasteful manner in which some of the action sequences are staged often makes us forget all our million grouses with Tinu Pappachan’s film." Tony Mathew of '' Onmanorama'' wrote "With a running time of 120 minutes, Ajagajantharam is an exhilarating package headlined by men high on testosterone fighting it out in the backdrop of festival firework, in the company of tuskers. This is exactly the dose of high voltage fun you needed right now."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=11718902 2021 action films 2020s Malayalam-language films