''Achayans'' is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

crime thriller film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by Kannan Thamarakkulam and written by Sethu. Starring

Jayaram Jayaram Subramaniam, (born 10 December 1965) known mononymously as Jayaram, is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam,Tamil films, along with a few Telugu films. He is also a chenda percussionist, mimicry artist, and occasional ...

Unni Mukundan Unnikrishnan Mukundan (born 22 September 1987), commonly known as Unni Mukundan, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Telugu and Tamil films. Unni Mukundan made his acting debut with the ...

, Prakash Raj,

Amala Paul Amala Paul (born 26 October 1991) is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. She made her acting debut by appearing in a supporting role in the Malayalam-language film ''Neelathamara'', and she later became no ...

,Amala Paul is a trendy biker in Achayans – Times of India
Timesofindia.indiatimes.com (10 December 2016). Retrieved on 2017-07-01. Sanju Sivram,

Adil Ibrahim Adil Ibrahim (born 6 February) is an Indian actor, radio jockey, television host and model. In 2014, he debuted in Sanjeev Sivan's Malayalam movie, ''Endless Summer''. Apart from acting, he is well known for hosting the shows '' D 4 Dance'' an ...

Sshivada K. V. Srilekha Nair (born 23 April 1986), better known by her stage name Sshivada is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam and Tamil films. Personal life Sshivada was born as K. V. Srilekha Nair to Vijayarajan and Kumari, a Malayali family ...

, Anu Sithara. Principal photography began in November 2016, with shooting locations being Edakochi and

Vagamon Vagamon ( ml, വാഗമൺ) is an Indian hill station and a revenue village primarily located in Peerumedu taluk of Idukki district (majority area including Vagamon town), and also Meenachil taluk and Kanjirappally taluk of Kottayam ...

. The film was released in India on may 2017 with mixed-to-positive reviews & and was an Hit at box office. The film was later dubbed into Telugu as ''Marana Mrudangam''.

Synopsis

Four brothers - Roy, Tony, Rafi, and Aby - get drunk on the night before Tony's

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

. Their family members send them to a Christian de-addiction centre, but they are kicked out. When they decide to start a road trip, they are accompanied by two women, Reetha and Prayaga, who have escaped from a critical situation. When they reach a hotel on New Year's Eve 2017, they sleep late after the celebration. On the next day Reetha is found dead. Finding the

culprit A culprit, under English law properly the prisoner at the bar, is one accused of a crime. The term is used, generally, of one guilty of an offence. In origin the word is a combination of two Anglo-French legal words, culpable: guilty, and prit or ...

and the reason behind her death is the main plot of the film.

Cast

as Roy Thottathil *

as Tony Vavachan * Prakash Raj as Commissioner Karthik Kathiresan IPS *

as Reetha Fernandez * Anu Sithara as Prayaga ** Akshara Kishor as Young Prayaga * Sanju Sivram as Rafi *

as Aby *

as Jessica * Siddique as Fernandez, Reetha's father *

Anju Aravind Anju Aravind is an Indian actress who has acted in Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada films. In early 2000's she shifted her focus to Malayalam TV serials and shows. Personal life Anju Aravind is born to Aravindan and Kanchana on 23 July 1978. Sh ...

as Aleena, Reetha's mother * Janardhanan as Varkey Vavachan, Tony's father *

Ponnamma Babu Ponnamma Babu is an Indian actress best known for her work in Malayalam cinema. She has acted in more than 300 films, TV serials and Comedy shows . She made her debut in ''Padanayakan'' in 1996. Personal life Ponnamma was born to Mathai an ...

as Aleyamma Vavachan, Tony's mother *Kumarakam Raghunath as Aravindan, Prayaga's father *Nitha Promy as Prayaga's mother *

Jayan Cherthala Jayan Cherthala is an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He is from Cherthala, near Alappuzha, Kerala in India. He has performed in more than two dozen movies in Malayalam, and TV serials. He is the state president of Kerala Sarva Kala Sangam ...

as George, Jessica's father * Usha as Jessica's mother *

Maniyanpilla Raju Sudheer Kumar (born 20 April 1955), better known by his stage name Maniyanpilla Raju (Malayalam:മണിയൻപിള്ള രാജു), is an Indian actor and producer who works in Malayalam film industry.CI Iqbal *

Kaviyoor Ponnamma Kaviyoor Ponnamma is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films and television. She began her career performing in theatre dramas before foraying into cinema. She has also acted in TV serials and commercials and has playback singing cred ...

as Roy's mother * Suja Varunee as SI Panchami *Shanu Suresh *

Idavela Babu Ammanath Babu Chandran (born 11 August 1963), better known by his stage name Edavela Babu, is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam cinema. He made his acting debut in 1982 with '' Idavela'', from which he got his stage name. Since then, he ...

as Sugathan *

Dharmajan Bolgatty Dharmajan Bolgatty (born 1976) is an Indian actor, producer, comedian, politician and entrepreneur, who works in Malayalam films, television, and stage shows. He began his career as a comedian appearing in sketch comedies on stage, later foraye ...

as Sudharman *

Ramesh Pisharody T. V. Ramesh (born 1 October 1983), professionally credited as Ramesh Pisharody, is an Indian stand-up comedian, impressionist, television presenter, actor and film director. He works in Malayalam television shows, stage, and cinema. Early ...

as Father Jose Keerikkadan *

Kalabhavan Navas Kalabhavan Navas is an Indian stage, television, and film actor, singer, comedian, and mimicry artist.introduced to films by veteran director Balukiriyath in the film mimics action 500, along with 38 mimicry artists He is known for his roles i ...

as Jose Keerikkadan's assistant *

Saju Navodaya Pappanikunnel Thankappan Saju (born 14 October 1973), better known by his stage name Saju Navodaya, is an Indian actor and comedian who works in Malayalam films, television and stage. He began his career as a comedian on stage shows and later fo ...

as SI Nalinikanth *

Jayakrishnan Jayakrishnan (born 11 April 1974) is an Indian film and television actor known for his work in the Malayalam industry. Often regarded as Immortal Star JK by the Malayalam film fanatics for his unaging appearance for decades. He was introduced a ...

as Police Officer *

Sohan Seenulal Sohanlal.P.S (born 18 December 1978), better known by his screen name Sohan Seenulal, is an Indian film director, screen writer, and actor who works in Malayalam cinema . He is known for his character roles in Mammootty films. Career He star ...

as Lakshmana *

Thesni Khan Thesni Khan is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films, television, and stage. She made her acting debut through '' Daisy'' in 1988. She is widely known for the portrayal of character roles. In 2020, she contested in the second season ...

as Valsa *

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

as Craig * Rajavarman Ramakrishnan as Tony's driver *Sajan Palluruthy as Alcohol addict *Jaise Jose as Goon * Sruthi Ramakrishnan as Geetha *Maya Viswanath * P. C. George as himself (

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 ei ...

)

Production

The venture began production in November 2016. Achayans marked third collaboration for the duo after '' Aadupuliyattam''.

Release

Theatrical

Achayans was opened in over 1000 screens in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, released alongside ''

Godha The Godha are Jain tribal caste people found in the state of Gujarat in India having roots in Rajasthan. They are also known as Gondha and Gonda. The Godha sometimes (depending on region) use Dengar as a community surname.People of India Gujar ...

'' and '' Adventures of Omanakuttan'' on 19 May 2017.

Reception

Critical response

Indiaglitz rated 3/5 and said that "''Achayans'' needs to have been reworked in a different way. A more sharper script would have made it more entertaining".

Deccan Chronicle ''Deccan Chronicle'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded by Rajagopal Mudaliar in the 1930s & currently owned by Samagrah Commercial Pvt Limited. It is published in Hyderabad, Telangana, by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited ...

stated that the movie is a one time watch and rated 3.5/5.

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 ...

rated the movie 3.5/5 and said that "Overall, Achayans is a film that requires some patience to watch and doesn't quite qualify as an entertainer".

Box office

Though the critic reviews were unfavourable, the film managed to be one of the profitable ventures of 2017. The film made on a budget of ~6 crore and collected above 17.5 crore worldwide.

References

External links

* {{Kannan Thamarakkulam 2010s Malayalam-language films 2017 films Indian comedy thriller films 2010s comedy thriller films Films directed by Kannan Thamarakkulam 2017 comedy films