When the trailer of the Malayalam film Aasha came out, the first impression was that the theme of debutant director Safar Sanal’s movie seemed similar to the award-winning Netflix series Beef, in which a case of road rage escalates into far more unpleasantness between the protagonists. As the title character Aasha, Urvashi also seemed to be headed into a war of egos with Joju George, after the duo become parties in a road accident.
Also read: Aasha Review: Urvashi is the sole saving grace in this muddled tale of trauma and possessiveness
Here, though, what comes to the fore is how Aasha reacts to events, what she does and why, with much of it stemming from years of harbouring pent-up anger. Released in theatres on September 11, 2026, the film opened to mixed reviews, but had an OTT deal in place at the time. Zee5 had picked up the streaming rights and the platform has announced that the film will drop on October 16, 2026. The Malayalam original film will also be available with Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi audio options.
| Title | Aasha |
|---|---|
| Director | Safar Sanal |
| Cast | Urvashi, Joju George, Aishwarya Lekshmi |
| Streaming platform | Zee5 |
| Streaming date | October 15, 2026 |
Starring veteran actress Urvashi in the title role, Aasha also features Joju George, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Joy Mathew, Vijayaraghavan, Ramesh Girija, Alexander Prashanth, among others on the cast. The film, meanwhile, follows Aasha, a hot-tempered widow, and the conflict she faces following a late night collision between her car and that of Joju’s character.
Aasha, who’d been dealing with abuse at the hands of her now late husband for years, has other troubles eating at her, including her younger daughter's love life and ensuring her older one has a roof over her head. What happens when it all comes to head is what the film captures.
