Athiradi, the action comedy starring Basil Joseph and Tovino Thomas in main roles, along with Riya Shibu, Vineeth Sreenivasan and Shaan Rahman, among others, hit theatres on May 14, 2026 as a solo release in Malayalam. The film, which benefited from the postponement of Kattalan to May 28 and Mollywood Times to June 5, as well as the release delay of Suriya’s Tamil film Karuppu, albeit by a day only, opened to mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike.
Director Arun Anirudhan’s campus caper was said to target Gen Z audiences, especially with the brand of comedy, but the treatment of the same, said audiences, felt like it was handled by a millennial trying to fit in. The digital rights of the film, co-produced by Basil, have already been sold, with SonyLIV having picked it up. Athiradi will stream on SonyLIV after its theatrical run and if the current trend is anything to go by, it can be expected on the platform by mid-June, after the 4-week mark.
Basil Joseph in Athiradi
Athiradi follows Basil’s character Samkutty, an engineering college student who attempts to revive a defunct college event, Arohan, the stoppage of which his brother feels personally responsible for. Sam’s plans, though, go awry when former gangster-turned-singer Sreekuttan’s (Tovino) ego is hurt in the process. Kuttan then goes out of his way to sabotage Sam’s plans.
Read our review of Athiradi here
Besides Basil and Tovino, Athiradi also stars Zarin Shihab, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Darshana Rajendran, Shaan Rahman, Vishnu Agasthya, Santhivila Dinesh, Arun Bhai, Shelvin James, Aravind SK, among others. The film has music by Vishnu Vijay and cinematography by Samuel Henry.
