Aavesham (2024)
Aavesham (2024) is one of the most talked-about Malayalam films of recent years, blending action, dark comedy and mass-entertainer beats into a college-meets-gangster story. Directed and written by Jithu Madhavan, and led by Fahadh Faasil alongside a cast of fresh faces and reliable character actors, this Malayalam-language film released theatrically on 11 April 2024. 1
Movie Overview
Aavesham positions itself as an energetic, crowd-pleasing action comedy that uses a campus-origin premise to deliver unexpected humour, stylised action and a crowd-pleasing central performance. The narrative follows three engineering students who arrive in Bengaluru and, after suffering severe bullying, enlist the help of an eccentric local gangster — played by Fahadh Faasil — to gain revenge and, along the way, learn about loyalty and unintended consequences. The film deliberately leans into massy set pieces and character-driven humour while wrapping those elements in the glossy production values common to contemporary Malayalam hits. 2
Attribute Details
- Title: Aavesham
- Genre: Action • Comedy • Gangster • College drama
- Language: Malayalam (original); dubbed/subtitled releases for other territories
- Release Date: 11 April 2024 (theatrical). 3
- Director: Jithu Madhavan. 4
- Writer: Jithu Madhavan. 5
- Producers: Fahadh Faasil, Nazriya Nazim and Anwar Rasheed (Fahadh Faasil & Friends; Anwar Rasheed Entertainments). 6
- Music: Sushin Shyam. 7
- Cinematography: Sameer Thahir. 8
- Editing: Vivek Harshan. 9
- Runtime: Approx. 159 minutes. 10
- Production Companies: Anwar Rasheed Entertainments; Fahadh Faasil and Friends. 11
Plot (Concise)
The film follows Aju, Bibi and Shanthan — three youngsters who travel from Kerala to Bengaluru to pursue aeronautical engineering. Their college life quickly turns sour when they fall prey to Kutty, a violent senior who bullies and humiliates them. The trio, desperate and humiliated, search the city for someone who can help them fight back. They eventually meet Ranjith “Ranga” Gangadharan (Fahadh Faasil), an eccentric but protective local gangster whose presence upends their lives. While Ranga keeps a promise to avoid direct violence (a plot point tied to a personal vow), his aura, contacts and comic bravado create a new sense of safety and agency for the students. The film evolves into a mixture of revenge set pieces, comic confrontations and moral dilemmas about escalations of violence — all wrapped in a crowd-pleasing, stylised tone. 12
Main Cast & Characters
- Fahadh Faasil as Ranjith “Ranga” Gangadharan — the quirky gangster at the story’s heart. 13
- Hipzster (viral/gaming personality) — part of the trio of youngsters.
- Mithun Jai Sankar — one of the students central to the revenge plot.
- Roshan Shanavas — another of the three friends who drive the story forward.
- Sajin Gopu and Midhutty — supporting players who provide comic heft and scene-stealing moments. 14
- Ensemble supporting cast includes Manzoor Ali Khan, Ashish Vidyarthi, Pooja Mohanraj, Neeraja Rajendran and others.
Production, Cinematography & Design
Aavesham was developed as a relatively high-profile follow-up to director Jithu Madhavan’s breakout hit Romancham. Principal photography was mostly shot in Bangalore, leaning on city locations to create a lived-in, urban backdrop for the film’s college and underworld sequences. The film’s visual language — captured by veteran cinematographer Sameer Thahir — blends gritty action framing with colourful, almost pulpy production design to underscore the movie’s comic-gangster energy. The technical crew (Sushin Shyam on music, Vivek Harshan on editing) helped the film balance breathless comedic timing with coherent action choreography and a propulsive score. 16
Music & Soundtrack
Music director Sushin Shyam provides the film’s soundtrack and background score, mixing rhythmic, massy numbers with atmospheric cues that support both the comedy and the action. Songs and background themes were used in marketing campaigns and helped amplify the film’s mass-appeal positioning. Lyricist credits include Vinayak Sasikumar for specific tracks used in promotional singles. 17
Release Strategy, Theatrical & OTT
Aavesham released theatrically on 11 April 2024, timed to the Eid and Vishu weekend which helped the film secure strong opening footfall in Kerala and other Malayalam-speaking territories. The theatrical window was followed by a relatively quick OTT premiere: Amazon Prime Video acquired digital streaming rights and released the film on the platform on 9 May 2024. The Hindi dubbed version later appeared on Disney+ Hotstar. Distribution across India was handled by A & A Release, while overseas theatrical rights were sold to separate distributors for international markets. 18
Reception & Box Office
Critics gave Aavesham broadly positive notices for its tight direction, charismatic central performance (Fahadh Faasil’s comic-gangster turn was singled out by many reviewers) and its successful melding of mass-entertainer beats with a distinctly Malayalam sensibility. Review coverage noted that the film deliberately trades some dramatic subtlety for crowd-pleasing moments — but that decision paid off with strong word-of-mouth. 19
Commercially, Aavesham performed strongly: it posted one of the better openings for a Malayalam film in 2024 and went on to cross the ₹100 crore mark domestically, eventually closing with a worldwide gross reported in the range of approximately ₹150–156 crore by the end of its run — a notable achievement that placed it among the year’s top earners for Mollywood. Those box-office tallies reflect strong Kerala and overseas admissions and the film’s appeal beyond the traditional Malayalam market. 20
Why Aavesham Matters
Aavesham illustrates several ongoing trends in contemporary South Indian cinema: star-driven projects with actor-producers (Fahadh Faasil both stars in and co-produces), auteur follow-ups that try to scale up a director’s debut success, and a willingness to blend youthful campus storytelling with crowd-friendly gangster tropes. For audiences, the film offers an accessible entry point to Fahadh’s more mass-oriented persona while still retaining inventive touches that made Jithu Madhavan’s earlier work stand out. Its box-office performance also underlines the growing commercial reach of Malayalam films in non-traditional markets. 21
SEO Tips (for bloggers / news sites writing about the film)
- Primary keywords: “Aavesham review”, “Aavesham box office”, “Fahadh Faasil Aavesham”, “Aavesham OTT release”, “Aavesham cast and crew”.
- Long-tail subheadings to target: “Is Aavesham worth watching on Amazon Prime?”, “Aavesham explained: Fahadh’s gangster persona and the college revenge plot”.
- Use authoritative sources: link to IMDb, Wikipedia and major reviews (Indian Express, Filmibeat) when reporting release dates, OTT windows and box office figures. 22
- Include descriptive alt text for images (e.g., “Aavesham poster — Fahadh Faasil as Ranga holding a Molotov-style prop”), and embed official trailers from the studio or distributor pages where possible.
- Publish a short meta description (150–160 chars) such as: “Aavesham (2024) — Fahadh Faasil stars in Jithu Madhavan’s action-comedy about three students and a quirky gangster. Released 11 April 2024; streaming on Prime Video.”
Further Reading & Sources
- IMDb — Aavesham (cast & credits). 23
- Wikipedia — Aavesham (2024 film) (production, release, box office). 24
- Filmibeat — Cast & crew / OTT release details. 25
- Indian Express — poster and production coverage.
Note: This article follows your requested structure and uses publicly available sources (IMDb, Wikipedia, major Indian entertainment outlets) for cast, crew, release and box office information. If you’d like a localized version (Hindi/Tamil) or a short SEO meta and social share text for Twitter/Instagram, tell me which language and tone and I’ll produce it in the same format.
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