Ayalvaashi review: Soubin Shahir-starrer offers respite from male ego clashes with a feel-good take on a quarrel

3/5

Story: Thaju and Benny are childhood friends and neighbours. Cracks, however, begin to form in their friendship when a series of misunderstandings, stemming from the scratches on Benny's scooter, lead to incidents that impact both their personal lives. Thaju vows to find out who the root cause of their quarrel is.

Review: In the past few years, movies on male ego clashes stemming from trivial misunderstandings had taken centrestage to a point that the subject has become exhausting. Debutant filmmaker and scriptwriter Irshad Parari takes a similar thread but gives it a 'feel-good' treatment with Ayalvaashi.

The movie, which has Soubin Shahir and Binu Pappu, playing best friends and neighbours - Thaju and Benny- revolves around a series of comical misunderstandings that happen after the deal for the latter's scooter has been called off because it had dents and scratches that weren't earlier there. Doubts are cast on Thaju and family as they were the ones who had used the scooter for his sister-in-law's engagement ceremony. But neither Benny nor Thaju has any idea who is responsible for this. The problem is compounded by the issues that both are dealing with in their personal lives, so much that getting to the bottom of the issue becomes important to Thaju.

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Irshad keeps the story simple and clean, with a runtime of under 110 minutes. This means, even when the film meanders a bit during Thaju and his friend's pursuit of the one responsible, it doesn't quite impact the pace at which the story progresses. The film has several characters, each dealing with their mini crisis and these don't just serve as distractions but also as reasons for why the quarrel for such a trivial cause doesn't get resolved easily.

For instance, Thaju is struggling financially and is mocked by his friends, for living with his wife's family. There too he feels he isn't able to contribute much. His brother-in-law goes through his series of troubles and Thaju's wife has to look after their daughter in the hospital. All this happens as a wedding in the family looms large. So, there's little room for communication. Irshad ably shows this in the film through humour and the incidents being relatable also help in appreciating the movie.

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While the treatment of the film is different, it also makes for a somewhat lighter storytelling that also becomes the film's weakness. Soubin and Gokulan get the lion's share of screen time in the movie and both make it enjoyable too. Soubin, especially, keeps the character grounded while chaos unfolds through Gokulan's character. Binu Pappu, Nikhila Vimal, Lijomol and Naslen play their characters well, but Kottayam Nazir's role - albeit a cameo - stands out. Jakes Bejoy's music adds to the quirky treatment of Ayalvaashi, which gets an ending that highlights that even things done out of a good intentions can wreak havoc.

Verdict: Irshad Parari's Ayalvaashi is a feel-good entertainer that benefits from its humour and crisp runtime.