Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
When three college freshmen are beaten to a pulp by seniors for defying their ragging attempts, the trio vow revenge and end up befriending a powerful local gangster named Ranga to help them.
Written and directed by Jithu Madhavan, the 2024 action-comedy movie “Aavesham” stars Fahadh Faasil as Ranga, who doesn’t make his entry until the 28th minute of the film. Until then, the story introduces its college-going protagonists – Aju (Pranav Raj, known as Hipster), Bibin (Mithun Jai Shankar), and Shanthan (Roshan Shanavas), who are in their first year of college in Bangalore. They become friends and are brutally thrashed by their seniors for instigating a rebellion against their bullying. So, Aju comes up with a plan for vengeance – the friends should become pals with local goons, to get their aide in hitting back at their seniors. Will they get their revenge? And what after that? That’s the crux of the story.
The amount of effort the boys put in to find themselves support from goons in “Aavesham” isn’t just hilarious, but younger viewers should be able to imagine one of their parents sarcastically saying “if they put in so much work into their academics, they’d become multi-millionaires”. Debut actors Hipster, Mithun Jai Shankar and Roshan Shanavas as the lead trio are convincingly entertaining as college freshers who rarely attend classes, and spend most of their time drinking, smoking and trying to get close to gangsters in local bars.
Once Fahadh Faasil’s Ranga makes his entry, things heat up in “Aavesham” – his introductory scene sets the stage for the proximity and friendship he and the boys will soon share. Ranga first appears in a public toilet, asking Bibin for a lighter, he then simply leans in and lights his cigarette from the glowing tip of Bibin’s. Even though Ranga’s entry isn’t as flamboyant as typical action hero movies (think Rajinikanth or Rohit Shetty movies), it’s memorable, funny, and leaves a mark.
“Aavesham” has a killer soundtrack running throughout its 2 hour 35 minute runtime, which makes everything in the action-comedy feel theatrically engaging. The music been composed by Sushin Shyam, who is known for his work in “Kumbalangi Nights”, Netflix’s “Minnal Murali”, and the more recent “Manjummel Boys”. With nine original tracks, the songs are upbeat, groovy, and fantastically enhance the mood of each scene. If-fact, a lot of sequences in the movie feel grittier because of the energetic numbers accompanying them, although it does lack a signature number that would get stuck in your mind longer after the curtains come down.
As the plot progresses, Bibin, Aju, and Shanthan form an unlikely friendship with Ranga and his gang. However, they rarely see Ranga in action; instead, his lackey Amban (Sajin Gopu) constantly spins tall tales about Ranga’s violent past and his decision to give up arms for sentimental reasons. Initially, it’s all fun and games for the boys, but they soon find themselves in a situation that’s difficult to escape. Fahadh Faasil is riotously good as the dreaded gangster Ranga, whose violent actions are only shown in flashbacks. Fahadh’s younger version is dapper; he looks like a rap star ready to cut an album or, well, a gangster new to the hood. This is a complete “all boys” show, with some of the moms playing passive roles in the background. For instance, Bibin’s mother frequently calls to check if he is studying and if he is happy.
There’s plenty of fight sequences in the story, although some of them are choreographed in a generic manner and aren’t very engaging. While the first-half of “Aavesham” is solidly entertaining, its pace and energy dips for a bit in the second-half. A lot of the film is quite formulaic, however Ranga’s keenness to impress and protect his new college-going friends keeps things interesting. What director Jithu Madhavan does best in “Aavesham” is keep Ranga’s character bubbling like a dormant volcano on the verge getting active again, so you never know when he’ll explode, if ever. At the same time, the movie almost always maintains its comedic tone.
Definitely watch “Aavesham” if gangster-action-comedies are up your alley. The film is available to stream on Prime Video.
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