It is Varane Avashyamund vs Ayyappanum Koshiyum at the Mollywood box office.
Mollywood film buffs have much to cheer for as two films Ayyappanum Koshiyum and Varane Avashyamund hit screens in Kerala on Friday.
Varane Avashyamund, which stars Dulquer Salmaan and Kalyani Priyadarshini in lead roles, is touted to be a family entertainer. Directed by debutant Anoop Sathyan, who is veteran director Sathyan Anthikad’s son, the film also stars Suresh Gopi and Shobana in pivotal roles. The duo last shared screen space in 2005 film Makalkku.
Varane Avashyamund is being bankrolled by Dulquer Salman under his banner Wayfarer Films, along with M Star Entertainments. The music of the film has been composed by Alphons Joseph.
On the other hand, Ayyappanum Koshiyum stars Prithviraj Sukumaran and Biju Menon in the lead roles. Helmed by Sachy, this film is the director’s second film after Anarkali, which also starred Prithviraj and Biju. Based on the trailer, Ayyappanum Koshiyum revolves around the enmity between ex-Army veteran Koshy Kurien (played by Prithviraj) and no-nonsense cop Ayyappan Nair (essayed by Biju).
Produced by Ranjith and PM Sasidharan under the Banner Gold Coin Motion Picture Company, Ayyappanum Koshiyum also stars Sabumon Abdusamad, Gowri Nandha, Anna Rajan and Anu Mohan among others.
User @FilmTrackers tweeted, “#VaraneAvashyamund technically decent film, average songs, colorful visuals, good cuts. overall a feel good entertainer especially for family audience 3.25/5. @DQsWayfarerFilm.”
User @MovieMaagic shared on Twitter, “#AyyappanumKoshiyum- Highly thrilling first half with massive performances from @PrithviOfficial and #BijuMenon. Prithviraj In A Negative Getup As Far Now. #Ranjith Teriffic Performance In Minor Scenes. Good Screenplay & Direction from Sachy.”
“#AyyappanumKoshiyum another quality product from #Sachy , screenplay and execution #PrithvirajSukumaran #BijuMenon #Ranjith and all the artists did superb performances for the film especially the leading 2 gems brilliant performances,” posted user @FilmTrackers.
“#AyyappanumKoshiyum has one of the most unusual soundtracks for a mainstream film in Malayalam and full credit to #JakesBejoy for delivering #Sachy’s vision to perfection! Here is the first track from the film rendered and originally created by our dearest #Nanchamma. Enjoy!,” tweeted @VishnuMankara.
User @VRFridayMatinee tweeted, “#AyyappanumKoshiyum A tussle between two headstrong characters, played perfectly by Biju Menon and Prithviraj. While strong performances from the lead and story helped the movie, length and a rather flat climax stand as the negatives.”
User @akshaym1785_m posted on Twitter, “#VaraneAvashyamund ; A Decent Entertainer With Good Perfomance From Leading Casts #SureshGopi & #Shobana Did A Great Come Back In Mollywood. Fine Perfo From #Dq & #KalyaniPriyadashan. #AnoopSathyan Did A Good Debut As Director & Also #Dulquer As Producer.”
“#AyyappanumKoshiyum .This is why @PrithviOfficial remains unique.Really Enjoyed Your portrait as Koshi.Sachy does the trick again. Stupendous performance from #BijuMenon.My most Favourite trios just delivered another good film.Thanks Raju etta for another treat.#Prithviraj,” wrote user @VibinVijay03 on Twitter.
“#VaraneAvashyamund is a superb comeback movie for #SureshGopi sir & #Shobana mam. Thank you so much #AnoopSathyan & @dulQuer for giving us a class & comic #SureshGopi sir. We all missed this#SureshGopi for a long time,” tweeted @firose16.
User @VibinVijay03 tweeted, “#VaraneAvashyamund.Impressive First Half.The way of Storytelling has made movie more interesting.The Combination scenes of #SureshGopi & #Shobana working well.@dulQuer isn't have more scenes in this half and great debut for @kalyanipriyan.”
“Watched #AyyappanumKoshiyum stellar entertainment, tremendous performances! #BijuMenon is fabulous #Prithvi is excellent. outstanding scripting and good direction from #šachy this one is serious mass class intense entertainment to enjoy my rating is 9.4 out of 10 !” posted user @joyalbrightt on Twitter.
User @CineSafari shared on Twitter, “#VaraneAvashyamund A neat family drama in an old story line with some feel good elements. #SureshGopi & #Shobana stand tall with their best performance, @kalyanipriyan lovely start to her malayalam career, @dulQuer shines in a brief role. Best debut by #AnoopSathyan.”
“#AyyappanumKoshiyum Outstanding performance from @PrithviOfficial and #BijuMenon Well screenplay and direction from #sachy Overall a complete mass entertainer .Rating : 4/5,” tweeted @RedDot53.
User @monika_offl wrote on Twitter. “#VaraneAvashyamund is a Beautiful family drama filled with delightful performances from #SureshGopi sir #Shobana mam! I literally enjoyed their combo! Then my 2nd favorites were #urvashi mam & #KPACLalitha chechi!.”
User @itsmeStAbhi wrote on Twitter, “#AyyappanumKoshiyum Second half felt more entertaining. #BijuMenon's re-entry as a devil dynamic protester against anti-social elements like he was then,26 yrs before joining in Police. Lady who did his wife's character was the one who recieved much applause in short screen space.”
User @SwoonyLoony shared, “#VaraneAvashyamund What a beautiful film. Siresh Gopi is fantastic as Major Unnikrishnan. Shobana is absolutely flawless #DQ made me weep. It's such a treat to watch @kalyanipriyan having fun infront of the camera. Thank you Anoop Satyan. Go Watch.”
“#AyyappanumKoshiyum ; A Good Realistic Mass Entertainer With Terrific Competitive Performance From #Prithvi & #BijuMenon. Good Dialogues & BGM'S By #JakesBejoy. '#Renjith Stuns Out A Mass Performance With Limited Presence. Overall A Well Made Treat By #Sachy 3.5/5,” posted user @akshaym1785_m on Twitter.
User @MovieMaagic wrote on Twitter, “#VaraneAvashyamund is a light hearted Beautiful family drama filled with delightful performances from #SureshGopi, #Shobana , @dulQuer and @kalyanipriyan . Suresh Gopi stands tall among all.. family audience might like it more..”
User @TrollMachans rated the movie 3.75 stars out of 5. He tweeted, “#AyyappanumKoshiyum As revealed in the trailer, it’s a war between Prithvi’s Koshy Kurian and Biju Menon’s SI Ayyappan Nair. Apart from Prithvi and Biju Menon, Actress Gauri Nandha performed well. Sachy’s making & Jakes Bejoy music strengthens the movie. Our Rating : 3.75/5.”
“#VaraneAvashyamund :Decent first half Filled with comedy. @dulQuer has less screen presence and #SureshGopi scored more than him. @kalyanipriyan , #Shobhana also done their roles well.A pakka Family Entertainer Loading. #DulquerSalmaan #varaneavashyamundreview #Mollywood,” tweeted user @MovieMaagic.
User @CinemaLover16 wrote on Twitter, “#AyyappanumKoshiyum Decent 1st half. Prithviraj. Hopefully 2nd half has more to offer than jus prithviraj vs biju menon rivalry..”
User @Sreeku_rajan shared on Twitter, “#VaraneAvashyamund A feel good delightful first half #Suresh Ettan & Shobana mam combo is very pleasant to watch on screen. @dulQuer is charming as ever & @kalyanipriyan is beautiful and performs effortlessly.”
“#AyyappanumKoshiyum Interval, Good first half with very good theatre response till now. PrithviOfficial is good with his mannerisms & mass look. #BijuMenon is good. Dialogues are top notch & good making from #Sachy. 2nd half progressing,” tweeted user @ShaheebTI.
In an interview with Cinema Express, Prithviraj said, "I just think he is very good at understanding people and breaking down characters. He does it not from an intellectual standpoint, but from that of an ordinary individual. Sachy has not written a mediocre story yet. But he took me by surprise as a filmmaker. From Anarkali to Ayyappanum Koshiyum, he has grown both as a filmmaker and technician."
"All the very best to @kalyanipriyan who is taking her baby steps in Malayalam cinema. #VaraneAvashyamund is a total family entertainer which promises to bring a smile in your face #AnoopSathyan," journalist Sridevi Sreedhar said via Twitter.
Khushbu Sundar shared on Twitter, "#VaraneAvashyamund Looks so amazingly magical..the handsome @dulQuer. pretty pretty @kalyanipriyan. super gorgeous #Shobhana the cool n sauve #SureshGopi the brilliant #Oorvashi Wishing the entire team all the very best.."
Dulquer Salmaan took to Twitter on Thursday evening and wrote, "This is the most exciting as well as nerve-wracking moment. We have done our bit. Now we have all our fingers crossed that you will like the movie we have poured our energies into. #VaraneAvashyamund releasing all over Kerala and Australia tomorrow & rest of India on February 14"