young one – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: I remember naming one of my dogs with this name.

Vampire Bat: I do not remember you having any dogs. You had a black cat.

Vampire Owl: Yes, but it lived as a dog. It barked and howled.

Vampire Bat: What did you expect? It was originally from the werewolf lands.

Vampire Owl: But when the smart cat says it is a dog, you have to listen.

Vampire Bat: Why should you? It was never even a vampire cat.

Vampire Owl: Black cats are always immortal. Ask the witches.

Vampire Bat: Even the demons do not accept them as their people.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that black cats are not connected to the other dimensions?

Vampire Bat: Not even that much connected as Uncle Dracula on a Halloween night.

[Gets a paneer biryani and three cups of Sikkim tea].

What is the movie about? :: Vicky (Neeraj Madhav) is the representative of the new generational youth who has no job, but one cannot say that he has not tried enough – his failures are not fully due to his foolish decisions, but are also the results of circumstances. Most of his attempts at business involves his friend Jose (Subin Tarzan), but all of them fails one after the other, much to the dismay of his father Raghavan (Saheer Mohammed) who has lost too much money in the process. His brother Naveen (Nihal Nazim) is considered to be the smart, intelligent, working, money-earner of the house though as he also keeps reminding everyone that he passed his degree while his elder brother did not. Vicky’s attempts at clearing PSC also reach nowhere, making his girlfriend and veterinary doctor of nearby pet clinic, Meera (Aarsha Chandini Baiju) disappointed, as she feels that there are no more chances for him to come out strong and successful. But she continues to help her by providing cash for his attempts on each occasion.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Meera gets into a clash with Tiger Thambi (Aju Varghese), a rich gangster who breeds dogs unscientifically leading to their shorter lifespans or at least some serious diseases. He is supported by Mallan (Vineeth Thattil David) and a man of science always busy with experiments known only by title Professor (Dinesh Prabhakar). She also remains good friends with Vicky’s younger sister Jomol (Nimna Fathoomi), an eccentric and comic-obsessed girl who frequently invades his personal space to test out her costumes which ranges from Harley Quinn to a simple alien. But this is when he comes up against Pluto (Althaf Salim), a real alien whom he accidently brings home instead of Jose after being drunk on the nearby beach. Realizing the danger of exposing Pluto to authorities or media, Vicky decides to secretly keep the extraterrestrial visitor with him, as he also hopes that the alien would possess some special powers which he can use to his advantage.

And what more can happen around here with strange things waiting to come up? :: Keeping an extraterrestrial creatures hidden in his household proves near impossible with household members keeping on coming to his room, but he manages to do so in the name of studies as he has to clear his degree before all mercy chances provided by the university are finished. Thambi also comes to know about the presence of an alien after he gets an alien device left behind by Pluto. Vicky had just come out of some big trouble due to a juice marketed by him causing food poisoning to a huge number of people after it was provided as drink for the participants of a marathon race, and finds it difficult to keep the alien who only drinks alcohol as food. Pluto manages to learn Malayalam with an English-Malayalam dictionary available online as he had already studied English during an earlier contact of his people with humanity. Vicky finds out that Pluto has no real superpower that they could use, but comes to know that his ship actually could do something, but is now located at the bottom of the sea after an unexpected crash. Can both of them be of help to each other and can they survive Thambi and the government officials searching for alien?

The defence of Pluto :: A full science fiction comedy has not been part of Malayalam cinema and this innovation and attempt at variety needs to be appreciated. Leading the way, Neeraj Madhav seems to have taken over nicely from that character in the fun fest Adi Kapyare Koottamani as the clueless youth, a role that suits him very well. The combination of Neeraj Madhav and Althaf Salim provide genuine feel-good moments along with the humour. The supporting cast also works with the humour really well, from the friend played by Subin Tarzan and the Nimna Fathoomi with a cute side added here. Aju Varghese plays the antagonist with a funny side really well, and has some fine moments which we will remember for the humour from talking with spicy flavour in his mouth to being Shikkari Shambu. Aarsha Chandini Baiju also adds to the humour so well, and she once again shines in a role which does not challenge her. The chaotic final moments deliver some big laughs and fun ends well, and even leaves scope for a future sequel. The movie can be considered silly fun that has not really come to this part of the world for some time.

The claws of flaw :: The movie does not make the best use of the idea, even after so many directions where the movie could go, and there was scope for more humour and further references to aliens, superheroes and other planets instead of talking about just alcohol and exams. The premise was something with great scope, and only a part of it is taken here. The situation might not appeal to all kinds of audience, as its silliness and new generation style of innovation is not for everyone. The pace also slows down as we look at it in parts where nothing much happens – the humour is also not that effective throughout its run. As the alien does not leave scope for complex visual-effects spectacles due to the simple humorous model, the potential of the sci-fi backdrop feels not that there to be taken. After all science fiction can provide a lot of humour from within, and aliens have been providing the same in Hollywood for a long time as we remember.

How it finishes :: Malayalam movie industry has its first full-run attempt at science fiction comedy for the viewers here. As a lighthearted experiment in the form which is rarely explored in Malayalam movie industry, it deserved some appreciation when it was released, but the truth remains that I never knew such a movie released until it came to Amazon Prime Video. By placing an extraterrestrial visitor within a regular Kerala household, it keeps away from the heavy science-fiction tropes to keep the whole thing cute and feel-good, while the protagonist also relates to the new generation as well as the one before. It is surely one movie which is better than the ratings which it has received, and having such a harmless fun movie during a weekend to watch with family is just simple joy, and we should only remember to appreciate the movie makers who think differently even if its for humour. This is a kind of movie for the whole family, and the kids are also going to love the same.

Release date: 30 July 2026
Running time: 132 minutes
Directed by: Adithyan Chandrashekar
Starring: Neeraj Madhav, Althaf Salim, Aarsha Chandini Baiju, Aju Varghese, Nimna Fathoomi, Subin Tarzan, Vineeth Thattil David