''Bharathanatyam'' is a 2024 Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

-language

comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film written and directed by Krishnadas Murali in his directorial debut and produced by Thomas Thiruvalla and

Saiju Kurup Saiju Govinda Kurup (born 12 March 1979) is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam and Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri ...

. The film stars

, Saikumar,

Kalaranjini Kalaranjini is an Indian actress who started her career in the early 1980s. Personal life Kalaranjini has two sisters, Kalpana (Malayalam actress), Kalpana and Urvashi (actress), Urvashi, both of whom are actors. Her two brothers, Kamal Roy ...

and

Sreeja Ravi Sreeja Ravi is an Indian voice artist and actress in Tamil language, Tamil and Malayalam Films,who has lent her dubbing voice to over 2000 films in total and also performed voices for numerous commercial ads. in She started her dubbing career i ...

in the lead roles. The film depicts a young man's struggle to protect a family secret amid challenging circumstances and a nosy neighborhood leads to a series of humorous events, eventually bringing the family closer together.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

began in March 2024 in

Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...

and was wrapped up in April 2024.

Samuel Aby Samuel Aby is an Indian music composer and music director from Kerala, India. He made his debut with the 2019 film Kakshi: Amminippilla starring Asif Ali. His second film was Manoharam starring Vineeth Sreenivasan. His song "Uyyaram Payyaram" f ...

composed the music and background score, while the cinematography and editing were handled by Bablu Aju and Shafeeque V B. ''Bharathanatyam'' was released in theatre's on 30 August 2024.

Plot

Sasi, the eldest son of Bharathan Nair, comes from a traditional family with three younger siblings. He leads an active social life and is a respected member of the local temple committee. One day, Bharathan Nair suffers a stroke, and doctors inform Sasi that his father's days are numbered. On his deathbed, Bharathan Nair reveals a shocking secret—he has another wife and a child, whom he wishes to see one last time. This revelation throws Sasi's life into turmoil as he struggles to come to terms with his father's hidden past. The news creates chaos within the family, leading to conflicts, misunderstandings, and emotional upheaval. How Sasi manages to navigate the challenges posed by this truth, while attempting to honor his father's dying wish, forms the crux of ''Bharatanatyam''.

Cast

as Sasidharan Nair * Saikumar as Bharathan Nair *

as Saraswathi *

as Rukmini *

Abhiram Radhakrishnan Abhiram Radhakrishnan (born September 1985) is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam films. He started his career as an assistant director and debuted as an actor in 2015 with the film '' Chandrettan Evideya''. As of May 2023, he has worked in ...

as Subash *

Manikandan Pattambi Manikandan Pattambi is an Indian television, stage, and film actor. He's best known for his roles in Malayalam television. He became famous for his character ''Sathyasheelan'' in the sitcom '' Marimayam'', a social satire in Mazhavil Manorama ...

as Velichappadu Sudheer *

Sohan Seenulal Sohanlal.P.S (born 18 December 1978), better known by his screen name Sohan Seenulal, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and actor who works in Malayalam cinema . He is known for his character roles in Mammootty films. Career He starte ...

as Madhu * Jinil Rex as Arun Ghosh * Jivin Rex as Ajay Ghosh

Soundtrack

composed the film's music and background score, with lyrics written by Manu Manjith.

Release

The film was given a U certificate by the Censor Board prior to its release.

Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

and ManoramaMax acquired the

digital distribution Digital distribution, also referred to as content delivery, online distribution, or electronic software distribution, among others, is the delivery or distribution of information or materials through digital platforms. The distribution of digital ...

rights and began streaming it on 27 September 2024.

Reception

Critical reception

Arjun Ramachandran of The South First rated the film 3/5 stars and wrote: "A feel-good entertainer with a compelling story and convincing performances". Vivek Santhosh of

The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naidu ...

rated the film 3/5 stars and wrote: "An entertaining and self-aware family comedy". Rohit Panikker of

Times Now Times Now is an English-language news channel in India owned and operated by The Times Group. The channel launched on 23 January 2006 in partnership with Reuters. It is a pay television throughout India. Until 2016, it was India's most popula ...

rated the film 3/5 stars and reviewed: "An Entertaining Film With Its Share Of Laugh Out Loud Moments".

Viewership

Even though the film underperformed in theatres, the film became huge success on OTT platforms with earning over 58 Million streaming minutes.

References

{{Reflist 2024 films 2020s Malayalam-language films Indian family films