1001 Nunakal

1001 Nunakal, also known as Aayirathonnu Nunakal, is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Thamar K. V. in his directorial debut and produced by Salim Ahamed. The film premiered in the Malayalam Cinema Today category at the 27th International Film Festival of Kerala in December 2022. The plot revolves around a group of friends who decide to play a game of truth or dare on the occasion of a wedding anniversary party.

The film was officially announced in November 2021 by Salim Ahamed in the United Arab Emirates. Principal photography began in May 2022 and wrapped up in June 2022 in Ajman. The cinematography and editing are handled by Jithin Stanislaus and Nishadh Yusuf. The music is composed by Neha Nair and Yakzan Gary Pereira.

1001 Nunakal premiered on SonyLIV on 18 August 2023.

Plot
After a fire breaks out in a flat in Al Khobar, Rajesh, his wife Soumya, and their children, Mujeeb and his pregnant wife Salma, temporarily move into their friends Vinay and Divya's house. While staying at Vinay's house, Mujeeb and Rajesh are in the process of moving to another hotel. The next day, Elvin arrives at Vinya's residence to organize new passports for Rajesh and Mujeeb's families. When Elvin asks Slama for their photos for new passports, she checks the bag Mujeeb has brought. She got a girl's photo from it and had no idea who it was. Indu works as a maid in Vinay's home. Anil, her husband, works for a company and is experiencing financial difficulties. He must repay money to his manager or risk losing his job.

While seeing a matrimonial commercial, Vinay tells everyone about how he and Divya eloped and married ten years ago. Divya then tells everyone that tomorrow is their tenth wedding anniversary. When everyone sat down to dine, Mujeeb mentioned that they would be departing the next day. But Vinay suggests that they leave only after attending their wedding anniversary party. After the meal, Salma questions Mujeeb about the girl's photo she got from his bag. But Mujeeb acts as if he knows nothing about the girl. Divya wishes to invite Joffy and Aleena to the party. Vinay agrees and suggests they should also call Vakeel. Meanwhile, Anil's manager demands that the money be returned within two days. Anil asks Shaleel to return the money he gave him and gets angry with Shaleel, who says that his situation is not good.

Joffy and Aleena arrive at Vinay's house bearing a wedding anniversary cake. Elvin also attends the party with his wife, Benzy. Anil contacts Indu and requests to borrow some money. But she is unable to ask for money in the midst of the weeding anniversary. After Vakeel's arrival, everyone celebrated the wedding anniversary by cutting the cake. Rajesh inquires about the gift from Vinay. Soon, he gifts Divya a pricey Rolex watch. Aleena looks at the price of the watch on her phone and tells everyone. Anil, who is forced to return the money to his manager, calls Indu again. But she was helpless. While everyone is having a nice time at the party, Jayan and Lakshmi's divorce is the topic of talk. Vakeel says that their marriage ended because Lakshmi lied. He then challenges everyone to reveal a lie they have told each other. But only Aleena and Salma expressed interest. Elwin suggests that they continue once the food has been prepared. Joffy starts the game by revealing a lie he told Aleena before their marriage. Following Joffy's turn, Aleena discloses a lie she told him. Next, Benzy reveals a truth she has been hiding from Elvin. Hearing that, Elvin goes out sad. When everyone went out, Indu stole the watch and informed Anil about it.

As they all gathered to eat, Aleena talked about continuing the game. When Soumya says not to discuss that topic anymore, Aleena says they don't have the guts to open up. But Rajesh takes it as a challenge. Rajesh reveals that he unknowingly helped an uncle of Soumya financially. Mujeeb reaches there just as Soumya starts to speak. Then Salma goes to the room with Mujeeb and talks about things. Salma says that it is enough to make up a story and tell it when friends ask. Soumya questions Rajesh about why he hid the matter of helping her uncle and getting a new job offer letter. Rajesh gets angry and leaves. Divya blames Vakeel for causing problems between everyone. Meanwhile, Elvin takes the initiative to resolve his feud with Benzy. Salma narrates a fictional story to everyone. But Mujeeb reveals his true love story. Hearing this, Salma gets upset and says it is a fake story. But when Mujeeb says that this actually happened and that the photo in his bag is of his old girlfriend, an argument arises between the two.

Vakeel's wife, Molly, makes a video call to Divya. Divya goes to the room to show the watch she got as an anniversary gift. She informs Vinay that the watch is missing. Then everyone searches the entire room for the watch. Rajesh suspects that it was taken by Indu, who was there at the time. But Divya had good faith in her. Aleena says that only Rajesh, Mujeeb, and Salma came in when everyone was outside. Rajesh gets angry after Joffy defends Aleena. Elvin asks that the incident be reported to the police. But Vakeel tells Indu to turn off all the lights in the room and asks whoever took the watch to put it on the table. When no one is ready, he decides to call the police. Seeing the problems getting worse, Vinay tries to calm the scene. He pleads that it was actually a cheap watch and that there should be no issues with it. Then everyone leaves from there. When Indu comes out after work and tells Anil about the watch, Anil slaps her in the face and returns angrily.

Development
The story for the film was written during 2016–17. 1001 Nunakal was announced in November 2021 in Dubai by Salim Ahamed, who previously directed And the Oscar Goes To... (2019) and Pathemari (2015).

Casting
The makers of the film considered newcomers instead of leading actors to play the lead characters. The actors were chosen from auditions in Kerala and the United Arab Emirates, with nine coming from the UAE and four from Kerala. The first round audition was held in Dubai from December 26 to December 31, 2021, while the second round audition was held at the same venue from March 5 to March 6, 2022.

Filming
The principal photography of the film began on May 12, 2022. The shooting started after a seven-day acting camp under Jijoy Rajagopal. The film was shot entirely in the United Arab Emirates, with the majority of the filming taking place at a Villa in Ajman. The filming was wrapped up on Jun 5, 2022 at Ajman.

Music
Neha Nair and Yakzan Gary Pereira composed the film's music.

Film festival
1001 Nunakal had its first appearance at the 27th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) held in December 2022. It was selected for the Malayalam Cinema Today category by a committee headed by R. Sarath, along with 11 other films. The film had three screenings at the festival, the first and second on December 11 and 12 at the Kalabhavan and Kairali Sree Nila theatres of Kerala State Film Development Corporation, and the third on December 14 at the Aries Plex theatre.

Home media
After its appearance at the IFFK, the digital rights of 1001 Nunakal were obtained by SonyLIV, which started streaming it on Aug 18, 2023. Apart from Malayalam, it was released in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, and Hindi.

Critical response
1001 Nunakal received positive reviews from critics.

Swathi P. Ajith of Onmanorama wrote "Thamar's 'Aayirathonnu Nunakal ' is undoubtedly a commendable effort, although a bit more focus and sharpening around the edges could have elevated its impact." Arjun Ramachandran of The South First gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Aayirathonnu Nunakal is an overwhelming movie that dwells on the lives of married couples. It makes the audience think seriously about relationships." Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Thamar KV's Aayirathonnu Nunakal (1001 Lies) explores the complexities of both lies and absolute candour, while refraining from definitively advocating for one over the other, allowing viewers to form their own opinions." Sajin Shrijith of The New Indian Express gave 4 out of 5 stars and wrote "1001 Nunakal is an impressive debut shot with the finesse of a veteran."

S. R. Praveen of The Hindu wrote "Though the storyline constantly reminds one of Jeethu Joseph and Mohanlal's '12th Man,' director Thamar K.V succeeds in keeping the narrative engaging." Anna Mathews of The Times of India gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "1001 Nunakal has one of those ‘been there done that’ feels, with the story device being of people coming together and swapping secrets that could be the undoing of themselves and the group dynamics." Sowmya Rajendran of The News Minute gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "There are too few films that see potential in the drama of everyday life, the pathos in the ordinary, and that’s what makes 1001 Nunakal such a riveting watch." Ryan Gomez of OTTPlay gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "1001 Nunakal is a taut drama that places Malayali marriages under the microscope. The slow-burner indie film leans on a few familiar plot devices but offers a fresh perspective on the subject through a unique lens." Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in wrote "Among the revelations that emerge during the Truth or Dare exercise is that reticence is a necessary attribute of romantic relationships. In an age of performativeness fuelled by social media, the insights of Aayirathonnu Nunakal especially ring true."