Aadu (film)

Aadu is a 2015 Indian slapstick comedy film, written and directed by Midhun Manuel Thomas. It was an adaptation from the Guy Richie film "Snatch" where the dog and diamond were replaced by the Goat and "Neela Koduveli". It was produced and distributed by Vijay Babu and Sandra Thomas through Friday Film House. The film stars an ensemble cast, including Jayasurya, Vijay Babu, Sunny Wayne, Vinayakan, Saiju Kurup, Dharmajan Bolgatty, Vineeth Mohan, Bhagath Manuel, Renji Panicker, Sandra Thomas, Chemban Vinod Jose, Indrans, Bijukuttan, and Harikrishnan.

Aadu was released in India on 6 February 2015. Upon release, it received a mixed response and underperformed at the box office. However, after its DVD release the reception towards the film was positive and in time, attained a cult following. A sequel Aadu 2 was released in 2017, and a third installment Aadu 3 has been announced for a release in 3D format. Aadu was re-released in Kerala on 16 March 2018.

Plot
In Bangkok, a gangster named Dude is asked by his boss to search for and bring a rare herb known as Neelakoduveli from Kerala which is believed to bring eternal fortune to its bearer.

In Kerala, Shaji Pappan and his friends, who live in the High Range area in Idukki participate in and win a tug-of-war tournament, the prize of which is a female goat, whom the team calls 'Pinky'. Shaji, who suffers from frequent back pain, has an issue with women, due to his wife, Mary, eloping with his driver.

He reluctantly allows Pinky inside his van on the condition that Abu, one of his teammates, will slaughter it later for a feast. Abu, however, is revealed to be unable to slaughter the goat. This, along with many other problems on their journey back, makes Shaji determined to get rid of Pinky.

One such problem is that they are stopped by Inspector Sarbath Shameer, a quirky police officer, who is known for ramming the culprits' forehead on a lemon and drinking the juice. As Shameer questions them, Menaka Kanthan, an animal welfare activist, arrives and accuses the group of abusing the goat and presses charges. Elsewhere, a veteran leader named P.P Sasi foolishly discloses politically driven murders publicly and has to escape to evade the law.

Dude and his boys now arrive in Kerala in search of Neelakkoduveli, which is now in possession of Satan Xavier, a high-profile drug dealer living in the High Range area. They make a deal with Kanjavu Soman, a low-level drug dealer, to retrieve the herb from Xavier. However, the trunk containing Neelakkoduveli is stolen from Soman by masked assailants driving a van similar to the one that Shaji drives. Dude thinks that Shaji and his group are the thieves and his men then capture Abu and Pinky as hostages.

Shaji is sent a ransom video by Dude and is able to work out their location. The group attempts to rescue Abu and Pinky but is unable to do so due to the firepower that Dude unleashes. Shaji then reluctantly decides to seek help from his estranged elder brother, Thomas, who arms the group with ancient rifles. These rifles turn out to be duds but the group is still able to defeat Dude and rescue Abu and Pinky. During this clash, Shameer and his men arrive and apprehend Dude, the trunk, and also find Sasi hidden nearby. However, on opening the trunk they discover cow dung instead of the herb.

It is then revealed that Soman had switched the trunk with a decoy one filled with dung. While escaping with it, he falls into a pit and the contents of the trunk are dispersed. The herb is then eaten by Pinky who is nearby. The power of the herb brought Pinky luck, which was why the lamb wasn't harmed.

Shaji finally manages to sell Pinky to a butcher. On the sight of his friends' evoked grievances, he feels a stroke of sympathy and brings Pinky back.

Reception
Upon release, the film received mixed response. Full comedy scenes Akhila of FilmiBeat stated "Film fails to meet the expectations raised by the first looks and promotion". Veeyen of nowrunning.com said "'Aadu Oru Bheekara Jeevi Aanu' is a fiasco of colossal proportions that is little more than a series of insipid conversations between supposedly hilarious characters. Suffering from some severely smug writing, Aadu Oru Bheekara Jeevi Aanu is iffy stuff that delivers none of the promises that it makes, which includes serving a few earnest laughs as well."

Music
The original soundtrack and background score were composed by Shaan Rahman with lyrics by Manu Manjith.


 * Soundtrack


 * Background score

Sequel
A sequel called Aadu 2 was released on 22 December 2017 and was a commercial success at the box office.