Ajagajantharam

Ajagajantharam is a 2021 Indian Malayalam-language action film directed by Tinu Pappachan and written by Kichu Tellus and Vineeth Vishwam. It stars Antony Varghese, Arjun Ashokan, Chemban Vinod Jose and Sabumon Abdusamad. The music was composed by Justin Varghese, while the cinematography and editing were handled by Jinto George and Shameer Muhammed.

Ajagajantharam was scheduled to release on 26 February 2021, but was postponed due the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. The film was later released on 23 December 2021 and emerged as a commercial success at the box office.

Plot
Lali and Ambi are mahouts who live in the village of Aranjali, where most of the youth and middle-aged villagers consumes alcohol, substances and are egoistic. Lali and Ambi supply an elephant named Neysseri Parthan for the temple festival, where they get a bit uninhibited and carries on themselves with high ego. Kannan, an unemployed youth, and his friends tries to be a bit brash and bumptious with them due to a small disagreement. Lali kicks Kannan for being in his face for long and also thrashes Kannan's friend Vinu. Enraged, Kannan and his friends decide to exact revenge and plans a full scale mayhem in the festival to kill Lali and Ambi. The mayhem ensues and Kannan and his friends attacks Lali and Ambi, but Lali and Ambi fights Kannan and his men with Parthan's help. They finally escape from the festival and return back to their home.

Cast

 * Antony Varghese as Lali
 * Arjun Ashokan as Kannan
 * Kichu Tellus as Ambi
 * Sabumon Abdusamad as Kachamber Das
 * Vineeth Vishwam as Vinu
 * Anil Nedumangad as Sony
 * Sudhi Koppa as Pindy
 * Tito Wilson as Kottappuram Surendran
 * Jaffar Idukki as Committee President
 * Bitto Davis as Pottachira Hari
 * Vijilesh Karayad as Eden
 * Lukman Avaran
 * Sinoj Varghese as Joly
 * Sree Renjini as Meera
 * Chemban Vinod Jose as Aliyan (cameo appearance)
 * Nandakkal Unnikrishnan (Elephant) as Neysseri Parthan

Production
Antony Varghese and Tinu Pappachan had earlier collaborated in the latter's debut directorial Swathanthryam Ardharathriyil. The film's title Ajagajantharam was given by Lijo Jose Pellissery, while the story has been written by Kichu Tellus and Vineeth Vishwam. It was produced by Emmanuel Joseph and Ajith Thalapilliy. The soundtrack and background score were composed by Justin Varghese. Jinto George is the cinematographer while Shameer Muhammed and Arjun Kallingal served as the editor and photographer.

Release
The film was initially scheduled to be released on 26 February 2021, but was postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic. It was finally released on 23 December 2021, coinciding with Christmas weekend.

Home media
The satellite and digital rights of the film were sold to SonyLIV and Surya TV.

Reception
Ajagajantharam received positive reviews from critics with praise for its action sequences, acting, cinematography and technical aspects, but criticized its "wafer-thin" story.

Critical response
Sajin Shrijith of The New Indian Express gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Like his mentor Lijo Jose Pellissery, Tinu Pappachan proves once again that he is one of the few filmmakers in Malayalam cinema right now supremely adept at staging chaos." Akshay Krishna of OTTplay gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Ajagajantharam is a film that offers impeccable, grounded and realistic action scenes that can be best enjoyed in a theatre."

Behindwoods gave 2.75/5 stars and wrote "Ajagajantharam is a technically sound action thriller that brings the festivities of a puram to life." Anna Mathews of The Times of India gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Ajagajantharam seems purely a movie for the sake of stunts and there is hardly the slightest sliver of a story holding together the fight sequences."

S. R. Praveen of The Hindu wrote "The tasteful manner in which some of the action sequences are staged often makes us forget all our million grouses with Tinu Pappachan’s film." Tony Mathew of Onmanorama termed it as "a power-packed action feast" and wrote "This is exactly the dose of high voltage fun you needed right now."