Super Sharanya

Super Sharanya is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by Girish A. D. The film stars Anaswara Rajan in the title role, while Mamitha Baiju, Arjun Ashokan and Naslen K. Gafoor plays the supporting roles. The film was produced by Shebin Backer and Girish A. D. and the music is composed by Justin Varghese.

Super Sharanya was released on Jan 7, 2022 and became a commercial success despite receiving mixed reviews from critics.

Synopsis
Sharanya Vasudevan moves from her small town in Palakkad district and enrolls in an engineering college in Thrissur city. She starts attending classes and meet her roommates Sona Thomas, Sherin and Devika. Sharanya is an anxious and insecure individual who tries to avoid any anxiety inducing situation. She has to deal with her college seniors ragging and has trouble fitting in. However, she and her roommates navigate through college while trying to enjoy a social life through food and outings.

In college, Sharanya has to deal with the unwanted affections of multiple men. These include an annoying senior, Ajith Menon, an impudent and tactless professor, Arun Raj and a shy classmate Sangeeth. She constantly tries to avoid the first two and maintains a platonic friendship with Sangeeth. Ajith is a violent, tempermental and feared senior who is much older than most of the other students. One day he confronts and proposes marriage to Sharanya. However, she is unable to refuse him immediately due to her fear of him and tells him to give her time to think about her answer. Similarly, the professor writes a love letter to her and proposes to her in the middle of a viva exam. She tells him that this is an unethical and immoral situation and refuses him. From that point onwards, the professor tries to make life difficult for Sharanya by grading her work harshly.

One day, on one of their outings in Ernakulam, Sharanya and her friends literally bump into Deepu. While Sona and Deepu argue with each other, he is immediately attracted to Sharanya. Later, he tracks her down via Instagram hashtags and sends her a friend request. Deepu, his friend Varun and brother-in-law Abhilash run a fried goods business. Sharanya is initially skeptical but eventually accepts his request and they soon start chatting online regularly. Sona, who calls herself Sharanya's guardian, is not in favor of this friendship and tries to dissuade her. However, Sharanya and Deepu become closer and meet up at a wedding where she accepts his proposal.

Ajith, who now is impatient for an answer, beats up Sangeeth thinking that he is the reason for Sharanya's hesitation. Professor Arun gets accidently electrocuted while trying to make things difficult for Sharanya during a lab exam. Deepu, who has an unsavory past, is able to help Sharanya get rid of Ajith by beating him up. With these annoyances out of her life, Sharanya, slowly begins to find her voice and is able to overcome most of her anxieties. She is able to become a more confident person who makes her own decision which includes standing up to Sona to defend her choice to have a relationship with Deepu.

Cast

 * Anaswara Rajan as "Super" Sharanya Vasudevan (Shaaru)
 * Arjun Ashokan as Deepu
 * Mamitha Baiju as Sona "Sona Re" Thomas
 * Naslen K. Gafoor as Sangeeth
 * Antony Varghese as Sumesh (cameo appearance)
 * Vineeth Vishwam as Assistant Professor Arun Raj
 * Sajin Cherukayil as Abhilash Kumar, Deepu's brother-in-law
 * Vineeth Vasudevan as Ajith Menon
 * Varun Dhara as Varun
 * Manikandan Pattambi as Vasudevan, Sharanya's father
 * Bindu Panicker as Deepu's mother
 * Rosna Joshi as Sherin
 * Kani Kusruti (cameo appearance)
 * Devika Gopal Nair as Devika
 * Sneha Babu as Deepthi, Deepu's sister
 * Sanath Sivaraj as Sudhi
 * Jimmy Danny as Jimmy, canteen owner
 * Aravind E. Haridas as Sanju
 * Keerthana Sreekumar as Senior College Student
 * Sreekanth Vettiyar as Justin
 * Sangeeth Prathap as Sona's cousin
 * Parvathy Ayyappan as Navya

Production
Super Sharanya was announced in August 2020 as Gireesh A. D.'s second directorial after Thanneer Mathan Dinangal with Anaswara Rajan, Arjun Ashokan, Mamitha Baiju and Naslen K. Gafoor in lead roles. Kunchacko Boban shared the first look character posters of the film. A second-look poster has been revealed by the filmmakers, announcing the January 2022 release of the film in theatres. Shebin Backer is producing the film, which is co-produced by Girish A. D.. Sajith Purushan did the cinematography, while Akash Joseph Vargheese did the editing. Justin Varghese, who was also the composer of Thanneer Mathan Dinangal composed the music. The film's production was stated to begin in April 2020 but instead started in December 2020 due to the Covid outbreak. The film was shot in Palakkad, Ernakulam and Government Engineering College, Thrissur.

Release
The film was released on 7 January 2022.

Critical response
Anna Mathews of The Times of India gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Super Sharanya isn't a very meaningful film that will move or stir you, but if you are in the mood for light entertainment, this can be fun to watch particularly with friends." Goutham V. S. of The Indian Express wrote "A few narrative flourishes notwithstanding, the film tells the same love story all over again. It never explains its title either." Cris of The News Minute wrote "Girish AD's second film is not as adorable as his first, Thanneer Mathan Dinangal, but it ticks a lot of boxes."

Sajin Shrijith of The New Indian Express gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Unlike in Thanneer Mathan Dinangal, the female characters manage to outshine the boys this time around." S. R. Praveen of The Hindu wrote "The typical old-school romantic drama is partly enjoyable, but misses the spark or sensibility that marked director Girish's debut film." Ajish Jimmy George of Onmanorama wrote "Each character in Super Sharanya leaves a mark and the story flows without drag for the entire two hours and forty minutes. This one is definitely a major improvement over Thanneer Mathan Dinangal."