Ariyippu, the Malayalam language film got a place on Netflix. The streamer has launched the first trailer of the film. It has found a home on Netflix. The streamer debuted the first trailer for the film, directed by Mahesh Narayanan and starring Kunchako Boban, on Wednesday.
It’s a bit of a departure for the streamer, which usually tends to acquire more mainstream Indian titles. But to be fair, Netflix also released director Chaitanya Tamhane’s acclaimed Marathi language drama The Disciple, and director Ivan Ayr’s Meel Patthar — both played at Venice — a couple of years ago. Ariyippu falls in that bracket.
The film revolves around the tale of a Malayali couple living on the outskirts of the national capital New Delhi, hoping to save enough and emigrate abroad. This is a common reality for people from the south Indian state of Kerala, where the Malayalam film industry is based. Inspired by neo-realist cinema, Ariyippu also grapples with themes of aspiration and survival, and how some people are often treated as outsiders in their own country. But the central couple’s plans to overcome the class divide are upended when an embarrassing incident puts the spotlight on them. For the first time in probably forever, people start paying attention to them, but not for the right reasons.
Having established himself as a film editor, Narayanan made his feature directorial debut with the 2017 survival thriller Take Off, also starring Boban. He followed it up with the computer screen film CU Soon, and then directed the sweeping gangster epic Malik. His directorial output is emblematic of the “New Gen” movement in Malayalam cinema, which has been hailed for producing some of the most acclaimed and innovative films in the country.
For context, India has several thriving film industries that function independently of each other. Some films, like the recent Telugu language blockbuster RRR, have the ability to cross over into different parts of the country. Bollywood, for instance, is a term used exclusively for the Hindi language industry, which is based in the city of Mumbai. The Malayalam film industry is among the most insular in all of India, but also highly admired. Malayalam language movies gained further recognition during the pandemic when audiences from all across the country were exposed to them on streaming.
Boban, for instance, starred in the acclaimed chase thriller Nayattu, which blew up after landing on Netflix last year. And earlier this year, he starred in the hostage thriller Pada, which eventually landed on Prime Video. Narayanan said that he is thrilled for Ariyippu to have “found its home on Netflix.” In his own words:
“Ariyippu’s journey has been absolutely gratifying and fulfilling so far. I am delighted at the response the film has received at various film festivals across the globe and now that it has found its home on Netflix, I am looking forward to audiences around the world watching the film and their reactions to it. The film is about the pandemic and a story of one couple and their fight to survive through it.”
Produced by Shebin Backer Production, Kunchako Boban Production, and Moving Narratives. Ariyippu is a story of a struggling couple played by Kunchacko Bohan and Divya Prabha, who works in a medical gloves factory in Delhi, and dream to migrate out of the country for a better life but life had other plans which open up a pandora’s box that threatens the couple’s job and marriage. The film also explores emotional and social imbalances in their relationship.
Ariyippu: Release Date
The movie will start to stream on Netflix on 16th December 2022.
Here is the trailer:
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