Varathan

Varathan
Varathan movie poster
Directed by	Amal Neerad
Screenplay by	Suhas–Sharfu
Produced by	Nazriya Nazim Amal Neerad
Starring	Fahadh Faasil Aishwarya Lekshmi
Cinematography	Littil Swayamp
Edited by	Vivek Harshan
Music by	Sushin Shyam
Production companies	Fahadh Faasil and Friends Amal Neerad Productions
Distributed by	A & A Release
Release date	20 September 2018 (2018-09-20)
Running time	130 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Varathan (lit. 'Outsider') is a 2018 Indian Malayalam-language survival thriller film directed by Amal Neerad and co-produced by Nazriya Nazim. The film is written by Suhas-Sharfu and stars Fahadh Faasil and Aishwarya Lekshmi. It was released on 20 September 2018. The movie is an unofficial remake of Straw Dogs.

Plot

A husband and wife, Aby and Priya working in Dubai loses their job and decides to return home than look any further. They return to the wife's native home on the hills. Since the first day of landing, Priya is afraid of the neighbours, who are contractors working on their fields. Recurrently, the villagers and neighbours are shown oggling the couple with a distaste. After their wedding anniversary, when the couple go to bed, Priya spots someone staring at them from the window at night. Although she wakes her husband, the shadow disappears. Next day, while Priya is taking a bath, she spots people staring at her from the hills. She screams and Aby spots a worker in the upper terrain. He shuts the window with a duct tape and newspaper. Priya is constantly seen warning Aby that people around are not the same as in Bangalore or Dubai.

One day, Aby has to meet up with a designer regarding their startup and Priya is left alone at home. She promises to go to the convent after Aby goes. Priya locks the door and goes to the convent Library on her scooty. Although, midway she is hit by a Jeep with the malefic neighbours Josy, Johnny and their right hand man Jithin. They rape the unconscious Priya and leaves her at the doorstep of the hospital. When Aby returns home at night, he sees the house locked. He tries to search for her all around, but gets a call from the caretaker Benny, informing that Priya is hospitalized. When Aby reaches the hospital, Priya is furious. She talks nothing and fumes out of the hospital. Aby tries to talk to her when they en route to home, but Priya is agitated. She takes the key, walks into the house and starts packing her bags. When Aby starts to question her, Priya furiously says she was raped and she no longer feels safe living with Aby. She tells him to get out.

Aby walks out and lights a cigarette standing at the front door. A boy and mother, whom Aby and Priya once gave lift to, comes crying to the house. They describe how the boy was caught with the Contractor's daughter Sandra in the bushes that day. They explain how the contractor family is looking to kill him. Aby tells the mother and son to go inside and locks the door. Two men, who work for the contractor comes inquiring about the boy. Aby says he doesn't know where the boy is. Unsatisfied, they return. However, a Jeep and multiple people including the Contractor and all his sons come to Aby's house. They ask for the boy and Aby says he won't let go of the boy. They can find him tomorrow at the Police Station.

None of the people withdraw, upon which Aby walks inside and tries to lock the door. When he is stopped by Johnny, Aby slides out a butcher's knife from the doorside and stabs his shoulders. He locks the door and walks Priya, the mother and the boy to a safe room.

From there, the movie takes an action-mode. Aby sets up the house to electrocute the invaders and successfully does so. Some others who try to invade the house are seen burned with torch flame and LPG gas cylinder, cleverly by Aby. After fighting tooth and nail until the morning, Aby is caught by Josey and the contractor. While they aim to shoot him with a gun, Priya walks out with the mother and the son as if in surrender. When they look towards her, Priya shoots two of the perpetrators. Aby, seeing the opportunity, takes charge. The contractor flees away and Aby brutally hits Josey, the last of his wife's abuser.

Next, he is seen drinking the coffee with Priya while he narrates how law is still valid and alive in this part of the country. After that, an epilogue 'One week Later' is seen where Aby locks the gate with a plaque on it saying 'Trespassers will be Shot'. They live a happy life after.

Synopsis

Aby (Fahadh Faasil), who had just lost his job in Dubai, lands in a village with Priya (Aishwarya Lekshmi), his wife. The young couple moves to Priya’s ancestral property, a farmhouse in the hills, a terrain that’s in part alluring and part eerie. Priya who has a modern lifestyle becomes a target of a particularly unrefined culture of the village. Her husband is considered as a Varathan (outsider) by the villagers and viewed with less significance. One day, some nearby youths who had been disturbing Priya, attacks and violates her. Aby thinks of complaining to the police, and she mocks him for being a coward. A teenager who was having an affair with the sister of one of the youths who violated Priya runs into Aby's house for protection. Aby takes a firm position and decides to defend the teenager. He fights the family and the youths who intends to kill the teenager. They are drawn into a deadly game of Aby's passive anger, violence, and ferocity. The second half turns hostility's twin side with suspense in the air.

Cast

• Fahadh Faasil as Aby
• Aishwarya Lekshmi as Priya Paul
• Sharaf U Dheen as Josey
• Dileesh Pothan as Benny
• Nisthar Sait
• Arjun Asokan as Johnny
• Vijilesh Karayad as Jithin
• Shobhi Thilakan
• Chethan Jayalal as Preman
• Parvathy T as Priya's mother
• Kochu Preman as Oanth
• Jinu Joseph as Alex

Production

Besides directing, Amal Neerad co-produced the film with Nazriya Nazim, which stars her husband Fahadh Faasil alongside Aishwarya Lekshmi. Neerad revealed the film's title on 20 June 2018 by releasing the first poster. Varathan in Malayalam means "outsider" in English. Writer Suhas describes the film as a "survival thriller". Shot in Dubai and Wagamon, filming was completed by June 2018.

Soundtrack

The music of the film was composed by Sushin Shyam.

Varathan (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Original version

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Nee"	Vinayak Sasikumar	Sreenath Bhasi, Nazriya Nazim	02:59
2.	"Puthiyoru Pathayil"	Vinayak Sasikumar	Nazriya Nazim	03:03
3.	"Oduvile Theeyayi"	Vinayak Sasikumar	Sushin Shyam, Neha.S. Nair	03:26
Total length:				22:37

Release

The film was released on 20 September 2018.

Many of the critics remarked that the film is an unofficial adaptation of Straw Dogs.

Box office

The film was a commercial success. As of 5 October 2018, the film has grossed ₹22 crore worldwide, with ₹18 crore from Kerala alone. It grossed ₹1.06 crore from Bangalore in 12 days. As of October, it is the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year in Bangalore.

External links

• Varathan at IMDb