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Athiradi doesn't start the way you'd expect a Basil Joseph-Tovino Thomas action-comedy to start. There's no joke, no fight, no winking at the camera. There's a stampede, a death, and a guilt that lingers for years. Directed by debutant Arun Anirudhan, the Malayalam film completed its theatrical run after releasing on May 14 and is now streaming on SonyLIV. If you skipped it in cinemas, now's the time to watch. Check out everything you need to know about the Athiradi OTT release date, the film's story, and the cast behind one of Malayalam cinema's latest action-comedy offerings.
Athiradi OTT release date is June 19, 2026 and the film is streaming exclusively on SonyLIV. The platform picked it up right after its theatrical run wrapped, which means anyone who missed it on the big screen gets a second shot fairly quickly. With two of Malayalam cinema's most popular actors sharing screen space, Athiradi is expected to attract significant attention on OTT.
The film opens with a tragedy when a stampede at a college festival called Aarohan kills a student named Merin, and the guilt sticks to Joseph Oommen for years after. When his younger brother Samkutty, or Sam Boy, joins the same college and tries to revive the festival to impress a girl, things go sideways fast. Local criminals enter the picture, the stakes get very real, and what began as a harmless campus idea turns into something nobody signed up for. The comedy and action are there, but they're earned, not just bolted on.
Arun Anirudhan makes his directorial debut with Athiradi. Basil Joseph and Tovino Thomas lead, and the dynamic between them is exactly what fans of both actors were hoping for. The supporting cast, Riya Shibu, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Zarin Shihab, Shaan Rahman, Vishnu Agasthya, P Sukumar, Shelvin James, and Jeo Baby, gives the film enough depth to carry its quieter moments without relying entirely on its two leads to do all the work.
The mix of established performers and emerging talent gives the film a youthful energy while grounding its story in recognisable emotions, making Athiradi a notable addition to this year's Malayalam releases.