Athisayan

{{Infobox film

| name = Athishayan

| image = Athisayan_malayalam.jpg

| caption = DVD cover

| alt =

| director = Vinayan

| producer = Gokulam Gopalan

| writer = Vinayan

| starring = Master Devadas

| music = Alphonse Joseph

| cinematography = Raaja Ratnam

| editing = G. Murali

| studio = Sree Gokulam Movies

| distributor = Sree Gokulam Release

| released = {{Film date|df=yes|2007|04|17}}

| runtime = 135 minutes

| country = India

| language = Malayalam

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Athishayan ({{translation|The Astounded}}) is a 2007 Indian Malayalam-language science fiction film written and directed by Vinayan, starring Master Devadas with Jackie Shroff (in his Malayalam film debut), Kavya Madhavan, Karthika, Jayasurya and Mukesh in other roles. The film is inspired from the 2003 film Hulk. In the film, Devan is an orphan raised by Maya, an investigative journalist. When she is abducted before she can expose a high-profile group of criminals, Devan consumes an invisibility potion to try and save her.

Plot

Maya, a young television reporter, works for New India Television. Radharamanan, the managing director of the channel, has a fascination for Maya, who was brought up in an orphanage by Father Chanthakkadan. Maya takes up the responsibility of bringing up a few orphans whom she has picked up from the streets. One of these kids is Devan, who is sort of a child prodigy, with a computer-like mind and very good in studies and extra-curricular activities. R. C. Shekhar, a scientist, lives very close their house, with his servant Damodaran. He is working on a project, which could help in making human beings invisible. On the very day that he successfully experiments with his 'magic' potion on a rabbit, which Devan watches. After the experiment, he is urgently called to the U.S. as his daughter Sunitha, who is studying there, meets with an accident.

Meanwhile, Maya's boyfriend Roy, also a journalist, is in jail after having been framed in a murder case of a young woman by some influential politicians, including the State Revenue Minister Divakaran, another minister Yunus Kunju, the Police Commissioner Shanmughan and the very influential Kuwait Nazar. With the help of the newly appointed Collector Anita Williams, Maya shoots a video of these baddies accepting millions of rupees as commission from some Arab businessmen, who are there to sign some business deals with the State Government.

Maya immediately goes to Radharamanan and shows him the clip. Radharamanan is thrilled and agrees to telecast it, after discussing it with the board of directors. Somehow Nazar, Divakaran and others come to know of this, and they go after Maya, to get from her the memory card containing the clipping. On the very same day that R. C. Shekhar goes to the U.S, Maya is kidnapped by Nazar and group. The kids are baffled. Anita Williams, Father Chanthakkadan and Radharamanan know who are behind this, but nothing can be done without sufficient evidence. And then Devan sneaks into Shekhar's lab and drinks the potion. He becomes invisible and sets out to save Maya.

He successfully saves Maya but he loses the memory card. Radharamanan and Maya releases Roy on bail with Devan's help. Angrily Nazar kidnaps Roy and kills him with Yunus's help. Meanwhile, Shekhar comes back from U.S. and plans to make Devan visible. Devan then retrieves the memory card which was in his pockets and hands it over to Radharamanan. But Nazar's henchmen Johnny and his other men try to take it from Radharamanan but he refuses to give it. A fight occurs between, Radharamanan and Nazar's henchmen. Shekhar sees this and saves Radharamanan from them. Nazar and Yunus arrive there and try to take the memory card but fails. Radharamanan goes to telecast the clip. When Yunus tries to shoot him, Devan comes in between and gets shot. Due to the potion, he gets saved, but as a side effect of getting shot (which Shekhar warns no metallic objects should make a scratch on him), he mutates into an aggressive giant and a monster and kills those who have done wrong to him and his family, during which a saves a child. Shekhar couldn't save him. After killing the baddies, Devan leaves Maya and the children and makes his abode in the deep ocean, with an end note saying that "to fight for the Justice, Devan will come back as Athisayan".

Cast

Master Devadas as Devan (Athisayan)
Jackie Shroff as R. C. Shekhar
Jayasurya as Roy Joseph
Mukesh as Radharamanan
Kavya Madhavan as Maya
Karthika as Anitha Williams
Jagadish as Koshi
Thilakan as Father Chanthakkadan
Baby Nayanthara as Kingini
Harisree Ashokan as 'Einstein' Damodharan
Guinness Pakru as Ramu
Indrans as Swami
Devan as Kuwait Nazar
Ramu as Minister Yunus Kunju
Baburaj as Parunthu Johnny
Tini Tom as Jamal
Rajan P. Dev as Minister Divakaran
Bheeman Raghu as Commissioner Shanmughan IPS
Mala Aravindan as Sessions Judge Rama Moorthy
Augustine as Public Prosecutor Joy Manjooran
Sadiq as ACP Rajendra BabuIPS is
Mafia Sasi as Hassan Mustafa
Chali Pala as CI Balagopal
Gagandeep Virk as Police Officer Ananthan
N. L. Balakrishnan as Manthravadi
Lakshmi Priya as Shahidha, Kingini's mother
Usha as Susie, Koshi's wife
Ponnamma Babu

Production

Devadas was cast in the film because the film's producer was his father's friend.{{Cite web|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/kollywood/221118/athisayan-boy-is-back.html|title=Athisayan boy is back|first=Elizabeth|last=Thomas|work=Deccan Chronicle|date=23 November 2018}} This was the first film he shot for although Anandabhairavi was released first.{{cite web|url=https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/3013/malayalam/athisayan/1137/review.htm|title=Athisayan Review|date=16 April 2007|work=Nowrunning|last=Nair|first=Unni}} The shooting of the film was in Kerala, mainly in locations in Aluva and Ernakulam. The film was high on special effects, visual effects and 2D Animation. These special effects of Athisayan were done at EFX, Chennai.http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2006040700840200.htm&date=2006/04/07/&prd=fr& {{Dead link|date=March 2022}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/mollywood/280917/malayalis-got-talent.html|title=Malayali's GoT talent|work=Deccan Chronicle|last=Harigovind|date=28 September 2017}} Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff plays a scientist in this film, which marks his Malayalam debut.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/movies/2006/apr/19spice.htm|title=Jackie Shroff signs Malayalam film|date=19 April 2006|work=Rediff.com}}

Soundtrack

{{Infobox album

| name = Athisayan

| type = soundtrack

| artist = Alphonse Joseph

| cover =

| alt =

| released = 2007

| recorded = Satyam Audios

| venue =

| studio =

| genre = World Music

| length =

| label = Satyam Audios

| producer = Sree Gokulam Movies

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title =

| next_year =

}}

The music of Athisayan is by Alphonse Joseph. The lyrics are written by Vinayan and Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma. The film has four songs. The singers are Vineeth Sreenivasan, Rimi Tomy, Vidhu Prathap, Balu, Karthik and Sithara. Sithara was debuted through this film.{{Cite web|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/music/241117/singing-sithara-and-moms-love.html|title=Singing Sithara and mom's love|work=Deccan Chronicle|date=25 November 2017|first=Vandhana|last=Mohandas}}

Track #	Song	Singer(s)
class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
1	"Aluva Manappurathe" ("Pammi Pammi Vanne")	Sithara
2	"Ennomale"	Vineeth Sreenivasan, Rimi Tomy
3	"Neeyennomal"	Karthik
4	"Athishayan (Kuttappanmaaraya)"	Vidhu Prathap, Balu

Release and reception

Athisayan was released in Kerala during the summer vacation, on 17 April 2007, mainly aiming at children.

A critic from Sify wrote that the film "defies all logic and is a hotch potch of various films. At best it provides some fun for the kids, however the graphic work in the film is tacky, making it difficult to watch the long drawn out climax scenes [...] A battalion of comedians and kids provide some relief. Master Devadas's ability to play his characters wit and melancholy keeps the film going".{{cite web|url=http://sify.com/movies/malayalam/review.php?id=14431181&ctid=5&cid=2428|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070518102408/http://sify.com/movies/malayalam/review.php?id=14431181&ctid=5&cid=2428|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 May 2007|title=Review : Athisayan|work=Sify}}

The Hindi dubbed version of the film, titled Naya Ajooba, was released in 2009.{{cite web|url=http://vijsonfilms.com/films/naya_ajooma.htm |title=Vijson Films |access-date=6 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504121652/http://vijsonfilms.com/films/naya_ajooma.htm |archivedate=4 May 2011 }}