Raveendra Nee Evide movie review: You know who deserves much more credit and recognition than they receive? Editors. They are the unsung messiahs, especially when it comes to movies, who not only weave elaborate and exquisite tapestries from the hundreds of shots that land on their table, but also, at times, redeem films by giving them the cohesion and organic flow the directors couldn’t quite ensure while visualising their stories. There also are moments when I genuinely feel sorry for editors, especially while watching horrendous films, wondering how many times they had to sit through the same atrocious scenes over and over again, trying to figure out if there was any way to salvage the movie; only to eventually accept that they may have wasted not just months of their time, but also a significant amount of energy and peace of mind on that particular project.
Think about the toll certain films take on us as viewers during a single watch itself, and then imagine having to sit through those same scenes, repeatedly, for weeks. I always feel that the loss editors face in such cases is second only to the financial losses the producers suffer. Hats off to you, Zian Sreekanth. I don’t think anyone else could’ve sat through Raveendra Nee Evide as many times as you must have.
Helmed by Manoj Palodan, Raveendra Nee Evide (Raveendran, Where Are You!) is, in essence, a new-era, more comical retelling of actor-director Sreenivasan’s Vadakkunokkiyantram (1989), leaning more on chaotic slapstick than situational humour.
An old-school middle-aged man, Raveendran (Anoop Menon) works as a senior scientist at the Meteorological Centre and lives in an apartment complex with his wife Bindu (Sheelu Abraham) and their daughter. The couple had married for love, against Bindu’s family’s wishes, and remain estranged from them; or at least, Raveendran is. A by-the-book officer, Raveendran is now working on a report that could expose the wrongdoings of a colleague and some political kingpins. Meanwhile, he learns that his closest friend Balan (Azees Nedumangad) is getting divorced due to his wife’s infidelity. Soon, Raveendran begins to suspect that his own marriage might be on similar shaky ground. He starts noticing Bindu making secret phone calls to someone and learns from the apartment’s visitors’ register that a much younger man, John (Dhyan Sreenivasan), has been coming to their flat and that too by giving false details. With Bindu never mentioning this man, Raveendran’s suspicions intensify. Determined to catch the two red-handed, he devises a devious, albeit impulsive, plan. But things quickly spiral out of control and even reach a point where they can affect his marital and professional life. Will Raveendran manage to get out of the mess he created?
Watch Raveendra Nee Evide trailer here:
Raveendra Nee Evide is one of those movies during which you desperately wish for at least one scene or some element that could help justify your decision to start watching it and convince your brain that you didn’t just waste two hours — and that too by paying money for squandering life, instead of doing it for free like you usually do. But the sad truth is, the film is more of a life lesson; it reminds us that Paulo Coelho blatantly lied to us in The Alchemist. That “when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it” is a sham. No matter how much you sincerely wish otherwise, Raveendra Nee Evide only spirals further downward.
Does it have a good story? No. Good visuals? Nuh-uh. Some social message? A few thrills? Definitely not. Do the jokes land at least? Hell no! Then why watch it? Well, you get to see someone act far worse than Dhyan Sreenivasan in a movie that features him. Wake up, guys. Sheelu Abraham just gave Janaki v/s State of Kerala’s Madhav Suresh some serious competition for “Worst Performance in a Malayalam Film of 2025”, proving there’s still space to explore beneath rock bottom.
Don’t think that this is just a rant. You need to understand that the sheer lack of effort from writer Krishna Poojappura and director Manoj Palodan is that damn infuriating. There’s even a scene which perfectly embodies their slackness. At a key moment, one of John’s friends goes to the police station to file a complaint that he’s “missing”. When the cop asks for a photo of John, he pulls out his phone and shows what is literally the first image you get when you Google Dhyan Sreenivasan. And it’s a still from one of his earlier films!
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Wait, there’s more. After initially introducing Dhyan’s character nonchalantly in a song, the director gives him another “intro” soon afterwards, this time with a background score and in slow-motion, making you wonder whether Manoj forgot Dhyan had already been introduced, or worse, the director never watched the final cut.
It’s after a cutesy title track by composer Prakash Ulliyeri that we meet Raveendran. While Anoop Menon has long been known for un/knowingly imitating Mohanlal on screen, this time it feels like he’s fully embraced it openly. Not just that his mannerisms in the “comedic” moments blatantly mirror Mohanlal’s — with even the iconic line “Enthonnadey? (What the hell dude?)” lifted straight out of the superstar’s playbook — there even is a shot where, as Raveendran stands at the entrance of a supermarket trying to find his wife’s paramour, Anoop Menon’s shoulder appears tilted to one side, much like Mohanlal’s distinguished hanging shoulder. As if these weren’t enough, the director has also inserted the real Mohanlal into the movie as John is shown watching Aaraattu (2022) on his phone. Thalayude vilayaattu!
From outlandish “jokes” and forgettable plot points to a barrage of coincidences handled with painfully amateur treatment, Raveendra Nee Evide is as unimpressive as it gets. And frankly, there’s little point in even discussing its problematic narrative. But here’s a teaser anyway. After suspecting his wife’s fidelity without any evidence, ordering spy cams to be installed in their house without her knowledge, hatching a plan to catch her “red-handed” and believing that she eloped with John, there is a moment in the movie where a police officer asks Bindu if she thinks Raveendran is having an affair. She, without knowing that he’s in the other room, secretly listening, attests that she’s “100% sure of his fidelity”. Then, the movie immediately cuts to Raveendran smiling ear to ear, taking immense pride in that. Bro, have some shame, no? Don’t forget your actions that quickly, and all.
Why the one star for the movie, then? It was nice to see Azees Nedumangad in a character that wasn’t a distressed, voiceless middle-class father. Because Prakash Ulliyeri’s songs were serviceable, even though the overused background score nearly ruined the rest of the film. And because, although in 144p, I got to see Mohanlal on screen. That’s always a win, right? Right, guys? Guys?
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Raveendra Nee Evide movie cast: Anoop Menon, Dhyan Sreenivasan, Sheelu Abraham, Suresh Krishna, Azees Nedumangad, Siddique, Major Ravi
Raveendra Nee Evide movie director: Manoj Palodan
Raveendra Nee Evide movie rating: 1 star