# Azadi (ആസാദി) (2025 film)
**Azadi** (ആസാദി) is a 2025 Indian Malayalam-language jailbreak thriller directed by debutant Jo George and written by Sagar, starring Sreenath Bhasi, Raveena Ravi, Lal, Vani Viswanath, and Saiju Kurup. The film follows a pregnant prisoner convicted of murder who is moved to a hospital for childbirth, and the plan her husband and father-in-law mount to free her from the labor ward.[1](https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/2025/05/23/azadi-movie-review-malayalam-film-sreenath-bhasi-raveena-ravi-lal-vani-viswanath.html) • [2](https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/2025/06/14/sreenath-bhasi-starrer-azadi-locks-ott-release-date-mollywood-movies.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer | Jo George (directorial debut); story, screenplay, and dialogues by Sagar[3](https://cbfcindia.gov.in/cbfcAdmin/search-result.php?recid=Q0EwOTI1MDQyMDI1MDAwMjI%3D) |
| Lead cast | Sreenath Bhasi as Raghu, Raveena Ravi as Ganga, Lal as Shivan, Vani Viswanath as a police officer, Saiju Kurup as Sam[4](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/amp/azadi/ET00443684) |
| Theatrical release | 23 May 2025, in Malayalam and Tamil[4](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/amp/azadi/ET00443684) |
| Censor certification | UA 16+, certified length 131.7 minutes, certificate dated 7 May 2025[3](https://cbfcindia.gov.in/cbfcAdmin/search-result.php?recid=Q0EwOTI1MDQyMDI1MDAwMjI%3D) |
| OTT release | 27 June 2025 on ManoramaMAX (Malayalam); Tamil dub on Sun NXT[5](https://www.ottplay.com/news/azadi-out-on-ott-where-you-can-stream-sreenath-bhasi-thriller-malayalam-tamil/89f354397f453) |
| Production | Little Crew Productions; producer Faizal Raja[3](https://cbfcindia.gov.in/cbfcAdmin/search-result.php?recid=Q0EwOTI1MDQyMDI1MDAwMjI%3D) • [6](https://letterboxd.com/film/azadi/) |
| Audience ratings | IMDb 6.2/10 (874 votes); BookMyShow 8.6/10 (640+ votes)[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27494358/) • [4](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/amp/azadi/ET00443684) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and premise
The film centers on Ganga (Raveena Ravi), a pregnant inmate convicted of murder who is temporarily moved to Kottayam Medical College for childbirth. Seizing this brief window, her husband Raghu (Sreenath Bhasi) and father-in-law Shivan (Lal) plan an audacious 24-hour operation to break her out of the hospital's labor ward. As the escape unfolds, old secrets and new enemies emerge, turning the mission into a tense battle for survival, while a high-ranking police officer works to thwart the plan.[2](https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/2025/06/14/sreenath-bhasi-starrer-azadi-locks-ott-release-date-mollywood-movies.html) • [8](https://www.manoramanews.com/entertainment/ott/2026/01/23/azadi-malayalam-movie-ott-release-manoramamax-jailbreak-thriller.html)
The official poster carried the tagline "One night, one birth, one mission" (ഒരു രാത്രി, ഒരു ജനനം, ഒരു ദൗത്യം).[9](https://www.malayalivartha.com/cinema/malayalam/331175) The film is not a political thriller despite its title, which means freedom; it belongs to the prison-break genre, and its suspense is held back until the final minutes, where the reason Ganga's backstory is withheld is revealed.[1](https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/2025/05/23/azadi-movie-review-malayalam-film-sreenath-bhasi-raveena-ravi-lal-vani-viswanath.html)
## Production and crew
Varun Unni composed the music and background score, with lyrics by Harinarayanan; Saneesh Stanly handled cinematography and Noufal Abdullah the editing.[2](https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/2025/06/14/sreenath-bhasi-starrer-azadi-locks-ott-release-date-mollywood-movies.html) • [10](https://www.filmibeat.com/malayalam/movies/azadi/story.html) The film was produced by Faizal Raja under the banner of Little Crew Productions, marking the first project under that label.[10](https://www.filmibeat.com/malayalam/movies/azadi/story.html)
**Casting notes.** [Vani Viswanath](https://www.edgepedia.org/vani-viswanath) plays the police officer pursuing the escapees, her return to [Malayalam cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/malayalam-cinema) after *[Rifle Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/rifle-club-film)*; according to Raveena Ravi, the director cast her after being impressed by her performances in *Love Today* and *Maamannan*. Azadi also marked composer Varun Unni's return to Malayalam cinema after more than a decade, and his track "Eka Eka" from the film drew a warm response from listeners.[2](https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/2025/06/14/sreenath-bhasi-starrer-azadi-locks-ott-release-date-mollywood-movies.html)
## Release
The film was announced for a 9 May 2025 release in Malayalam and Tamil, with the official poster issued in late April 2025 as production wrapped.[9](https://www.malayalivartha.com/cinema/malayalam/331175) It reached theaters on 23 May 2025.[4](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/amp/azadi/ET00443684) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27494358/) The Central Board of Film Certification cleared it as UA 16+ with a certified length of 131.7 minutes on 7 May 2025.[3](https://cbfcindia.gov.in/cbfcAdmin/search-result.php?recid=Q0EwOTI1MDQyMDI1MDAwMjI%3D)
**OTT debut.** ManoramaMAX had secured the digital rights in advance and announced the streaming date early; the film began streaming on ManoramaMAX in its original Malayalam version on 27 June 2025, about a month after its theatrical release, with the Tamil dub on Sun NXT.[5](https://www.ottplay.com/news/azadi-out-on-ott-where-you-can-stream-sreenath-bhasi-thriller-malayalam-tamil/89f354397f453) • [11](https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/south/azadi-ott-release-when-and-where-to-watch-sreenath-bhasi-starrer-action-thriller-in-malayalam-tamil-1392375)
## Reception
Critical response was mixed. [The Indian Express](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-indian-express) rated the film 2 out of 5, finding that the jailbreak drama struggled to break free of clichés and was, in the reviewer's words, shackled to a terrible twist, though it praised Vani Viswanath's screen presence while judging her character poorly written.[12](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/azadi-movie-review-sreenath-bhasi-jailbreak-drama-struggles-to-break-free-of-cliches-is-shackled-to-terrible-twist-10025371/lite/) Onmanorama's review called it an engaging prison-break film with strong performances, noting that few Malayalam films have explored the prison-break subgenre in recent years apart from *Swathanthrayam Ardharathriyil*, and that the film takes a different approach by setting most of the action inside Kottayam Medical College around the people behind the breakout plan.[1](https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/2025/05/23/azadi-movie-review-malayalam-film-sreenath-bhasi-raveena-ravi-lal-vani-viswanath.html) A Manorama review described it as more than a conventional jailbreak thriller, a story of human relationships that also works emotionally.[13](https://www.manoramaonline.com/movies/movie-reviews/2025/05/23/azadi-movie-review.html)
Audience measures diverged from the harshest reviews: IMDb recorded 6.2/10 from 874 votes and [BookMyShow](https://www.edgepedia.org/bookmyshow) 8.6/10 from more than 640 votes, with its review tags led by #SuperDirection (199 mentions) and #GreatActing (194).[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27494358/) • [4](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/amp/azadi/ET00443684) IMDb lists a worldwide gross of $8,612.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27494358/)
## References
1. ['Azadi' review: Sreenath Bhasi stars in an engaging prison break film with strong performances, Onmanorama](https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/2025/05/23/azadi-movie-review-malayalam-film-sreenath-bhasi-raveena-ravi-lal-vani-viswanath.html)
2. [Sreenath Bhasi-starrer 'Azadi' locks its OTT release date, Onmanorama](https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/2025/06/14/sreenath-bhasi-starrer-azadi-locks-ott-release-date-mollywood-movies.html)
3. [CBFC Search Film: AZADI, Central Board of Film Certification, India](https://cbfcindia.gov.in/cbfcAdmin/search-result.php?recid=Q0EwOTI1MDQyMDI1MDAwMjI%3D)
4. [Azadi (2025), BookMyShow](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/amp/azadi/ET00443684)
5. [Azadi out on OTT: Here's where you can stream Sreenath Bhasi's thriller in Malayalam and Tamil, OTTplay](https://www.ottplay.com/news/azadi-out-on-ott-where-you-can-stream-sreenath-bhasi-thriller-malayalam-tamil/89f354397f453)
6. [Azadi (2025), Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/film/azadi/)
7. [Azadi (2025), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27494358/)
8. [കാവലായി പൊലീസും കരുനീക്കങ്ങളുമായി കുടുംബവും; സസ്പെൻസ് ത്രില്ലർ 'ആസാദി' മനോരമ മാക്സിൽ, Manorama News](https://www.manoramanews.com/entertainment/ott/2026/01/23/azadi-malayalam-movie-ott-release-manoramamax-jailbreak-thriller.html)
9. [മെഡിക്കൽ ഫാമിലി ത്രില്ലർ ആസാദി മെയ് ഒമ്പതിന്, Malayalivartha](https://www.malayalivartha.com/cinema/malayalam/331175)
10. [Azadi: Story, Preview, First Day Box Office Collection, FilmiBeat](https://www.filmibeat.com/malayalam/movies/azadi/story.html)
11. [Azadi OTT release: When and where to watch Sreenath Bhasi starrer action thriller in Malayalam, Tamil, Pinkvilla](https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/south/azadi-ott-release-when-and-where-to-watch-sreenath-bhasi-starrer-action-thriller-in-malayalam-tamil-1392375)
12. [Azadi movie review: Sreenath Bhasi's jailbreak drama struggles to break free of clichés, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/azadi-movie-review-sreenath-bhasi-jailbreak-drama-struggles-to-break-free-of-cliches-is-shackled-to-terrible-twist-10025371/lite/)
13. [ഇതൊരു ഒന്നൊന്നര ജയിൽചാട്ടത്തിന്റെ കഥ; ആസാദി റിവ്യൂ, Manorama Online](https://www.manoramaonline.com/movies/movie-reviews/2025/05/23/azadi-movie-review.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Malayalam films of the 2020s › Malayalam films of 2025*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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