# Malayankunju
**Malayankunju** (മലയൻകുഞ്ഞ്) is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language survival thriller directed by Sajimon Prabhakar, written and shot by [Mahesh Narayanan](https://www.edgepedia.org/mahesh-narayanan), and produced by Fazil, in which an ill-tempered electronics repairman is trapped underground by a landslide and survives by following the cry of a newborn baby.[1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/malayankunju-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmda2mtk1) • [2](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/malayankunju) It stars [Fahadh Faasil](https://www.edgepedia.org/fahadh-faasil) as Anikuttan, with [Rajisha Vijayan](https://www.edgepedia.org/rajisha-vijayan), Indrans, and Jaffer Idukki in supporting roles, and features music by A.R. Rahman.[1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/malayankunju-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmda2mtk1) • [3](https://malayalam.samayam.com/malayalam-cinema/movie-news/director-fazil-opens-up-about-malayankunju-and-fahadh-career/amp_articleshow/93032782.cms)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 22 July 2022, in theaters; 112 minutes[1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/malayankunju-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmda2mtk1) |
| Director / writer | Sajimon Prabhakar (director); Mahesh Narayanan (screenplay and cinematography)[1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/malayankunju-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmda2mtk1) |
| Producer | Fazil, Fahadh Faasil's father, producing for the first time in about 17 years[3](https://malayalam.samayam.com/malayalam-cinema/movie-news/director-fazil-opens-up-about-malayankunju-and-fahadh-career/amp_articleshow/93032782.cms) |
| Music | A.R. Rahman, returning to Malayalam cinema after three decades[3](https://malayalam.samayam.com/malayalam-cinema/movie-news/director-fazil-opens-up-about-malayankunju-and-fahadh-career/amp_articleshow/93032782.cms) |
| Lead cast | Fahadh Faasil (Anikuttan), Rajisha Vijayan, Indrans, Jaffer Idukki[1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/malayankunju-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmda2mtk1) |
| Reception | IMDb 6.9/10 from about 4.3k votes; 100% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 6 reviews[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13640946/ratings/) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/malayankunju) |
| Availability | Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, including an ad-supported tier, and rentable on Amazon Video[6](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/malayankunju) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and structure
Anikkuttan ([Anil Kumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/anil-kumar)) is an electronics repairman who lives with his mother Shanta in a hillside village near Wayanad, Kerala.[7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movie-details/malayankunju/movieshow/92969387.cms) He works in the early morning, around 3 am, and the arrival of a newborn in the neighboring house disrupts his work, his sleep, and his routine; he grows to resent the baby's crying.[8](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/fahadh-faasil-explains-the-main-conflict-of-malayankunju-8041824/) The film also presents him as carrying caste-based prejudice and the legacy of a past tragedy that has made him eccentric and irritable.[9](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/malayalam/review/2022/jul/22/malayankunju-movie-reviewfahadh-delivers-a-stupendous-turn-in-this-coming-of-age-drama-32977.html) • [10](https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/2022/07/22/malayankunju-fahadh-faasil-mahesh-narayanan-ar-rahman-malayalam-cinema-review.amp.html)
The story is told in two distinct parts. The first half establishes Anikuttan's character and routines; after a monsoon landslide destroys his home, the second half follows him trapped several feet below the earth's surface, where the only sound he can hear is the baby crying.[7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movie-details/malayankunju/movieshow/92969387.cms) • [10](https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/2022/07/22/malayankunju-fahadh-faasil-mahesh-narayanan-ar-rahman-malayalam-cinema-review.amp.html) • [8](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/fahadh-faasil-explains-the-main-conflict-of-malayankunju-8041824/) The sound he hated most becomes his saviour, giving him a purpose, to reach the child, that requires him to shed his biases and fears.[8](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/fahadh-faasil-explains-the-main-conflict-of-malayankunju-8041824/) • [9](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/malayalam/review/2022/jul/22/malayankunju-movie-reviewfahadh-delivers-a-stupendous-turn-in-this-coming-of-age-drama-32977.html) Reviewers read the buried earth as a womb and the ordeal as the character's rebirth.[9](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/malayalam/review/2022/jul/22/malayankunju-movie-reviewfahadh-delivers-a-stupendous-turn-in-this-coming-of-age-drama-32977.html) • [11](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/malayankunju-movie-review-fahadh-faasil-8045404/)
## Production
Fahadh Faasil said the film grew out of two disasters: the plane crash at Karipur and the landslide at Pettimudi, where a dog reportedly followed police searching for its family.[12](https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/interviews/2022/07/17/malayankunju-fahadh-faasil-interview.html) While researching the role, he spoke with a man in Bhopal who had lived through a comparable situation.[8](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/fahadh-faasil-explains-the-main-conflict-of-malayankunju-8041824/)
Because the second half is set 40 feet underground, the crew had to erect a set for the buried sequences.[8](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/fahadh-faasil-explains-the-main-conflict-of-malayankunju-8041824/) The film began during the lockdown as a project intended for OTT release, and Fahadh said he chose a theatrical release after seeing the finished film because its sound design, cinematography, art, and music deserved that setting.[12](https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/interviews/2022/07/17/malayankunju-fahadh-faasil-interview.html) Producer Fazil said he returned to production after 17 years, following *Vismayathumbathu*, because Mahesh Narayanan's story appealed to him strongly.[3](https://malayalam.samayam.com/malayalam-cinema/movie-news/director-fazil-opens-up-about-malayankunju-and-fahadh-career/amp_articleshow/93032782.cms)
## Censorship and content
In India the [Central Board of Film Certification](https://www.edgepedia.org/central-board-of-film-certification) issued a U (all ages) certificate.[6](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/malayankunju) Abroad the ratings were stricter. The [British Board of Film Classification](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-board-of-film-classification), which classified the film on 19 July 2022, advised "strong injury detail": a man impaled who removes a metal spike from his torso, images of dead bodies, prolonged images of a father's suicide by hanging in flashback, and scenes of a man buried in the earth and nearly drowning.[1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/malayankunju-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmda2mtk1) Australia's Classification Board rated it M for mature themes and occasional coarse language on 25 July 2022.[2](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/malayankunju) The makers also issued a caution for viewers with claustrophobia.[10](https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/2022/07/22/malayankunju-fahadh-faasil-mahesh-narayanan-ar-rahman-malayalam-cinema-review.amp.html)
## Reception
Critics singled out Fahadh Faasil's performance. [The Indian Express](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-indian-express)'s Manoj Kumar R gave 3.5 out of 5, writing that Mahesh Narayanan's camera takes the audience along on Anil's rebirth and that Fahadh plays a complex man who is not likeable but not fully worthy of contempt.[11](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/malayankunju-movie-review-fahadh-faasil-8045404/) Cinema Express rated it 4 out of 5 and called Fahadh's turn stupendous, praising Rahman's score as fresh and noting that the orchestral music during the buried stretch sounds almost like a prayer.[9](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/malayalam/review/2022/jul/22/malayankunju-movie-reviewfahadh-delivers-a-stupendous-turn-in-this-coming-of-age-drama-32977.html) The Times of India also gave 3.5, crediting Fahadh with portraying the character's before-and-after-landslide sides with ease.[7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movie-details/malayankunju/movieshow/92969387.cms) The News Minute's Sowmya Rajendran called the film technically superb but emotionally sparse, praising the sound design and art direction.[13](https://www.thenewsminute.com/amp/story/kerala/malayankunju-review-fahadhs-thriller-technically-superb-emotionally-sparse-166114) Anna M.M. Vetticad of Firstpost gave 3.25 and described the film as technically exceptional while calling its portrayal of casteism equal parts remarkable and debatable.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/malayankunju)
On aggregate measures, the film holds a 6.9/10 IMDb rating from about 4.3 thousand votes and a 100% Tomatometer score based on 6 reviews, with fewer than 50 audience ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13640946/ratings/) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/malayankunju) Trade reporting put its second-day box office at Rs 16 million (Rs 1.6 crores) and its worldwide total at Rs 56 million (Rs 5.6 crores) by day three.[7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movie-details/malayankunju/movieshow/92969387.cms)
## References
1. [Malayankunju, BBFC classification record](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/malayankunju-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmda2mtk1)
2. [MALAYANKUNJU, Australian Classification](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/malayankunju)
3. [Fazil opens up about Malayankunju and Fahadh's career, Samayam Malayalam](https://malayalam.samayam.com/malayalam-cinema/movie-news/director-fazil-opens-up-about-malayankunju-and-fahadh-career/amp_articleshow/93032782.cms)
4. [Malayankunju (2022) Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13640946/ratings/)
5. [Malayankunju, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/malayankunju)
6. [Malayankunju streaming: where to watch online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/malayankunju)
7. [Malayankunju Movie: Showtimes, Review, Songs, Trailer, Posters, News & Videos, eTimes, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movie-details/malayankunju/movieshow/92969387.cms)
8. [Fahadh Faasil explains the main conflict of Malayankunju, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/fahadh-faasil-explains-the-main-conflict-of-malayankunju-8041824/)
9. [Malayankunju Movie Review: Fahadh Faasil delivers a stupendous turn in this coming-of-age drama, Cinema Express](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/malayalam/review/2022/jul/22/malayankunju-movie-reviewfahadh-delivers-a-stupendous-turn-in-this-coming-of-age-drama-32977.html)
10. ['Malayankunju' review: A Fahadh Faasil show all the way, Onmanorama](https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/2022/07/22/malayankunju-fahadh-faasil-mahesh-narayanan-ar-rahman-malayalam-cinema-review.amp.html)
11. [Malayankunju movie review: Fahadh Faasil shines in compelling re-birth story of a grown-man, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/malayankunju-movie-review-fahadh-faasil-8045404/)
12. [I am not the hero in 'Malayankunju': Interview with Fahadh Faasil, Onmanorama](https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/interviews/2022/07/17/malayankunju-fahadh-faasil-interview.html)
13. [Malayankunju review: Fahadh's thriller is technically superb, emotionally sparse, The News Minute](https://www.thenewsminute.com/amp/story/kerala/malayankunju-review-fahadhs-thriller-technically-superb-emotionally-sparse-166114)
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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 2022 and 2023*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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