Varavu

Name: Varavu
Director: Shaji Kailas
Genre: Action
Released: 2026-07-16
Rating: 1.75
Cast: Joju George

Directed by Shaji Kailas

TezScore35/100 Unfavourable reception Unfavourable Early coverage · 2 scored of 3 Indian-media reviews How TezScore works

143 min 16 Jul 2026

Wikipedia

Synopsis

Varavu

In a hillside town ruled by power and influence, one incident sets off a chain of events that changes many lives forever. A family is torn apart, truths are buried, and silence becomes a weapon. Years later, as the past resurfaces, hidden forces begin to tremble. When one man returns to face what was taken from him, the fight is no longer personal; it becomes a reckoning that will decide the fate of the town itself.

Director: Shaji Kailas
Release: 16 Jul 2026 · Week recap
Run time: 143 min
Language: Malayalam

Cast & crew

JO Joju George Cast A. A. K. Sajan Writer SH Shameer Muhammed Editor S. S. Saravanan Cinematographer SH Shaji Kailas Director

Reviews

Indian-media reviews, grouped by reception.

Critics' consensus

Unfavourable

Across 3 available source-linked Indian-media reviews for Varavu, reception is unfavourable. The 2 scored reviews average 35/100.

Best forViewers looking for action and mystery in Malayalam cinema.

Reception Order

All 3 reviews shown

The Hindu S.R. Praveen

Varavu is the kind of film that gives one the feeling that the action sequences were probably planned out first, with an excuse of a storyline added later. Well, there should be a reason for the fights.

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Cinema Express Vivek Santhosh

★★★★★ ★★★★★ 1.5/5

Fine, none of this is new territory for Malayalam cinema, and dated material by itself is hardly a crime. The problem is Varavu doesn't even try to adapt itself to 2026 sensibilities.

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The Indian Express Yashaswini Sri

★★★★★ ★★★★★ 2/5

There was a time when a Shaji Kailas film meant a specific thing in Malayalam cinema. It meant a larger-than-life hero, a powerful villain with a backstory worth caring about, heavy dialogues delivered with chest-thumping conviction, and action sequences that shook the single screens of Kerala.

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