The term "sweet villain" is an oxymoron itself in every possible sense. Perhaps nothing could be more insulting to a 'bad guy' than being decorated sweet, chilly and yummy in public for all the negativity and wickedness they have displayed on the silver screen. Two young entrepreneurs from Chalakudy in Thrissur district have selected a highly unlikely commodity to pay homage to the most dreaded and daring characters of Malayalam cinema - ice-cream!
And what better name would possibly match a place donned by men and women infamous for their rage and villainy than "Adholokam" - Malayam equivalent for the underworld.
Over fifty evergreen badass roles from Mollywood have been handpicked to name the varieties of ice creams, smoothies, mojitos, fruit juices and mocktails served here.
While sweet lemon juice is named after "Aanappaara Achaamma" (played by Philomina) - the cunning matriarchal family head from 1991-superhit "Godfather," sapodilla roll-ice cream is named after her arch-rival "Anjooran muthalaali (NN Pillai)."
A butterscotch mocktail honours Jagathy Sreekumar's miser-flirt "Krishnavilaasam Bhageerathan Pillai" from "Meesamadhavan" and dark fantasy ice-cream is called "Ramji Rao" - the resentful kidnapper from the "Mannar Mathai" trilogy.
Megastar Mammooty's underworld kingpin "Taradas" and flamboyant gangster "Bilal John Kurishingal" (Big-B) are ice cream scoops of tender coconut and kiwi respectively, while dates roll and honey scoop are denoted by Mohanlal's "Sagar Alias Jackey" and "Mangalaserry Neelakantan."
While other fan favourites like "Aadu Thoma", Dude, "Keerikkaadan Jose", "Appaani Ravi", "Kadayadi Thampi", "Kannan Srank" all find place in the menu board, "Gabbar Singh" - the legendary ruthless dacoit chief from the 1975 Bollywood blockbuster "Sholay" makes a "cameo appearance" at the place.
Owner Sunoj and his friend Jismone said their search and determination to start a business "different" resulted in the shop.
"Ice cream parlours are among most the trending business, we discovered. But we didn't jump into any quick decisions. We took our time to learn more about it and contacted roll-icecream parlours in Thailand. Once we were certain of our own readiness, we struck a deal with Merriboy brand, who supplies the ice-creams to the shop," he says.
On asking him about the controversial name for a family-going place, Sunoj says they wanted something unique. It was Jismon's sister-in-law who suggested the name "Adholokam" which matched the theme of the shop.
"The name is very attractive and has helped to attract young crowds. There is no need to get funky about it; after all, we are all nice guys here," Sunoj laughs.
An open kitchen is another speciality of the shop, he claims. This transparency allows customers to see for themselves what is going on at the other end.
Opened on June 14, the place has received a commendable footfall so far. Along with the unique identity and appearance features, the affordable prices at which the food is served, further increase the popularity of the shop. While Kiwi roll-ice cream costs Rs 90, a cup of tea is made available at Rs 10.
There are seven pairs of hands on the deck of this underworld, and still, they can hardly manage the weekend rush and weekday peak timings. "Adholokam" is located near Chalakudy South Municipal bus stand, close to Chirayath Jewellers.