The highly-anticipated film Narivetta, starring Tovino Thomas, Cheran, and Suraj Venjaramoodu in key roles, finally has a release date. Sharing a trailer on Thursday, the film's makers announced that it will release on May 16. It is directed by Anuraj Manohar of Ishq fame from a screenplay by Abin Joseph. Produced by Tippushan and Shiyas Hassan under the Indian Cinema Company banner, Narivetta also stars Priyamvada Krishnan, Aarya Salim, and Rini Udayakumar. It marks the Malayalam debut of Tamil director-actor Cheran. Tovino, Cheran, and Suraj star as police officers.
The trailer starts with a statement that clarifies that it is dedicated to "every battle for justice" and "every fight against injustice." Inspired by real events, the film's plot revolves around a conflict between a tribal group in a hill station and cops. The trailer offers a stark reminder of the 2003 Muthanga incident, where cops open fired on Adivasis (tribals) in Wayanad who were protesting delayed land allotment. It contributed to fatalities as well as courted controversy regarding how the then government handled the situation and treated the tribals. The trailer also offers a glimpse into Tovino's character arc; he plays a police officer who is under suspicion for a tribal's death. Cheran's character investigates what Tovino's character stands accused of, and the trailer even has a scene where the former interrogates the latter.
On the technical front, Narivetta has music by Jakes Bejoy, cinematography by Vijay, editing by Shameer Muhammad, and stunts by Phoenix Prabhu. The announcement means that Narivetta will open in theatres in a jam-packed movie release calendar for Malayalam, alongside Asif Ali's Sarkeet (May 08), Dhyan Sreenivasan's Detective Ujjwalan (May 16), Dileep's 150th film Prince and Family (May 09), and Mathew Thomas' Lovely (May 02).