Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum
Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum (Pachu and the Magical Lamp) is a 2023 Indian Malayalam-language adventure-comedy-drama film directed by Akhil Sathyan. The film stars Fahadh Faasil, Anjana Jayaprakash, Dhwani Rajesh and Viji Venkatesh. It is produced by Sethu Mannarkkad under the banner of Full Moon Cinema. This film released on 28 April 2023 and received critical positive response from critics and audiences and was a commercial success. This was the last film of veteran actor Innocent released after his death on 26 March 2023

Plot
Prasanth, also known as Pachu, owns an ayurveda pharmacy store/clinic in Mumbai. He's unmarried due to past rejections, and he must return to his hometown in Kerala for business. While attending a wedding with his father, Rajan, in his hometown, Pachu becomes infatuated with a woman. Rajan's friend suggests a proposal, and they visit her house. However, Pachu ends up in the hospital, missing his flight back to Mumbai.
Riyas, the building owner of Pachu's store, asks him to travel to Mumbai by train with his elderly mother, Laila, for company. Pachu agrees, and they board the train. On the train, they encounter a young boy traveling alone to Mumbai. During the night, Laila mistakenly gets off the train at Karmali, Goa. Pachu realizes Laila is missing and follows her off the train, along with the boy who believes they have arrived in Mumbai. When Pachu confronts Laila, she pepper sprays him and the boy before leaving the station.
Pachu discovers that Laila has gone to Hamsadhwani's house. He calls Riyas, who rushes to retrieve his mother. Once Laila is found, they all prepare to fly back to Mumbai, where she explains her unusual behavior.
Laila shares the story of Nidhi, the daughter of their maid. Laila had taken care of Nidhi's education until the maid sent her back to Goa to work as a maid. Determined to rescue her, Laila disembarks in Goa and goes to Hamsadhwani's house, where Nidhi is employed. In the present, Laila offers Pachu ownership of his ayurveda store if he can bring back Nidhi. Pachu agrees and sets off to find Nidhi at Hamsadhwani's house.
Upon discovering Nidhi's location, Pachu faces a beating and robbery from her brothers and family. He recovers his belongings, waits for the opportune moment, and plans an escape with Nidhi. Meanwhile, Pachu grows closer to Hamsadhwani, assisting her in ending a toxic relationship with her boyfriend. He keeps his recovered items a secret to spend more time with her. Nidhi's brothers discover their escape plan and retrieve Nidhi. Hamsadhwani learns about Pachu's recovered items, leading to complications in their relationship.
Riyas, once opposed to Laila's decision, now supports bringing Nidhi back. Pachu makes another attempt to retrieve Nidhi, and her grandfather defends her, allowing her to leave. Hamsadhwani and Pachu reconcile. Pachu and Nidhi travel to Kerala to reunite her with Laila.
During the train journey back to Mumbai, Pachu disembarks at Karmali to meet Hamsadhwani.

Cast
Fahadh Faasil as Prasanth 'Pachu' Rajan, Pharmacist
Anjana Jayaprakash as Hamsadhwani
Dhwani Rajesh as Nidhi, Geeta's daughter
Viji Venkatesh as Laila alias 'Ummachi'
Mukesh as Rajan, Pachu's father
Shanthi Krishna as Anitha Rajan, Pachu's mother
Innocent as Vasumaman 'Vasu', Rajan's friend
Vineeth as Riyas, Laila's son
Indrans as Raveendran 'Ravi'
Althaf Salim  as Sujith
Abhiram Radhakrishnan as Peter, Riyas's driver
Nandhu as Pradeep
Avyukth Menon as Ashwin
Remya Suresh as Sulochana, Riyas' house help
Jain K Paul as Sub Inspector Lokesh Naik
Sanju Sivram as Vivek
Mohan Agashe as Nana, Nidhi's Grandfather
Chhaya Kadam as Nani
Piyush Kumar as Savio
Govind Pai as Loki
Naslen K. Gafoor in a cameo appearance as Arun, Ashwin's elder brother
Ahaana Krishna in a cameo appearance as Aishwarya 'Achu' Pradeep
Shruti Ramachandran in a cameo appearance
Anoop Sathyan as man in bus (cameo)

Production
The title poster of the film on January 2021and the entire shooting was finished on November 2022.Film noted debuted for the director.Later the trailer was released.

Reception
This film received generally positive reviews from critics. Sajin Shrijith critic from Cinema Express gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and stated that "but not too syrupy, experience that would leave a smile on my face, and that's exactly what I got".Anna Mathews critic of Times of india wrote that "This is definitely a movie reminiscent of sweet 80s-90s films and one to watch with the family." and gave 3.5 out 5 stars.G. Ragesh critic of Onmanorama stated that "Avyukt Menon as the cute and funny little boy on his way back to Mumbai from Sabarimala was a joy.".A critic from Indian Express wrote that "Overall, for those seeking a relaxed viewing experience this weekend, Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum is likely a satisfactory choice." and gave 2.5 stars out of 5

References
External links
Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum at IMDb