Dridam is a Malayalam crime and thriller film released on 8 May 2026, with a runtime of 2 hours and 8 minutes. The movie has received a critic's rating of 2.0 and a users' rating of 2.0. Directed by Martin Joseph, the film stars Shane Nigam as SI Vijay Radhakrishnan, alongside Mathew Varghese, Dinesh Prabhakar, and Shobi Thilakan.
Story
SI Vijay Radhakrishnan takes charge in a sleepy, rural town. However, with three murders and a bank robbery occurring in quick succession, he has his work cut out for him.
Review
By a rule of thumb, even an average cop drama can be fairly engaging, and Dridam falls within these lines, almost till the end. So then, it is a shame that, in going for the ultimate shock value, the realistically progressing story is stretched to an unbelievably trite climax.
Shane Nigam plays Vijay Radhakrishnan, who takes charge in rural Kuzhinilam as the SI. The entire station has a family-like vibe, established with painfully, carefully orchestrated dialogues and screenplay. All the cops working at the station, including two women CPOs, stay in the neighbouring quarters, and the SI discusses almost every case in the presence of all his colleagues. While Vijay is told by avuncular colleague ASI Krishnan, played by Shobi Thilakan, that he will have a fairly relaxed first posting, a spate of big-ticket crimes rolls out, including three murders and a robbery at a finance company.
Amid the sleek edits and fast storytelling that we are used to, are filmmakers reverting to a slower narrative style? Recently released, Sharafudheen-starrer Madhuvidhu took its time establishing an atmosphere, and so does Dridam. It moves at such an unhurried pace that it almost seems to lack energy, but after getting used to the mood, it can feel quite comforting. The storytelling does not have to be hurried and saturated with stimuli. Debut director Martin Joseph manages to keep the audience engaged. The problem, with the script by Jomon John and Linto Devasia, is how far will you take the twist to bring novelty to your story and is it worth the risk?
Shane looks good, and it is mentioned a couple of times in the story, though it would have been refreshing if a woman colleague was not shown as fawning. He, however, decides to play the character as being overwhelmed by his SI responsibilities, and it doesn't really click, particularly when we have Shobi easily slipping into the many shades of the veteran ASI. What starts as a slow burner picks up steam and then seems to crash and burn.
Final Verdict
Dridam offers a promising setup and a slow-burn narrative that keeps the audience engaged for most of its runtime. However, the climax, which attempts to deliver a shocking twist, ends up feeling trite and unbelievable, ultimately undermining the film's realistic progression. While the performances, especially from Shobi Thilakan, are commendable, the script's reliance on a forced twist leaves a disappointing aftertaste.
