Ayothi

Balram (Yashpal Sharma) a conservative Ayodhya Hindu plans a pilgrimage to Rameshwaram along with his wife Janaki, daughter Shivani (Preethi Asrani), and son Sonu. On the way to Rameshwaram, Balram picks up a fight with the cab driver and this leads to an accident.

Janaki is heavily injured and admitted to the ICU, and immediately requires to be shifted to another hospital to ensure survival. Balram and his children are helpless as they can't understand the language of the locals. A friend of the Cab Driver (M. Sasikumar) witnesses the helpless children who had just lost their mother and decides to help. He drives the ambulance to Madurai Government Hospital, but Janaki passes away en route. Balram opposes post-mortem on his wife, citing religious faith, and the ambulance drives to the airport. The ambulance driver is stopped by the airport authorities and the police, while the latter takes them to police station for inquiry on the death of Janaki. They are proven innocent and are taken to the mortuary for the post-mortem. The ambulance driver leaves them, but immediately returns after being moved by the helpless children.

The ambulance driver gathers money for the flight and is able to book a ticket for Shivani. He manages to get the embalming done, despite protests from Balram. Balram is rebuked by Shivani for his attitude towards his wife when she was alive, and his hypocracy for hoping her to reach heaven by interfering with all the legal procedures required to reach home. Balram has a change of mind, and for the first time sheds tears for his wife's death.

All the tickets for the flight to Lucknow were booked and Shivani has no choice but to reach Ayodhya alone along with the remains of her mother. The ambulance driver persuades the passengers that any two of them to withdraw their tickets and explains the situation. Two passengers understanding the situation, withdraw their tickets allowing Sonu and Balram to reach Ayodhya.

At last, it is revealed that the ambulance driver was a Muslim named Abdul Malik. Balram lets go off his intolerance and hatred and thanks Abdul Malik for his timely help. The film ends with Abdul Malik helping a stranger perform the last rites of her mother.

• Sasikumar as Abdul Malik
• Preethi Asrani as Shivani
• Yashpal Sharma as Balram
• Pugazh as Pandi
• Chetan as the Terminal Manager
• Pondy Ravi as a Cargo Manager
• Bose Venkat as Chithirai Pandian
• Kalloori Vinoth as Durai
• Thaman Kumar as a Cab Driver
• Anju Asrani as Janaki
• Sai Ramani as a Paramedic
• Master Advaith Vinod as Sonu

Manthira Moorthy made his directorial debut with the film[1][2] The film's title was announced on 22 November 2021, and the shooting started on the same date.[3]

The music of the film is composed by N.R. Raghunanthan[6]

The film was released on 3 March 2023 across Tamil Nadu. Logesh Ramachandran of The Times of India who gave 3.5 stars out of 5 stars after reviewing the film stated that, "Ayothi is a movie that constantly emphasises love over religion, and it's worth watching".[7] A critic from Maalai Malar mentioned "He has skillfully worked among the characters. Although there are logical violations in the film, they do not seem to be major."[8] Chandhini R of Cinema Express rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "This Sasikumar-starrer is full of heart and yet, marred by melodrama".[9] Gopinath Rajendran critic of The Hindu wrote that "Ayothi points out the cracks in the walls of such constructs that are crumbling under the weight of their own ideologies, and in due course, asks the all-important question.".[10]

• Ayothi at IMDb
• Ayothi on ZEE5