Ajayan's Second Theft) is a 2024 Indian Malayalam-language action adventure film[1] directed by Jithin Laal (in his directorial debut), written by Sujith Nambiar, and produced by Magic Frames and UGM Entertainment.
The film stars Tovino Thomas in a triple roles alongside Krithi Shetty (In her Malayalam debut), Basil Joseph, Aishwarya Rajesh, Surabhi Lakshmi, Rohini, Shivajith, Harish Uthaman, Kabir Duhan Singh, Jagadish, Aju Varghese, Sudheesh and Biju Kuttan in prominent roles.
Chyothivilaku is a sacred lamp which was made from a melted mixture of an asteroid which once crashed in the land of Haripuram in the ancient times.
The lamp was commanded to be made from the asteroid by the Edakkal King at the time, who takes it to his palace owing to its supernatural powers.
He finds himself in a difficult situation when a stranger, Sudev shows up unexpectedly on their land posing as a photographer with the intention of stealing the Chyothivilaku and sell it off to the British archives.
On 1 January 2020, coinciding with New Year's, Tovino Thomas officially announced through his social media pages that he would collaborate with Jithin Laal for an upcoming film, Ajayante Randam Moshanam.
[7] According to Jithin Laal, ARM took him six years to make taking inspirations from fantasy fiction, folktales, and children's stories.
He mentioned some of the earlier Malayalam films in similar genre such as My Dear Kuttichathan, Sakshal Shreeman Chathunni, and Ananthabadram which explores fictional world.
[5] The technical team consists of cinematographer Jomon T John, music director Dhibu Ninan Thomas, and editor Shameer Muhammed.
[10] In August 2022 Krithi Shetty was reported to play the leading lady in the film who is making her Malayalam cinema debut.
[13] Rohini, Harish Uthaman, Pramod Shetty, Basil Joseph and Hareesh Peradi were cast to play important roles.
[28] Rohit Panikker of Times Now gave 4/5 stars and wrote, "Ajayante Randam Moshanam is a visual spectacle supported by some masterful story-telling.
[29] Christy Rosy Sibi of The Week gave 4/5 stars and wrote, "Tovino should take on more menacing, villain roles".
[30] Anna Mathews of The Times of India gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "Ajayante Randam Moshanam could be like another one of those impressive films that have come out of the Malayalam industry - which is currently ailing from several issues driven by the Hema Committee report - but does it have that emotional hook to pull in audiences is a question that we will have to wait and watch out for".
[31] Goutham S of Pinkvilla gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "Ajayante Randam Moshanam aka ARM is surely not a commercial cinema that is filled with crazy elements or fanfare.
[32] Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "Dhibu Ninan Thomas’s background score stands out, especially in the mass-appeal moments, though his songs are not all equally memorable.
[33] Vignesh Madhu of Cinema Express gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "It is precisely why ARM is that much-needed breath of fresh air from Malayalam's overpopulated realistic dramas and generic thrillers".
[35] Kirubhakar Purushothaman of News18 gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote, "In Ranjith’s film, the coveted object is gold; in ARM, it’s the lamp.
[36] S. R. Praveen of The Hindu wrote, "Despite the underwhelming writing, Jithin Lal gives us a hint of his craft with a visually impressive drama.
[37] Swathi P Ajith of Onmanorama wrote, "The film benefits from a well-balanced blend of genres, incorporating magic, supernatural elements, folktales, history, and romance, all mixed together in perfect harmony.
[38] Latha Srinivasan of Hindustan Times wrote, "Technically, the cinematography by Jomon T John stands out but the songs by Dhibu Ninan Thomas don’t.
[41][42] In an interview, the director Jithin Lal revealed that the makers are planning to expand the universe of ARM and the script writer Sujith Nambiar developed a concept of nine spin-off films.