Ariyippu aka Declaration follows a struggling Kerala couple in Delhi, whose lives take a dangerous turn when an old, incriminating video surfaces.
Kunchacko Boban in a still from Ariyippu
Photo Credit: Netflix
Ariyippu, the upcoming Mahesh Narayanan film starring Kunchacko Boban in the lead, just got a trailer and release date. After making rounds in the film festival circuit in August, Netflix bought the rights to it, making it a platform exclusive, available for streaming from December 16. Set in New Delhi, amidst the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the film follows a struggling couple — working at a medical gloves factory — with dreams of migrating out of the country for a better life. But when an old video surfaces among the workers, it threatens to ruin their relationship, reputation, and jobs.
The trailer for Ariyippu opens with an introduction to the Malayali couple's lives, starting with factory worker and wife Reshmi (Divya Prabha), who not only lacks experience speaking Hindi but is under constant scrutiny from her boss. “Why are you wearing a ring?”, Faisal Malik's unnamed character questions her as a standard protocol, to avoid contamination issues. “Sir, it won't come off. Please tell him, sir,” she replies in her native language, while we're treated to visuals of her running her hand under soapy water and struggling to get it off. It then cuts to show her household situation, a small, dilapidated apartment complex, where a family of three reside. The husband Hareesh (Boban) takes centre stage here, as we see him trying to acquire visas for the couple to emigrate out of the country for a better life. Things are even more difficult now since it is set at the height of lockdowns.
Ariyippu: Netflix Buys Kunchacko Boban Malayalam Movie From Director Mahesh Narayanan
“You'll have to wait for the visa. I never said anything about a refund,” an office worker tells him, while Boban believes he's getting swindled. “Stay put for now. At least you have a job. Imagine my situation.” The Ariyippu trailer then reveals some inner workings of the glove factory, which involves some used/ contaminated materials, and a presumably misleading video of a masked Reshmi offering oral sex to a fellow worker. Understandably, Hareesh rushes home to question his wife, forming the first significant dent in their relationship. “Reshmi, don't lie to me! That video was shot in the beading station of B-block. People have seen you got there,” he yells. The tension follows through at their workplace, as somehow, the boss got access to the incriminating video.
The couple gets into legal trouble, with the local cops deeming it enough proof to put a halt in their lives. “You shot those first two videos, right? And your wife was acting in it. This is part of the evidence!”, a senior police officer (Sidharth Bhardwaj) informs them. The Ariyippu trailer then devolves into a montage of our leads trying to break into the factory's security systems and uncover the truth about the whole situation, and the mistreatment of its employees. “In fact, I want the police to come here and conduct an inquiry,” Reshi's co-worker (Loveleen Mishra) tells Hareesh. “But they shouldn't question Reshmi, but the system here.”
“Ariyippu's (Declaration) journey has been absolutely gratifying and fulfilling so far. I am delighted at the response the film has received at various film festivals across the globe and now that it has found its home on Netflix, I am looking forward to audiences around the world watching the film and their reactions to it. The film is about the pandemic and a story of one couple and their fight to survive through it,” director Narayanan said in a prepared statement.
Ariyippu will be available for streaming December 16 on Netflix.
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