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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Nadikar
| image = Nadikar.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Lal Jr.]]
| producer = Naveen Yerneni Y. Ravi Shankar Allan Antony Anoop Venugopal
| writer = Suvin S. Somasekharan
| starring = [[Tovino Thomas]] [[Divya Pillai]] [[Balu Varghese]] [[Suresh Krishna (actor)|Suresh Krishna]] [[Soubin Shahir]] [[Shine Tom Chacko]] [[Indrans]] [[Anoop Menon]] [[Bhavana (actress)|Bhavana]]
| music = Yakzan Gary Pereira [[Neha Nair]]
| cinematography = Alby
| editing = Ratheesh Raj
| studio = Godspeed Cinema [[Mythri Movie Makers]]
| distributor = Aan Mega Media
| released = {{Film date|df=y|2024|05|03}}
| runtime = 140 minutes
| country = India
| language = Malayalam
| budget = {{INR|40 crore}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 January 2024 |title=Tovino Thomas-starrer Nadikar Thilagam renamed as Nadikar after backlash from Sivaji Ganesan fans |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/tamil/tovino-thomas-nadikar-thilagam-renamed-as-nadikar-after-backlash-from-sivaji-ganesan-fans-9125791/ |website=[[The Indian Express]]}}</ref>
| gross ={{estimation}}{{INR|5.39 crore}}<ref>{{Cite web |title='നടികര്‍' പ്രേക്ഷക പ്രീതി നേടിയോ?: ടൊവിനോ ചിത്രത്തിന്‍റെ ആദ്യദിന കളക്ഷന്‍ ഇങ്ങനെ |url=https://www.asianetnews.com/entertainment/box-office/nadikar-box-office-collection-day-1-tovino-thomas-movie-get-good-start-vvk-scyc7e |date=4 May 2024 |website=AsianetNews |language=ml}}</ref>
}}

'''''Nadikar''''' ({{Translation|Actor}}) is a 2024 Indian [[Malayalam]]-language [[comedy drama film|comedy drama]] film directed by [[Lal Jr.]] and written by Suvin S. Somasekharan.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=24 January 2024 |title=Tovino Thomas' 'Nadikar Thilakam' gets a new title; details inside |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/tovino-thomas-nadikar-thilakam-gets-a-new-title/articleshow/107103375.cms |access-date=17 March 2024 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> Jointly produced by Godspeed Cinema and [[Mythri Movie Makers]], the film stars [[Tovino Thomas]], [[Divya Pillai]], [[Soubin Shahir]], [[Balu Varghese]], [[Suresh Krishna (actor)|Suresh Krishna]], and [[Bhavana (actress)|Bhavana]]. The film follows the life of a superstar film actor who is going through a rough patch.

The film was released in theatres on 3 May 2024.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Nadikar Movie Review: Tovino Thomas and Bhavana light up the screen despite less engaging storyline |url=https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/reviews/nadikar-movie-review-tovino-thomas-and-bhavana-light-up-the-screen-despite-less-engaging-storyline-1301874 |date=3 May 2024 |website=PinkVilla |language=en}}</ref> The film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics and was a [[box office bomb]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=R |first1=Manoj Kumar |title=Nadikar OTT release date confirmed: When, where to stream this Tovino Thomas starrer |url=https://www.desimartini.com/movies/celebrities/nadikar-ott-release-date-confirmed-when-where-to-stream-this-tovino-thomas-starrer/e44f58d001278/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606102405/https://www.desimartini.com/movies/celebrities/nadikar-ott-release-date-confirmed-when-where-to-stream-this-tovino-thomas-starrer/e44f58d001278/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 June 2024 |access-date=21 September 2024 |date=6 June 2024 |website=[[Desimartini]]}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

== Plot ==
{{long plot|date=September 2024}} 
David Padikkal is a popular actor in the Malayalam film industry. He always has his manager Paily Kuruvilangad and his make-up man-cum-driver Lenin by his side. All of his previous films have been superhits and as a result, he lives off a superstar status in the industry. David is shown to be a very irresponsible and arrogant person, always partying with girls, and not showing up to shoot locations on time. Due to the same reasons, his last three films have flopped and the crew of his next film which is directed by [[Dhyan Sreenivasan]] aren't confident about the output of the film. Dhyan tries calling David but he doesn't pick the call as he is busy partying.

One day, David comes home and finds a script of a film in which he is supposed to star and is directed by Koshy, an acclaimed director who is very strict on-set. David goes to set the next day and acts with his co-actor Chandradas. Koshy lashes out on David due to his inability to communicate expressions on-screen during the shot and abuses him. An angry David storms out of the set and while going away in his car, injures one of the crew members of the film. This causes significant damage to David's image, so David, Lenin and Paily decide to leave to Dubai and stay there until the issue cools down. Koshy's film is eventually shelved.

After returning from Dubai, Paily suggests that David meet Bala, an acting coach, to help in pointing out his weak areas in acting and improve them so that his films can fare better. They meet Bala, who agrees to help David. The next day, Bala meets David in his caravan and tries to tell him how to perform his role, but David, who is intoxicated due to substance abuse, tells Bala that he can do it on his own and sends him out. During the shot, David is unable to act properly due to being intoxicated but when Bala goes to help him, David tells him to go away as he doesn't want anyone to know that he has hired an acting coach as it will damage his public image. He also tells his crew members that Bala is the driver that had driven the car the day he had injured the crew member on director Koshy's set, in order to hide the same fact. Later, after the shot is over, David cancels his contract with Bala in frustration and sends him back. David then calls his ex-girlfriend and former co-star Ann Bava and tells her that his career is declining. Ann tells him to stop going behind girls and using drugs and tells him to focus on his acting career instead. She also tells him to stop considering himself a superstar and consider himself an actor instead and listen to what the other crew members tell him to do.

After his call with Ann, David realizes his mistake and decides to get Bala back. Bala agrees to help him once again. Then, Bala helps David on the set of his films and his acting significantly improves. Then, at a press conference, David tells his fans that his films have been flopping lately and asks them about which one of his performances they think is his best to date. He realizes that they don't have an answer as none of his performances have been impactful in reality. Bala also tells David to forget about his superstar status and identity and start treating himself as an actor.

As the days go by, David gets a chance to act in a film directed by his mentor, S. Sasi. David goes to act in the film, but as the shoot progresses, a few locals come to the set and start creating a commotion. In the process, they attack the director and some other crew members. Shoot is called off for the day. Later, as they are sitting in their room, a drunk David yells at Bala and Lenin due to the frustration of all his films flopping and verbally abuses both of them. A heartbroken Bala cuts off all ties with David and leaves. Lenin also feels dejected due to David shouting at him and considers his love towards Lenin to be fake. Meanwhile, David starts to feel guilty about shouting at Bala and doesn't eat anything for a few days. Also, his guilt due to abusing Bala and the pain of his mother leaving him in his childhood surfacing back, he delivers one of his best performances in an emotional sequence new film. He tells Paily that he's done making bad films and that he wants a hit film somehow.

David then decides to mend things up with both Koshy and Bala. He goes to Koshy's house and apologizes for his behavior on Koshy's set earlier. That night, he decides to patch up with Ann and goes to her house with a cake. But as he opens a cake to cut it with her, he gets a call from one of his fans, who informs him that he is about to commit suicide due to love failure. David rushes to save his life. He reaches there and sees that the person hasn't jumped yet, but due to the excitement of seeing David, the person accidentally slips from the bridge and falls underwater. David also jumps underwater to save the person's life but that person ends up saving David's life instead due to the latter's inability to swim underwater. David then takes the person to his house and gives him a place to stay.

The next night, David goes to Bala's house to apologize to him. Bala tells him that he never had any grudge against David and treats him with a biriyani. David then tells Bala that he wants the latter to come back with him, to which Bala replies that there is no point in him coming back as his job with David is complete and he doesn't need anyone's help now. A few days later, David resumes shoot on director Koshy's film and nails the first shot, which impresses Koshy. The film ends with David telling Bala that their mission is accomplished.

== Cast ==
{{castlist|
* [[Tovino Thomas]] as David Padikkal
* [[Divya Pillai]] as Stella Padikkal
* [[Bhavana (actress)|Bhavana]] as Ann Bava
* [[Soubin Shahir]] as Bala
* [[Balu Varghese]] as Lenin
* [[Suresh Krishna (actor)|Suresh Krishna]] as Paily Kuravilangad
* [[Anoop Menon]] as Chandradas a.k.a. 'Kuttan'
* Devika Gopal Nair
* [[Parvathi T.|Maala Parvathy]]
* [[Althaf Salim]]
* [[Madhupal]] as S. Sasi, director
* [[Ranjith (director)|Ranjith]] as Koshy, a film director
* Shaun Xavier as Director Shaunraj
* [[Dinesh Prabhakar]]
* [[Khalid Rahman]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 February 2024 |title='Nadikar,' starring Tovino Thomas and Soubin Shahir, gets a release date |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/nadikar-starring-tovino-thomas-and-soubin-shahir-gets-a-release-date/article67810826.ece |access-date=18 October 2024 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>
* [[Major Ravi]]
* [[Abhiram Radhakrishnan]]
* [[Abu Salim (actor)|Abu Salim]] as Zachariah, a stunt master
*[[Sminu Sijo]] as Bala's mother
* Aiswarya Suresh as Nancy, Ann's cousin
*[[Rajith Kumar]] as Security
; Cameo Appearance
* [[Lal (actor)|Lal]] as David's co-actor in the film "Love Jawan"
* [[Dhyan Sreenivasan]] as himself
* [[Ganapathi S. Poduval|Ganapathy]] as David's friend
* [[Shine Tom Chacko]] as himself
* [[Indrans]] as David's co-actor in a film
* [[Manikuttan]] as David's co-actor in a film
* [[Vijay Babu (actor, born 1976)|Vijay Babu]] as himself
* [[Chandu Salim Kumar]] as Manoj; David's fan
* [[Sushin Shyam]] as himself in the song "Kireedam"
* [[Chidambaram S Poduval]] as himself in the song "Kireedam"}}

== Production ==
Originally titled ''Nadikar Thilakam'', the title of the film was officially changed to ''Nadikar'' in January 2024 at the request of fans of Tamil actor [[Sivaji Ganesan|Shivaji Ganeshan]] who is known by that moniker. An event was conducted on 23 January 2024 to announce the name change and was attended by [[Prabhu (actor)|Prabhu Ganeshan]], the son of Ganeshan.<ref name=":2" />

Filming commenced on 11 July 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tovino Thomas-starrer Nadikar Thilakam shoot begins |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/tovino-thomas-starrer-nadikar-thilakam-shoot-begins/cid/1951252 |access-date=17 March 2024 |website=The Telegraph (India) |language=en}}</ref> It was shot across 30 locations in [[Kochi]], [[Munnar]], [[Hyderabad]], [[Dubai]] and [[Kashmir]], lasting 110 days.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 January 2024 |title=Tovino Thomas wraps up the shoot of 'Nadikar Thilakam', says, "In our journey, we encountered unexpected challenges" |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/tovino-thomas-wraps-up-the-shoot-of-nadikar-thilakam-says-in-our-journey-we-encountered-unexpected-challenges/articleshow/106594939.cms |access-date=17 March 2024 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>

== Release ==
=== Theatrical ===
''Nadikar'' was released on 3 May 2024.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=4 February 2024 |title='Nadikar,' starring Tovino Thomas and Soubin Shahir, gets a release date |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/nadikar-starring-tovino-thomas-and-soubin-shahir-gets-a-release-date/article67810826.ece |access-date=17 March 2024 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

=== Home media ===
After its theatrical release on 3 May 2024, ''Nadikar'' was initially reported to premiere on [[Netflix]] around 27 June 2024, in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada languages. Later Netflix withdrawn from the film.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nadikar OTT release date: When, where to watch Tovino Thomas, Bhavana's Malayalam film online |url=https://www.ottplay.com/news/nadikar-ott-release-date-when-where-to-watch-tovino-thomas-bhavana-malayalam-film-online/6f0daf7c8d925 |website=OTTPlay |language=en |date=3 July 2025 |access-date=3 July 2025}}</ref>

In July 2025, [[Saina Play]] later acquires the film and it starts to stream on 8 August 2025, ending the long await.<ref>{{cite web |title='നടികർ' ഒടിടിയിൽ; ടൊവിനോ ചിത്രത്തിന് ഇനി കാണാവുന്നത് ഇവിടെയാണ് |url=https://www.reporterlive.com/amp/entertainment/entertainment-news/2025/07/02/tovino-thomas-film-nadikar-coming-soon-on-ott |website=Reporter Live |language=ml |date=2 July 2025 |access-date=3 July 2025}}</ref> While, [[Lionsgate Play]] and [[Amazon Prime Video]] also acquires the film and it later streamed on 24 October 2025 prior to Saina Play's OTT release.<ref>{{cite web|title=South Indian Movies Streaming This Week: Lokah, They Call Him OG, Nadikar & More|url=https://www.thehansindia.com/cinema/south-indian-movies-streaming-this-week-lokah-they-call-him-og-nadikar-more-1017383|work=Thehansindia|accessdate=24 October 2025}}</ref>

==Reception==
Arjun Menon of ''[[Rediff.com]]'' rated 2.5/5 stars and observed, "The film's focus lies in humanising a larger-than-life star and breaking down his celebrity, aimed at a simplistic takedown of the 'superstar' myth."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nadikar Review: Tovino Thomas Aces |url=https://m.rediff.com/movies/review/nadikar-review/20240506.htm |date=6 May 2024 |website=Rediff}}{{rating|2.5|5}}</ref>

==Box office==
This film was a [[Box-office disaster]], only grossing {{INR}}5 crore against a budget of {{INR}}40 crore.<ref name=":1" />

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{IMDb title|15816336|Nadikar}}
*[https://sainaplay.com/movie/nadikar/rpippmylrbpl Nadikar] at [[Saina Play]]

[[Category:2024 Malayalam-language films]]
[[Category:Indian comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:Films shot in Kochi]]
[[Category:Films shot in Munnar]]
[[Category:Films shot in Hyderabad, India]]
[[Category:Films shot in Dubai]]
[[Category:Films shot in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:2024 Indian films]]

Nadikar - Revision history

Hiya singh: put up the stub initial version