Iyer in Arabia

Iyer in Arabia is a 2024 Indian Malayalam-language comedy film, directed by M. A. Nishad, starring Mukesh, Urvashi, Dhyan Sreenivasan, Shine Tom Chacko and Durga Krishna in lead roles. It was initially named Iyer Kanda Dubai.^[1] It was theatrically released on 2 February 2024.^[2]

Iyer in Arabia
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	M. A. Nishad
Written by	M. A. Nishad
Produced by	Vignesh Vijayakumar
Starring	Mukesh Urvasi Dhyan Sreenivasan Shine Tom Chacko Durga Krishna
Edited by	Johnkutty
Music by	Anand Madhusoodanan
Production company	Wealth I Productions
Distributed by	MAN Media
Release date	2 February 2024 (2024-02-02)
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Plot

The film showcases a family journey to the Middle East. Iyer is an orthodox Brahmin who clings onto his traditional beliefs. His wife, Jhansi rani, on the other hand is a history professor and an atheist. Their son who is a normal straightforward guy goes to the Middle east for a job. Iyer finds out that his son is involved with a girl from a different religion and has plans of marrying her.

He travels to the Middle East with his wife to put an end to his son's dreams. A series of incidents that take place in the Middle East open Iyer's eyes to a whole new world and he is forced to change his regressive beliefs. The mistakes that Iyer commit in thought and deed while in the Middle East are sarcastically portrayed in the film. The contrast between the thoughts of a rigid believer and an atheist are humorously depicted in this movie.

Cast

• Mukesh as Sreenivasa Iyer
• Urvasi as Jhansi Rani
• Dhyan Sreenivasan as Rahul
• Shine Tom Chacko as Freddy
• Durga Krishna as Zahra
• Dayana Hameed as Tania
• Biju Sopanam
• Jaffar Idukki
• Sudheer Karamana
• Sunil Sukhada
• Alencier Ley Lopez
• Maniyanpilla Raju
• Uma Nair
• Divya M. Nair
• Sinoje Siddique
• Kailash
• Jayakumar Parameswaran Pillai

Production

The film was announced in January 2023, with production initially underway under the title Iyer Kanda Dubai (transl. The Dubai Iyer saw).^[3] Filming for the project took place in Dubai and was completed by July 2023.^[4][5] In October 2023, it was reported that the film's title had been changed to Iyer in Arabia.^[1]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Anand Madhusoodanan,^[1][6][7][8] with lyrics written by Rafeeq Ahamed, Manu Manjith, B. K. Harinarayanan, Prabha Varma.^[9][10][11]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Iyyeru Kanda Dubai"	Manu Manjith	Mithun Jayaraj, Minnale Nazeer, Aswin Vijayan, Bharath Sajikumar, Anand Madhusoodanan	2:14
2.	"Thiruvananthapurame"	Rafeeq Ahamed	Mithun Jayaraj, Karthika Nair, Bhima	3:34
3.	"Mazhavil Poovayi"	B. K. Harinarayanan	Vijay Yesudas, Nithya Mammen	4:10
4.	"Parayaathe Parayunnathellam"	Prabha Varma	K. S. Chitra, Shahabaz Aman	5:05
Total length:				15:03

Reception

A critic from Times Now rated the film three out of five stars and wrote, "Iyer in Arabia is a delightful rollercoaster of emotions, blending humour seamlessly with family dynamics. The film's ensemble cast, coupled with the director's vision, suggests a successful recipe for an entertaining cinematic experience."^[12] Swathi P. Ajith of Onmanorama wrote, "Although the movie started with a promising theme, it deviated from its path by following cliches, leaving the audience with a sense of disconnect. Director M A Nishad's well-intentioned efforts to incorporate feel-good elements seemed somewhat forced and didn't seamlessly integrate into the story. Despite these shortcomings, certain comedic elements, like Mukesh's character attempting to spy on his son with a fake Facebook ID, were indeed really funny."^[13]

Arjun Ramachandran of The South First gave the film two-and-a-half out of five stars and wrote, "Iyer in Arabia is a satirical movie with a cliched plot. It is a time-pass entertainer."^[14] Rashmi Kuttan of Asianet News wrote, "The film tries to expose the audience to the beliefs that are being politicized in the current situation with a little laugh. Iyer in Arabia ridicules the shrinking within the walls of religion and irrationally succumbing to the blindness of faith."^[15]