Aadu 3
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Midhun Manuel Thomas
Written by	Midhun Manuel Thomas
Produced by	Vijay Babu Venu Kunnappilly
Starring	Jayasurya Saiju Kurup Vinayakan Sunny Wayne Dharmajan Bolgatty Vijay Babu Bhagath Manuel Harikrishnan
Cinematography	Akhil George
Edited by	Lijo Paul
Music by	Songs, Old Themes: Shaan Rahman Score, New Themes: Dawn Vincent
Production companies	Friday Film House Kavya Film Company
Distributed by	Friday Film House
Release date	19 March 2026 (2026-03-19)
Running time	165 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Malayalam
Box office	₹87 crore[2]

Aadu 3: One Last Ride - Part 1, or Aadu 3, is a 2026 Indian Malayalam-language fantasy comedy film written and directed by Midhun Manuel Thomas.^[3] It is the sequel to Aadu 2 (2017) and the third installment of Aadu franchise and the first of a two-part film.^[4][5] The film was jointly produced by Vijay Babu and Venu Kunnappilly for Friday Film House and Kavya Film Company, respectively.^[6][7] It stars Jayasurya, Saiju Kurup, Vinayakan, Renji Panicker, Vijay Babu, Sunny Wayne, Dharmajan Bolgatty, Bhagath Manuel, Indrans, Bijukuttan, Sudhi Koppa, Harikrishnan, reprising their roles, with Alleya Bourne and Krishna Jeev joining the cast.^[8]

Aadu 3 was released worldwide on 19 March 2026.^[9] The film received positive reviews from critics who praised the cast performances (especially Jayasurya, Vinayakan and Sunny Wayne), direction, screenwriting, action sequences, cinematography, and musical score. The film remains as the highest grossing Malayalam film of 2026

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (March 2026)

In 2370 CE, a secretive organization known as Organization has taken over the world by manipulating time using a celestial stone. In this reality, the past, present, and future coexist simultaneously, with actions in one timeline affecting the others. Death is not final; those who die in one era are reborn in another.

In 2026 CE, Shaji Pappan and his gang are still holding onto the fortune they earned in the last film, in U.S. dollars, believing it can only be exchanged in the United States. When the U.S. President, Donald Trump, visits India, Captain Cleetus hatches a bizarre plan to approach him directly, but is caught in the attempt. Pappan and the gang set out to rescue him, only to create further chaos.

In 1750 CE, Padmanabha Thampuran, an impoverished king and the past incarnation of Shaji Pappan, faces a growing threat from Sulthan Azam Khan, a powerful commander of Tippu Sulthan and the past life of Dude.

The film is the third instalment of Aadu franchise, produced by Vijay Babu for Friday Film House and directed by Midhun Manuel Thomas.^[10] The film was officially announced in March 2024.^[11] In January 2025, director Midhun Manuel Thomas confirmed that the film would be made on a larger scale.^[12] The film was launched on 10 May 2025 with a pooja ceremony.^[13][14] In June 2025, Venu Kunnappilly of Kavya Film Company joined the project as co-producer.^[15]

Principal photography began on 15 May 2025.^[16][3] Jayasurya joined the set on 15 July 2025.^[17]

The film's music and original themes are composed by Shaan Rahman while the background score and new themes are composed by Dawn Vincent. The music rights of the film are acquired by Friday Music Company. The first single, "Sulthaan", was released on 14th March, 2026.

The film is released in theatres worldwide on 19 March 2026 coinciding with Ugadi, Gudi Padwa and Eid-al-Fitr.^[18][19]

Vignesh Madhu of Cinema Express, who rated three out of five stars, described the film as "fun and impressive in scale, but falls just short". He praised its visuals and production value, while criticizing the runtime and ending.^[20] Swathi P. Ajith of Onmanorama noted that "Shaji Pappan and gang are still fun, but the film struggles to match its own legacy", pointing that "the humour, which was once the franchise's biggest weapon, is more inconsistent this time".^[21] Gopika I. S. of The Times of India, giving two-and-a-half out of five stars, wrote that the film "leaves one with mixed feelings. A film that excels in production quality and acting falls short in screenplay and comedy", adding that "whether it truly lives up to the hype is debatable". She also criticized the runtime.^[22]

Sreeju Sudhakaran of Rediff.com, who rated two out of five stars, described the film as "trapped in its own ambition. While it expands the universe in an interesting manner, it loses sight of the tight, irreverent humour that made the previous films click in the first place".^[23] Similarly, Sanjith Sidhardhan of OTT Play, also giving two out of five stars, remarked that "Jayasurya's exhausting film is too unsure to be silly, too conflicted to be serious", adding that it "falters in its bid to go bigger, losing both its slapstick humour and narrative grip in the process", while also criticising the runtime.^[24]

Vishal Menon of The Hollywood Reporter India called the film "a disappointing Multiverse of Blandness", lamenting that it's "GOAT-ed characters get butchered in this wild bore [...] Instead of figuring a specific brand of humour for each character (like in the previous films), Midhun chooses to repeat the same style of dialogues for all, lending a homogeneous dullness".^[25] Rating two out of five stars, Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express described it as a "snoozefest" and "amateurish fan-fiction, despite a fascinating climax", noting that "despite having many elements and an ambitious plot, Aadu 3 ends up being an absolute letdown".^[26]

Director Midhun Manuel Thomas and producer Vijay Babu confirmed that Aadu 3 will be released in two parts. They mentioned during an interview that the story of the film's sequel's shoot will start in May and film will hit the theatres in December.^{[citation needed]}

• Aadu 3 at IMDb