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	Shaan Rahman 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	170 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Malayalam
Budget	₹50–65 crore[2][3]
Box office	₹119 crore[4]

Aadu 3 is a 2026 Indian Malayalam-language fantasy comedy film written and directed by Midhun Manuel Thomas.^[5] It is a sequel to Aadu 2 (2017), the third installment in the Aadu film series, and the first of a two-part film.^[6][7] The film was jointly produced by Vijay Babu and Venu Kunnappilly for Friday Film House and Kavya Film Company, respectively.^[8][9] It stars an ensemble cast led by 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.^[10]

Aadu 3 was released worldwide on 19 March 2026, coinciding with Eid ul-Fitr.^[11] It received mixed-to-postive reviews from critics.^[12] The film was a commercial success and became one of the highest grossing Malayalam films of 2026.

In 2370 CE, Earth is ruled by a totalitarian regime known as The Organization. The Organization achieved total dominance by using a rare celestial object called the Star Dust, which possess the ability to manipulate and rewrite timelines.

A resistance movement led by Baba discovers that time in this universe is not linear — past, present, and future coexist simultaneously, and actions in one timeline can alter the others. Realizing the danger, Baba devises a plan to prevent the Organization from ever acquiring the Star Dust by interfering with events in the past.

In 1790 CE, Maharaja Padmanabhan Thampuran, an impoverished ruler, governs a small kingdom. Alongside Vareed Mappila, an architect, and Walter Joseph, a British lieutenant colonel, he oversees the construction of the Nagathan bridge.

At the same time, the kingdom faces internal unrest due to heavy taxation, leading to a peasant rebellion. Externally, it is threatened by an invasion led by Sulthan Azam Khan, a commander under Tipu Sultan, who brings with him the devastating Mysorean rockets. Meanwhile, a British fortune hunter, Cassandra, arrives in the kingdom in search of the Star Dust, believed to have landed there centuries earlier as a meteor.

As war looms, Padmanabhan reveals to his trusted aide Karyasthan Narayanan that his ancestors secretly hid the Star Dust. He stores the Star Dust in sealed boxes and entrusts them to Vareed Mappila, who hides them within the structure of the Nagathan Bridge during its construction, but unknown to anyone, Padmanabhan Thampuran also hides it in the forest.

In 2025 CE, Shaji Pappan and his gang come into possession of three million US dollars after defeating Chekuthan Lasar and his group.^[a] They attempt to travel abroad to convert the money but soon discover that the cash is counterfeit.

Elsewhere, Saathan Xavier, struggling with depression after losing the printing plates, learns from his cousin Michael about the Star Dust, believed to be stored inside the Nagathan bridge. Saathan orchestrates a plan to demolish the bridge by influencing politician P. P. Sasi, promising him a share of the profits. SI Sarbath Shameer is assigned to oversee the operation and secure the contents.

Seeking quick money, Pappan establishes a scrap collection company and secures the contract to clear the bridge’s scrap after demolition, threatening Battery Simon and Kanjavu Soman. However, Soman independently contacts Dude and convinces him to steal the boxes for themselves.

After the bridge is demolished, Dude arrives in a helicopter and retrieves the boxes, but Thomas Pappan, Shaji Pappan's brother, shoots the rope, causing Dude and the boxes to fall into the river. Amid the chaos, with Saathan Xavier, Shaji Pappan, Dude and SI Shameer trying to take the boxes for themselves, they are ultimately outsmarted by Kate Lara, an operative of the Organization. When she opens them, she discovers that they are empty.

Simultaneously, in 1790, Maharaja Padmanabhan Thampuran confronts Azam Khan at a ruined gate in the forest, while in 2025, Pappan and Dude face off at the same location. As both confrontations escalate, the hidden Star Dust beneath the gate is activated. The anomaly creates a temporal rupture, pulling them across timelines. Padmanabhan is drawn into 2025 where everyone mistakes him to be Shaji Pappan, while Pappan and Dude are transported into different places of kerala in the 18th century, where evryone mistakes them as Sulthan Azam Khan and Maharaja Padmanabhan Thampuran.

In the mid-credit scenes we see Shaji Pappan fighting Sulthan Azam Khan's soldiers.

The film was officially announced in March 2024.^[13] It is the third instalment of Aadu film series, produced by Vijay Babu of Friday Film House and directed by Midhun Manuel Thomas.^[14] In January 2025, Midhun said that the film would be made on a larger scale.^[15] The film was launched on 10 May 2025 with a pooja ceremony.^[16][17] In June 2025, Venu Kunnappilly of Kavya Film Company joined the project as co-producer.^[18]

Principal photography began on 15 May 2025.^[19][5] Jayasurya joined the set on 15 July 2025.^[20]

The film features songs and original theme composed by Shaan Rahman. The background score and a new theme was composed by Dawn Vincent. The soundtrack album was distributed by Friday Music Company. The first single, "Sulthaan", was released on 14 March 2026.

Aadu 3
Film score by Shaan Rahman & Dawn Vincent
Released	19 March 2026
Recorded	2026
Genre	Film score
Length	8:30
Language	Malayalam
Label	Friday Film House
Producer	Shaan Rahman Dawn Vincent

Aadu 3
Soundtrack album by Dawn Vincent
Released	19 March 2026
Recorded	2026
Studio	Ds Den, Tesseract, and NHQ, Kochi
Genre	Feature film score
Length	37:18
Label	Friday Film House

The film was released in theatres worldwide alongside Dhurandhar: The Revenge on 19 March 2026, coinciding with Ugadi, Gudi Padwa and Eid-al-Fitr.^[21][22]

The post theatrical digital streaming rights of the film is acquired by ZEE5. The film has begun streaming on the platform in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi from 1 May 2026.^[23]

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.^[24] 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".^[25] 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.^[26]

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".^[27] 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.^[28] The Hindu's S. R. Praveen felt the director was "flogging a dead goat through multiple timelines", adding that "despite its ambitious scope and comedic potential, the nearly three-hour movie only offers a series of character introductions rather than a cohesive narrative, ultimately leaving viewers yearning for a satisfying conclusion".^[29]

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".^[30] 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".^[31]

The film grossed ₹66.60 crore worldwide in three days.^[32] In its four-day opening weekend, the film reportedly earned ₹82.50 crore globally, becoming the second highest opening weekend for a Malayalam film, behind Empuraan (2025).^[33] According to Vijay Babu, the film's budget was approximately 70–75% of its opening weekend gross, which he stated was ₹87 crore, implying an estimated production cost in the range of ₹60–65 crore.^[2] However, producer Venu Kunnappilly later stated that the exact production cost could not be determined, as financial transactions were still ongoing, but estimated it to be around ₹50 crore.^[3]

By the end of March, the film had grossed ₹111.17 crore worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year up to that point.^[34] As of 8 April, the film has reportedly grossed ₹119 crore worldwide.^[4]

Midhun and Vijay confirmed that Aadu 3 was conceived as a two-part film. However, in an interview, they stated that the second part would proceed depending on the reception of the first part.^[35] A follow-up titled Aadu 3: The Ride Ends - Part 2, was revealed at the end credits.^{[citation needed]}

• Aadu 3 at IMDb