Bhishmar has an easy one-line promise: two very different men, one chaotic night, a little romance, a little comedy, and enough confusion to turn a simple setup into a messy ride. On paper, that sounds like a breezy Malayalam entertainer. On screen, the film keeps chasing that energy but rarely catches it.
Directed by East Coast Vijayan, the 2026 Malayalam film stars Dhyan Sreenivasan, Vishnu Unnikrishnan, Divya Pillai, Ammayraa Goswami and Indrans. It is now streaming on Sun NXT, which makes the basic question simple: should you spend your movie night on it?
Short answer: only if you are already in the mood for a loose, old-school comedy thriller and have very low expectations from the writing.
Bhishmar review: What works
The best thing about Bhishmar is that it does not pretend to be a grand film. It wants to be a crowd-friendly mix of romance, comedy and night-time chaos. There are moments where that modest ambition almost helps the film. Dhyan Sreenivasan and Vishnu Unnikrishnan are watchable performers, and both know how to sell confusion without making the scene feel completely dead.
Dhyan has a casual screen presence that suits a man drifting through trouble. Vishnu brings a more restless energy. When the film lets them react to awkward situations rather than explain the plot, a few scenes have mild charm. Indrans also adds familiar warmth, even when the material around him is thin.
The Palakkad setting gives the film a grounded flavour, and the idea of one chance meeting spiralling into a chain of comic and action-heavy events is not bad. A sharper script could have turned this into a quick, funny, slightly mad single-night entertainer.
Where the film goes wrong
The problem is that Bhishmar often feels like it belongs to an older era of Malayalam comedy, and not in a nostalgic way. The humour leans on broad reactions, loud situations and familiar beats that do not land with enough freshness. Instead of building clean comic rhythm, the film keeps jumping between romance, family drama, action and thriller touches without giving any track enough strength.
The love story does not have the emotional pull it needs. The comedy is too scattered. The action and thriller portions arrive more like add-ons than natural payoffs. Because of that, the film starts to feel longer than it should, even when individual scenes are not especially huge.
There is also a basic tonal confusion. Some parts want to be soft and sincere. Some parts want to be chaotic and funny. Some parts want to create tension. But the film rarely blends these moods into one smooth experience. You can see what it is trying to do, but the execution keeps lagging behind the idea.
Performances and writing
Dhyan Sreenivasan and Vishnu Unnikrishnan do what they can with the roles. They are not the issue here. The issue is that the film does not give them enough sharp writing to play with. Their timing helps in bits, but the scenes often stretch beyond the joke.
Divya Pillai and Ammayraa Goswami do not get enough memorable space. Indrans is reliable, but even he cannot fully lift scenes that are written in a routine way. The supporting cast fills the frame, yet very few characters leave a strong aftertaste.
The screenplay by Ansaj Gopi has a workable seed, but it needed tighter scene construction and a clearer comic pulse. A film built around one messy night should feel like it is constantly gaining speed. Bhishmar instead moves in uneven bursts.
Is Bhishmar worth watching on Sun NXT?
If you are a big Dhyan Sreenivasan or Vishnu Unnikrishnan viewer and simply want a light Malayalam film playing in the background, Bhishmar may pass time. It has familiar faces, a simple setup and a few harmless moments.
But if you want a genuinely funny comedy thriller, a strong romance, or a crisp OTT watch, this one is hard to recommend. It is not painful all the way through, but it is too dated and uneven to feel satisfying.
For a better recent Malayalam OTT option, you can also read our Madhuvidhu movie review. If you are tracking the latest streaming arrivals, check our Friday OTT releases guide for May 22, 2026.
Our take
Our Take: Bhishmar has a watchable cast and a serviceable one-night-chaos idea, but the dated humour, weak emotional track and uneven pacing make it a forgettable OTT watch.
Bingebaaz rating: 2 out of 5.
FAQ
Where can I watch Bhishmar online?
Bhishmar is streaming on Sun NXT in Malayalam.
Who stars in Bhishmar?
The film stars Dhyan Sreenivasan, Vishnu Unnikrishnan, Divya Pillai, Ammayraa Goswami and Indrans.
Is Bhishmar worth watching?
It is watchable only for viewers who enjoy light, old-school Malayalam comedy thrillers. For most OTT viewers, it is too dated and uneven to strongly recommend.