The most suspenseful scene in Aavesham occurs right in the middle of a silly game of charades, not during one of the many battle scenes. The game is set in the lair of colorful mobster Rangan (Fahadh Faasil), whose tales can vary from the fantastical to the terrifyingly real. A violent outburst of wrath is said to have resulted from a game of stupid charades, according to one of the stories we have heard about him previously.                                                            It's a masterfully written sequence that challenges our conception of that character up to that point and then reassures us that our judgment was correct—only to upend it dramatically again not too long after. One of the things that director Jithu Madhavan does so well in his follow-up to the critically acclaimed horror comedy Romancham, Aavesham, is the mystery surrounding Rangan.                                                 Fahadh, decked up in glitter and with a penchant for sharing his dance reels, is a very different animal in Aavesham. Three Malayali students in Bengaluru, Aju (Hipster), Bibi (J.S. Mithun), and Shanthan (Roshan Shanavas), are our eyes on Rangan. They frequent filthy pubs in hopes of getting some "local support" in order to exact revenge on their seniors for beating them up. The build-up to Rangan's arrival and the gradual disclosure of his actual nature are absolutely breathtaking. To further develop this character, there is Ambaan, Rangan's sidekick, played by Sajin Gopu. He has a plethora of scary and hilarious stories about himself that he relates as though he has seen, but there is always a doubt about how spoofy they are. Mainstream celebrities have portrayed characters similar to Rangan in the past, but Fahadh gives it his own unique spin and lets his imagination run wild, much like a little child left on his own in the home.                                                     They all-pervading presence of this character and Sushin Shyam’s pulsating score somewhat papers over the film’s many weaknesses, especially in plotting and character development. The interval high was followed by a considerable lull, during which time the film shifts its gaze from unabashed hero worship and turns it into a cautionary tale. Aavesham could have done with some much-needed trimming, although it is still a wonder that they managed to sustain the runtime with so thin a plot.         Sajin and the young people, some of them are social media celebrities, hold their own amongst Fahadh's one-man show. However, not a single female character receives significant screen time, not even a college student who is the main focus of the movie. The only one that sticks out is Bibi's mother, who asks everyone she speaks to on the phone, "Are you happy?" Additionally, it gives us a unique glimpse into Rangan's personality, which is largely concealed by the hazy wording that draws the focus more on the eye-catching exteriors. That's the kind of movie that seems to relish its loudness and eccentricity and leaves little room for reflection and deep connections—things that Rangan also seems to yearn for.