By Ayesha Khan 
Kochi, December 25: The first sign came outside the theatres. People were not rushing out. They were standing around. Phones in hand. Talking. Laughing. Replaying moments. By late morning, Twitter/X had already made up its mind about one thing. Sarvam Maya had landed better than anyone expected.
For Nivin Pauly, that mattered more than opening numbers ever could.
Not A Reinvention, Just Recognition
Online reactions did not frame this as a “career turnaround” or a dramatic reinvention. The language was simpler. “This feels like him again.” According to Hindustan Times, fans repeatedly used the phrase “vintage Nivin,” not as nostalgia bait, but as relief.
Nivin Pauly has spent the last few years under a microscope. Every film dissected, every choice debated. Some risks worked. Others did not. What Sarvam Maya seems to have restored is something harder to quantify. Ease.
Viewers pointed out how little he appeared to be trying. The humour sat comfortably. Emotional moments did not announce themselves. He looked at home in the frame. One tweet quoted by Hindustan Times summed it up neatly: “He doesn’t perform the role. He just exists in it.”
Comedy That Knows When To Shut Up
Much of the goodwill flows from the film’s comic backbone, driven by Nivin Pauly and Aju Varghese. According to The Times of India, audiences responded most strongly to their scenes together, particularly in the first half.
There is no attempt to outdo one another. The humour lives in reaction shots, half-finished sentences, and timing that feels instinctive. Aju Varghese, as several posts noted, functions less like a supporting actor and more like the film’s stabiliser.
As ABP Live reported, viewers credited him with keeping the tone grounded. When jokes drift close to familiarity, his restraint pulls them back. Not every gag hits. Some patterns are recognisable. But the film rarely overplays its hand.
A Genre Film That Refuses To Shout
Marketed as a fantasy horror rom-com, Sarvam Maya could easily have collapsed under competing tones. It does not. According to PINKVILLA, the dominant reaction online was how “easy” the film felt.
The horror elements are present but understated. They function as mood, not spectacle. Romance and humour carry the weight. Music, frequently mentioned by viewers, supports emotional shifts rather than dictating them.
There were murmurs about pacing in the latter half. A few viewers felt the film softened after intermission. But there was no backlash spiral, no sudden turn in sentiment. That restraint, both in the film and in the response, feels telling.
An Unexpected Performance That Didn’t Go Unnoticed
Amid the focus on Nivin Pauly’s return to comfort territory, another performance quietly gathered attention. According to OTTPlay, Riya Shibu emerged as a talking point on social media.
The praise was not loud. It was specific. Viewers appreciated her natural screen presence and the absence of melodrama. In a film built on tone rather than twists, that kind of performance travels far.
Whether this early appreciation translates into broader recognition will become clear in the days ahead. For now, it has added another layer to the film’s word-of-mouth.
What The Buzz Suggests, Beyond Numbers
As FilmiBeat observed, the early online consensus leaned consistently positive. Not euphoric. Not defensive. Just content. Words like “pleasant,” “warm,” and “feel-good” surfaced again and again.
That matters. Malayalam cinema audiences have grown increasingly unforgiving of films that oversell themselves. Sarvam Maya seems to have benefited from modest expectations and honest delivery.
For Nivin Pauly, the response is less about redemption and more about reconnection. The film does not shout its importance. It simply reminds viewers why they once rooted for him so instinctively.
Theatres will decide the rest. Footfalls over the weekend will tell their own story. But as of Christmas Day, Sarvam Maya has already achieved something rarer than a strong opening.
It has people talking kindly.
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- Ayesha Khanhttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ayesha/
- Ayesha Khanhttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ayesha/
- Ayesha Khanhttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ayesha/
- Ayesha Khanhttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ayesha/
Ananya Sharma