no one ever rlly gets over their first love 🥹 #idhayammurali #viral #kayadu #preitymukhundhan #fyp aatharva Idhayam Murali is a 2026 Tamil coming-of-age romantic drama directed by Aakash Baskaran, in his directorial debut. It stars Atharvaa Murali in the lead, with Preity Mukhundhan and Kayadu Lohar in major roles. The movie was released in theatres on 10 July 2026. The basic idea is unrequited love, friendship, growing up and nostalgia. Murali experiences love when he’s young, but he’s unable to properly express what he feels. Even as he grows older and life changes around him, those feelings continue to stay with him. The movie actually has a really nostalgic structure: Murali is travelling from New York to Chennai for his wedding, and during the journey, he looks back at the friendships, crushes, heartbreaks and memories that shaped him. 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Main cast & characters * Atharvaa Murali — Idhaya/Murali ❤️ The protagonist. The whole story revolves around his experiences with love, friendship and growing up. There are different stages of his life shown, including his younger years. * Preity Mukhundhan — Sam / Samantha / Samyuktha 💗 One of the central characters in Murali’s romantic journey. Her character is particularly important to the emotional side of the story. * Kayadu Lohar — Amudha / Ammu Another major character connected to Murali’s life. * Rakshan — Prabhu 😂 One of Murali’s friends. He’s part of the friendship/comedy side of the movie. * Niharika NM — Lara Dominic / Lado Another member of the ensemble around Murali and his friends. * Natarajan Subramaniam — Thangam Mama A family/older-generation character. * S. Thaman — Sachin 🎵 Thaman appears as Sachin while also composing the film’s music. * Dravid Selvam — Dravid / Khaja He is part of the cast and also contributed to the film’s dialogues/writing. * Angelin B — Priya * Anju Kurian — Thulasi * Sudhakar Jayaraman — Juju * Pragya Nagra * Yashashree Rao * Jonita Gandhi * Natty * Ramki * Chinni Jayanth * Malavika Mohanan — special appearance * Fahadh Faasil — special appearance There are also younger versions of several characters, including Master Keshav as Young Idhaya, Niirav Sudharson as Young Prabhu, Prithviraj as Young Dravid, and Ruthvik Sai MH as Young Sachin. 🎬 Behind the movie Director: Aakash Baskaran Producer: Aakash Baskaran / Dawn Pictures Music: S. Thaman Cinematography: Manoj Paramahamsa & C.H. Sai Editor: Pradeep E. Ragav Lyrics: Vivek Dialogue/writing: Aakash Baskaran, Ramanagirivasan & Dravid Selvam - @ilymamitha