In a brilliant scene in MC Jithin’s Sookshmadarshini (Microscope), a housewife and detective extraordinaire figures out important information about her neighbours by listening closely to the number of whistles emitted by a rice cooker. A common kitchen element turns into a major clue – just as a comedy with whacky characters becomes only the latest Malayalam crime thriller to cast a spell.
Sookshmadarshini was recently released on Disney+ Hotstar after a successful theatrical run. The 2024 production joins a long list of Malayalam whodunits that are available on steaming platforms. These films are wowing non-Malayali viewers as much as the dramas Manjummel Boys, Aavesham and Aadujeevitham.
Alongside classic police procedurals such as Anweshippin Kandethum and Thalavan, there are psychological thrillers such as Kishkindha Kaandam (Disney+ Hotstar), in which a crime tells a deeper story about the complexities of the human mind.
The Malayalam industry arguably mastered this art of storytelling decades ago. In the 1960s and 1970s, acting icon Prem Nazir starred in several popular whodunits, including Rest House, Danger Biscuit, Lanka Dahanam and CID Nazeer.
In the 1980s, crime thrillers reflected scientific advances in investigation methods, best seen in the CBI film series starring Mammootty as Sethurama Iyer. Starting with K Madhu’s Oru CBI Diary Kurippu (Disney+ Hotstar), the CBI films emphasised a forensic approach to deduction and explored crimes in an almost pedantic manner.
Recent films creatively reimagine the criminal-catching business. In Jeethu Joseph’s blockbuster Drishyam (Disney+ Hotstar), family man Georgekutty’s skilful cover-up of a murder committed by his wife and daughter becomes a way to address violence against women.
Dileesh Pothan’s thrillers are intimate, slow-burning dramas. In Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum (Disney+ Hotstar), Pothan delves into the mind of a wily robber who is navigating a messy police investigation. The Macbeth-influenced Joji (Prime Video) examines the domino effect of domestic abuse.
Among the politically conscious thrillers are Mahesh Narayanan’s C U Soon (Prime Video), which deploys the screenlife format to speak about relationships, privacy and crime in the digital age. In Prasanna Vithanage’s Paradise (Prime Video), a robbery reveals the cracks in a relationship as well as the ravages of the Sri Lankan economic crisis.
Some crime films look squarely not just at criminals but also the upholders of the law. In Martin Prakkat’s Nayattu (Netflix), three police officers are on the run after being framed by their bosses in a Dalit youngster’s death.
Rohit M’s Iratta (Netflix) is a whodunit about an inspector who discovers a devastating truth while investigating the murder of his lecherous twin brother. Jis Joy’s Thalavan (Sony LIV), about two policemen with temperament issues, expertly uses its characters to elevate the otherwise familiar story of the wronged cop.
The best among this type of film emphasise the contributions of many rather than the heroism of one. Although Sookshmadarshini revolves largely around its heroine Priya, the story has other memorable characters, such as Priya’s neighbour, her sleep-deprived mother and her perennially bemused best friend.
In Roby Varghese Raj’s Kannur Squad (Disney+ Hotstar), a low-rung police unit investigates a high-profile case. While Kannur Squad is led by the star Mammootty, the story is equally attentive to the hero’s colleagues, including a father-to-be and an officer with a questionable past.
Apart from relatable characters going about their jobs, the films have intense detailing. Darwin Kuriakose’s Anweshippin Kandethum (Netflix) revolves around Anand, who tries to crack the unsolved murder of a pregnant woman while grappling with his previous failure to bring a criminal to justice. Led by a terrific Tovino Thomas, Anweshippin Kandethum is remarkable in its level of attentiveness. Even the faded postage on a letter doesn’t go unnoticed.
No element is on the screen without a purpose. Sookshmadarshini opens with seemingly insignificant information about Priya’s car. Even this tiny open case gets a deeply satisfying closure. There’s a nifty explanation for a spiked mango juice that has no effect on Priya.
Alongside painstaking explorations of data in the present, there are elaborate efforts to construct back stories. Dinjith Ayyathan’s Kishkindha Kaandam, written by Bahul Ramesh, begins like a typical mystery about the forest officer Ajay coping with his son’s disappearance. We’re also introduced to Ajay’s father, a crabby ex-military man concerned about the loss of his gun. The film simmers its way to an unpredictable climax that takes the film away from crime and into the realm of family relationships.
In Amal Neerad’s Bougainvillea (Sony LIV), the journey is more significant than the destination. Like Kishkindha Kaandam, Bougainvillea has an unreliable narrator, a hunt for a missing person, and unresolved trauma caused by family secrets.
Akhil Paul and Anas Khan’s recently released Identity is a murder mystery that expands into an action thriller. How do you solve a gruesome death when the only eyewitness (Trisha) has face blindness? Identity uses meticulous character detailing to keep us guessing.
One of the classic Malayalam crime dramas is KG George’s 1982 film Yavanika (Disney+ Hotstar), about members of a drama troupe who become suspects after their tabla player Iyyapan goes missing. The interrogation led by the police detective played by Mammootty admirably use the Rashomon effect. The play being staged by the theatre group yields a clue into Iyyapan’s disappearance.
More than 40 years later after Yavanika, Malayalam films have similar levels of intelligence, precision and curiosity. Case… closed?
