Kishkindha Kaandam

Story:

Dinjith Ayyathan is the director and Bahul Ramesh is the writer of the 2024 Indian Malayalam-language mystery film Kishkindha Kaandam. Asif Ali, Vijayaraghavan, and Aparna Balamurali are the film’s main actors. The narrative is set in the monkey-infested Kallepathi reserve forest, where former military commander Appu Pillai and his forest officer son Ajay Chandran live.

After 40 days of filming in Hyderabad and Kerala, principal photography was completed in August 2023, having started in July 2023. Mujeeb Majeed wrote the film’s music, and Sooraj E. S. and Bahul Ramesh handled the editing and cinematography, respectively.

The movie was praised by critics for its plot, screenplay, background music, and lead actors’ performances when it debuted on September 12, 2024. It also became a box office hit. In a leading role, it is the highest-grossing movie in Asif Ali’s career. Additionally, it became the ninth highest-grossing Malayalam movie of 2024.

Plot

The movie begins with the wedding of Ajay, a dedicated forest officer, and Aparna. After their wedding, they move into Ajay’s family home, where he lives with his father, Appu Pilla, a retired army officer. The house is located near a dense forest reserve known for its population of wild monkeys, which frequently cause trouble for the local residents. Appu Pilla is portrayed as a strict and regimented man, possibly due to his past military career. Early on, it is revealed that Appu Pilla’s licensed pistol went missing two years ago, and ever since, he has been persistently searching for it, regularly inquiring with authorities about its whereabouts.

Ajay is also dealing with a personal tragedy: three years ago, his kid and his late ex-wife, Chachu, vanished for unknown reasons. Ajay has made countless attempts, but he has failed to locate his missing child. The emotional weight of this loss is evident, and Ajay still pursues every lead that might help him locate Chachu, even traveling to distant places in his quest. After learning of this tragedy, Aparna even goes with Ajay on his quest to find his missing child.

Aparna starts to see odd and unnerving habits from her father-in-law, Appu Pilla, as she gets used to her new life at Ajay’s house. She suspects him because of his mood swings, secretiveness, and fixation on the lost weapon. She expresses these worries to Ajay, who brushes them off, telling her that Appu Pilla’s actions are only the result of his aging problems. He later clarifies, however, that his father has had memory loss for years but has managed to cope by creating his own coping strategies. However, Ajay cautions Aparna not to confront Appu Pilla about it because he becomes upset when asked about his health or told to get medical attention.

Amrith Lal, a man who seems to have a lengthy relationship with Appu Pilla, pays the residence a visit. Before speaking with Amrith, Appu Pilla stealthily takes notes from his room and attempts to identify the guest from the pictures on the wall. Though the two were army colleagues, Appu Pilla grows suspicious of Amrith, recalling that his previous notes he prepared advised against trusting him. When Appu Pilla accuses Amrith of lying about their past, their conversation becomes tense, and Amrith is unable to provide a definitive response. As they argue, Ajay and Aparna return home, and Amrith hastily departs, having secretly taken away some of Appu Pilla’s notes. Appu Pilla’s growing suspicion of Amrith only deepens the mystery surrounding him.

A startling picture of a monkey brandishing a firearm is taken one day by a team of wildlife photographers in the neighboring forest. It is believed that this is the same revolver that Appu Pilla misplaced two years prior, and the word gets out fast. Appu Pilla verifies that the weapon seen with the monkey is, in fact, his, and the local police get involved. The stress in the home is only increased by this strange episode. Soon after, the neighbors make the startling discovery that they have found a skeleton while excavating their property. Ajay and Aparna rush to the scene as soon as the police and forensics team arrive. Since the land once belonged to Ajay’s lost son, it is initially believed that the remains could.

But after more research, the forensics team finds that the skeleton belongs to a huge ape or monkey rather than a human. The fact that the ape was shot dead and that the bullet was the same size as the ammunition in Appu Pilla’s missing weapon is even more concerning. Given that murdering wild animals is a serious crime in India, this new development makes the investigation more difficult. When Appu Pilla is brought in for interrogation, he breaks down in frustration since he is unable to give any meaningful replies because of his memory loss.

The visitor, Amrith, was not an army colleague; rather, he was a doctor whom Ajay had secretly hired to treat his father’s memory loss without Appu Pilla’s knowledge. Ajay then shows the police records that attest to Appu Pilla’s termination from the army for memory issues. The police release Appu Pilla from their custody after becoming concerned about their own accountability after discovering that they had granted a firearms license to someone with such a condition.

The following day, as the mystery grows, Aparna sees Appu Pilla burning a box of documents outside the house. A physical confrontation breaks out between them as she tries to save some of the paperwork. Once more, Appu Pilla’s memory lapses and he forgets the entire affair, despite Ajay’s intervention. As Aparna becomes more determined to find the truth, she surreptitiously searches Appu Pilla’s room and finds a secret collection of notes and evidence he has been gathering for his own inquiry into the disappearance of Chachu, the missing gun, and two missing bullets.

She is shocked to discover that the lost pistol is also hidden in Appu Pilla’s hidden chamber. Meanwhile, Appu Pilla gets home and discovers that someone has been in his room. He becomes furious and accuses Aparna and Ajay of violating his privacy. Following the incident, Aparna meets Ajay and demands to know the truth as well as whether he has concealed anything from her.