Anjaam Pathiraa

<p>Anwar Hussain is a who works as a consulting in on the special recommendation of his friend Anil Madhavan. One night, Abraham Koshy is abducted and his corpse is left in a gypsum field with eyes and heart eviscerated. The investigation is headed by Catherine. The autopsy report shows presence in the body, but no signs of . In a few days, a second police officer goes missing, his body is found in the of the police station, along with a figurine. Anwar finds a similar artefact in the previous crime scene from the . Autopsy results are the same as previous. The station’s footage has been tampered, indicating the killer is also a . Anwar employs hacker Andrew for cyber investigation. Catherine implements a plan to lure the killer in which two officers should pair and patrol the night at 100-meter distance. During duty, Catherine’s driver Paulson is kidnapped, where his ‘s camera footage shows a -masked man and another man’s voice, indicating they work as a team. Paulson’s body is delivered to Anwar’s house in a box. The fingerprint of a dealer named Shameer Abdulla is found. They track him to a cottage where they find his corpse. It was a decoy. Anwar accidentally discovers a signature imprinted on the , which turns out to be that of its sculptor, Sudhakar Devalokam. On questioning, Sudhakar explains that he made five such figurines for two men, who blinded him after he delivered it. From that, Anwar deduces there will be two more murders. On another day, CI Sharathchandran is abducted after a struggle at his home, where in addition to the figurine, they also find a . His body is dropped in a train by a woman. With that, Catherine is replaced with Prakash Seetharam. Sharathchandran had regularly taken a named . Anwar theorises that the killers inject Zolpidem in victim’s body somehow before kidnapping and hypnotize them for taking away; Tenormin is a counter-drug against Zolpidem, so Sharathchandran’s hypnosis was unsuccessful, hence the struggle. Anwar recalls seeing a photo of a similar spinner in the police file for a homicidal psychopath and hacker named Simon. While Simon is recorded dead during an explosion in prison, Anwar is not convinced. Andrew recognises Simon as the one who as the woman on the train. Anwar reports his findings but is informed that Simon and his crime partner Aravindan’s bodies were found that morning with a confessing to the murders left along with the last figurine. Anwar is unconvinced and believes it is a decoy to stop the investigation. Anwar is called by Sudhakar after a man comes to his workshop for a sixth figurine which he made for his personal satisfaction. He has made a painting based on his daughter’s description. Anwar identifies him as psychologist Dr Benjamin Louis since he always recommends his psychology books for referring when he goes to be a guest lecturer to psychology colleges. From Benjamin’s Sudhevan, Anwar learns that when Benjamin was a teenager, his sister Rebecca was impregnated by a named Bennet Franko. When their father Louis reported the crime, SI Anil and Constable Sharathchandran framed him for assaulting his daughter after taking a bribe from Father Bennet. Rebecca was placed in a distant convent, and their father committed suicide in prison. Later, Benjamin went to the for higher studies and came back. Anwar deduces that the first three murders were random and the actual targets are Sharathchandran and Anil. He goes to warn Anil but finds only his deserted car. From a nearby , Anwar finds footage of Benjamin’s van, Andrew traces it to a . Anwar and two officers intercept Benjamin before he can kill Anil. Benjamin knocks them down and chokes Anwar, but is saved by Catherine. Benjamin is arrested. On questioning, Benjamin does not disclose his motive. Anwar deduces that the burnt corpse misidentified in prison as Simon’s was actually Bennet’s. While for presenting him in court, his kills Benjamin in a . At the same time, a girl visits Anil at his . Anwar enters when she leaves and finds Anil dead. He realises that the girl killed him. Through the window, Anwar calls her Rebecca, to which she turns back, looks at him and leaves. On 24 June 2019, it was reported that would star in ‘ next directorial and filming was said to begin by late July. , , , , and were also confirmed in the cast, and and will be the composer and cinematographer, respectively. Midhun said that the film is entirely different from his previous films. The film was formally launched with a pooja ceremony on 17 July 2019. began on 1 August 2019, also revealing the title. The is composed, programmed, and by . The film was released on 10 January 2020. The film was passed with ‘U/A’ certificate from . The film was premiered on 10 April 2020 in Sajin Shrijith of rated 4 out of 5 and called it “an efficient, well-crafted mystery” and said that it is “director Midhun Manuel Thomas’ best work so far.” Litty Simon of rated 3.5 out of 5 stars calling it “a crafty thriller from Kunchacko & Co.” and ” will definitely make you restless. It is an excellent theatrical experience. In the film which villain is so complicated and line is multilayered from usual genre which thrills you always.” Deepa Soman of awarded 3 out of 5 and wrote that it was “a decently engaging crime thriller.” and appreciated ‘s performance stating that he “gives the right demeanour to Anwar Hussain, as do the rest of the cast.” Writing for , Cris called it “a neatly-packed thriller” and added that “the film moves fast, not wasting time on a song or even a line too many, with noticeable performances and negligible flaws.” of Film Companion South wrote “In the end, Anjaam Pathiraa turns out to be one of those films that takes a hot-button issue and expects us to care simply because it takes that issue up. The drama is undernourished, the thrills are feeble”. The film was both commercial and critical success. In the overseas opening weekend, the film grossed US$713,243 from 78 screens in the United Arab Emirates (the best opening of that weekend), US$48,487 (₹34.48 lakh) from 30 screens in the United States, US$6,081 (₹4.33 lakh) from 2 screens in Canada, and 28,605 (₹13.89 lakh) from 3 screens in Australia. It earned US$19,857 (₹14.2 lakh) in Canada in two weeks, 28,714 (₹26.78 lakh) in the United Kingdom in three weeks, A$85,285 (₹40.98 lakh) in Australia in four weeks, and US$116,759 (₹83.36 lakh) in the US in five weeks. It is the which collected over ₹50 crore from Worldwide box office Vishnupriya, 23 year old pharmacist at a private hospital in Panur, was murdered at her house on 22 October 2022 by Shyamjith during the trial he confessed that murder was inspired from the film. A titled was announced by on 10 January 2021.</p>