There has been a resurgence of crime-investigation thrillers in Malayalam cinema. The past films, such as CBI: Our Diary Kurippu (1988) and Anjaam Paathiraa (2020), have paved the way for some interesting stories about serial killers, following the investigation path chosen by the leads in the film. Rorschach, which was released in 2022, also provided insight on how certain revenge stories can be executed. Directed by Midhun Manuel Thomas, the 2024 film tells the story of a tormented insomniac police officer who works to keep his thoughts at bay and finds himself embroiled in an interesting murder case.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happened To Abraham Ozler’s Family?
Abraham Ozler, a police officer, was vacationing with his family when he was informed about a twin murder that took place in the same town he was in. As he was asked for some help with the murder investigation, Abraham left his family alone to assist the local police. He quickly learned the phone call he received was fake, and on his return his wife and daughter were missing. The culprit, Vineeth, was caught and revealed to have exacted revenge on Ozler for arresting him a few years ago.
Vineeth was a narcotics carrier who was sentenced to several years in jail, and on release, he followed Ozler and his family, and he was successful in harming the man in the worst possible manner. The investigation was quickly concluded with Vineeth’s arrest, but since he was high on several drugs, he doesn’t seem to remember where he buried the mutilated bodies of Ozler’s wife and daughter. Ozler never found closure as the mortal remains were never found, which caused him severe depression and insomnia, triggering severe hallucinations. Even though his counselor suggested physiological treatment for his mental health issues, Ozler was quick to jump into a new murder case assigned to him.
What Was The Murder Case Assigned To Ozler?
A young IT professional, Naveen, had a severe accident that led to him losing sensation in his right leg. The man was soon found dead due to excessive bleeding as a result of a precision cut on his thigh. A disturbed Ozler took over the case to find out the details of the murder, which also included interviewing the deceased’s father, Dr. Shivakumar. An alcoholic lottery ticket seller was killed in the same manner as Naveen. The two deaths made Ozler’s team wonder if there was a connection between the deceased and if this case could be turning into a serial killer scenario.
Is There A Serial Killer On The Loose?
Ozler and his team were called in to investigate the death of a Tamilian businessman in Kerala who fell unconscious and was moved to a hospital for a detailed MRI. The businessman was brutally murdered using the same MO, confirming the police’s hunch about a serial killer being on the loose. Ozler and his team were keen to find the connection between the three victims; hence, they began to investigate the cards left by the killer next to the bodies of the victims. The words on the card took them to Calicut Medical College, where they tried to find out if the victims had any connection to the establishment.
What Was The Connection Between All The Murders That Happened?
The police were quick to learn the culprit had used an artificial larynx to speak. The investigation details of the customers who purchased the artificial larynx device led the police to the family of Krishnadas, whose mother revealed her son lost his voice at a young age because of medical negligence. Ever since, the man was not the same, and he seemed to have taken the path of revenge. The police investigation concluded that the fathers of the victims were at Calicut Medical College together in 1989.
Dr. Shivakumar, Selvaraj, and lab attendant Raghavan were involved in an incident that changed the course of Krishnadas’ life. The police were also quick to conclude that the culprit was well-versed in medical equipment, which helped them make precise cuts on the bodies of the victims. Ozler and his team were surprised to know there were two people involved in the murders, and they had a huge task ahead of them, which was to nab both who were working together.
How Did The Police Catch The Culprits?
Krishnadas was arrested when he arrived to kill the supposed ‘Dr. Alexander’, whom the police believed to be the next target. The police also had a photograph of a woman named Suja and Dr. Alexander, as they were in a relationship during their time at the medical college. There was a gap in the tale, but they soon learned Suja had died of suicide, but the faded photograph made them conclude Alexander was not the victim but the killer, who was after Dr. Xavi, the next victim. This revelation brings them closer to understanding the motive of the culprit and how he convinced Krishnadas to help him formulate and execute a plan to eliminate these people. Alexander was caught in the act of murdering Dr. Xavi by marking his wrist with a blue pen before cutting it open using the scalpel. The arrest was required to understand why Alexander and Krishnadas went on a killing spree.
What Happened At Calicut Medical College In The Year 1989?
After the arrest, Alexander began to retell his horrifying experience of being wronged by his batchmates; Dr. Xavi, Selvaraj, and Dr. Shivakumar. The three young men were jealous of Dr. Alexander’s skills as a brilliant student studying to be a surgeon. Shivakumar was jealous of the fact that Alexander and Suja fell in love, when he couldn’t do so. Shivakumar used his anger to fuel the animosity between Xavi and Alexander, which ended tragically and led to dire consequences. Selvaraj was caught taking drugs by Alexander from the hospital stock and got dismissed as a result.
Selvaraj was antagonized, and this caused him to help Xavi and Shivakumar execute a perfect plan to discredit Alexander. Xavi and Alexander were asked to join Krishnadas’ simple surgical procedure. Xavi purposely botched it up to make Alexander look guilty. Xavi was removed from the college, yet he and his two unruly friends kidnapped Alexander and were on the verge of performing a vasectomy on him. Alexander was unconscious when the boys caused a severe car accident, which left the blameless young boy in a coma for months. There was a chain of ugly reactions following this accident, and one of them was Suja’s suicide as she believed Alexander would be taken off life support.
Was Alexander Successful In Exacting Revenge?
The tragic events after the accident led to consequences that affected Alexander’s life. Alexander came out of the coma, but he suffered from amnesia and other severe side effects of being in a coma, which rendered him a man without a career. Alexander could never complete his education as a result and could not practice as a physician because of his bad physiological and mental health. The man had no memories of the life he led at Calicut Medical College or the fact that Suja was an integral part of his life.
Years later, a television interview with Krishnadas, which included the songs he sang many years ago triggered Alexander’s memories. This got him going because it allowed him to relive his memories of his college days from years ago. The thought of Suja killing herself hurt him most. The memories of Krishnadas, his love for singing, and his ordeal post-botched-up surgery got Alexander in touch with the man, who was quickly persuaded into detailed planning to exact his revenge on the four men who ruined his life purely because of jealousy and moved on in life without facing any consequences of their actions.
Alexander wanted them to face the result of their gruesome choices, and killing their children was as close as he could get to hurting all of them. A child’s death was something that would hurt the parents the most, and Alexander and Krishnadas were successful in doing so. They spared Xavi’s daughter in America because Alexander wanted to get rid of the man himself, who showed no sign of guilt or remorse years later. Xavi was probably numbed by the experience he had in his younger days and chose to move on instead of drowning himself in guilt.
Xavi was eventually killed due to the presence of a dangerous substance in the blue ink Alexander drew on him before getting caught by Ozler and his team. The whole idea was to kill the man brutally and make him suffer a painful death. Xavi died of a sudden cardiac arrest, and with that, Alexander and Krishnadas’ yearning for revenge was over, and they were looking forward to jail time. They were aware the consequences of their actions would be dire and willingly got into it.
Is Abraham Ozler’s Family Dead Or Alive?
This investigation finally let Ozler sleep at night and it is understood he was on the path of recovery now that this case was solved. Abraham had made it a habit to get Vineeth, the man who killed his family, some food every month. This ritual was carried out in the hope the culprit would somehow remember the final details of the murder, which are the location of the butchered bodies. Abraham had some hopes for Vineeth, as the man had admitted to the crime and hoped he would, out of respect, eventually give the details Ozler and the investigation team were seeking. Abraham Ozler had been waiting ever since Vineeth was arrested and confessed to the crime.
On the way to meet Vineeth, Ozler ran into Alexander and Krishnadas, who were in the same prison. Alexander was aware of the closure Ozler was seeking and was reminded of something that many police officers missed during the DNA testing of the blood samples on the murder weapon. Ozler was reminded of bone residue, and as a seasoned investigator, he remembered that bone residue could never be washed away from any murder weapon.
Ozler confronted Vineeth about this detail, and the killer changed his attitude, which could be a sign of a smug man trying to fool a police officer. The absence of bone residue could mean his family was either alive or that the weapon was planted to trap Vineeth in this case. Vineeth may have been offered cash by the actual killer, who could be a major drug dealer who probably employed the culprit. The family could have been taken captive somewhere, and this brought some hope back into Ozler’s life.
Abraham Ozler movie ends with Vineeth challenging Abraham Ozler to dig deeper into this matter to get to the bottom of the truth. The ending could have many meanings. This probably paves the way for the second part, in which Abraham would be desperate to find his family. Vineeth may have waited all this while for Ozler to find a breakthrough that could help the so-called culprit find his way out of prison. Abraham would now want to find out who framed Vineeth.
