Disney+ Hotstar’s venture into a full-fledged web series in the Malayalam language would pave the way for many more shows that would be language-specific if given the opportunity. Kerala Crime Files had the makers jump straight into the investigative police drama entirely focused on catching the culprit. There has been an announcement from the makers of the show regarding the team developing a story for the second season. Here we speculate on what could be the subject of the investigation in the next installment.
The entire show had a feel of Delhi Crime, and when the investigation team Kerala Crime Files finally arrested the culprit, there was a walk-through done by the man to understand why he committed the crime, explaining his motive. As I have noticed in many shows in the past about crimes against women, the motive always ends up being a male showcasing a superiority complex, and once the ego is hurt, they end up hurting women in retaliation.
They justify their actions by claiming that it was the woman’s words and demeanor that forced them to kill her. There is never a sense of guilt or regret. This also helps the viewers understand that women are always the target because a deeply patriarchal society places men’s needs above everything else. This was the underlying motive of Shiju, the culprit.
The show ended with the investigation team being praised for a thorough inquiry that concluded in six days. The duration of the investigation should not be considered here because the police went from making a wrongful arrest in the beginning to finally arresting the actual culprit. This shows the intent that the team led by Kurien and Manoj showed in bringing justice to Swapna, the victim. One more reason they could get their hands on Shiju this quickly is that the man was not aware that the police were on the lookout for him. SI Manoj reveals that the team must go back to their normal lives, by focusing on getting to work on a new case allotted to them. This sets the tone for the next season because we get to see a police officer picking up a phone, which implies that a crime has been reported, and they will have to get on with it to start the investigation.
The second season might not be about the call they got, as shown in the post-credit scene, but it will be used as a reference to the actual investigation that would most likely begin with the first episode itself, just like in the current season. Hopefully, this time around, the topic will not be about crimes against women again. It should mostly be about a crime induced by the social order and the society around us.
We are hoping that this time the case will be far more complex and hard to crack to help the viewers understand that many cases are not easy to solve. We wonder if the makers will take inspiration from real-life murder cases that have occurred in Kerala in the past few years. It would be interesting if they could do that because there have been many cases that have led the Kerala police to be able to nab the culprit based on their thorough investigation. Pick any local Kerala newspaper or do a Google search on the topic; the result will surprise you.
Apart from the actual investigation, in the next season, the makers will probably take a deep dive into the lives of police officers. In this season, the topic was just brushed upon. Makers will now take us through the conflicts faced by police officers and their respective spouses and how they affect their professional lives as well. CI Kurien spoke this season about how his ex-wife’s family complained about his odd work hours, which led to his divorce. It implies that in the next season, we will get to see if Manoj’s marital life remains a conflict-free zone or if there are plenty of issues that will be raised about his profession. Manoj most likely will not fall for the pressure tactics because he loves this job. He likes the excitement he gets from finding a lead and solving the case.
Apart from Manoj, his colleague Sunil has a newborn child to take care of, as seen in this show. It would be interesting to watch how complicated his life would get, keeping in mind that he and his wife do not have the support of their respective parents. We hope the writers take us through their dynamics in depth in the second season and let the audience understand the strains of people who marry out of their will and are ostracized by their own. There will be a social message that will be delivered through such an arc, and that would be a good thing to keep in mind; the social issues of the state have been talked about in movies only recently. Remember Nayyattu, directed by Martin Prakkat? It is high time that shows like Kerala Crime Files take us through this aspect of the community setup and how it affects people around us, despite the façade of Kerala having great social parameters.
Kerala Crime Files was far from perfect, but it is a step towards discussing how raging maniacs roam around us and end up hurting one individual or carrying out a series of murders. Malayalam cinema has only had a few cult favorites when it comes to this murder investigation genre with a pang of realism. Memories (2013), Drishyam (2014), August 1 (1988), and Oru CBI Diary Kurippu (1988) are some of them, and we hope Kerala Crime Files will soon be inducted into this list. Eagerly hoping for the second season, which will surely take us through another rollercoaster ride.
