Paradise is a rare thriller film involving a couple that discusses the politics of the country and also, at the same time, discusses the relationship dynamics of the two people involved in it. Paradise is a Sri Lankan-Keralite venture produced by Mani Ratnam’s Madras Talkies. Madras Talkies is no stranger when it comes to discussing stories from Sri Lanka. Mani Ratnam’s Kannathil Muthamithal is probably one of the best family dramas surrounding the Sri Lankan civil war. Paradise is set in a different time period in Sri Lanka, a more recent one, and a couple maneuvering through it as tourists.
Spoilers Ahead
Why were Keshav and Amritha in Sri Lanka?
Paradise movie began with Keshav and Amritha showing up in Sri Lanka for a tour. Keshav was an up-and-coming director whose project had just been sanctioned by an OTT platform, and he was looking forward to starting the schedule, which would begin right after this vacation. Amritha was an aspiring novelist and ran a blog under her name. She was also in Sri Lanka with her husband to research spots related to the Ramayana. The couple were excited about the trip and were looking forward to having a good time over the next few days. On the way to the hotel, their local guide, Andrew took them to a cave, which according to the legend was the spot where Ravana was buried. According to the local guide, Ravana was a prosperous king, and he would one day come back to save the country from turmoil. Amritha and Keshav also witnessed several political protests against the then-President of the country.
Why did Amritha not let the others shoot the deer?
Keshav insisted on going for a hunt on reaching the hotel. The guide Andrews and the hotel employee Shree obliged his wish. On reaching the hunting spot, all of them saw a beautiful deer. Amritha, being the empath, stopped Shree from killing the deer, as she felt it was too beautiful a creature to be killed.
What happened to the couple at their hotel?
On making it back to the hotel, the couple were robbed by a few thieves in the middle of the night. The robbers stole their laptops and mobile phones, and the staff at the hotel could not help catch them. The couple insisted on approaching the police and filing a complaint even though they were going back in a few days. Keshav was insistent on the fact that the thieves needed to be caught and taught a lesson. Amritha, however, was surprised to witness the aggressive nature of her husband and she was more scared of him than angry at this point. The police were initially not helpful, but Keshav pulled an influence on them to get the charges registered.
Did the police catch the thieves?
After realizing Keshav was an influential person, the police officer of the local station, Sergeant Bandara, got to work which was to nab the thieves. Initially, they brought in three suspects and asked Keshav and Amritha to identify them. Keshav, whose judgment was clouded by anger and rage, confirmed it was the three men who had robbed them. Amritha was surprised with Keshav’s response, as she claimed the men who robbed them had covered their faces and the robbery happened in the middle of the night. Amritha was disturbed as Keshav kept asking her if she had closed the window of their room properly, implying that if she had done her job right, the robbery would not have taken place. To their horror, one of the men who was brutally beaten up was severely injured, and the responsibility of moving him to a local hospital fell on Amritha and Keshav. Amritha was deeply hurt by the turn of events because of Keshav’s rash decision to get his things back.
What were the ‘Ramayana’-related spots Amritha and Keshav visited?
Amritha was trying hard to concentrate on the Ramayana-related spots she planned to visit during this trip. They initially went to a temple where Ravana had kept Sita captive. Amritha, along with their guide Andrew, also visited another spot where Sita had to perform the ‘agni pariksha’ to prove her chastity after having lived in Ravana’s palace for a long time. Throughout the tour, Amritha had her own versions to share with Andrews. According to her, there were over 300 versions of the Ramayana, and the most popular was the one written by Valmiki.
Did the police find the valuables?
The police had promised they would find the valuables in a day, but so far, they were unable to do so. Keshav was agitated and impatient as he was keen on getting his pre-production work started as it was crucial. Sergeant Bandara and his team had promised to get the thieves to confess the location of the valuables. Amritha witnessed Keshav being insensitive and inconsiderate as the days passed. The thief, admitted to the hospital following the police brutality, died in the hospital due to a lack of facilities. The news devastated Amritha as she was wondering how anyone could live with the horror of being an accomplice in the young man’s murder. The police could not find the valuables even though they claimed the thief had confessed to knowing its location.
Why was the police station attacked?
The person who had died in the hospital belonged to the local Tamil community and there was a group of people who were protesting his unfair arrest and his death in custody. The problem was only becoming worse by the minute. Keshav was livid at the fact that the police had not done their job right and their valuables were still missing. Amritha was bothered by her husband’s reaction, as he was more worried about their property than the death of a young man, which they were responsible for. As matters got worse, the locals began to attack the police station in protest of the local law and order. The matter also could be of a Tamilian being targeted and killed since the country had barely come out of a civil war. The anger the Tamil population had was justified since the police had clearly picked up random people, and Keshav hadn’t been smart enough to pick his battles. He and Amritha were stuck in a volatile situation that could hamper their journey back home as well.
Did the police suspect someone else?
To avoid being killed by an angry mob, Sergeant Bandara and his team moved to the hotel Amritha and Keshav were staying at, assuming it was the only place that was safe now. The hotel only had three staff, the bellboy Shree, the cook Iqbal, and the guide Andrews. As Bandara reached the hotel, he sensed something off about the place and did not trust any of the staff at the hotel. He revealed a suspicion that the hotel staff were involved in the robbery. He confronted the staff and roped in Keshav into believing the same. Keshav was willing to believe anything at this point, as he was blinded by his rage and arrogance. It was the first time Amritha revealed she opened the window of their room and she later closed it. Bandara was sure it was an inside job and began to physically assault Shree.
Was Keshav dead or alive?
As Shree and Iqbal were being cornered by Sergeant Bandara; Amritha was traumatized by the so-called thief’s death by police brutality. She was in profound guilt and she could not fathom the fact that Keshav did not feel the same. She had asked him to stop beating up the people who’d been taking good care of them, but Keshav wanted to have it as he himself was blinded. Keshav and Amritha seemed like an embodiment of Ram and Sita at the start of the film, but as the story progressed, it was Amritha who was showcasing the qualities of Sita, while Keshav turned out to be an insensitive man, a quality seen in Ram as well as he put his wife through “agni pariksha” as per the mythology. Sita was the empath according to the Ramayana, and so was Amritha, who could not stand being the spectator as her husband took every decision on his own based on his twisted rationale.
Shree picked up the rifle as he was the only person who knew how to use it. This was the same rifle he had taken with him with Keshav and Amritha to hunt a deer for some venison. As Shree was cornered, it was Amritha who got hold of the rifle just to make sure the innocent man didn’t fire at the police and go to prison for the crime. Amritha was the decent person of the lot and was trying to make sense and keep the situation in control, unlike Keshav or Sergeant Bandara, who were hell-bent on making another arrest without any proof. The hotel was again attacked by the agitators and protestors for the death of the man due to police brutality. Sergeant Bandara pushed them away with the help of the police rifle, but he was attacked with an axe. Keshav petrified and angry at the sight of an unconscious police officer. Keshav, in retaliation, picked up the police rifle and began to fire at random into the people who were throwing stones at him. Keshav believed it was his duty to save the people in the hotel, including his wife, which could be mirrored in Ram starting a war to rescue his wife because he strongly felt it was his duty to do so.
Unable to witness yet another senseless killing at the hands of her husband, Amritha shot Keshav with the rifle in her hands, and he died on the spot. There was no clarity on whether Keshav was killed on purpose or if she wanted to shoot into the air, but Amritha ended up killing her husband. If it was the former, Amritha probably understood her husband’s real nature, which drove him to go after people just because he was a man. This made her angry and she decided to kill him before he made a mistake and ruined their lives. It was an accident; the shot was probably just to calm Keshav, as the mob attacked them.
Paradise movie ended with the judicial inquiry into Keshav’s death, which included a statement by now-recovered Sergeant Bandara. Along with him, Shree, Iqbal and Andrew claimed the death was accidental, and that Amritha never orchestrated the death. It seemed all three men came together to help her and get her out of a murky situation. This could also mirror the story of Ram and Sita’s sons, Lava and Kusha, who wanted to protect their mother at any cost. The last shot has Amritha asking Andrews if he meant every word in his statement to the police. His silence was proof that he not only meant every word, but he wanted Amritha to leave Sri Lanka as soon as possible. The last shot of the Sita Amman temple was an indication of the fact that the woman was now free to go and she was not in captivity anymore. She was now free from a marriage that may have exhausted her with guilt of what transpired in Sri Lanka, and it could have led to a bad breakup. Amritha’s role in Keshav’s death will always be a well-kept secret.
