‘Ullozhukku’ Ending Explained & Movie Recap: Did Anju Leave Leelamma’s Family To Be With Rajeev?

Family dramas are intense, especially when they are all about secrets and trauma. The dysfunctional family unit usually causes friction, and it is usually the black sheep of the family that chooses to break away and speak the truth. Ullozhukku is a Malayalam language film, the title of which loosely translates to undercurrent. It is about a woman who married into a middle-class family in Kerala and discusses her struggles being a housewife and the tiresome chores she is expected to take charge of at home.

Spoilers Ahead

Was Thomaskutty sick?

Anju was married to Thomaskutty, who was suffering from a brain tumor and everything else that came with it. He had been suffering from seizures for a while, and his mother, Leelamma, and wife Anju have been on his side ever since this issue showed up. Leelamma was discreet about his medical reports and never allowed Anju to be privy to the doctor’s diagnosis. Anju never took it to heart, but she took good care of him, though she never let him touch her. Thomaskutty and Anju had only been married for a few years, but there was no love or intimacy shared between them. 

Who was Anju meeting?

Anju, under the pretext of purchasing medicines, used to meet her ex-boyfriend Rajeev, with whom she had rekindled her relationship. She’d also saved his contact number as Maria, and Leelamma and her husband assumed she was her friend. There was no talk of marriage between them, but she was helping him find a new job as he currently worked as a waiter at a restaurant. He planned to start a food truck, but he lacked financial backing for it. 

Who informed the family about Anju’s pregnancy?

Anju soon learned she was pregnant, and she immediately informed Rajeev about it. He chose to stay with her and was assertive about the fact that he wanted to start a life with her. This was on the same day Thomaskutty fainted and was moved to the ICU. Leelamma figured out Anju was pregnant from her body language and informed all the family members, including her parents. Anju was afraid of letting her husband know about her pregnancy as his health was spiraling. Sadly, Thomaskutty died that day before she could share the news. 

Why was there a delay for the funeral?

Thomaskutty’s body was kept in the mortuary as the rains were torrential and there was a flooding situation in their village. As the family friends had slowly started coming to offer their condolences, Leelamma was slowly becoming obsessed with Anju’s pregnancy and had begun to make plans for the unborn child. Anju began to feel suffocated in the house and was paranoid that the family would force her to stay back at Thomaskutty’s home. She had mentioned her intention of moving out to her mother-in-law a couple of times, even though Leelamma had plans to leave all her to Anju. 

How did Leelamma learn of Anu’s affair?

Struggling to deal with Leelamma’s plans for her child, Anju confessed,the father of her child was not Thomaskutty. She was assertive about her plans to leave this house after the funeral. Leelamma lost all the respect she had for her daughter-in-law. Since the funeral was days away as the rains were non-stop, it was becoming difficult for Anju and Leelamma to talk about the elephant in the room. Leelamma did not waste time in informing her parents about the situation, which only made it harder for Anju to be in the house.

What was Anju’s plan after the funeral?

Anju’s father and mother confront her about her plans to live with Rajeev and stop her from making what they believe was a mistake. It was during this altercation that Leelamma and her family learned of Anju being forced into marriage as her parents did not agree with her relationship with Rajeev. The rain was nonstop, and the drama in the home was just incessant. 

Who knew of Thomaskutty’s underlying health condition?

Anju had stopped attending any of the prayer meetings happening in the house, and Leelamma was disturbed by the fact her daughter-in-law was not performing her duties as a bereaved widow. It was during this spat that Leelamma’s sister, a nun in a convent, accidentally revealed Thomaskutty had had a brain tumor years before he got married to Anju. Anju skimmed through all of Thomaskutty’s medical files only to realize his aunt was right, and Leelamma had conveniently chosen to keep the information from her family. 

Anju, however, learned her mother had been aware of the condition but remained tight-lipped about it because Thomaskutty and his family were comparatively richer than hers and she would be happy eventually. This further caused friction among the family as the funeral day was nearing. 

Was Leelamma blaming Anju?

As the rains and the flooding subsided, Thomaskutty’s body was brought for the funeral. Anju confronted Leelamma at night and spoke about how she felt betrayed by his family. Anju was branded as a bad woman while she was kept in the dark about her now-deceased husband’s health condition, which could be considered a form of cheating. Leelamma lectured her about how to be a loyal wife and her duties towards taking care of every need of her son. Leelamma came from a school of thought that advocated for staying in a loveless marriage till the end, and Anju pointed out the toxicity that came with it. Anju revealed Thomaskutty only used her in bed and never really showered her with love. Leelamma was conditioned to believe it was right as she was put through the same form of emotional trauma, being denied love and affection. Anju refused to be part of the generational trauma that only forced every woman to accept this as the norm and deprive themselves of love and affection. This further propelled her plan to move out of the house and start her life with Rajeev. 

Did Leelamma change her mind?

Leelamma had a revelation after having a conversation with Anju about how a marriage should be. Leelamma stopped being bitter and started trying to find a way to let her know that maybe she should lead her life the way she wanted. Leelamma was startled by the fact that Anju had led the same life that she did, and never wanted her to go through the trauma of being sidelined just because she was a woman. 

Leelamma probably understood that her son modeled his behavior on his emotionally distant father. Leelamma also admonished her daughter Sheba for badmouthing Anju because, as a wife, she performed her duties very well so long as Thomaskutty was alive. Leelamma stuck to her plan of leaving all of her money and property in Anju’s name as she felt her daughter-in-law did find her way out instead of getting drowned in the pain and sorrow of being neglected. The problem lies in the fact that even though Anju had her reasons for falling back in love with Rajeev, it does not justify cheating. Even though she was right by Thomaskutty’s side till the end, she did choose to look for gratification outside of her marriage. Her circumstances may have left her trapped with Thomaskutty, but that does not make her actions right. Anju is laced with shades of gray as she is aware of her morally wrong behavior, but she never wanted to hurt Thomaskutty till the end.

Did Anju leave Leelamma’s family to be with Rajeev?

Leelamma had a word with Anju’s father about letting their children live on their own terms as Anju would be happy with Rajeev. Leelamma as a woman could see what others couldn’t. Leelamma had become a widow at a young age and had had to endure everything in the name of societal norms, including having to live the rest of her life without a partner by her side. She never wanted the same fate for Anju, as her daughter-in-law was clear about wanting to be happy for herself and the child she was carrying. Anju had also mentioned to Rajeev about her mother-in-law wanting to leave all of the property in her name. This intrigued him, and he had begun to ask about it way too many times, which bothered Anju as she did not want the money. Her guilt was probably the reason she rejected the idea of owning all of Leelamma and Thomaskutty’s wealth. Anju rejected Leelamma’s property and money. 

After the funeral, Rajeev was livid at Anju for throwing their one shot at a prosperous life away. This was another face of Rajeev that Anju had never witnessed before. She began to wonder if Rajeev was with her only for the money Leelamma had promised and not because of his love for her and the child she was carrying. His rage led to him claiming she should be glad to have him in her life long after the breakup and after her having slept with another man. Rajeev turned out to be toxic as well, a man who would pity her instead of loving her. 

Ullozhukku ended with Leelamma going back to her home after the funeral, when it was decided Anju would go with Rajeev. Leelamma was looking forward to a life away from her family because she knew Anju would probably never return. Anju, however, had a change of mind and chose to go back to Leelamma, deciding to live with her for the rest of their days. Rajeev was apologetic and confused, but the thought process behind how he viewed Anju was a dealbreaker for her. Anju had spent the last few years of her life in a toxic marriage, and she was not keen on repeating the cycle as she wanted peace and happiness. The woman realized Rajeev was not someone who could give her that, which made it easy for her to make the most rational decision. Anju was quick to notice Leelamma was not bitter with her anymore, and after having learned everything that happened, she was willing to leave the wealth for her. Anju could sense since she lived with Leelamma for so long that they had gotten used to each other, and going forward she could live with her now that all the secrets were out of the bag. Both women found a way to forgive and accept each other.