''Kerala Crime Files'' is an Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

-language

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as films and television series, streamed over the Internet. Standing in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aerial systems, cable t ...

series directed by Ahammed Khabeer and written by Ashiq Aimar starring

Aju Varghese Aju Kurian Varghese (born 11 January 1985), better known as Aju Varghese, is an Indian actor, producer and singer who appears in Malayalam cinema. He made his debut in 2010 in '' Malarvadi Arts Club'', directed by his collegemate Vineeth Sr ...

and Lal in lead roles. The series was released on

JioHotstar Disney+ Hotstar, also known as JioHotstar or simply Hotstar, is an Indian subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Disney Star. The brand was introduced as Hotstar for a streaming service carrying content from Di ...

. The first season ''Kerala Crime Files - Shiju, Parayil Veedu, Neendakara'' was released on 23 June 2023. The second season ''Kerala Crime Files 2 - The Search for CPO Ambili Raju'' released on 20 June 2025.

Plot

Season 1

A team of six

policemen A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of t ...

led by

Sub-Inspector Sub-inspector (SI), or sub-inspector of police or police sub-inspector (PSI), is a rank used extensively in South Asia: in the police forces of Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, which are primarily based on the British model. It was form ...

Manoj is on a chase to solve a murder in a suburban lodge room, with just one clue - a fake address, Shiju, Parayil Veedu, Neendakara, from a lodge register. This story takes place in 2011. It all begins when the

receptionist A receptionist is an Employment, employee taking an office or Business administration, administrative support position. The work is usually performed in a waiting room, waiting area such as a Lobby (room), lobby or front office desk of an organ ...

at a local lodge discovers the dead body of a

sex worker A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work is ...

in one of the rooms.

Circle Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

Kurian Avaran ( Lal) and Sub-inspector Manoj Sreedharan (

) from the Ernakulam North Police Station lead a team of five police officers who are determined to catch the person responsible. But their only clues are a name, "Shiju," and a fake address, "Parayil Veedu, Neendakara," given by the suspect at the lodge.

Season 2

Set in 2024, the second season follows SI Noble, who is newly assigned to a remote police station at Kaniyarvila in rural Thiruvananthapuram. He was accompanied by

Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

SHO Sho, Shō or SHO may refer to: Music * ''Shō'' (instrument) (笙), a Japanese wind instrument * ''Kane'' (instrument) (鉦), a Japanese percussion instrument * Sho?, a Dubai rock band People * Shō (given name), including ''Sho'' * Shō (su ...

Kurian Avaran and team. His first case takes a mysterious turn when a

civil police officer A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peop ...

(CPO), Ambili Raju, suddenly goes missing shortly after being transferred under suspicious circumstances linked to his questionable associations. As Noble investigates further, the case widens in scope, uncovering secrets about Ambili's behaviour towards public and his hold. The series unravels the mystery behind Ambili Raju's disappearance while highlighting how Noble and his team navigate through layers of hidden truths to bring justice.

Cast

Main Cast (Season 1 & 2)

as SI/ CI Manoj Sreedharan * Lal as

Kurian Avaran *

Navas Vallikkunnu Navas Vallikkunnu is an Indian actor who works predominantly works in Malayalam Film Industry Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam language, primarily ...

as CPO Sunil *Sanju Sanichen as CPO/ SI Vinu *Zhinz Shan as SCPO Pradeep

Season 1

*Sreejith Mahadevan as Shiju *Ansal Ben as Union Shiju *Aji Alok as Karim Ikka *Ashwathy Manohar as Athira *Devaki Rajendran as Lathika *Rooth P. John as Swapna *Harishankar as Sarath *Jeevan Baby Mathew as Afzal *Dr. Nidhinya Anil as

WCPO WCPO-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is the flagship television property of locally based E. W. Scripps Company, which has owned the station since its inception. WCPO-TV's ...

Sindhu *Stijo Chemmessery as

Tea Shop A teahouse or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel, especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment that only serve ...

Owner *Prabhakumar as ACP *Abin Paul as Eloor SI *Pradeep Joseph as Edappally SI *Akhil Raj as Neendakara A.S.I. *Roopesh KV as Venjaramoode SI *Pragesh Raj as Palarivattom SI *Jinu Anilkumar as

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

Officer *Madanan Babu as Athira's father *Rajeev Thomas as Athul *MD Rajmohan as Old Husband *Mini S.K. as Old Wife *Abhilash K. as BSNL Officer *Akshay T. as Sainu *Anoop Raghavan as Ashraf *Ponnachan as Party Secretary *Vinod Thomas as Biju *Jose Praveen as Peter *Prem Prakash as Devassy *Baiju Bala as Jacob *Feby as Sisily

Season 2

Arjun Radhakrishnan Arjun Radhakrishnan is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam and Hindi films. He played the role of APJ Abdul Kalam in the SonyLIV web series '' Rocket Boys'' (2022) and has since acted in films such as '' Jhund'' (2022), '' Dear Friend'' (2022), ...

as SI Noble *

Indrans K. Surendran (born 16 March 1956), better known by his stage name Indrans, is an Indian actor and former costume designer, who appears in Malayalam films. He started his film career as a costume designer and actor in 1981 and got a breakthrough ...

as CPO Ambili Raju *

Harisree Asokan Harisree Ashokan (born 6 April 1964) is an Indian actor and director who is known for his comedy roles in Malayalam films. Ashokan has acted in more than 200 Malayalam films. He started his career as a mimicry artist in the troupe Harisree and ...

as Ayyappan *Renjith Shekhar as CPO Praveen Chandran *

Noorin Shereef Noorin Shereef is an Indian actress from Kollam, Kerala who works in Malayalam Film Industry Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam language, primaril ...

as Stephy *

Fara Shibla Fara Shibla is an Indian actress who works in Malayalam-language films. She gained recognition with her debut film '' Kakshi: Amminippilla'' (2019), and since then has appeared in ''Divorce'', ''Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham'', '' Pulimada'' (a ...

as Dr. Raveena *

Jeo Baby Jeo Baby is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor who works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. His family drama film ''The Great Indian Kitchen'' (2021) won the 51st Kerala State Film Awards, 51st Kerala State Film Award for Kerala ...

as Aashraya Incharge * S. P. Sreekumar as Prasannan *Binu Dev as Aji Vellayani *Suresh Kumar as ASI Shaju *Ramesh Menon as Sudhi *Prashanth Madhavan as Reji *Nitheesh as Ernakulam Central CI/

*G.Sabu as Advocate Dineshan *Sudheer Babu as CPO Subash *Sanosh Murali as CPO Justin *Saji Thulasidas as Jose *Harish as SP Thiruvananthapuram Rural *Bilas Nair as DYSP Murali Krishnan *Gopan Ramachandran as Dileesh *Rishikesh as Photographer *Sona Abraham as Dr. Celin *Sirajudheen Nazar as Jaismon *Rahul Shanmughan as Jaismon's *

Jijoy Rajagopal Jijoy P R is an Indian film and theatre actor currently the director of K R Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts (KRNNIVSA), Kerala on deputation. He is an associate professor at the Film and Television Institute of India (F ...

as K9 squad incharge *Manjusree as Rema *Soorya S Kurup as Chandra *Ancy as Vijila *Shibu as Prasannan's Brother In Law *Amrutha as Sunil's wife *Raya Fathima as Sunil's daughter

Episodes

Season 1

Season 2

Production

Season 1

Principal photography for the first season of ''Kerala Crime Files'' was conducted in multiple locations of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

primarily in

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...

and

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

. The series was directed by Ahammed Khabeer and produced under the banner of First Print Studios by

Rahul Riji Nair Rahul Riji Nair is an Indian film director, scriptwriter, producer and actor active in the Malayalam film industry. His debut feature film '' Ottamuri Velicham'' won 4 awards at the 2017 Kerala State Film Awards, including Best Feature Film. Ra ...

. Filming was completed in early 2023, and the series premiered on

Disney+ Hotstar Disney+ Hotstar, also known as JioHotstar or simply Hotstar, is an Indian subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Disney Star. The brand was introduced as Hotstar for a streaming service carrying content from Di ...

on 23 June 2023.

Season 2

The production of the second season commenced on 19 February 2024. It is directed and produced by Ahammed Khabeer under the banner of Monkey Business, the season had its first shooting schedule in Thiruvananthapuram,

. Cinematography was handled by Bahul Ramesh, who also served as the writer. The entire shoot wrapped up on 29 April 2024 after nearly two months of filming including several other locations like

, Thrissur, Wayanad, Coimbatore etc. Post-production work was completed by August 2024, with the series set for a mid 2025 release on

. The trailer of the season was released on 28 May 2025 and the season was released on 20 June 2025.

Reception

Season 1

''Kerala Crime Files'' Season 1 received generally positive reviews from critics. The New Indian Express, ''The New Indian Express'' gave the series a rating of 3.5 out of 5, praising its detailed procedural narrative and long-format storytelling. The Hindu, ''The Hindu'' described the show as an "engaging slow-burn police procedural" and praised the performances of Aju Varghese and Lal. ''South First'' appreciated its six-episode structure and engaging moments. India Today, ''India Today'' described it as "well-written and engaging", noting its balance of investigation and character depth. ''The Week (Indian magazine), The Week'' rated 3.5/5 and highlighted its realistic portrayal of policing and its balance between professional and personal lives. The Indian Express, ''The Indian Express'' rated 3.5 out of 5 stars noted it as a "tightly-woven police procedural", marking a milestone in Malayalam OTT content. OTTPlay rated 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Aju Varghese’s police procedural marks an engaging Malayalam entry into web series arena". ''The Daily Jagran'' reviewed as "A Well-Crafted And Heart-Pounding Malayalam Thriller".

Season 2

The second season of ''Kerala Crime Files'' also received critical acclaim upon its premiere. The Indian Express, ''The Indian Express'' rated 3.5 out of 5 stars and praised its gripping procedural narrative, well-crafted screenplay, outstanding performances, realistic police investigation and technical finesse. Times Now, ''Times Now'' rated 3.5 out of 5 stars and lauded as "Subtle Yet Powerful Sequel That Stays True To The Original While Digging Deeper". ''The Week (Indian magazine), The Week'' rated 4 out of 5 stars and appreciated it as best crime series in Malayalam. Onmanorama reviewed the season as a "A smart, subtle thriller that keeps hooked". The Hindu, ''The Hindu'' called the season as a "An intriguing sequel that improves upon the original". OTTPlay rated 3.5 out of 5 stars and described the sequel as a "a fitting testament to its genre". ''The Times of India'' praised the sequel as a "must-watch", highlighting its gripping narrative, emotional depth, and strong performances by Harisree Ashokan,

, and

. The review also appreciated the improved technical quality compared to the first season.

Future

In June 2025, director Ahammed Khabeer revealed in an interview with OTTPlay that a third season of ''Kerala Crime Files'' is possible, but not in the near future. He stated that he is currently prioritizing film projects, including a film featuring Tamil language, Tamil actor Arjun Das in his debut in Malayalam industry.

References

External links

{{IMDb title, tt27128638 Malayalam-language web series Disney+ Hotstar original programming Fictional portrayals of the Kerala Police Indian crime television series