Sookshmadarshini

''Sookshmadarshini'' () is a 2024 Indian Malayalam-language comedy mystery thriller film directed by M. C. Jithin, written by Libin T.B and Athul Ramachandran. Produced by Happy Hours Entertainments and AVA Productions, it stars Nazriya Nazim and Basil Joseph alongside Akhila Bhargavan, Pooja Mohanraj and Merin Philip in the supporting roles. The film revolves around Priyadarshini and her friends, who sets out to track down the whereabouts of Manuel, a bakery owner who has recently returned to their neighborhood, with his mother Grace.

The film was shot across Kerala, primarily Kolenchery, from May 2024 to August 2024. It has cinematography, editing and music by Sharan Velayudhan, Chaman Chacko and Christo Xavier respectively.

''Sookshmadarshini'' was released in theatres on 22 November 2024, to positive reviews from critics praising the script, humour, performances and direction and grossed ₹55 crore worldwide.

Plot

Priyadarshini alias Priya, a homemaker on a desperate job-hunting, lives with her husband Anthony and their daughter Kani in a close-knit community. Priya and her neighbour Stephy, a single mother, do well in their technical interviews for the same company; concurrently, Manuel, who runs his father's business ''Grace Bakers'', moves into their neighborhood with his widowed aged mother Grace. Though Manuel gets along well with all the neighbours, Priya believes that he is rather a shady person. Her suspicions indeed turn out to be true when he kills an monitor lizard and feeds it to his neighbours in a party under the guise of beef. His intention is to commit a crime, with the help of his uncle Roy and his cousin Dr. John while Grace remains cloistered and avoids communication with any of the neighbours.

Amidst a party hosted on the account of Priya and Anthony's wedding anniversary, a minor fire accident occurs at Manuel's residence due to a clothes iron left switched on and Grace goes missing. Manuel lodges a police complaint and they eventually find Grace in a railway station. At this point of time, everyone discovers that Grace has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's but Priya distrusts the claim since she has always seen Grace carrying out her daily chores efficiently and confides it with her friends Sulu and Asma. Meanwhile, Stephy grows close to Manuel and offers to take a day off on one day to look after Grace in Manuel's absence. Before departing, Manuel makes a sedated mango juice for Grace and Stephy to execute their plan as per John's advice. Roy waits outside the residence for Grace and Stephy to fall unconscious, so as to take her away but Priya visits Grace to clear her suspicions. Learning this, Manuel manipulates Anthony to task Priya with searching for a caretaker's contact urgently, clearing his way. Soon, Stephy sleeps due to sedation and Roy covertly carries Grace out of the house in his car. She is claimed to have gone missing once again.

Manuel's elder sister Diana arrives from New Zealand to assist Manuel in the chaos and put their land on sale but is disappointed with lack of progress in the police investigation and decides to return. Priya earns Diana's contact before she departs. On the same night, Priya is shocked to see Grace in their residence but Manuel tells Anthony that she is still missing. Next night, Priya sneaks into their residence in Manuel's absence, asking Sulu and Asma to keep a watch and alert her if someone comes. John, who happens to be inside the residence, sees Priya climbing the walls and panic-sticken, calls Manuel to inform him about the same; Manuel rushes home, catches Priya red-handed and cautions her against doing this again. Elsewhere, John is shown pouring aqua regia into the toilet, allegedly disposing of Grace's remains but Manuel notices a leakage as he observes a crimson damp patch on a wall (blood). He paints it and places sacks to cover the patch, further raising Priya's suspicion. Unexpectedly, Manuel brings Grace home and the group retreats from their suspicions; however, Priya remains unsettled and contacts Diana but it is revealed that Manuel has Diana's phone and has been texting Priya, impersonating Diana.

On the day of her second interview, Priya goes through Diana's Instagram profile and realizes that she is lesbian and that she is in a relationship with a Tamil woman Aditi Thyagarajan, with whom she intended to adopt a kid in New Zealand. Simultaneously, Aditi arrives in India, concerned that Diana hasn't returned to New Zealand and has been refraining from talking to her suddenly. Priya reaches out to Aditi to warn her about Manuel but before she can run away, Manuel kidnaps her on suggestion of Grace, who was the revealed to be the mastermind of the plan. Priya abandons her interview and contacts Aditi but is too late as Manuel sedates her and carries her away, intending to kill her. She discovers that the sample she has collected from the painted damp patch contains human bone cells from her biologist friend. Priya tracks them to their new bakery outlet and informs the police but before they could come, Manuel spots Priya and tries to attack her but she hits him with her car and subdues John, rescuing Aditi. A flashback reveals that Manuel, Roy and John killed Diana to avoid shame due to her sexuality and Grace is the perpetrator of the honor killing. The crime gets exposed and Manuel, Grace, John and Roy are arrested by the police and the truth stuns the whole neighbourhood.

Cast

* Nazriya Nazim as Priyadarshini "Priya" Antony
* Basil Joseph as Manuel
* Akhila Bhargavan as Sulu, Priya's friend and neighbour
* Pooja Mohanraj as Asma, Priya's friend and neighbour
* Merin Philip as Stephy, Priya's friend and neighbour who is Manuel's girlfriend
* Sidharth Bharathan as Dr. John, Manuel's cousin and a neurosurgeon
* Deepak Parambol as Antony, Priya's husband
* Kottayam Ramesh as Roy, Manuel's uncle
* Manohari Joy as Gracy, mother of Manuel and Diana
* Abhiram Radhakrishnan as a finance manager
* Hezzah Mehak as Kani Antony, Priya and Anthony's daughter
* Janani Ram as Diana, Manuel's elder sister
* Saraswathi Menon as Aditi Thiagarajan, Diana's girlfriend
* Gopan Mangattu as Krishnettan
* Jaya Kurup as Sarojini
* Rini Udayakumar as Cicily, Manuel's neighbour
* James as Thomas
* Noushad Ali as Ajmal
* AV Anoop as Managing Director
* Athira Rajeev as Mridula
* Sajeevan as CI of Police
* Sajeed as SI
* Binni Rinki as Jesna
* Nandan Unni as Broker Prasad
* Jossy Sijo as CPO
* Fr.Saji as Priest
* Ajmal Shah as Kapyar
* Dhyan Diva as Stephy's son

Production

Happy Hours Entertainments and AVA Productions announced the film in May 2024, with Nazriya Nazim and Basil Joseph as the leads. The film is directed by Jithin MC who previously did ''Nonsense'' (2018). The film is jointly written by director Jithin, Athul Ramachandran and Libin TB. It has cinematography by Sharan Velayudhan, editing by Chaman Chacko and music by Christo Xavier. It marks Nazriya's return to Malayalam films after four years hiatus who last appeared in ''Trance'' (2020).

According to Jithin the idea came during the filming of his first film ''Nonsense'' in 2018. He wanted his next film to be shot in fewer locations, and use more interior settings as opposed to ''Nonsense'' which was a one-day road film that had logistical challenges that extended schedule and budget. He decided to make the film in semi-rural neighbourhood having a close-knit community and relatable characters in a Hitchcockian style. He intended including a female detective as the central character instead of a conventional police officer or CBI agent in Malayalam films. Sameer Thahir suggested Nazriya for the character who was not the initial choice during casting and was roped in for the role in 2022, while Basil Joseph was part of the film in 2023.

Filming and casting

After scouting location that have 2 to 3 residences situated in a distance of 15 to 20 meters suited for the neighborhood setting, Kolenchery was the preferred place where the film was mostly shot in. Principal photography for the film begin in May 2024 and the film was shot across Kerala. In August 2024, the filming was wrapped up.

Akhila Bhargavan, Merin Philp, Pooja Mohanraj, Deepak Parambol, Siddharth Bharathan and Kottayam Ramesh were cast in other prominent roles. Gopan Mangat, Manohari Joy, Rini Udayakumar, Jaya Kurup, Muskaan Bisaria, Aparna Ram, Abhiram Poduval, Binny Rinky, Nandan Unni, Naushad Ali, Athira Rajeev and Mirza Fathia formed rest of the cast.

Soundtrack

The music for the film was composed by Christo Xavier. The film has only 2 songs. One track is used as a promotional song.

Release

Theatrical

The film was released in theatres on 22 November 2024.

Home media

The digital rights of the film is acquired by Disney+ Hotstar and started streaming from 11 January 2025.

Reception

Box office

On the opening day of its release, the film grossed ₹1.6 crore from Kerala, and a worldwide gross of ₹4.1 crore. It made over ₹6 crore on day 2 taking the film's two day total to ₹10.1 crore worldwide. It grossed ₹23 crore worldwide in 5 days. By the end of the second week, ''Sookshmadarshini'' collected over ₹25 crore in India of which ₹20 crore coming from Kerala and ₹19 crore from overseas grossing over ₹44 crore worldwide. It has grossed 55 crore worldwide in its final run with ₹32 crore from India and ₹23 crore from overseas.

Critical reception

The film generally received positive reviews from critics.

Anandu Suresh of ''The Indian Express'' gave the film 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "From the outset, ''Sookshmadarshini'' expertly balances mystery and comedy, ensuring that neither overshadows the other, creating a harmonious blend that engages audiences throughout." S. R. Praveen of ''The Hindu'' wrote, "The film is a cleverly written thriller that turns what could easily have been a run-of-the-mill film into an elevating experience. It becomes yet another addition to Malayalam cinema's unrelenting run this year, both in quality and variety." Princy Alexander of '' Onmanorama'' wrote, " Overall, the film breaks cliches and is refreshing, which will work well for the family audience ".

Cris of ''The News Minute'' wrote, "MC Jithin directed a smartly-written script, putting Nazriya and Basil Joseph in the thick of it, and pulling off one helluva thriller with ''Sookshmadarshini''." Vignesh Madhu of ''The New Indian Express'' rated 3.5/5 and wrote, "Backed by brilliant writing and clever casting choices, MC crafts ''Sookshmadarshini'' as a thoroughly engaging experience. What stands out is the refreshing treatment that doesn't conform to the genre formulas." Latha Srinivasan of ''Hindustan Times'' wrote, " A captivating Malayalam thriller that rely on local life and relatable characters."

T Maruthi Acharya of ''India Today'' rated 3.5/5 and wrote," Despite minor flaws in the plot, the film's technical aspects elevate it, making it a thoroughly engaging thriller that holds its own within the genre". Sia Viju of ''Mathrubhumi'' rated 3.5/5 and wrote, " The screenplay is a masterclass in pacing and unpredictability. Sharan Velayudhan Nair's cinematography captures the essence of the setting beautifully, Chaman Chakko's sharp editing ensures there's never a dull moment. Christo Xavier's music deserves special mention." Anna Mathews of ''The Times of India'' gave 4/5 and wrote, "Here is a film where all the elements, the writing, direction, acting, music and more, come together in sync to make for an exciting thriller. This is an entertainer that will appeal to theatre audiences.".

Accolades

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Sookshmadarshini''
at IMDb

2020s Indian films
2020s Malayalam-language films
2024 drama films
2024 films
2024 thriller films
Indian thriller films
Indian drama films
Films about honor killing
Indian LGBTQ-related films
2020s mystery thriller films