12 MALAYALAM MURDER MYSTERY MOVIES totally worth your time

# No Spoilers #

film Mukham

Long before the invention of cinema, mystery stories, and most of all, murder mysteries have been observed to be of high entertainment value as short stories, novels as well as plays. Then movies came, and they started making murder mystery movies that were a hugely popular genre, and that has continued to evolve in setting and style as the time went by. In Malyalam cinema, this genre has had a wide palette of patrons and a wider range of audience to relish it. We have always loved them! Following is a list of some of the greatest murder mystery movies in the Malayalam language that is absolutely worth your time.

12. MUKHAM 1990

A sniper gun is on the loose offing three very random women and in pursuit of its next target. Mohanlal, as the officer in charge of the investigation, finds himself in the vortex of a fast vanishing quicksand when his own personal life becomes a part of the unknown assassin's scheme. With this film, renowned Tamil actor Nassar made his acting debut in Malayalam, playing another officer higher up in rank.

11. CRIME FILE 1999

Loosely based on the controversial Abhaya Murder Case, this film featuring Suresh Gopi and Sangita, deals with the mysterious death of a nun that is quickly realized as a premeditated murder. Set largely within the premises of convents, seminaries and bishop houses the film that, among others, pointed fingers at high level religious leaders, was embroiled in controversy at the time of its release for all the obvious reasons.

10. EE KANNI KOODI 1990

A lesser-known gem from one of the pioneers of New Wave Malayalam Cinema K.G. George, Ee Kanni Koodi deals with the murder of a high-class escort and the slow albeit gripping unraveling of her shadowy past that leads up to the felony. Here, Saikumar is the one who dons the hat of the officer in charge of the investigation.

9. THE TRUTH 1998

The best part about this Shaji Kailas directed murder mystery written by S.N. Swamy is the true motive behind the assassination of the Kerala Chief Minister. Mammootty as Bharath Patteri, one of the countless detective roles he did over the years, attempting to solve this political murder is what forms the crux of the intriguing series of unfortunate incidents happening in The Truth.

8. NO. 20 MADRAS MAIL 1990

Over the course of a journey from Trivandum to Madras, a business magnet’s daughter is found brutally murdered in the toilet of the train No.20 Madras Mail, and a bunch of drunken young men played by Mohanlal, Jagadish and Manianpilla Raju, having eve teased the victim the previous night are the prime suspects. Written by Dennis Joseph and directed by Joshiy, this one was a huge success with its share of comic relief.

7. MUMBAI POLICE 2013

The memory of ACP Antony Moses, played by Prithviraj Sukumaran, is buckled in an accident immediately after solving the murder of an assistant commissioner. Now he has to peace the case once again back together from his disobliging memory. Although its only natural if you think the motive was too weak a provocation, Roshan Andrews directed Mumbai Police is a taut thriller with other plot elements effectively camouflaging the perpetrator.

6. EE THANUTHA VELUPPAN KALATHU 1990

Written by Padmarajan and directed by Joshiy, this murder mystery movie revolves around the murders of two middle-aged men in close succession, and the resulting paranoia that it triggers among the general public, especially middle-aged men who lived alone. Things get murkier as Mammootty, playing the investigator, gets caught up with a similar execution from yeas ago carried out in the same fashion.

5. KARIYILAKATTU POLE 1986

Again written, and this time directed as well, by Padmarajan, Kariyilakattu Pole deals with the investigation of the murder of a celebrated film director played by Mammootty. The womanizing notoriety of the victim makes the search infinite once the primary clues from the crime scene suggest a female perpetrator. Mohanlal plays the investigating officer who has to deal with the tabloid press at the same time as solving the renowned killing.

4. JAGRATHA 1989

Since it dealt with darker themes, Jagratha was much less popular when compared to the rest of the films from the CBI series immortalized by the relentless genius of Sethurama Iyer played by Mammootty. But it was an archetypal whodunit revolving around the murder of a well-known film star played by Parvathy, and had one of the most surprising twist endings.

3. PALERI MANIKYAM- ORU PATHIRAKOLAPATHAKATHINTE KATHA 2009

In Ranjith’s dark mystery film based on true incidents, the crime and the investigation are set apart by almost 6 decades. It explores the botched up investigation of Kerala’s first reported murder case that was never officially solved. Although the portrayal of the current series of events surrounding the investigation seem overly pretentious, the rustic vernacular of the flash backs are done in shocking realism and balances out for all the little flaws.

2. ORU CBI DIARY KURIPPU 1988

One of the most successful Malayalam films in the detective genre, Oru CBI Diary Kuruppu flagged off the now popular CBI series written by S.N. Swamy and directed by K. Madhu with Mammootty’s iconic sleuth Sethurama Iyer solving the now popular ‘Omana Murder Case’ loosely based on the Polakkulam Case where a similar murder was made to look like a suicide.

1. YAVANIKA 1982

What starts off as a man missing case flourishes into an expansive and unconventional whodunit that unravels within the confines of a traveling theater company, with the life of the victim pieced together by various disjoint testimonies, in this brilliantly conceived murder mystery directed by K.G. George. Bharath Gopi gives the performance of a lifetime as the victim, and you will despise his 'Aiyappan' as much as his co-workers, and wish him dead as well.

For one of the most underappreciated MURDER MYSTERY FILMS in the history of Malayalam cinema check out No-3 on THIS LIST