10 MOST SURPRISING PLOT TWISTS IN MALAYALAM MOVIE HISTORY that you never saw coming

“Spoiler Alert”. With a sizeable reserve of investigative thrillers and detective films, Malayalam cinema has long tasted the amusing tremors of good plot twists both mild and harsh over time, be it in the form of unforeseen revelations in great whodunits like Oru CBI Diary Kurippu or surprise endings as in Thenmavin Kombathu. Furthermore they have not stuck merely to crime genres, but have enriched our experience in drama as well as comedy with its radical change in the direction of the overall narrative, emerging at the most unlikeliest of instances. Following is a list of some such surprising plot twists that are both clever and disorienting. Some of the most popular whodunits are excluded considering the long anticipation that steals most of the fun away from the shock element.

10. Classmates 2006

The last half hour of CLASSMATES is swamped with back-to-back twists. From the revelation of the part Sukumaran played in Murali’s death, to the disclosure of Rasiya as the real assailant that attempted to murder Sukumaran in the beginning, the final moments of the film are lined up with ‘whoa-we-didn’t–see-that-coming’ information, but the most unexpected of them all is the secret affair between Murali and Rasiya that we missed amidst all the hubbub and gale.

9. Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha 2009

It is a known fact that the Paleri Manikyam Murder Case was never officially solved, so when the movie was about to wrap up on a non-conclusive note, nobody expected at the final moment, the shocking announcement of the actual culprit behind the gruesome rape from more than fifty years ago. With a brilliant deus ex machina it introduces the seductive Khalid Ahmed in the unassuming climax making us gasp in disbelief.

8. Kilukkam 1991

The twist in KILUKKAM is manipulative, and happens midway through when Nandini reveals that she was not actually a retard, but was duping Joji and the rest of the world all that time to stay low in her quest for her real father. However improbable and disappointing, it suddenly takes us on a tailspin making us question the root cause of all the rollicking fun in the first half of the movie. One of the most ‘what-the-hell” moments ever!

7. Thoovanathumbikal 1987

The twist in Thoovanathumbikal bangs in when the complicated love triangle between Jayakrishnan, Clara and Radha tangles to a point beyond help. Radha is unable to give up Jayakrishnan to another woman while Jayakrishnan, who loves her back, refuses to renounce his on-again, off-again relationship with Clara. Then one day (bam!), clearing up all the mess, after a long leave of absence, Clara surfaces married, with a child- a sacrifice to let Jayakrishnan go have a future, and to stun us all!

6. Guru 1997

The twist in the allegorical GURU comes at an extremely crucial time. As a part of the death sentence for defying the rules of the land of the blind, when the insolent outsider Raghuraman is force-fed with the extract of the poisonous seeds of the addictive ilamapazham, it is revealed that the seed is not only not poisonous but also is a cure to the blindness, caused by the pulp of the fruit that plagues the strange land.

5. Ponmutta Idunna Tharavu 1988

When Snehalatha heartlessly dumps the naïve goldsmith Bhaskaran, and takes to greener pastures, we feel sorry for the ineptitude of the man, but soon it all seem justified after the hilarious twist undo revealing the weighty gold necklace that he gifted her earlier was a darn fake! The unexpected turn of events not only kicks up a row in the plot, but also helps shed more light on the inconspicuous character of the goldsmith.

4. The Truth 1998

Apart from the identity of the real perpetrator that is exposed in the end, there are two substantial twists in THE TRUTH, and they are both surprising enough. First, when we are told that the killer is not a woman, and that “she’s a man!” and next- the more shocking one- when it is revealed that the assassination of the chief minister was a cover to the murder of another seemingly less significant police officer DySP John.

3. Drishyam 2013

Pretty early on in DRISHYAM we realize it deals with a crime cover-up by Gerogekutty and his family. The first surprise comes when we get to know that, by tricking the cops, what George leads them to, turns out to be a bovine carcass.  Then the final shock comes in the form of the actual site- underneath the newly constructed police station- where George disposed of the dead body that he addresses with a wicked pun right before the end credits roll.

2. Manichitrathazhu 1993

We have long forgotten the genius of the twist in MANICHITRATHAZHU, as it has become a staple to our repeated viewings, but the revelation of the identity of the actual ‘psycho of Madampalli’ and the flood of reasoning behind all the strange happenings in the ‘haunted’ mansion linking it to the legend of the merciless Nagavalli is one of the most intelligent and unexpected twists in the history of Malayalam cinema.

1. Munnariyippu 2014

You could go bet on this one. The haunting twist in MUNNARIYIPPU happens when we least expect it. Although the doubt about the actual killer of the two women looms over the innocence of C.K. Raghavan, it becomes the least of our concerns when the focus shifts to more pressing matters at hand. That final moment when Raghavan with a blood curdling grin, swings the iron dowel on Anjali we are not only shocked by the act or the revelation, but feel disgusted at having been conned by the man all along.