Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha (A midnight murder story)

Most of the movies I appreciate or the way I see them is with the premise that there is a core of the movie, then the backdrop and then the supporting characters that help take the movie forward. The supporting characters, backdrop might have their own story and significance, but the better movies do not make them larger than the core.

The movie Paleri Manikyam can be reviewed from many perspectives – politics and use of power in Kerala during fifties, atrocities of feudal lords and exploitation of poor, psychological analysis of what drives people towards certain actions etc.

I see the movie as a murder mystery against the backdrop of dictatorial feudal system and play of politics in the society. And as a murder mystery, it keeps you guessing till the end.


Haridas (Mammotty) is a private detective who is intrigued by two murders which were committed the night he was born at Paleri. The murderer was never convicted for the lack of evidence. Haridas wants to go back and unearth the truth and he is accompanied by crime analyst Sarayu in his quest. Almost fifty years after the murder, he travels back to Paleri to meet anyone still alive who can shed some light on the case.

Manikyam (Mythili), bride of a poor low caste Pokkan is brutally raped and murdered soon after her marriage. Pokkan’s mother Cheeru (Shwetha Menon) tries to cover it up as an epileptic attack but the police soon decides that it was a murder. The main suspect is the wealthy and powerful Murikkum Kunnathu Ahmed Haji (Mammootty) who is notorious for his affairs with beautiful village women. Infact Cheeru, Pokkan’s mother was also his mistress at some point in time. His two men are caught as accomplices but for lack of evidence are evicted by the court.


Since no one associated with the murder is alive today, Haridas tries to reconstruct the crime mainly by the versions of some village folks, like Barber Keshavan (Srinivasan) who was a communist party worker. It appears that at that time Haji was sheltered by the leaders of the party. Various reports and facts were buried and not brought to light. There was another murder at the same time which was never linked to Manikyam’s murder.

During the movie we also learn why Haridas has such unusual interest in the murder. The most interesting aspect of the movie is the narrative where Haridas narrates most of the events and moves along with the characters and which brings together the present and the past in a surreal way. Also notable is the way each character tells their version of the events such that you can almost feel getting closer to the truth but not quite there. Also with each character’s narrative you also get to see the various shades of their lives and the society they live in.

Haridas’ quest ends when he meets the eldest son of Haji, Khalid (Mammotty) during the climax.

The cinematography of the movie is pretty neat and Renjith has recreated the Kerala of yester years with brilliant finesse. The background score, not overwhelming gives a lot of character to the movie. The only place where the movie lacks is that there are a little too many characters and thus a lot of loose ends. For some of the characters there is no apparent reason for their actions. The movie could have definitely done with some editing to make the script a little crisper. Mammotty comes in three different roles but shines out as Haji.

Interesting, fast paced, quite gripping, well executed.

(Can Watch)