Two murders in India.

Today’s film comes to us from India, but it is not a Bollywood film. Anweshippin Kandethum can be found on Netflix and released earlier this year in February, quickly becoming a big commercial success in India making $4.8 million USD on a $965k budget. It’s a bit of a darker film than we normally see here at How About Notflix, and I have a feeling the grim yet somewhat inspirational ending will leave viewers wanting more. Also I’d like to reiterate this isn’t a Bollywood film, this isn’t a cheerful musical number movie.

Directed by Darwin Kuriakose, Anweshippin Kandethum stars Tovino Thomas as SI Anand Narayanan. The film is split between two of Anand’s investigations as a police officer; the first into the disappearance of a local Christian girl and the tangled web that is her life and the village she lived in. The locals aren’t very trusting of the police or willing to let them investigate the monastery, and unfortunately for Anand and his fellow police officers the monastery seems to be hiding some dark secrets.

Meanwhile the second half of the movie sees Anand and his crew tasked with closing a cold case; a young woman named Sridevi (Arthana Binu) was murdered in the town years ago and after a very brutal investigation the police had given up and left. The villagers aren’t keen on helping them, and even threaten violence, as the last time the police were investigating this death the officers routinely went around beating the crap out of villagers just for looking a little suspicious. The police in India suck.

The good news is that SI Anand is smarter than the average bear. It would have been way too easy to try to copy the steps of a Sherlock Holmes for example, but we see Anand at work and eventually figure out the method to his madness. Anand is a brilliant cop, using his powers of deduction and putting together bits and pieces of evidence without making leaps of logic or ridiculous presumptions. The plot of both cases is very well woven in its twists and turns, and while the movie starts of feeling boring and almost predictable, it gets really entertaining from the moment it throws you through the first loop.

The worst thing I can say about the film is that Tovino Thomas is the standout performer and everyone else is perfectly acceptable. Also at two hours and twenty minutes it does not endear itself to its long run time. Put this one on your list, but don’t make it too much of a priority.

Rating: B-