Chenkol 1993

Sethumadhavan, Mohanlal, is released after seven years in central jail for murdering Keerikadan Jose, a hardcore criminal. Though the killing was accidental, meant to save his own life, society refuses to see it that way, and he is branded as the man who ended the reign of a street-savvy crime lord. On his release, Sethumadhavan visits his younger brother at a medical college, only to be met with cold indifference; Rameshan’s reaction is quiet and firm, indirectly asking him not to return so as not to damage what little reputation remains for the family.

Sethumadhavan quickly senses how drastically the world has moved on. At home, his mother Ammu, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, greets him with warmth, while his father, Achuthan Nair, Thilakan, looks on with a wounded pride that never fully recovers. Achuthan Nair, who once dreamed of seeing his son wearing a police uniform, sinks into alcohol and regret, unable to reconcile the man before him with the boy he once hoped would bring honor to the family. The ex-convict label doggedly clings to Sethumadhavan, making it nearly impossible for him to find honest work and rejoin society on its terms.

Desperate for a foothold, he reconnects with Parameshwaran, a once formidable figure who is now fully paralyzed and runs a small cycle repair shop with the support of his wife and daughter. Parameshwaran offers a chance at a fresh start, and with his encouragement, Sethumadhavan begins selling fish, slowly learning the rhythms of a new, modest livelihood.

The past shadows grow heavier as the tale of Keerikadan Jose resurfaces: he had an affair with Madhavi Varma and left behind two children, Indu and her brother. The illegitimate wife and children of Keerikadan Jose endure threats from his own surviving kin after his death. When Jose’s brothers close in, Sethumadhavan defends himself, and Indu—who carries the weight of her father’s memory—steps forward with sympathy and support, urging him to keep moving forward. She becomes a beacon of hope as he begins to navigate a life far different from the one he once led.

Yet the past is relentless. The Keerikadan brothers target him, and for a time, Sethumadhavan becomes a thug for a local businessman, absorbing the violence that his new life demands. He fights back, clears his name of several criminal charges with the help of sympathetic local politicians, and gradually earns a fragile space for himself. His bond with Indu deepens, and he asks for her hand in marriage; Indu’s mother resists, citing the risk of a life shadowed by his criminal stigma. This rift drives Sethumadhavan to question whether redemption is possible for a man who has walked so close to the edge.

A devastating discovery shakes him to his core: his sister, under cover of drama, is involved in prostitution, aided by their father, who acts as her pimp. The revelation shatters Sethumadhavan’s sense of family and dignity, and he lashes out in anger at his father. Unable to bear the blow, Achuthan Nair hangs himself in a hotel—a grim turning point that sends the family back to their village and into farming life, where the past seems content to sleep.

As Madhavi Varma’s plans falter, Indu’s future seems within reach when a marriage to Sethumadhavan is proposed and Madhavi gives cautious consent. But a teenage son inside the home harbors deep resentment toward him, threatening to destabilize their attempt at rebuilding a domestic life. Meanwhile, Karadi Antony—a dangerous criminal and Keerikadan Jose’s younger brother—emerges from prison to exact vengeance. He hunts Sethumadhavan and Indu’s family, but Sethumadhavan defeats him, only to face a tragedy deeper still.

In a cruel twist of fate, Keerikadan’s illegitimate son, another of the gang’s shadowed offspring, appears at the critical moment and fatally stabs Sethumadhavan. The crime is almost a justice of its own making, a grim reminder that the criminal world is never far from those who try to walk away. Sethumadhavan, gravely wounded, speaks for forgiveness even as he slips away, urging the young killer to run and spare himself from becoming what he has fled.

The final frame bears a stark tagline: “The story of a prince who lost his crown and a sceptre ends here.”