Kuruthi 2021

Ibrahim, Roshan Mathew is a rubber-tapping labourer who lives in the lonely mountain ranges, trying to leave behind memories of a traumatic monsoon landslide that took his wife and daughter. He lives with his father Moosa Khadar, Mamukkoya, and his younger brother Rasool, Naslen. A woman named Sumathi, Srindaa, visits them often, bringing a sense of routine and odd companionship to the small, wary household.

One night, an injured cop barges into Ibrahim’s home with a prisoner and seeks refuge for the night. He reveals himself as S.I. Murali Gopy (Sathyan). Accompanying him is Vishnu, Sagar Surya, a murderer who stabbed a Muslim shopkeeper to death after the latter refused to close on Vishnu’s orders. Vishnu is being chased by communal factions, and the attackers have already ambushed the convoy; the police won’t be able to reach the house until the next morning. Rasool’s anger at the unexpected intruders grows palpable, underscoring a family already struggling to keep its head above water.

Sathyan informs the others of the mounting danger and quickly secures the house: he closes every window, confiscates mobile phones, and removes every weapon. He even finds an old non-functional gun that belonged to Moosa Khadar, a tool from Moosa’s own past as a driver for the Mysore Maharaj. Suma arrives with food and is asked to stay the night. As the group settles, Vishnu and Rasool clash over the morality of murder, and Sathyan intervenes to keep the peace, at least for the moment. Over the meal, Ibrahim notices a bike key on Kareem’s person and asks about its owner. Kareem, who introduces himself as Laiq, explains he’s from Bangalore and needs shelter, prompting Sathyan to confront him directly. Laiq’s henchman Umar, a tense, looming presence, arrives soon after, heightening the sense that danger isn’t far away.

A tense stand-off follows. Laiq prepares a handknife from his keychain, while Sathyan readies a pistol. The two sit across from each other at a table, each waiting for an opening. Laiq suddenly flips the table and lunges, stabbing Sathyan in the neck, while Umar pushes Ibrahim aside. Laiq forces his way into the room where Vishnu and Suma are hiding; Suma accidentally fires Moosa’s old gun, which promptly proves to be broken. Ibrahim grabs Sathyan’s pistol and drives Laiq, Kareem, and Umar out of the house. In Sathyan’s final moments, he convinces Ibrahim to promise, on the Quran, to keep Vishnu safe until the Kenachal police arrive the next morning.

Ibrahim frees Vishnu and, as Laiq tries to force his way back inside through a window, Ibrahim shoots at the window to scare him off. Umar cuts the power, and Suma lights a match, revealing Vishnu and Rasool on the roof with a screwdriver in Rasool’s hand. Suma explains that Vishnu’s murder stems from a long-standing grievance—the temple Vishnu grew up in was destroyed—and reveals that she has been the one feeding Vishnu, because he had nowhere else to go. Umar climbs to the roof, but Ibrahim knocks him down with a makeshift explosive improvised device.

Laiq then leaps onto the roof to press his advantage, and a fierce struggle with Ibrahim follows. Laiq is ultimately driven off the roof when Ibrahim pushes him away, but Laiq manages to pierce Ibrahim’s hand before disappearing. Preman returns and, immediately distrustful of Kareem and Laiq, distracts them by climbing a tree and knocking down a wasp nest, forcing the conspirators to retreat. Meanwhile, Umar awakens, severely disfigured, and aims to retrieve a jeep. Preman re-enters the house and notices blood on his leg, realizing he’d been bitten by a snake—an alarming turn of events that complicates any hope of immediate escape.

Vishnu offers Laiq’s bike key to help, and the trio uses it to mount a hasty plan to flee. Kareem arrives again, attacking Preman, and Suma fatally shoots Kareem. She then leaves the house with Preman and Vishnu, who takes the wheels and drives away, with Laiq giving chase. Laiq finally reaches the house and resumes his assault on Ibrahim, but Moosa intervenes and offers a forest shortcut to reach the pursued trio before they slip away again. Kareem’s death reverberates through the tense air as Laiq’s plan falters.

Moosa drives the jeep toward the forest while Laiq and Rasool pursue through the woods. Laiq shares a story with Rasool about his father, a devoted man who sent Laiq abroad when their organization was banned. Laiq explains that, abroad, he still faced discrimination, but he remained quiet. Upon returning home, Laiq discovers his father’s murder and realizes he bears the blame for not acting sooner. Rasool picks up a sign—the bike key dropped by Laiq earlier—and signals to Ibrahim and Moosa that the chase is on. Vishnu, sensing an opportunity to free himself, pushes Suma and Preman and tries to square off against Laiq alone. The chase continues through the forest, and Laiq and his henchmen push forward, while Vishnu fights to stay alive.

Moosa reaches them first, and Laiq narrates his grief and guilt to Rasool as the pursuit tightens. Vishnu, seeing Laiq closing in, manages to escape a direct confrontation. It’s a narrow escape, and Moosa signals Ibrahim to “drop the genie”—an old method of slipping away with stolen sandalwood that he uses to misdirect the pursuing group. In a brutal sequence, Ibrahim pushes Rasool away, Laiq grapples with him, and the clash leads to a violent culmination: Moosa crashes the jeep, killing Kareem and Umar in the process.

With Kareem and Umar dead, Vishnu falls into Ibrahim’s grip, who uses Vishnu as a bargaining chip to rescue Suma, who has been captured by Laiq and held at knifepoint. Ibrahim, however, decides to release Vishnu, leaving the latter to determine his own fate. Vishnu reaches a bridge and encounters Rasool, who confronts him with a knife. The confrontation ends abruptly, leaving the outcome unresolved and signaling that religious tensions and hatred will endure beyond this moment.

Across the secluded hill and the precarious forest path, the small band of survivors finds a precarious peace, only to face an uncertain future beyond the rocks and river crossings. The film closes on a stark note: even in a place believed safe, the seeds of enmity linger, and the story leaves the broader conflict unresolved, suggesting that the cycle of fear and retaliation will persist far beyond the immediate events.