Qalb 2024

In the coastal town of Alappuzha, Leonardo Kaalpo is a carefree young man who dreams of migrating to Europe by marrying a foreign woman. He lives with his affectionate father, Sayippu, who runs a small café on Dolphin Beach, and he shares a close bond with the café’s helper, Asurattha. Caplo spends his days partying with friends—Plinko, Trimol, and Jamaica—flirting with tourists, and helping at the café.

One day, Caplo is asked by Sauda to catch her escaped mynah bird. While climbing a tree to retrieve it, he notices Sauda’s daughter, Thumbi, and is instantly captivated—the first stirrings of love, the stage of Hubb. Distracted, Caplo slips and falls into the lake, and later tries to mischievously sell the bird online. The next day, Thumbi visits his home to reclaim it, and though hesitant, pays him to get it back.

Later, during the release of Bheeshma Parvam, Caplo and his friends attend the first show, where Thumbi also arrives with her best friend Reena. Amid a brawl over a missing scene, Caplo’s group clashes with the troublemakers and the police intervene. Thumbi returns home to face her father’s anger for going to the cinema without permission. She travels to visit her ailing grandmother, and Caplo joins her on the train, sharing personal stories along the way. Thumbi speaks of the Sidra tree, where departed loved ones wait across the seven seas, a motif that colors their growing bond.

Sayippu encourages Caplo to confess his feelings. On a visit to Thumbi’s college, Caplo asks her to Dolphin Beach, promising to show her dolphins. The old fisherman’s belief—that dolphins appear in pairs before those who truly love each other—seems initially fanciful, but a pod surfaces, cementing their connection. Caplo shares the belief with Thumbi, who smiles and agrees that the sign is real, signaling the second and third stages of love: Uns and Ishq.

One night, Caplo visits Thumbi’s home, only to be caught in a burglary next door. Thumbi’s mother pleads with him not to return, and Caplo’s blossoming romance is threatened. The revelation of the threat drives a rift; Thumbi’s mother begs Caplo never to see her daughter again. Caplo’s father consoles him, reminding him that true love endures. When Caplo confronts Thumbi, she insists they must part for her mother’s sake, marking the fourth stage—Junoon.

The pair drift into despair until jealousy rekindles tension when Thumbi sees Caplo with another girl. A tense confrontation ensues, and Thumbi eventually asks for a meeting with Sayippu. The father explains how he helped teach Caplo the meaning of love; they reconcile, stepping into the fifth stage, Akidat.

They share a joyful evening at the Alappuzha Beach Festival, even taking a photo at a booth run by Freddy. At a lighthouse, Thumbi gives Caplo a bracelet engraved with the word “Qalb,” a symbol of Ibaadat. Yet happiness is short-lived. Thumbi’s father discovers her speaking to Caplo and grows violent toward Sauda. Thumbi resolves to protect her mother, and together they attempt an escape, during which their car strikes a pedestrian. The same goons from the cinema ambush them, and both are arrested.

At court, Thumbi, overcome with guilt, calls Caplo to apologize but ultimately ends the call and takes her own life, completing the seventh stage—Mawt.

Thumbi’s funeral is held in Caplo’s hometown, and her mother insists that she be buried there. Grief-stricken, Caplo pleads with his father to let him join Thumbi. He explains his plan to reach the Sidra tree where his mother and Thumbi wait and asks Theresa Aunty to care for his father. Caplo sails into the sea, seeking to be with Thumbi, and for a moment envisions her reaching out. Sayippu and his friends rescue him, reminding him that a parent’s love can be the strongest shelter. Realizing this, Caplo chooses life and reconciliation with his father, embracing Hayyath—life. The film closes with Caplo releasing Thumbi’s mynah back into the sky as a dragonfly—an emblem of Thumbi in Malayalam—hovering nearby, watching over him.