Velipadinte Pusthakam 2017

Vishwanathan, popularly known as Bullet Vishwan, is ambushed while riding his motorbike during the Karkidakam season of 2007. In the chaotic moments that follow, two formidable figures arrive—Maathan Tharakan [Siddique] and Kaaka Rameshan [Chemban Vinod Jose]—and the struggle ends with Vishwanathan’s life being cut short when Maathan slams him with a steel bar. The brutal flash of violence doesn’t just erase a man; it sets in motion a chain of events that drags a college campus into a maze of power, memory, and hidden guilt.

On the campus, Prof. Premraj [Salim Kumar]—the vice-principal who rails against romances blooming between male and female students—also carries a secret life. He keeps a contentious relationship with a cleaner and even browses through pornographic videos, a dual existence that will soon collide with the theater of power he helps police. His actions ripple through a pair of rival student mobs: the Kadappuram gang led by Franklin and the Thiruvananthapuram gang led by Sameer. Their rivalries explode into campus-wide conflicts, the kind that disturbs the very fabric of the college’s daily life. When Vishwan’s death linearizes into a political probe of the campus, Premraj’s surveillance system—CCTV cameras installed to monitor the students—becomes both a tool and a weapon, catching a glimpse of the truth in moments of mischief and misrule.

Into this charged atmosphere steps Prof. Michael Idikkula [Mohanlal], a calm, enigmatic vice-principal who refuses to bow to the threats that come with the so-called “law and order” of the campus. He navigates his new role with a quiet authority, gradually winning the staff and students over, including Mary, the thoughtful Assistant Prof. Mary [Anna Reshma Rajan], and Anumol, the physics teacher who seeks a personal arrangement with him. Michael’s first class reveals an unexpectedly human side—he earns marks for his teaching and for his respectful, patient manner, which disappoints Franklin who expected the new principal to align with his own schemes of control. When Michael visits Franklin’s family circle, the bonds and tensions within a drinking father’s world become clear, hinting at a past that will shape his decisions.

A curious turn of events arrives when Anumol and Mary, with Anumol’s proposal to marry Michael in mind, seek his blessing, only to discover that Michael’s true calling isn’t a conventional marriage at all; instead, he reveals a deeper, priestly identity. The discovery shockingly reframes Michael’s life and the campus’s expectations. The narrative then widens to reveal Michael’s intimate connections with Vishwan’s family—Vishwan’s widow Jayanthi and her daughter—while also introducing Sreekutty, Vishwan’s other daughter, whose life has woven itself into this larger story in subtle ways. As the school’s peace begins to feel fragile, Michael digs into the past to bring together a fragile peace between Sameer’s and Franklin’s factions.

The project with which Michael attempts to redefine memory is a feature film about Vishwan, a life story that echoes through the walls of Phoenix College. He reaches out to [Vijay Babu], a celebrated Malayalam film producer, who agrees to participate in a film project that brings the colleges’ struggles to the screen. The premise is that Vishwan, a man who fought for the college’s future, would be remembered in a cinematic piece that mirrors his fight for dignity and justice. The story Michael wants to tell is a composite of what Vishwan stood for: honesty, sacrifice, and the idea that memory can outlive a life. They decide to stage auditions for every role, with one exception—the role of Vishwan remains stubbornly elusive. The production team searches tirelessly, and the project nearly stalls until Michael himself undergoes a dramatic transformation that makes him the perfect Vishwan on camera.

As principal photography begins, the cast—led by Michael’s evolving performance—falls into place, with most actors delivering effective, compelling turns. Yet Premraj, who must portray Maathan Tharakan, struggles to inhabit the role convincingly. The production is a tense blend of art and real life, where the actors’ on-screen personas collide with the truth of Vishwan’s past. During a night-time crisis, Premraj is attacked by Maathan and his gang, a chilling reminder that the film’s narrative is inseparable from the real world’s danger. Michael confronts Maathan and asserts that the film must go on, even as the threat to him grows more personal.

The truth that finally reshapes the film’s climax arrives when Maathan reveals a crucial detail: Vishwan was not the killer; Kaaka Rameshan was the true architect of the violence. Vishwan’s death stemmed from a complicated love triangle—his marriage to Jayanthi’s rival and Rameshan’s lover—an angle that reframes Vishwan’s entire legacy. Michael, shaken, asks Sameer and Franklin to rework the ending, and after heated discussions, they agree to adjust the climax to reflect this new reality. In the revised ending, Vishwan’s death is not enacted on screen; instead, a caption signals the film’s deeper message: Vishwan lives on in the minds of everyone.

The changes are not merely cinematic; Michael’s own psyche undergoes a healing arc. His illness appears cured, and the bishop—an authoritative voice in this world—recognizes Michael’s true vocation and his capacity to inspire. He announces that Michael will inaugurate the new hostel and, in a surprising and poignant turn, become the college’s new principal. The project culminates not in a triumphant, violent finale but in a moment of communal clarity, as the staff and students—standing together—document their unity with a final selfie that seals the film’s message: memory, integrity, and collective effort can redefine a life and a community.

Vishwan lives in the minds of everyone

In the end, the campus moves forward, carrying the weight of past events while embracing a future built on reconciliation, truth, and the shared belief that art can heal as surely as it reveals. The narrative blends campus politics, personal history, and a filmmaker’s responsibility to reframe reality, delivering a story that is as much about memory, identity, and forgiveness as it is about love, rivalry, and the enduring power of a life worth remembering.