Original subtitles

(motorboat rumbling)

What do you think he is really up to?

No idea.

Sir, Aji's inquiry led him to Sarah's letter.

Aji knows nothing more of this game other than Bibin being Sarah's son.

Hmm.

We have two options now.

Either we block Aji's further investigations,

which Anil sir can easily do,

or we reveal the truth to Aji

and find Bibin through Aji.

Blocking Aji is a possibility,

but Bibin is still out there on the loose

with the secrets he harbours.

(crowd clamouring)

(man on call) I don't know, sir.

Sir, please come immediately.

Something has happened to madam.

Yes...

She is inside the car, sir. (grunts)

(crowd commotion)

- She's bleeding. - Move aside.

Famous award-winning actor Ancy Sanjeev has passed away.

Darshana is with us now reporting this shocking news about her tragic death.

Darshana, what more information can you provide about Ancy's death?

Aparna, doctors have confirmed the death of Ancy Sanjeev.

She was the wife of scriptwriter Sanjeev Krishna.

She has bagged many awards and accolades,

including the state award for the best-supporting actor twice.

She has successfully starred in other language films too.

Unfortunately, death found her at the peak of her career.

Apart from random speculations, we haven't been able to arrive

at a verified source regarding the cause of her death.

Hearing the news, her peers and relatives are rushing to the hospital.

Do you have any clue regarding the cause of death?

There's no official explanation about the cause of death yet, Adarsh.

However, we need to note that,

about 3 years ago, while shooting for another movie,

Ancy had a cardiac arrest, which had hit the news headlines.

But we still haven't been able to confirm whether her sudden death

has any connection to her health condition, Adarsh.

Mr. Pinto Varghese, who is a well-known producer

and MLA of Thrikkakara, has arrived at the hospital now.

But he refused to comment on the news.

SK, do you want to smoke?

(breathes deeply)

Have I grown enough to take a drag with MLA Pinto Varghese?

What's this, buddy?

(sighs) It took a time like this for you to come to me.

(scoffs)

It's okay.

Cigarettes and alcohol cannot take this pain away.

Why try in vain then?

Did you see Ancy?

Don't you want to see her?

September 3rd...

Don't you remember?

It's our birthday today.

Hers and mine.

We had planned a dinner together before she left for a shoot today.

She's now...

(sighs)

(clears throat) I'll see her at our home afterwards.

Hey, your phone is ringing.

It's her father.

He's been repeatedly pleading not to slit her into pieces.

If they cut her open,

wouldn't she be returned only stuffed inside and sewed up?

He is wailing hard, begging not to do that to her.

What can I possibly do?

I am...

I'm a failed scriptwriter, ignored even by my friends.

How can I voice out anything to anyone then?

(mournful music)

Malayalam industry's beloved actor Ancy Sanjeev's deceased body

is now being taken to her residence at Mavelipuram, Kakkanad.

Preliminary hypothesis concludes cardiac arrest as the cause of death.

Hence, taking into consideration requests from relatives and friends,

the usual procedures like postmortem were exempted.

(sorrowful violin music)

(ambulance door shuts)

(sombre music continues)

(chair scraping)

(light switches on)

(exhales softly)

Dear ones...

Life sometimes ensnares us.

(inhales sharply)

My beloved has left me forever.

I am alone now.

(crowd clamouring)

Very strange events are unravelling here.

We are yet to get clarity on it.

- What happened, sir? - Nothing, nothing...

Ask them to give some space.

Move out. Why are you crowding here?

Move aside... move!

- (Pinto) Please don't make a ruckus. - (cop) Take them out. Give way.

(woman crying)

(cop) Move!

What is it, Pinto?

Sanjeev...

Rani says she saw a wound under Ancy's breast, while bathing her.

I saw it, Sanju.

There is an injury to be sure. It looks like a stab wound.

(Pinto) What can that be?

(suspenseful music swells)

(journalists reporting)

Good morning, sir.

(sighs deeply)

The day doesn't look that good to me anymore.

I know, sir.

But we never expected such a twist in this tale.

What's your next move?

(Anil) A forensic surgeon is here from Thrissur Medical College

to conduct the postmortem.

A primary investigation team is also in place

under the leadership of Kalamassery CI, Aji Kurian.

(brooding music)

(car lock beeps)

- Hi. - Yes, you may start.

One important thing. This issue is extremely sensational.

Make sure you leave no stone unturned.

Got it?

- We will do our best, sir. - Hmm.

- Vivek... - Sir.

(tense music rises)

Hmm.

Nitroglycerin tablets. Usually prescribed to heart patients

to have when they feel pain.

Maybe she had this or tried to have this when she felt pain.

Or... maybe not?

(chuckles knowingly)

(body thuds)

(trolley creaks)

(equipment clattering)

(water splashing)

(riveting music)

(scissors snipping)

- (ribs breaking) - (flesh severing)

(flesh squelching)

(snipping)

(ominous music)

Clean work. Precise stabbing.

And with a thin sharp stabbing tool.

Between the fourth and fifth ribs,

a sudden stab angled towards the right side.

The weapon was then pulled back,

but not outside of the wound's opening,

only to be forced back deep in with the same pressure.

Well-planned and neatly executed.

I have furnished findings about the tool, metal and wound assessment in my report.

Due to profuse oral bleeding,

which flowed down and soaked her body and dress,

the hospital authorities might have failed to notice this.

There was a time crunch too.

The killer was very lucky there.

No, Doctor.

I don't think it was just a sheer case of luck.

He would have anticipated in advance a case of oral bleeding.

Hmm.

We found nitroglycerin tabs inside the car.

It was staged.

A staging to mislead that the victim had a heart attack.

Right, Vivek?

Following that trail of thought,

someone who was sure a postmortem won't happen.

Hmm.

Online newsmakers are crafting stories better than a screenplay.

Heated discussions on TV channels are also running parallelly.

In fact, SK didn't mention this as a specific ask.

I jumped in to help when I saw Ancy's father's angst

in the name of friendship.

They both mean a lot to me.

I swear to Christ, I don't have any hand in this incident.

(scoffs)

We decided to inform you of this because you got directly involved.

There's nothing else to worry about.

I have some more questions for you.

I'll call you and come over another time.

As this happened at the shoot location,

I am planning to focus on that cinema crew first.

- Hey. - Sir...

Make arrangements to assemble them here.

(intense intriguing music)

(intriguing suspenseful music)

(exhaling smoke)

- (Aji) Vivek. - Sir, sir...

- No, no. Finish your smoke. - It's okay.

Why do you want to waste it?

Anything interesting?

Nothing solid as of now, sir.

She wanted to be relieved from shoot by 6:00 in the evening.

As it was her birthday,

she left the location at 7:10 p.m. after a small cake-cutting at 6:30 p.m.

Her car was parked behind the three artist caravans.

That's the reason no one really noticed anything.

And again, this shoot location is a dark, deserted area.

This is the ongoing theory.

(sighs)

The last person who saw Ancy alive at the location

and the first one who found her covered in blood inside the car.

- Summon both of them quickly. - Okay, sir.

Why is madam still here?

(shrieking in fear) Madam!

(gasping loudly)

We were getting ready for the next shot when the rain stopped.

When I saw madam like that, I screamed in fear.

They all rushed madam to the hospital then.

I know nothing else, sir.

(Aji sighs) Hmm.

You may leave.

So, after cutting the cake and removing her make-up,

Ancy ma'am grabbed her phone and bag, and left for home. Right?

Yes, sir.

My vehicle picked me up readily after and dropped me at my place.

Does Ancy usually drive back home alone?

Doesn't she take you along?

She used to, before.

I used to stay at her place if the shoot happens in Ernakulam.

But lately, I stay at the hotel arranged by the production house.

Why doesn't she take you anymore?

It's not that... They both argue a lot.

There were fights over me as well.

Sir is paranoid that his movies are failing because I go there.

Gradually, they stopped calling me in and neither do I go there now.

- I need a detailed statement from her. - Sir.

We need to know every single detail she knows about Ancy.

Sir.

No, sir.

He runs a vlogging channel.

One he uses to blaspheme everyone else in the industry.

Because of that, he's dragged himself into legal disputes and fights.

Nothing else has surfaced as of now.

But that is the only track left for us to go after him.

Yes, sir. We are now on our way to meet MLA Pinto Varghese.

We are hoping to find some leads from there. (scoffs)

Your strong viewpoints made you who you are today, SK.

I agree with you.

But, in this case, you'll have to reconsider your stand.

Those library guys will understand if you explain.

It's your wife's second state award.

Isn't your presence inevitable there?

(Pinto tsks)

Why don't you just reschedule your library event?

My dear Pinto, I'm in a fix. Please try to understand.

A library in my own village, my people.

When they're organising an exclusive event to honour me,

how can I evade it?

I also wish to see her receiving the award and to applaud her.

She is my wife!

We brought her into the industry,

She doesn't have an existence without us.

Do you think I'll purposefully avoid it?

- SK, listen to me-- - Just leave at it, Pinto.

Sanjeev doesn't have to take the trouble.

I need to get used to going alone. Let this be a start for future awards!

I am more than enough to carry the weight

of a state award.

(uneasy music)

Ego.

Damn nasty ego.

If Ancy strode two steps, SK was obstinate to leap four.

But it usually flopped, given his current market and status.

That led to arguments and fights.

That was the regular scene.

What was Ancy's attitude towards this?

To tell you the truth, it was a bit cruel.

He was down in the dumps. She could have shown some mercy.

When SK had to step down and hit rock bottom of his career,

Ancy had an easy ride up on a high-speed elevator.

The taste of success had changed Ancy in an obvious manner.

Sir, what about his stunt as a vlogger?

(scoffs)

It's just his antics to garner people's attention when his movies kept flopping.

It was mainly to amass aversion.

Ancy despised his channel.

(Aji) Hmm.

So, it was altogether a tough row to hoe.

Oh, not like that. There were a couple of issues--

A bit too many issues, you mean.

Didn't they consider a divorce?

Ancy did consider that.

But that was before she had her first heart problem.

She never mentioned that again to me.

And SK would never let her go, be it in life or death.

(Aji sighs deeply)

SK is still alive, and Ancy is murdered.

- Sir. - Thank you for your time, sir.

- Sir, are you okay? - (SK groans)

- (SK grunts) - (chair scrapes)

I'm still in shock, that's why.

Everyone is shocked. Even us policemen.

You had some differences of opinion with Ancy, right?

Not external. This information is from an insider, right?

Sir, there is an old saying in our village.

A barren cow and an unemployed man are alike. Both aren't in demand.

There were random fights between us,

but we were apart only when those fights were on.

We were together as one, the rest of the time.

She carried my name all her life,

and she died as Ancy Sanjeev too.

She didn't "die" but was killed.

She was murdered... brutally.

Sir...

(dramatic musical sting)

(disquieting music)

The preliminary findings of Dr. Sunil and Dr. Varsha specifically marks

the precision skill of the killer.

And that level of accuracy requires this level of practice.

Let me clarify, sir.

We know that Sanjeev is a right-hander.

But he used his left hand to do this crime.

He had rehearsed impeccably to execute this.

Here you can see the exact size and depth

of the wound you found on Ancy's chest.

And a thick synthetic rubber pouch is fixed under the left breast

to determine the stab force correctly.

Sanjeev's fingerprints are evidently all over this.

Way too many prints.

Sir, I think he planned this.

He trained himself for this

and executed it pretty neatly.

Sanjeev?

We are bringing him in, sir.

We've set up the interrogation room here.

Hmm, okay.

(shivering and breathing heavily)

(sniffles)

(door swings open)

(gasping heavily)

(door squeaks shut)

(sniffling, trembling with cold)

(chair scrapes)

(water pouring)

(bottle thuds)

(bottle cap clinks)

It's really cold in here, right?

(sniffles)

This AC doesn't have a remote, so we can't switch it off.

But I guess it's okay. We won't take long, right?

Sanjeev sir...

I can make you sit in this freezing cold for days

and interrogate you with ten thousand questions.

I'm not at all interested in that.

It'd be a hassle for us too.

So, I have only one question for you.

A question that is easy for me to ask

and easy for you to answer.

Did you kill Ancy?

(SK gulps loudly)

I can rather start by asking why you bought that doll,

connect the dots

and slowly arrive at this question.

But I already told you.

It's really boring.

Moreover, it's freezing in here.

Even when I saw shades of a seasoned criminal

in the modus operandi and the staging,

Sanjeev sir...

I still speculated an over-brainy amateur behind this.

(scoffs)

If I ask you why you did this,

you are piteous enough to state a convincing reason.

Sanjeev sir...

Aren't you that piteous killer?

(riveting music swells)

(takes short breaths)

(crowd laughing)

Sir, you need to make a movie immediately.

My dear, the matter is very simple.

If they come bragging about one hit to me who has 8 hits in my kitty,

I am gonna rub it in right where it hurts!

(everyone laughs)

If I become a lickspittle to their swelled heads,

they'll produce 100 movies with me, it seems.

But I'm born to a dignified father.

I'm not spineless to grab a movie offer like that!

(all chuckle)

But... but...

my new movie is in the pipeline.

I met superstar Maneesh this morning along with my director.

Met him, narrated my story to him,

he loved it, and the project is on!

You guys watch. You just wait and see.

It's going to be a blockbuster comedy mass movie, guys!

- (cheers and claps) - Cheers!

- (glasses clink) - (message dings)

(indistinct chatter)

(compelling music)

Ah-ha...

The best supporting actress is back, eh?

Thought you won't show up today.

- (key clatters) - (grunts)

(sighs) What happened?

I was feeling a bit off. Informed the director and left early.

(sighs) You were in high spirits this morning. What happened now?

You are doing your best at hauling in maximum embarrassment

via your vlogging channel.

I pretend not to have seen that. I have never interfered.

I've been slogging every second, even when unwell.

You should stop making me look like a clown in front of my peers.

What did I do now? When did I come to your set?

Sanjeev, did you meet Manesh sir today?

(scoffs)

When did that become flash news?

I've roped in Maneesh on a project.

Our Sree is directing it.

The project will be announced next month.

Bollocks!

Manesh called Williams grumbling that you approached him with a farcical story.

They asked me to tell you not to pester him anymore!

For God's sake, Sanjeev, please spare me the shame!

(groans)

No, but Manesh told us differently.

He asked us to work on the story and that he'll think about it.

He actually sounded happy about it.

This would be that rascal Williams playing his dirty game!

Listen...

If this gets too much for me to tolerate,

I won't be in your life anymore.

We will be separated legally and in all ways.

Just imagine your state if I also leave you.

(scoffs) Don't force me to make it any sooner!

(footsteps receding)

- (lighter clinks sharply) - God damn it!

(door opens)

- Thanks, Vivek. - Sir.

So, the fear of Ancy abandoning you.

That was the motive, right?

Have your tea.

(breathing heavy)

He must have doubted her with Williams too, sir.

Didn't you confront Ancy about Williams?

As in, about the relationship between them?

(groans exasperated)

Right...

You couldn't.

What if Ancy admitted to it had you asked?

You'd be done for.

The motive is clear now.

But the way you did it... It has a cinematic touch to it.

A scripted work.

But...

how and why?

(SK) If I can find a story that becomes a blockbuster hit,

I won't be losing Ancy then.

I can confound this industry who sidelined me,

ridiculing that I've exhausted my repertoire.

I frequented bars in search of that story.

There will always be a reason for a man to drink

and a story for an alcoholic.

When I had conversations with them, I keenly listened to their stories.

For those who didn't have a story or a reason, I crafted one for them.

One day, a young man recognised me and wanted to talk to me.

Aren't you Sanjeev sir, the writer of Wedding Havoc?

(SK) Hmm!

Sir, my name is Bibin. I am a huge fan of your work.

Tension Freakers was superb! I'm super excited to meet you here.

Son, why are you standing? Have a seat and talk. Sit.

That's not a problem at all!

- It is. You sit. - (SK grunts)

(bottles clashing)

(dramatic music)

I met Bibin in the bar the very next day as well.

I felt like I had known him for long.

I told him how I was in search of captivating stories

and how I can decipher people's stories when I see them.

It was, in fact, a facade to hide my insecurities.

Majorly!

After listening to everything I said,

he shot a question at me.

Then, why don't you guess the story of this frivolous me?

(scoffs) Let me see!

Bibin...

you are a murderer.

No one knows of it.

Even though you roam about merrily like an innocent chap,

you are a real psycho.

A psycho who kills people viciously.

- (car door closes) - (ignition turns on)

(tyres screech)

(suspenseful music)

(car door opens)

(door closes)

You? What is it?

Just drop me on your way.

Sir, hope I can smoke in here?

(lighter clicks)

(rousing music)

Were you annoyed with me before?

No. Would I be waiting for you if I was?

Why did you wait for me?

To tell you a story.

- Story? - Yes. A story... for a movie.

You are the one hunting for stories. I'll give you the one you want.

He started off with the intro of a storyline that night.

It really resonated with me.

It's about a wife who cheats on her unsuccessful husband with his friend.

When he comes to know of her betrayal,

he concocts a plan and kills her.

After his wife, he goes on killing another six women.

I was captivated by the protagonist's method of murdering his victims.

We met again and discussed the story further.

I slowly realised that Bibin wasn't narrating a random story.

He had exact details about every murder the protagonist did.

(blade metal swishes)

(sharp stab)

(ominous music)

While Bibin's story was developing,

Ancy and Williams' relationship progressed.

Someone kept sending me their photos and chat screenshots as evidence.

If I blocked one number, it resumed from another.

In time, I stopped blocking.

They crossed limits in their chat conversations.

I was convinced I wouldn't be able to make her stay even if I made a hit.

So, I decided to kill her.

His first murder in the story is of his wife's.

He kills that unfaithful wife, who ruined his life, inside her car.

He designs a tool to deftly do this to escape getting caught.

Following the exact method with an identical tool as in the story, I...

(car alarm beeps)

(door opens)

(car door shuts)

(seatbelt clicks)

(gasps)

- (stabs) - (soft gasp)

(swift stabbing whizz)

(strained grunts)

(quick retract whizz)

(short distorted breath)

(unsettling music)

(weapon swishes)

- Bibin... - Sir?

- Who's this Bibin? - Storyteller.

Hmm.

- So... the case is closed. - Sir.

(reporters clamouring)

(questions echoing indistinctly)

(voices fade off)

(car door opens)

(message dings)

(chuckles)

(door shuts)

- Sir, sweets... - (chuckles)

Thanks.

- Distribute the rest. - Okay, sir.

Sir is asking for you.

What's all this?

Sir, this letter reached my place a week ago via courier.

If I'm guessing right, I know the one who sent this.

I saw the news in today's newspaper.

A part of this letter holds details of the two involved in the murder case.

Their parents' names and other details.

It dawned on me only when I read today's newspaper.

Who sent this?

He used to work with me in a lab at Mundakayam.

He was a local. Bibin. Bibin Ouseph.

(mysterious music)

(dramatic music swells)

(music stops)