At the helm of things, the basic outline of Kerala Crime Files season 2 remains the mystery behind the sudden disappearance of CPO Ambili Raju (Indrans). When you are first introduced to Ambili, you see him travelling in a public bus with a supposed pickpocket whom he has arrested. You see him worrying about an elderly passenger standing, only to give him his seat, much to the dismay of the pickpocket. Soon, you see a brawl-like situation erupting in the bus wherein the pickpocket is beaten up, until Ambili steps in, purposely after a delay – a moment that forces you to introspect his character after a pretty heartwarming start. Elsewhere, the setting of the drama is with respect to a police station wherein most police officers are transferred due to their affiliation with criminals, a deed that also includes Ambili. Yet, when the newly appointed officers aren’t able to track the whereabouts of an already mysterious Ambili, the core conflict in the drama immediately becomes its mystery to hinge onto.

The drama here becomes as much of a character study in many ways, without quite deviating from the core case. For instance, when you are introduced to Noble (Arjun Radhakrishnan), the first loosely linked angle remains of the presence of a dog at his place. It is a fleeting moment, but even here, the angle of a dog is used as a catalyst to prepare the audience for a possible angle in the drama that is linked to a dog (and we don’t know how). Noble is a newbie cop who is assigned his first law-and-order posting. And while you see him initially warming up to CI Kurian (Lal), the sudden case of the mysterious disappearance of an officer, stalls his welcome. The thing to note here is that Noble is still getting used to the posting, although there is a sense of sincerity about him along the way. In a scene, you see him telling his junior (after Noble is held up by his senior about his ‘lacklustre’ attitude) on how he can directly advice him about the processes, without worrying too much about his position. It is needless to say that the moment after acts as a watershed one for Noble who then is shown to be immensely involved in the case, more than ever before. Here I must also add that the police procedural is cerebral and intriguing!

There is a sense of organic flow to the proceedings, even as the entire case unfolds like a giant jigsaw puzzle. There are threads and pieces of information that are unraveled rather than spoon-fed to the viewers, even as most of the case unfolds through the gaze of Noble. As a result, the cops and the audience are more or less kept at a same level, even as the latter is privy to a parallel backstory about a young boy and a fascination for dogs that plays out amidst the clues in the current timeline. Here I must add that the flow of the drama is slightly convoluted in the middle, given how there are episodic breaks in the template (episodic because this is a webseries). Had this been a film, the supposed ‘break’ would not have entered the frame. This, even as you are catered to shocking details about Ambili and his mysterious equation with an ex-gangster Ayyappan (Harisree Asokan).

The dynamics of Ambili and Ayyappan has a strong exposition with respect to the structure of the narrative. It won’t be wrong to say that it remains a backbone of the show, and a starting point of sorts. Both remain unassuming characters of opposite proportions – Ambili is a cop and Ayyappan has been an ex-criminal, but the beauty of the writing is that at some point, both the ‘traits’ of the characters merge. They are both missing at a point, they had both contacted their families just before disappearing, and both had shades of grey in different capacities. The events are deliberately kept ambiguous by signalling only adequate details along the way. Hence, it becomes increasingly more intriguing where the drama isn’t only just a whodunnit, while blending external elements to add texture to the narrative.

There is a definite emotional core towards the end of the show, wherein the plot-points begin to piece together. And the ultimate reason became a win for the writing, simply because there was a consistent thread maintained with respect to the ‘subject’ (I have to keep things vague to avoid spoilers). Had it appeared out of nowhere, the impact would have felt frivolous, but a thread maintained an emotional connect with the viewers. There is a moderate “Drishyam” angle to, something that is revealed right at the end, even as the hints are enough to soar over the ambiguity of the ending. And that sums up the screenplay that is visceral and cerebral while allowing space for the viewers to apply their minds.