The basic plot of Thalavan is simple – the body of a woman is found at the house of the circle inspector of the town wherein he becomes the primary suspect in the case. But is the mystery that simple? The story here tactfully oscillates between a standard police procedural drama and a murder investigation while slightly tilting more towards the latter. As a result, there are multiple threads that are opened up pertaining to plenty of characters in the fray, even as the viewers are kept in the dark about most character motivations (just like the protagonists). But the story is also layered while highlighting the hierarchy present within the police department while briefly tapping into the ego clashes which would benefit people around the two power centers. And while this theme acts as an undercurrent for most parts of the runtime, it offers several twists and turns along its screenplay standing at 130 minutes before ending on a tail end that would potentially blow your mind!

The drama begins with the introduction of the character of DYSP who is coaxed by a bunch of youtubers/journalists to revisit and tell the events of an important case that had transpired. And while I was on the fence with respect to the start, the drama as a part of its flashback did introduce the principal characters namely Karthik the SI and Jayashankar the CI who just do not get along from their first encounter. There is an ego clash between the two that soon escalates following an incident that transpires in the police premises. And even while attempts are made for a reconciliation, a corpse of a woman is discovered in the CI’s house that instantly points fingers at him, particularly Karthik who begins his investigation to nail Jayashankar until he realises that something is amiss.

The proceedings are intriguing and engaging particularly after the investigation is kicked off wherein the viewers are hoodwinked into the police procedurals with the possibilities being endless. The seemingly unrelated incidents before the murder was a testimony of the different directions that the case could branch into, the same is also represented by plenty of characters along the way that are always on the sidelines. And hence, it becomes seemingly impossible to play the guessing game given how complicated things get during the investigation. A literal mindmap was required by me to link the events given how a few characters weren’t shown (or barely shown) while their actions were narrated through the course of the lines. And I absolutely adored the narrative style here that kept my mind ticking at any given point of time. The grand revelation at the end was satisfactory (although the reason wasn’t as strong as it ought to have been) and I liked how the threads of the narrative were assembled together at the end. But….But….But….the twist in the final scene left me with many questions and I will try and decipher the same as per my conspiracy theories – so SPOILERS in the next paragraphs.

The Events – In the events leading up to the murder, we see a little brawl that transpires between Arun and his friends who happen to attack a police officer (after he was found to be eve-teasing a girl from the group, Arun’s girlfriend) until the group is intercepted by Jayashankar. Arun is the son of retired ASI Shivadhasan who is asked to beatup his son by Jayashanker in front of Arun’s girlfriend, something that Arun cannot stomach leading him to commit suicide. And hence, a plot is hatched by Shivadhasan to extract revenge from Jayashanker that ultimately results in the grand reveal. But the last frame showcases the DYSP who was narrating the events of the case (and promising further revelations in the next episode) lying dead with a bullet in head while his episode is telecast on TV. Now there are a couple of characters in the fray that might play an important part here.

The Characters and the Conspiracy Theories – Two important characters are Manu, a jail convict who suddenly disappears in the middle of the narrative (this while all he says is a cable operator Vinayakan planning an attack on him, something that is nullified here), and Allappan, a mysterious novelist that uses real incidents to pen his novel. There are two conspiracy theories that I have – one is that the DYSP was involved in the framing of CI Jayashanker (and notice how he played a part by NOT mentioning an ally Sinto in the filed report provided to SI Karthik, who was appointed because of his differences with Jayashanker. The theory goes like this – The DYSP was the father of Arun’s girlfriend who isn’t shown as well (and may have committed suicide on hearing the demise of Arun). He did plot Jayashanker’s downfall by ‘planting’ Manu at the police station who would keep an eye on Jayashanker for him. The initial plan may have been to kill Manu in police custody or at Jayashanker’s place (remember he called him to meet randomly) and blame the charges on Jayashanker. But the turn of events with Shivadhasan coupled with Manu being acquainted with the intentions of DYSP did result in him not only take refuge but also kill him in the first instance (given how the DYSP may have introduced the angle of Manu being the culprit, falsely). The second possibility is with Allappan who may have killed the DYSP to trigger a chain of events for him to write the novel. A lesser possibility of the DYSP committing suicide doesn’t quite add up given how he wished to reveal further details in the case. The theory of him giving the exact time and date for the telecast may have had to do with him finding and implicating Manu, but Manu may have got to him before that (or alternately, Manu may have killed him and escaped during the telecast of the interview). Overall, the screenplay is brilliantly written and makes for an enthralling watch.