A year after the announcement and trailer launch, maverick Malayalam filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery’s latest movie, Churuli had a worldwide release on streaming service SonyLIV.

Pellisery has earlier declared he has turned into an independent filmmaker and decided to make movies without relying on traditional production aids.

His latest outing Churuli, a hypnotic, mystery movie, is evidence of his course change. Churuli begins with two undercover cops on the lookout for a criminal charged with offenses including poaching and child abuse in a remote hamlet inside a dense forest.

The cops – Antony and Shajivan – know themselves they are not the brightest at their job. On the way to Churuli, the conversations the Cops had reflected their ambitions. They both want validation from colleagues who think of them as unfits.

At the foothills of Churuli they meet a group of naïve looking villagers and a Jeep driver. Both Antony and Shajivan begin their journey.

Their interactions with the locals turn hostile after the Jeep crosses a wooden bridge which is the gateway of Churuli. Smiling faces began to turn sore, and everyone looked unwelcome, using swear words at each other.

The setting of the movie is in a predictable Lijo Jose Pellisery universe. A hamlet of Christians migrated to the hilly forest regions of Kerala from the plains. The traits of their deeds: rugged men, rough-edged women, local-made hunting guns, the arrack, red meat, and the never-ending saga of sticking head into the mouth of wild animals.

Churuli is a deliberate shot at making an idea look woke. With its sprawling vocabulary of swear words falling between dialogs like unexpected speed bumps, Churuli is insensitive like a Paolo Pasolini movie. And It is also rough-edged like that Vaikom Muhammed Basheer short story of a simple man losing his wallet and being subjected to humiliation and stripping in a city where everyone is cruel. Or the movie is an ode to P. Padmarajan’s 1986 cult classic, Arappatta Kettiya Gramathil, where a trio gets stuck in a village where a brothel is considered a virtuous place.

Churuli is not without its flaws. Sometimes the swearing feels quite disturbing as it looks staged and dramatic, especially when women are involved. There is a visible hush on the face of characters as they swear, as they look forced to prompt a swearword to fit for literature.

Vinay Forrt gives a stellar performance on a role tailored for an actor like him. Chemban Vinod Jose is Samuel L Jackson like perfect. The initial reaction of Antony, from Churuli turning hostile on him, later adapting to situations and trying to take this under his belt, Jose delivers a stunning performance. But the star of the pack, undoubtfully, is Jaffer Idukki. His unorthodox dialogues coupled with his comedic timing hold the narration steady.

Churuli ends on a predictable note, leaving the audience with an introspective look at the mess in hand. Or Perhaps asking us to embrace the mess we are inheriting. Like every Pellisery movie, Churuli is visceral and paves a road for unlearning and establishing a niche but universal appeal.

3/5