B Unnikrishnan directs Mammootty in the new cop-thriller, Christopher, that is scripted by Udayakrishna. Mammootty plays the titular character, a trigger-happy cop who has no qualms in gunning down criminals, especially rapists, even before the courts could proclaim them as convicts. The movie also stars Amala Paul, Vinay Rai, Sneha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Shine Tom Chacko, Dileesh Pothan, R Sarathkumar, Siddique among others. Christopher has received poor to average reviews and has taken to an okay start at the box office. Christopher Movie Review: Mammootty’s Cop Saga Does an ‘Encounter Killing’ to Progressiveness of Malayalam Cinema.
(PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD) The premise of Christopher is divided into two halves. The first half is about decoding the life of Christopher the cop and what turned him into this 'vigilante' cop that the society prefers over the justice system in the country. The second half is more or less an investigative thriller where Christopher tries to piece together who raped and killed his foster daughter, Amina.
It isn't hard to guess though. A vindictive businessman Trimurthi had arranged for the vile deed to be done, so that Amina, a social activist lawyer, doesn't unearth the fact that he got his wife and father-in-law killed to get their properties in his name. Christopher gets Trimurthi sent to prison, but things don't end there...
The Finale...
At the start of the film itself, it is established that Trimurthi, despite being in prison, is getting favours, having a faithful policeman to help him inside, and he is plotting something against Christopher. In the climax, Trimurthi learns that Christopher got a clean chit from the committee investigating an encounter he carried out, and he is soon to return to service. Wanting to take revenge against Christopher, he asks the latter to come visit him at the prison. At the same time, Trimurthi arranges for Beena, Christopher's ex-wife and Home Secretary, to be killed the same way he killed his own wife - through carbon monoxide poisoning. Realising that the visit to the prison was a ruse and that Beena's life is in danger, Christopher rushes to save Beena but it is too late.
Christopher, however, manages to exact revenge on the very day he joins back in the service. He visits Trimurthi in his prison cell in police uniform. Trimurthi also learns that 'faithful' policeman was a spy Christopher had planted there to keep an eye on him and who turns out to be the estranged cousin of the slain Amina. We had heard about him earlier as the 'cousin brother' who was trying to mend his relationship with Amina before she was killed. While this may come across a brilliant plan of Christopher to tackle his enemy, let's not forget his spy failed to figure out that Trimurthi was planning to kill Beena despite the plan being hatched in the prison premises.
Anyway, Trimurthi unwittingly tries to kill Christopher but the latter shoots him down instead. Amina's cousin takes the blame, and Christopher's former friend and senior cop, a repentant Abhilash submits a report to CM saying that Trimurthi was killed in self-defence. Rorschach Ending Explained: Who is Luke's Final 'Ghost' and What Does the Cliffhanger Climax of Mammootty's Psychological Thriller Mean?
The CM knows that this is a false report but he lets it go since, according to him, 'Truth is just a construct', which means Truth is whatever they want it to be. Well, imagine a state where the government and the police both don't believe in the court system and thinks extra-judicial killing is the only want to punish criminals. Moreover, while 'Truth is just a construct' may sound like a winsome slogan here, but coming from the most powerful person in the state, it sounds dangerous considering how the system can fabricate truths to even destroy the innocents if they want to. Wait, why am I not surprised? Just a reminder that Prithviraj's Jana Gana Mana just proved this point a few months back.
Anyway, returning to Christopher, a few weeks after he killed Trimurthi, Christopher is shown adopting the younger sister of the murdered victim in the first act of the film, who herself is a survivor. It is established that the girl will be his new Amina, and thus Christopher becomes the saviour of another girl. Thankfully, unlike B Unnikrishnan's last film Aarattu, there is no promise of a sequel or any shared cinematic universe, featuring Christopher and Agent X. Yes, someone did answer our prayers.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 11, 2023 11:07 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).