Puzhu Ending Explained: Decoding the Shocking Climax of Mammootty-Parvathy’s Psychological Drama on SonyLIV (SPOILER ALERT)

Puzhu comes across as a psychological drama about a police officer battling his inner demons, prejudices and biases till they get hold of him. Starring Mammootty and Parvathy Thiruvothu in the lead, Puzhu is directed by debutant Ratheena. A slow-paced saga, the movie is shouldered by a fantastic performance by Mammootty in one of his rare grey roles, while Parvathy, Appunni Sasi, Master Vasudev, the late Nedumudi Venu lend able support. Puzhu has gone for a direct OTT release on SonyLIV, the first Mammootty film to do so. Puzhu Movie Review: Mammootty’s Fantabulous Negative Performance Anchors This Slow-Paced Psychological Drama.

Mammootty plays Kuttan in Puzhu, who is a widower and father to young Kichu whose life is closely scrutinised and controlled by Kuttan much to the son's chagrin. Kuttan is also vain about his Upper Caste Hindu identity, and he is estranged with his sister Bharati (Parvathy) who eloped to marry her paramour Kuttappan aka KP (Appunni Sasi), a popular drama artiste who belongs to lower caste.

Kuttan is annoyed when the sister and her husband move to a nearby flat on a temporary basis, and even more so, when Kichu is spending time with her. Kuttan is also grabbed by paranoia that someone is trying to kill him, and the needle of suspicion points towards to everyone, from an old assailant to his sister and her husband to even his young son at a point. So is Kuttan right in thinking someone is out to kill him? Will his paranoia, addled to his bigotry, prove disastrous for people around him?

In this feature we will discuss and decode the twin climaxes of Puzhu, so needless to say, there are going to be some MAJOR SPOILERS ahead. Kindly do not read the below, if you haven't watched the movie. So let's divide the finale in two parts and discuss the final fates of Kuttan, Bharati and KP.

Nangeli

Bharati lives with the hope that her brother would reconcile with her, especially after telling him that she is pregnant. Her hopes go for a toss, when Kuttan comes to her home one night and tells her that he and his family are still saddened, but they are willing to accept her if Bharati brings up her unborn child as per their traditions. Bharati respectfully declines the offer, and goes to make tea when her husband returns home. As KP tries to have small talk with his brother-in-law, Kuttan checks the trophies on KP's shelf, as the latter tells him why he won each award.

The last trophy of the shelf is a bronze statue of Nangeli, which KP won for his popular one-act play, Thakshakan. KP tells him that he wishes for a girl child and plans to name her as Nangeli. Kuttan suddenly hits him with the bronze statue and presumably kills him. When Bharati returns from the kitchen hearing the commotion, she is also killed the same way.

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I don't want to believe that Kuttan came to their flat with the intention to kill them. Yes, Bharati's answer angers him, but it is KP telling him that he would name the unborn child 'Nangeli' that triggered Kuttan's murderous rage. For the unaware, Nangeli was a tribal woman who revolted against the breast tax - where the women of her community has to pay money if they covered their upper body with cloth - by cutting her breasts and serving them to the village officer. While the existence of Nangeli is being fiercely, her act is seen as a revolt towards the autocracy of the upper caste. Female Actors Resign From AMMA As it Tries to Reinstate Dileep Accused of Sexual Harassment; 4 Other Times When Women Stood For Their Rights to Live Equally.

By hearing that they are going to name their child after, Kuttan's hurt UC ego just couldn't bear that his niece would be a symbol of his own sister's revolt against his cast pride and prejudice, leading to the sororicide.

It is also revealed later that why Kuttan pauses an old home video of his late wife at one particular moment on a daily basis. It is because after that, the video also features his sister Bharati (before she was married) in their happier times, a chapter he is diligently trying to avoid till now.

Thakshakan

After murdering KP and Bharati, whose bodies were yet to be discovered from the flat by others, Kuttan takes Kichu to his ancestral house that very night. In his room, Kuttan stumbles upon Ameer (Thejas EK), the former domestic help of his family friends, whom he had slapped and who was one of the suspects Kuttan believed to be trying to kill him. The suspicion turns out to be true as Ameer confesses he had tried to kill Kuttan each time, from the carbon monoxide poisoning incident at the guest house to adding poison in his breathing cylinder. Ameer has once again managed to poison Kuttan, and this time he managed to succeed. Bheeshma Parvam Movie Review: Mammootty’s Invincible Swag Provides Some Cheer in Amal Neerad’s Predictable Blend of Mahabharata and The Godfather.

So why is Ameer after Kuttan's life? Kuttan had arrested Ameer's father - a pharmacist (which explains how Ameer knew his poisons) years back in a blast case. It later turns out the police has no evidence against him, though the man spend years in jail and died within a year after he was released. Ameer's elder brother went insane and burnt his mother alive, while he was later admitted to a psychiatric ward. So Ameer's family and life was destroyed by Kuttan on mere prejudiced suspicion, thus putting him on a vendetta mission.

While dying, Kuttan is reminded by Ameer the story of Thakshakan, the Mahabharata tale that was converted into a play by KP. In the tale, King Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna, was cursed by the son of a sage after the king tried to insult the meditating sage by wrapping a dead snake around his neck. The son cursed that Parikshit would be killed by the king of serpents, Thakshakan, on the seventh day. Fearing the curse, the king barriered himself in his palace, with only his confidantes and learned pundits close to him. Everyone and everything was checked properly before it was allowed to go in. The legend goes that on the seventh day, Thakshakan trying to find a way in, turned himself into a worm - the puzhu of the title - and hid himself in a basket of fruits brought in by a brahmin. Once in, he transformed back to his original form and then killed the king.

So in Kuttan's tale, he became Parikshit living in his high tower doused in his paranoia and fears, while Ameer became his Thakshakan, who managed to kill his target despite all the precautions that he took. Only if Kuttan has bothered to watch KP's play...

So how did you find the finale of Puzhu? Share your thoughts and views in the comments section below.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 13, 2022 04:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).