‘Sookshmadarshini’ Explained: From Manuel’s ‘Monitor Lizard’ Party to Diana’s Voice-Note, Decoding 15 Burning Questions From Nazriya Nazim-Basil Joseph’s Suspense Thriller (SPOILER ALERT)

Sookshmadarshini was a massive success when it hit theatres on November 22, 2024, and it has now made its way to Disney+ Hotstar, where streaming began recently. Thanks to clever writing and smart audience manipulation, fans are still actively discussing the film and its unfolding mystery on social media platforms and Reddit. Starring Nazriya Nazim and Basil Joseph in the lead roles, Sookshmadarshini is directed by MC Jithin, with a screenplay by Athul Ramachandran and Libin TB. ‘Sookshmadarshini’ Movie Review: A Highly Engaging Mystery Thriller With Superb Performances From Nazriya Nazim and Basil Joseph.

The story follows Priya, an observant stay-at-home mother, who becomes suspicious of her new neighbour, Manuel. While others praise Manuel, especially for his devotion to his supposedly Alzheimer ’s-afflicted mother, Grace, Priya harbours doubts about his story. When Grace goes missing, Priya suspects Manuel’s involvement. From the very beginning, the audience is aware that Manuel is up to no good, but the extent of his schemes is only revealed later.

By the end of the film, Sookshmadarshini does uncover Manuel’s sinister plans and the accomplices who aided him but, at the same time, leaves some questions teasingly unanswered, or it does, but many weren't sookshmadarshini enough to see them. Fans on Reddit and social media dissect the film’s details, while others appreciate its intricate storytelling. The film’s deliberate ambiguity in certain areas invites viewers to reflect on the motivations and actions of its characters.

Below, we address some of the most frequently asked questions raised by fans online, with insights gleaned from revisiting the movie and exploring thoughtful analysis by YouTube channels like Movie Mania Malayalam (a special shoutout to their incredible work). Needless to say, MAJOR SPOILERS are ahead...

1. Why Is Priya So Suspicious of Manuel?

Critics of the movie argue that Priya is overly intrusive, but this perception arises from misunderstanding her character. Priya is not nosy; she is simply observant - a skill possibly honed during her previous job as a quality analyst (hinted at in her CV shown early in the film). Her suspicions about Manuel stem from their initial encounter when she sees him cruelly throwing a stone at a cat. Later, she notices him killing a monitor lizard. For Priya, cruelty to animals is a red flag. This contrasts starkly with the praise he receives from others, creating a mismatch that fuels her doubts. In contrast, her impression of Gracy is more sympathetic as she first sees her as this hapless old lady, which is why Priya never suspects the elderly woman.

2. Why Did Manuel Plant the Branch?

Manuel’s placement of a branch with a red cloth in his courtyard was a strategic move. The red cloth served as a marker to test whether the branch was visible from the neighbouring houses (Priya’s and Thomas’). When he realises it’s visible only from Thomas’ house, Manuel executes his plan on a day when Thomas and his family are away at church, ensuring no one sees Grace being moved.

3. Why Did Manuel Make His Guests Eat Monitor Lizard Meat?

Manuel is depicted as a cruel and manipulative individual, and the party scene where he secretly serves monitor lizard meat, which the guests assume to be beef, is a testament to his depravity. This act is not just a sadistic prank but also a way for Manuel to gauge how naive and unsuspecting his neighbours are. The "meat" serves as a metaphor for the lies he plans to feed them later. He organises the gathering to probe into their lives and glean information about their upcoming activities through casual conversations. Additionally, Manuel’s sexism is evident as he disregards women and doesn't invite them for the get-together, seeing them as insignificant (also possibly because their presence might not encourage freer discussions among the men).

Even his seemingly feminist remark to Stephy - 'never apologise for being a strong woman' - is a line he plagiarised from his sister’s Instagram profile.

4. Why Did Manuel Cut the Curry Leaf Plant?

It is revealed later in the film that Grace instructed Manuel to cut down the curry leaf plant near Priya’s house. This was to prevent Priya from plucking leaves from it and, more importantly, to ensure she wouldn’t see Grace leaving the house as part of their plan. ‘Sookshmadarshini’ Ending Explained: Decoding the Twisty Finale and the Villain’s Diabolical Plan in Nazriya Nazim and Basil Joseph’s Mystery-Thriller.

5. Did Manuel’s Plan Fail During Priya’s Party Night?

When Grace “disappeared” during the night of Priya and Thomas’s party, it was actually a trial run. Manuel and Gracy were testing how her disappearance and the fabricated stories Manuel provided would be received by the neighbours and the police. This also helped establish Gracy’s supposed Alzheimer’s, laying the groundwork for the second, more critical disappearance. Thus, the plan didn’t fail; it was a rehearsal to ensure the final execution went smoothly.

6. Why Doesn’t Priya Believe Gracy Has Alzheimer’s?

Priya has a basic understanding of Alzheimer’s, associating it with memory loss and cognitive decline. However, she observes Gracy performing tasks with clarity - such as removing footwear before entering the house, taking down dried clothes when Manuel is absent, and switching off the water motor when it overflows. These actions convince Priya that Grace does not exhibit the typical symptoms of Alzheimer’s. She suspects Manuel of lying about his mother’s condition and keeping her as a silent prisoner, unaware that Grace is complicit in the deception.

7. Why Was Only Stephy Drugged and Not Priya or Gracy?

Sookshmadarshini plays cleverly with the Mandela Effect, often leading viewers to believe one thing while the reality is something entirely different. For instance, many assume Manuel mixed the drugs given to him by John into the juice and question why Priya, who also drank it, wasn’t drugged. However, the film clearly shows that Manuel only powdered the drug and made the juice but never actually mixed the two. Instead, the powdered drug was passed to Gracy, who discreetly added it to Stephy’s glass when she was talking to Manuel on the phone. This means Stephy was the intended victim, not Gracy. Since Gracy didn’t add the drug to the juice jar, Priya remained unaffected.

8. Why Did Diana Want to Sell the House?

The film initially hints that Diana might be complicit in Manuel’s sinister plan, especially in a scene where Priya claims Manuel isn’t working alone. The very next frame shows Manuel alongside Diana, Roy, and John, further fuelling suspicions. We are made to feel that Diana and Manuel want to sell their mother's properties; hence, they want her gone. The truth is far from that. Diana did need money, though, which is why she wanted to sale of the house to happen - she needed the cash for her wedding to her lesbian partner in New Zealand, for her event management business, and to adopt a child. Far from being an accomplice, Diana is ultimately shown to be a victim.

9. Why Did Manuel and His Uncle Discuss Diana Returning From New Zealand If She Was Already Dead?

This is another example of the Mandela Effect. After Diana’s murder, viewers question why Manuel continues talking about her return from New Zealand with Roy and John. However, upon closer examination, they never actually mention Diana by name in these conversations, instead using vague pronouns. This could either be the filmmakers’ way of misleading the audience or an indication that Manuel and his family harboured such disdain for Diana’s partner, Aditi, that they refused to mention her by name.

10. Why Did Manuel Message Priya Pretending to Be Diana?

After killing Diana, Manuel used her phone to respond to Priya’s messages. He could have simply ignored them, leaving Priya to assume Diana wasn’t interested in replying. However, Manuel chose to respond to determine whether Priya had witnessed anything suspicious the night she climbed into his house. Once he confirmed she hadn’t, he stopped replying. Manuel kept Diana’s phone to monitor Aditi’s communication, and once they planned to kill Aditi, he no longer needed the device. His mistake, however, was that when Priya later called Diana’s phone, she heard a Malayalam operator’s message, which revealed the phone was still in Kerala - contradicting the claim that Diana had left for New Zealand.

11. How Did Manuel Send Diana's Voice Note to Priya?

This question puzzled many viewers: if Diana was dead, how did Manuel manage to send her voice note? The explanation is relatively straightforward. Diana was shown earlier in the film habitually sending voice notes to her lover. It’s plausible that she had sent this particular voice note (a pretty standard 'I will connect with you later' spoken in a very business-like manner) to someone else before her death. Manuel could have downloaded the note and resent it as a new message to Priya, convincing her she was communicating with the real Diana. While this explanation works within the movie's context, replicating such an act in real life would be more complicated, as voice notes often carry unique filenames or metadata.

12. Why Did Grace Lie to Bring Diana Home?

It’s likely that Diana had already revealed her sexuality and relationship to her family, which upset her mother deeply, instead of them knowing from other sources. Diana probably knew that her family wouldn’t let her leave if she returned to Kerala for any ordinary reason. Therefore, Grace devised a strategy to deceive Diana into believing something grave - like her mother’s disappearance - had occurred, ensuring her return. From Diana's calm demeanour when learning her mother was supposedly missing, it’s evident their relationship was strained. She even tells Priya that New Zealand is quite good since no one meddles with anyone's affairs there. Diana and Aditi were open about their relationship even on Instagram, and Gracy didn't want her social circle to know more about them.

An earlier scene also offers some insight. Manuel mentions to Stephy that he prefers Facebook over Instagram, perhaps because Diana was more active on Instagram, while Manuel and his family’s circle likely used Facebook more. Her being a lesbian would be more publically aware in their circle, with the uncles and aunts using Instagram more. One thing I am not sure is who locked Diana's Insta profile - is it Diana herself not wanting to show her personal life to her family, or Manuel, after getting hold of her phone, and for the exact same reason? It may not be Diana since she is into event management and, therefore, would want people to visit her profile and see her works. Also since Manuel had seen Diana's Insta profile and that's why he stole the line from her bio, means it would be Manuel who had locked the profile later on.

13. What Was Gracy Trying to Tell Priya?

When Gracy returns home for the second time, Priya asks if she is in some kind of danger and if Manuel is the reason. Gracy is hesitant in her silence during Priya's pleading, and just as she is about to respond, Manuel butts in their moment. At first, it seems as though she might have been about to name Manuel, but upon reflection, it becomes clear she was likely about to call him to remove the persistent Priya from her room or ask her to get out (and likely expose her haughtiness in the process). A closer rewatch makes this clearer.

14. Why Did John's 'Perfect' Plan Fail?

John’s so-called ‘perfect’ plan to dispose of Diana’s body involved dissolving it in a plastic tub containing Aqua Regia - a highly corrosive mixture of concentrated nitric and hydrochloric acids - and then flushing the liquefied remains down the toilet. However, the UK-trained doctor failed to account for a critical flaw: the local piping system wasn’t designed to handle such strong acids. The pipes began to corrode, causing the blood and acid mixture to leak onto the walls. This oversight later allowed Priya to scrape off residue for testing, leading to confirmation that Diana had been murdered.

Additionally, the process of dissolving the body was taking far too long, further frustrating Manuel. The situation worsened when Aditi decided to visit Kerala to check on Diana, forcing them to hastily abandon their plan. As for why Manuel didn’t opt for his uncle’s earlier suggestion of burying the body, it’s likely because burying it posed a significant risk - there was always the chance the body could be unearthed and traced back to them. For a parallel, one only needs to consider the events depicted in the recent film Rekhachithram. ‘Rekhachithram’ Ending Explained: Unravelling the Murder Mystery and Mammootty’s Impact in Asif Ali-Anaswara Rajan’s Investigative Thriller.

15. What’s the Significance of the Last Scene?

The final scene reveals a twist: the vehicle that dented Priya's car at the beginning belonged to Manuel. Inside the car were Manuel, his mother, his uncle, and his cousin, finalising their plan to kill Diana. During the conversation, Manuel also mentioned that he and his mother would move to their ancestral house, counting on the gullibility of their new neighbours. The accidental dent in Priya’s car occurred as they drove away from that discussion.

This revelation highlights how Manuel’s family, unknowingly then, didn't account that one of their neighbours could cause them enough problems and what's more, they started off by ticking her off. Ironically, while Priya remains unaware of the connection, she unknowingly exacted revenge on the very people who had damaged her car.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 14, 2025 02:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).