Is Asif Ali’s character hiding the truth in ‘Kishkindha Kaandam’?

A lot has been decoded about ‘Three Wise Monkeys’ of Kishkindha Kaandam – referred to as Asif Ali, Aparna Balamurali and Vijayaraghavan, who played the pivot roles in the films. People decode it different ways, often the roles of monkeys interchanged. I am not into decoding the puzzle of ‘Three monkeys’, because my mind is stuck somewhere else.

The director Dinjith Ayyathan and the screenwriter Bahul Ramesh have played enough mind games with our brains, and our thoughts go on the loose as the final twist is revealed, giving big shock to the audience. No doubt, Kishkindha Kaandam is one of the best mystery thriller films, Indian film industry has ever made! If you are a fan of slow burning thrillers hiding mysteries behind, then this movie is a must-watch for you. I highly recommend. Watch it for some amazing performances too. Absolutely brilliant!

**Spoiler alert!!

For most of the audience, except the question, ‘Where is the body?’, the filmmakers have given a satisfactory explanation to all their queries. But for me, it’s not enough. Just like the time loop of Appu Pillai, character played by Vijayaraghavan, my thoughts are running in loop. Yes, I agree, it gives a satisfactory climax. But still I feel like Ajayan, the character played by Asif Ali is too mysterious and he is hiding a lot from his second wife Aparna, the character played by Aparna Balamurali. Do you also feel the same? If so, please share your opinion in comment section. The movie has an open ending like Andhadhun. We can imagine and interpret in our own ways, which makes it a brilliant and layered script.

Here I post some questions which make Asif Ali’s Ajayan character unbelievable.

1. When Praveena, Ajayan’s first wife (character played by Vyshnavi Raj) unintentionally shoots which results in the accidental death of Chachu (character played by Master Aarav), she is seen totally broken sitting there. (In reality both gunshots are not shown to audience). For me it looks so illogical to think, Praveena got up from that place, found pills from her medicine box – exactly the one which can take her life, took it and again sits back in the same position where Ajayan found her first. If we think in reality, a mother would like to spend her last moments with her child. But she is seen distant from her son. Another question is, when gun was easily accessible, which was still on floor, why she went in search of pills? She could have shot herself. It makes Ajayan’s version unbelievable. Or we can simply interpret as flaws in the script. When the detailing has been done so beautifully, how can the script writer make such silly mistakes?

2. Is Ajayan trying to save himself through his narration? If we watch the movie once more, some of his facial expressions point towards this. Nobody has seen the truth, and it’s only shown to us through Ajayan’s words only. What if, he is lying, because those scenes are not shown in reality. Hence there are possibilities, Ajayan is lying, Right? There is one scene shown to us, where Appu Pillai is burning evidences, with caption, ‘After 2 months’. So, it can be interpreted as real incidents, and it’s clear the gunshot didn’t happen in the hands of Appu Pillai. But still, it doesn’t bring a complete closure to my queries.

3. When Praveena is not alive to say something and Appu Pillai is suffering from dementia, there is no other option left for the screenwriter except to put everything on Ajayan’s shoulders. There lies the real mystery and beauty of a powerful script. In reality, we never get a closure. Kishkindha Kaandam deserves a sequel with a few mind-blowing twists.

4. Isn’t it possible the real truth is something totally different? In the case of dead monkey also, it’s not shown boy killing it. It’s only Appu Pillai’s version which is shown to us, where he tells his friend Sumadathan, character played by Jagadeesh.

5. It’s also possible Ajayan is the culprit and Appu Pillai knows it, because he clearly tells, he is sure, one of the parents is the culprit and after reaching the conclusion, he burns it to save them. Ajayan stays completely numb, then burst into tears and hug his father. Is it an action of remorse? But I am not completely sure about this possibility (Appu Pillai knows it). I am simply discussing the possibilities.

6. One Youtuber mentioned about blood stains in Praveena’s dress/body and why it was not spotted by others while she was taken to hospital. If so, truth would have come out that time itself, because Praveena took pills. I watched those scenes repeatedly and couldn’t spot blood stains in her dress. If I am wrong, this question is valid. If I am right, again rises another question. When the shot was so close, there should be blood stains in Praveena’s dress or hands. Both these possibilities prove Ajayan’s statements wrong.

7. What if, the real thing which Appu Pillai found was never shown to audience!!! He simply burns things which he doesn’t want to keep to himself, a technique of escapism from bitter memories. What’s that dream sequence all about, connecting the three?

8. Why Appu Pillai is not looking into the possibility of boy killing himself? Every time he clearly reaches a conclusion, one among the parents used the gun, though he was not sure about the reason! Why? Isn’t it mysterious? It’s also possible, when Ajayan took Praveena to hospital (Appu Pillai gets hospital reports) the boy stayed at home, and Appu Pillai was well aware, boy often steals gun from his almarah. Already he has visited his friend who told about monkey incident which took place the same day. So, even if it’s not in memory, his evidences in paper (not burnt yet) should have directed him to those thoughts. When parents are not present at home, it’s also possible, boy accidentally killed himself. But Appu Pillai is not mentioning it anywhere. When the boy’s body was found and buried, his parents were not at home & Appu Pillai is sure about it. When he has not seen the incident, why he believes, it happened by the hands of Praveena or Ajayan. I wrote this point based on what it’s shown to us.

9. The room was locked by Ajayan from outside (without keys) keeping the body inside, before taking his wife to hospital. It’s possible, Appu Pillai searched his grandson and finally found him in the couple’s bedroom. Nobody locks a child inside the room when he is alive. That might be the reason why Appu Pillai concluded, the ‘murder’ happened in the hands of the couple. But nowhere in the narration it is shown, Appu Pillai is aware, they went to hospital. When Ajayan found Praveena in unconscious state, his father was not present in home. Appu Pillai had already left home, leaving tea in the stove which was not switched off. There arises another question, why should Appu Pillai check the couple’s room without any reason. Why didn’t he think, the couple left home with their child? This is the big question left unanswered at the end.

10. Why Appu Pillai opened Ajayan’s locked room in their absence is also a mystery. Usually people don’t do, especially a military person with strict discipline has his own ethics not to peep into others’ privacy.

11. It’s possible, gunshot happened in the hands of Ajayan by mistake and he created a story putting his wife there as culprit. It’s highly possible, she tried to kill herself after seeing her son in such a situation. Dates of chemotherapy section is matching. But I still have doubts about what kind of treatment was given to her at the hospital for taking pills. Was she taken to same hospital where she is doing chemo sections? Why chemotherapy was given to her soon after suicide attempt?

12. What Appu Pillai found is shown to us as burned papers only! In reality, it’s never shown. It’s possible, what he found tells another story. What if, his conclusion is totally different from what shown to us, deceiving our eyes?? He isn’t telling too much, and we, audience are curious to know.

13. Let’s come to the scene where it’s shown Appu Pillai is burning evidences and he talks to Ajayan. It’s shown as an incident three months after Chachu went missing. Connecting with previous shots, we simply believe Asif Ali’s narration. If I say it’s a mind game played to us by the smart script, will you believe? We easily get connected with emotions of the characters and very often, we forget to use brains.

14. Ajayan realizes that Appu Pillai has arrived at the conclusion that his grandson is no more. Then why he is not opening his mind to his father, just like he did to Aparna? Ajayan could have told his father, it was just an accident happened in the hands of his wife. She is also not alive to face its consequences. But he is not saying so. Why? It doesn’t guarantee, Appu Pillai would stop searching for the truth by noting it in his book which he carries always, and that loop will never repeat. But Ajayan would have got peace of mind of some kind. But it’s not what happening. At the end, it becomes a painful memory loop for Appu Pillai, which Ajayan silently watches, hiding a crime happened by the hands of a person who is not alive. So it’s possible, truth is something else, possibly an accident happened from Ajayan, which both of them never openly telling.

15. Even if that accident took place in the hands of Ajayan, he could have placed himself in the safe zone by telling his father, his wife did it. It’s not to clear his stand, but for his father who is stuck in a painful loop of memories. Did his father find something against him? Is it why Ajayan is quiet? Why is he hugging his father and crying in the climax? Is it because he is the culprit and he is crying because of remorse? I also thought about the possibility to remove Chachu’s pictures from the wall, so that it won’t trigger Appu Pillai’s search for his grandson.  

A few more interesting questions about Kishkindha Kaandam

It’s shown, Appu Pillai visits his friend twice. He visits Sumadathan for the second time after getting report from hospital. What communication is exchanged between the two during the second visit? It is not explained anywhere. So, it’s possible, Sumadathan helped Appu Pillai to bury the boy’s body, and during the second visit, Sumadathan gives these details to him. It’s possible Sumadathan is hiding it from Ajayan and Aparna. Otherwise, without seeing the body how can Appu Pillai recollect it every time that body was found inside couple’s room. Someone should have given him the details, and most possibly it’s Sumadathan. Through Appu Pillai’s conversation with his son Ajayan, it’s evident that he has seen the body. It gives us a clear conclusion, the boy is not alive and was shot dead, and missing bullets reconfirms it.

I also thought about the possibility, did Appu Pillai placed body in some another room before calling Sumadathan for help? How much he trusts his friend? What if Sumadathan exposes his son some day! Why should Appu Pillai take such a huge risk? He can clean evidences in the room. But what about the body? He can’t do it all alone. Again, my thoughts, after travelling a lot, reached the point, there is definitely someone who tells Appu Pillai about the body found in Ajayan’s room every time and it could be none other than Sumadathan! But why Sumadathan is hiding it from Ajayan and Aparna? Was it someone else who helped Appu Pillai to dispose the body, and Sumadathan had no idea about it? Was Appu Pillai visiting someone else too, and it was not shown to us (A good twist for the sequel)? Or, after removing the body to another room, did Appu Pillai ask Sumadathan not to reveal it to Ajayan, so that he can live with hope to find Chachu someday. The couple was not at home when all these events occured, as per Ajayan’s narrative.   

In the film, it’s shown Appu Pillai is locking the room so that Aparna won’t enter inside. That’s what shown to us. But is it like, he is fearing in mind, his grandson can enter the room and take his pistol? There are possibilities, the boy has done it many times, and it’s possible, deep in his subconscious mind, just like burning evidences in exactly the same place, those scary thoughts that the boy can enter the room are deeply placed, though the occurrence of events are not in order. The script is so much layered and it gives enough place to audience to use their logic and reach their own conclusions.  

While watching the twist of movie climax, I felt like screenwriter took inspiration from 2010 American neo-noir psychological thriller film, Shutter Island which also showcases events of a ‘mentally unstable person’ in a loop. I am not saying it’s a copy. But somewhere, both movies have some kind of ‘unique’ similarity. The film also took clues from Momento directed by Christopher Nolan, which later inspired Indian blockbuster Gajini in two languages. The movie indeed has a Nolan touch. What do you feel? Please post your comments.