Kooman (film)

Kooman
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jeethu Joseph
Written by	K. R. Krishna Kumar
Produced by	Listin Stephen Allwin Antony
Starring	Asif Ali
Cinematography	Satheesh Kurup
Edited by	V. S. Vinayak
Music by	Vishnu Shyam
Production companies	Magic Frames Ananya Films
Distributed by	Magic Frames
Release date	4 November 2022 (2022-11-04)
Running time	153 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Kooman (transl. Owl) is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film directed by Jeethu Joseph, written by K. R. Krishna Kumar and jointly produced by Listin Stephen and Allwin Antony.^[1] The film stars Asif Ali, with Renji Panicker, Jaffar Idukki, Baburaj, Hannah Reji Koshy, and Meghanathan. The plot follows Giri Shankar, a C.P.O. disregarded by his colleagues and looked upon with contempt by his villagers. As he takes revenge for a humiliating incident, his life turns upside down.^[2] The original background score and a song were composed by Vishnu Shyam.

Principal photography began in February 2022. Kooman was released in theatres on 4 November 2022 to critical acclaim from critics and audiences. The film was a commercial success at the box office.

Giri Shankar is a young CPO in his village police station. He is very observant and is an expert at finding clues. As a result, his senior officers, CI Pillai and SI Sukumaran Nair appreciate his detective skills, which also make a few of his fellow constables jealous. He is often annoyed by arrogant villagers who disrespect him.

Pillai scolds Giri for trying to file a drug smuggling case on a young man who had told Giri to remember his place as a constable. Pillai then retires from duty and Harilal takes charge as the new CI. He is an egoistic cop who insults Giri for no reason. After being humiliated by the CI at a Kabbadi match, he vows to take revenge. He seeks the help of an old thief named Maniyan who teaches him how to successfully rob his neighbours. Unable to solve the string of robberies, Harilal and two constables are suspended. Giri's kleptomania became worse as he is caught in his attempt to rob Ramakrishna. This causes him to escape to Tamil Nadu. The next day, Giri finds out that Ramakrishna was found dead hanging from a tree. As he had seen a similar hanging earlier in the film, he realizes that there is a serial killer. Giri confesses his guilt to Pillai, and he tries to help him overcome his disorder through counselling with a psychologist. Although Giri asked Pillai for permission to solve the case in Tamil Nadu, Giri learns from Senthil Kumar, another constable, that people who had died in similar circumstances had mysterious letters.

Giri learns the connection between people who commit suicide which leads to a meeting with Acharyan, who explains one of his former students was expelled for reading an illegal book and using illegal black magic. Giri finds out that Karuppu Durai is behind this. He finds an abandoned Temple where Durai performs black magic on people. Giri tries to stop Durai, but he is attacked by Lakshmi. It is revealed that Durai has hypnotized her and uses her as his ally for his dark magic. Both Durai and Lakshmi try to hang Giri, but he manages to escape and knocks down Lakshmi. Durai tries to wake her, but Giri puts the rope around Durai's neck to hang him. Giri saves Lakshmi and she is admitted in hospital. After a few days, Pillai and Sukumaran arrive at Giri's home to inform him that he was selected to join the Special Task Force. They then learn that a robbery happened last night. Pillai looks at Giri indicating that he's still addicted to robbing homes.

Kooman was announced on 2 February 2022 with a title motion poster poster.^[3] Jeethu said it is a thriller.^[4]

The makers started the principal photography on 24 February 2022 with the switch-on ceremony.^[5] It took 32 days to complete the shoot. The post-production of the film started in March and Jeethu Joseph himself announced the release date when the promotions for the film were ongoing.^{[citation needed]}

The film was released on 4 November 2022.^[6] The official trailer of the film was released on 27 October 2022.^[7] The film received positive reviews.

S.R. Praveen of The Hindu wrote, The investigative thriller might be director Jeethu Joseph's most comfortable space, but what keeps the interest alive is the main thread related to the vengeful character essayed masterfully by Asif Ali.^[8]

Shajin Shrijith of The New Indian Express wrote, Kooman, too, similarly exercises your brain. Considering what happens to Giri's career in the climax, I wish he would appear in the next Drishyam film.^[9]

The original background score and songs were composed by Vishnu Shyam.^[10][11]

• Kooman at IMDb
• Kooman at Rotten Tomatoes