Vadakkan ending explained: Is Kishore’s Raman the evil spirit in paranormal thriller?

Kishore’s Malayalam film Vadakkan narrates a haunting tale, set against the backdrop of Theyyam and folklore. The film, which recently premiered on Aha and OTTplay Premium, follows paranormal investigator Raman, along with his research assistant Anna, as he tries to find the truth behind mysterious deaths on a remote island. But Raman does the unthinkable, killing Anna. Let’s revisit the film to find out if Raman is indeed the evil spirit lurking in Vadakkan? Proceed with caution, spoilers ahead.

Vadakkan plot

Vadakkan, touted to be Malayalam’s first paranormal thriller, takes us to a remote island named Brahmagiri in Kerala, where seven people were killed during a reality TV shoot. As he heads to the eerie land, which is home to myths and supernatural entities, Raman is accompanied by his research assistant Anna and his ex-girlfriend Megha, whose husband is among the victims. Munnariyippu writer Unni has penned the film, directed by Sajeed A.

What happens in Vadakkan ending

Kishore is informed about the spirit on the Brahmagiri island by researcher Ayisha (Maala Parvathy), who explains how Kunjumbu, a Theyyam performer, was killed by the feudal lord and his spirit trapped in the sacred cove. In the final portions, Megha gets possessed by the Kunjumbu’s spirit, who then attacks Anna. Though Raman ties up Megha, the spirit then takes control of Raman. Realising this, Anna runs for her life and climbs up the tree house, but Raman follows her. In the next moment, we see that Anna dies and the spirit leaves Raman, who is unaware that it is he, in fact, the killer.

When he returns to the house, Raman sees himself committing the murder in the CCTV. He then wears the Theyyam attire and lights up the lamps at the sacred cove, and performs as a Theyyam artist. Megha frees herself and drags Raman away, and leaves the island in their car.

En route, Ayisha calls them up and warns them against lighting the lamps as it would make Kunjumbu more powerful. As the camera focuses on Raman, we see Kunjumbu’s distinct facial twitch. As Megha urges Raman to go back home, he says, ‘Let’s go home’ and takes the wheel. But instead of heading home, he plunges the car into the river. Though Raman is not the evil spirit, he is possessed by Kunjumbu’s spirit that drives them to their end.

In the final scenes, Raman is seen lying on a river bed, as a voiceover reminds us about the cyclic nature of life.