Kochaal Review: Krishna Shankar, Murali Gopi’s cop movie lacks any real thrills and has a trivial ending

2.5/5

Story: Kochal’s (Krishna Shankar) parents have convinced him that it is his destiny to become a police officer just like his father, despite him being short. While he does eventually make it to the force, he has to go his own way into solving a double murder that has happened in his locality. 

Review: There are certain things that you expect a good investigation thriller to have - a good story, some thrills, a brain-crunching investigation and some revelations. While one could argue that Kochaal has them all, none of them is really seen or experienced by the viewer. The movie drags on before it kicks into gear and when it does, it ends like a wet firecracker. 

Sreekuttan aka Kochaal is relatively short, but his parents have convinced him that it is his destiny to join the police force, just like his father. We get to see the hero try to make it, but sent back because he is too short. However, he gets the job via Dying-in-Harness, after his father passes away. Soon into his job, his locality is shaken by the murder of a wealthy man and his wife in their home. This is when DySP Simon Thomas Irumban (Murali Gopi) comes to investigate, and Sreekuttan makes a good first impression, before he is suspended after being a suspect in the murder himself. 

After being suspended, he goes on a parallel investigation, as he tries to solve the double murder on his own. One might find nothing new in the story, and this could very well be the case. And while we expect a good investigation to take place, we don’t get one from either of the two who are trying to crack the case. Murali Gopi’s character is a renowned officer, but we start to question his methods early on. While this could have been a conscious choice, there are details about his character that still raises some questions. 

Sreekuttan’s investigation, on the other hand, is still not hair-raising in any way. The movie takes enough time to get going, but even when it does, it does not gain any real momentum. The way the suspended police officer tries to solve the case is all too trivial. There is nothing that can grab the audience’s attention and how the mystery unravels is just all too simple, so much so that the viewer feels no emotion. 

The screenplay is not strong at any point of the movie, and this has to be the main reason the movie fails to soar high. There are also a number of suspects that we are introduced to in the movie which feels like it just drags on, but none of them really matter at the end of the movie. The ending in itself was less than pleasing, as we see the puzzle unravel. Even the final revelation does not keep the viewers on the edge of their seat, mostly because they would have given up on the movie by this point. 

The only laugh is the one that comes from Murali Gopi’s character in the final scene, where he tries to prove to Sreekuttan that he had the whole case figured out. With nothing really working in the story, the crime or the investigation, Kochaal becomes a rather dull affair that is just too stretched. 

One could try and make the point that the music score in the final act is decent, but there is simply no use for arousing music when the movie in itself has drenched itself by being less than captivating. There is nothing special in anybody’s acting, but Krishna Shankar comes out as charming in the first act, only for it to soon be taken out of the equation in the movie’s second half. 

Verdict: Kochaal does not offer the viewers anything special and even feels like it has dragged on. The screenplay weighs down the movie, which has an investigation that is trivial and an ending that is just bland and all too simple.