Garudan

Arun Raj Varma's 2023 Malayalam film places an honest police officer and a university teacher inside the same case. Harish runs the investigation while Nishanth unexpectedly finds himself a suspect; one must defend his standing and the other justice. The construction rests on both being right. The officer acts by procedure and the teacher really is innocent, but the system sets them against each other and stepping back becomes impossible for both. Suresh Gopi and Biju Menon lead. The narrative keeps the pace of an investigation and gives little room to action. In the final section the resolution rests on several coincidences and does not quite answer the tension built. Who it's for: those who like Malayalam police drama. Who it's not for: viewers looking for a tightly built mystery; the film leaves gaps in its logic towards the end.