KURUP Review

Kurup is a 2021 Crime-Investigation thriller by Srinath Rajendran, starring Dulquer Salmaan as the lead character Kurup. The movie also stars Indrajith, Shine Tom Chacko, Sunny Wayne, Sobhita Dhulipala and others.

Kurup unfolds the story of the longest wanted fugitive in India. The movie portrays Kurup’s past and present lives. Kurup (Dulquer Salmaan) was born as Gopi Krishnan in Kerala. After obtaining a job with the Indian Air Force, he struggled because of his lack of discipline and unwillingness to obey his superiors. A consequence of one of his illegal activities at the camp led to him appearing for an investigation, and thus he faked his suicide death to escape the air force. As a result, he changed his identity and began going by the name Sudhakara Kurup. While this was happening, Kurup was in a relationship with Sharadamma (Sobhita Dhulipala). The couple later moves to the middle east, and Kurup becomes very wealthy there. In some years, Kurup plans to leave the middle east and return to Kerala. Along with his driver, brother-in-law, and other friends, he planned to fake his death in order to get an insurance payout worth 8 lakh, taken from the middle east. Kurup and his friends start searching for a deceased body that looks like Kurup. The rest of the movie surrounds how Kurup and his friends pull off this ruse and what happens to Kurup after the world finds out the truth.

It was exciting to see Dulquer Salmaan playing such a negative character as Kurup considering his stardom and youthful charm. He portrays evilness to the maximum extent. Kurup will be one of the iconic negative characters played by him. Another fantastic performer in Kurup is Shine Tom Chacko as Bhasi Pillai, Kurup’s brother-in-law. He was very apt and suitable as per the timeline of the incident. Indrajith Sukumaran‘s appearance in the movie is exceptional. He excels in the role of DYSP Krishnadas. Sunny Wayne and Sobhita are excellent. The actors who played Kurup’s friends and employees all do a stellar job as well. 

Kurup is undoubtedly the best movie depicting the incident of Sukumara Kurup. Since the movie’s plot is set between 1965 – 1984. Every aspect portrayed was thought out and executed flawlessly. The team researched the timeline and people in depth. The movie provides a glimpse into Sukumara Kurup’s past and the evilness within him from his youth. The team never attempted to glorify Kurup, but instead, like most criminals and fugitives, he was always curious. Since 1984, he has remained uncaught and is one of the most wanted criminals. It was a shocking and shameful event for the state of Kerala and particularly for the Kerala police. He murdered an innocent stranger for the sake of money. 

Most of what in the movie is a fictional assumption or possibility. In the first half, the team focused more on showing the character and surroundings of the Kurup. Kurup’s hideout and investigation during the second half are well portrayed by the writer and director, both through their creativity. In particular, the ending portions were impressive. The movie is at its best in the second half. The first half was long and laggy, while the second half was engaging and exciting. The music and BGM by Sushin Shyam, and the cinematography by Nimish Ravi, were outstanding. Despite the writers’ fantastic work, the first half of the movie could have been more engaging. In addition, reducing the non-linear narrative would have improved the experience. However, the 2nd half compensates for all those disappointing aspects of the narration. Srinath Rajendran has explored the film on a wide scale. A perfect theatre experience with a balanced level of mass and story depth. The filmmaking was exceptional, and it felt like watching a big-budget movie made by other industries.

The mass movie lovers who are looking for a complete mass movie will not be satisfied easily. The team told the audience that there would be fewer mass moments to avoid exalting the lead character, who is a real-life criminal. Glorifying a character like that would be disappointing to the affected people. The team succeeded by avoiding any controversies and glorifications. However, Dulquer’s monumental screen-presence can’t stop bringing that mass for the character Kurup.

Kurup is one of the well-made crime thrillers, carrying the reputation of Malayalam cinema and echoing this real-life incident. With Dulquer’s stardom across other industries, Kurup is becoming popular all over. The movie successfully revived the Malayalam film industry after the second wave of the Pandemic.