# Ini Utharam

Ini Utharam (transl. Now answer) is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film directed by Sudheesh Ramachandran and written by Ranjith Unni. The film stars Aparna Balamurali, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Harish Uthaman, Siddique.
"Ini Utharam" was released in theaters on October 7, 2022 and received a mixed response from audiences.

## Plot

Home Minister Varkala Dinesan is about to go on a foreign tour. Then he sees in the news that in the Santhanpara crayon factory strike, the police led by CI Karunan attacked a peaceful protesting mob. At that time, SP Ilavarasan comes there and the minister inquires about the Santhanpara issue, but he says that it is not a big problem, the police attacked only for self-defense and it is all people's misunderstandings. SP is very loyal to the minister; he sees the minister getting irritated by mosquito bites, so the SP calls the pest controller, slaps the pest controller guy, and warns him not to repeat it again. Then he happily sends the minister on his way.
While traveling on a bus, Janaki rewinds the past. Janaki is a doctor who is in love with Ashwin, a wildlife photographer. Meanwhile, she gives him a smartphone as a gift because he lives in the wild and doesn't know the ways of urban humans. Both their families are against this affair. Then, someone steals Ashwin's bike. But the police find the bike, and Ashwin's friend Vivek asks him on the phone why he didn't even thank the CI. He tells Janaki that there is nothing to thank; it is his duty and for the bribe. Suddenly, she gets shocked and wakes up from her old memory. Then she gets off the bus and reaches the nearest police station. Janaki tells them that she wants to meet the CI and doesn't tell them why. When they urge her further, she tells them that she killed and buried her friend, Vivek.
First the police did not believe her. But later the news spread to media. When the media came to police station, she revealed before the media about the murder. Parallelly, Vivek's missing was confirmed. So the police take Janaki to the scene of the murder. After reaching there, Janaki twists her words, revealing that the CI is also involved in the murder. This angers the CI and he slaps Janaki, which further escalates the situation. The entire crowd turns against the police at the murder spot. One of the officers calls the SP to come to the scene to help calm the situation.
After the SP reached the spot, they started digging. There, they found a body, but it was not Vivek's—it was someone else's. Then, they discovered a second body, which was Ashwin, Janaki's lover. In addition, CI Karunan's smartwatch was found in the hole, which further pointed all leads to CI Karunan.
The SP began interrogating Janaki and CI Karunan. Janaki refused to reveal anything and told him to ask the CI. Then, CI Karunan started to explain what had actually happened and who the dead men were. Fifteen years ago, when Dineshan, a party candidate, feared losing the election, he falsely accused Ganeshan of sexual harassment. Still, the party ticket was given to Ganeshan. So, Dineshan planned his murder with Karunan. They took a driver, Prakashan's, help. During the accident that led to Ganeshan's death, another truck driver witnessed it. The truck owner went to CI Karunan to report the accident, but Karunan falsely accused the truck driver and put him behind bars.
A few days later, driver Prakashan felt guilty and turned to God for repentance. A few years later, a guilt-ridden Prakashan went to CI Karunan and said he would confess about the accident. Karunan then lured Prakashan to the forest and killed him. Aswin, who was nearby, saw everything, so Karunan killed him too.
After CI Karunan confessed his crimes, he was put on remand. That night, Karunan tried to reach the minister, but no one helped. He then committed suicide. Janaki was set free based on Karunan's confession. Janaki then explained how she found Aswin's body and how she reached the station.
In the film credits, the SI asks how Aswin left his glasses and begins to suspect Janaki. It is revealed that while interrogating Janaki, the SP appreciated her bravery, so he decided to support her. He talked to the minister to "close the Karunan chapter." That night, three people entered the police station and killed Karunan in the presence of the SP and Janaki. At the end, Janaki is seen sitting with the minister, watching the recorded murder video.

## Cast

* Aparna Balamurali as Dr. Janaki Ganesh
* Harish Uthaman as SP Ilavarasan
* Kalabhavan Shajohn as CI Karunan a.k.a Kakka Karunan
* Siddique as Home Minister Varkala Dineshan
* Chandunath G Nair as SI Prashanth Varma
* Jaffar Idukki as Pastor Prakashan
* Siddharth Menon as Ashwin

## Soundtrack

The music of the film is directed by Hesham Abdul Wahab and lyrics is done by Vinayak Sasikumar.
| Song | Singer | Lyricist | Ref. |
| Melleyenne | KS Harishankar | Vinayak Sasikumar | |

## Controversies

The movie was criticized for featuring a dialogue "Nobody will wish to commit a mistake. But after committing a mistake, they'll surely wish to be rescued." and claimed that it is stated in Thirukkural. This dialogue faced many criticisms from Tamil YouTubers since there is no such Kural stating the same and that it was purposefully added to the script to defame the classic work by Tamils.