Indrajith Sukumaran's ‘Dheeram’ tries to outrun you with twists, but loses its grip | Movie Review

Every time a new investigative thriller arrives, you hope it will outsmart you. Especially when it’s a murder mystery involving multiple killings, you lean forward a little more, trying to stay a step ahead of the detectives on screen. ‘Dheeram’, directed by Jithin Suresh T and headlined by Indrajith Sukumaran, begins by promising exactly that. It sets up a crime, introduces a police officer who seems sharp enough to crack it, and builds an atmosphere thick with possibilities. But somewhere along the way, the film forgets that thrillers need more than just twists. They need rhythm, clarity and a heartbeat you can connect with.

At the centre of the story is Police Inspector Stalin, played by Indrajith with his signature calm intensity. Stalin is assigned to investigate the murder of a young man. What appears to be a straightforward case slowly starts branching out in unexpected ways.

The setup is functional, even intriguing. But the early portions of the investigation don’t quite grip you. They move mechanically, almost like the film is checking off every typical beat of a police procedural. You don’t feel the urgency of the case or the weight of the crime. The writing by Deepu S Nair and Sandeep Sadanandan tries to establish a world, but the emotional connection is thin in the beginning, making it difficult to fully invest.

Where the film tries to stand out is in its structure. The writers plant characters in ways that appear deliberate, sometimes too deliberate. The story works best when it creates misdirection yet still leaves room for small moments of discovery.

Here, however, some suspects are placed so conveniently that you begin to narrow them down very early. So when the film delivers what should have been its first big reveal, it doesn’t feel earned. You saw it coming.

But just when you think you’ve cracked the film’s code, ‘Dheeram’ flips itself over. Then again. And again. The second half is packed with twist upon twist, making sure you never stay comfortable for more than a minute. To be fair, the writers do get the final laugh. They clearly want to keep the audience guessing until the very end, and they succeed in that mission. The problem is that the twists come at the cost of coherence. The emotional payoff is missing, and some explanations feel too neat for the chaos they arise from.

For instance, when a victim is found stabbed repeatedly in the same spot, the implication is obvious. It clearly signals a personal grudge. But the film treats this as a dramatic discovery rather than a natural deduction. Moments like these dilute the thrill. Clues appear out of thin air, new characters are introduced abruptly, and the film seems more interested in surprising you than convincing you.

Despite this, Indrajith anchors the film with sincerity. His portrayal of Stalin carries a dignity that makes you root for him even when the writing doesn’t fully support his arc. Divya Pillai, Reba Monica John and Nishanth Sagar perform their parts well and fit naturally into the story. The characters connected to the central conflict are also handled in a grounded way, adding the right amount of tension without making anything feel overdone.

The music by Manikandan Ayyappa is one of the film’s biggest strengths. From the very first scenes, the background score builds tension and sustains it, even when the screenplay wavers. It gives the film a pulse, something to hold on to when the narrative becomes too crowded.

‘Dheeram’ is ultimately a film with genuine potential. The core idea is strong, the interconnected plot points are clever and the performances are committed. But the film stumbles because it tries to do too much. In the rush to constantly shock its audience, it forgets to let the story breathe. It forgets that even in a thriller, connection matters as much as surprise.

There are flashes of what the film could have been. Just fewer twists, a tighter script, and a little more heart could have made ‘Dheeram’ the gripping thriller it sets out to be. Instead, it ends up as an ambitious but uneven ride, one that keeps you watching but never fully pulls you in.