Ronit J

Eko (2025) Synopsis:

From The Infinite Chronicles of Kuriachan

In the misty hills of Kaattukunnu, an aging woman and her servant boy struggle to survive the ghosts of the past, as the hunt for Kuriachan — a legendary dog breeder and outlaw — blurs the line between myth, memory, and vengeance, revealing that even in absence, he still rules the hills.

Eko (2025) Review:

Eko (2025) is the third and final instalment in Bahul Ramesh’s Animal Trilogy. The first part, Kishkindha Kaandam (2024) features monkeys, and was one of my top 10 watches of 2024. Part 2, Kerala Crime Season 2 features dogs, and was a significant improvement on Season 1. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that Bahul Ramesh is now one of my favourite contemporary film writers, and I can’t wait to see more of his work. Not only that, he’s also served as cinematographer on all his projects, meaning he’s telling his stories through words as well as visuals!

Eko echoes (pun intended) the mystical magic-realism treatment that we saw Dinjith Ayyathan employ in Kishkindha Kaandam. Eko starts off with Appootty (Ashokan) who is escorting Mohan Pothan (Vineeth) to the hills. They keep talking about the legendary Kuriachan/Kurian, who was a dog breeder that has since gone into hiding after having the police as well as Naxalites hunting him. They also mention the pure bred dogs that he brought here from Malaysia, who now serve as guards for his home and his wife, Mlaathi Chettathi (Biana Momin). Cut to eight months later. Mlaathi is sick and now has a full-time caretaker, Peeyoos (Sandeep Pradeep) living with her. The dogs are only friendly to these two, aggressive and threatening towards others.

However, Naxalites Soman (Ranjith Shekhar) & Sukumaran (Binu Pappu) have come searching for Kurian. Even a man from the Navy, DySP (Narain) is looking for him with the help of Saheer Muhammed (Pappachan). Mohan Pothan’s mysterious disappearance, and the closing in of enemies begins to unravel Kurian’s secrets and mysteries, threatning to upturn everyone’s lives.

A Complex Puzzle of Myth, Mystery, Memory & Vengeance

I am honestly at a loss for words. How do you describe a masterpiece without spoiling anything? Well, this is a review and I did warn you about spoilers in the beginning, but still.

The film takes its time to establish its setting. The serene, mystical hills are constantly shrouded in mists, hiding secrets unbeknownst to most humans. As each of the key players begin to appear on screen, the mystery and the legend around Kurian keeps growing more complex and dense. However, no matter how complex everything seems, it’s never too overwhelming. Dinjith Ayyathan’s keen direction coupled with Bahul Ramesh’s stunning cinematography carry this story forward with gusto and style, never once missing any emotional beat.

The mystery complicates, but also continuously delivers nuggets of reveals and backstories, all of which contribute to the building legend of Kurian. Kurian (Saurabh Sachdeva) doesn’t even make an appearance until the midpoint of the film, and his coming brings with just as many answers as it does questions. Everyone wants to take revenge against this man for deeds we know very little of. Everyone remembers this man as a legend, yet no one has seen him in years. Despite all this, his legendary guard dogs continue to exert his rule with their dominant presence, maintaining his influence even in absence.

Eko is a brilliant film that I seriously believe you should watch with no prior biases. Even if you know things about this film, I’m 100% certain that this will blow your mind.

The Best of Indian Cinema

Most mainstream films are too generic. They don’t take risks, nor do they attempt to be different. Many regional films and indie films do take risks for the better, but many of these fail to gain audience traction. Eko is one of those unique films that retains the creative brilliance of festival films, whilst also having the thrilling spectacle you’d expect from a mainstream film. I cannot comment on the box office success of this film, but I can say that Dinjith Ayyathan and Bahul Ramesh’s team has made two of the best Indian films I’ve seen in the last two years, consistently pushing the limits of cinematic storytelling.

Not only does the film tell a captivating tale, it also raises several thought-provoking questions. What is protection, and what is restriction? How far can a man go to take what he wants? Are dogs better than humans, or are they just beasts trained to follow a master? Nature is not as tameable as you’d expect, and yet there are those who seem to retain an almost mystical control over it. From Naxalites to corrupt cops, even animal breeders and more, Eko crafts a complex story using each of these elements among many others beautifully. Not a single piece feels out of place, and yet, the overwhelming number of pieces only adds to the intricate genius of this masterpiece.

Story, plot, narrative, everything is top notch. The brilliant visuals and the perfect soundtrack that accompanies it further. elevates this film’s overall experience. But my favourite part is the ending. The very last scene left my jaw hanging in awe as I connected the dots. That is just one of themany marks of a great film. And Eko is undoubtedly one of them.

Eko (2025) Ending Explained (SPOILERS)

Peeyoos is revealed to be Kurian’s right hand man who Kurian trained to be like his loyal dog. However, as he’s killing Soman and Sukumaran, they blurt out that he’s not protecting his master, but looking for him. Meanwhile, the DySP/Navy Man and Pappachan speak with Soyi, revealing Peeyoos’ identity to her. Soyi confesses that Mohan Pothan did in fact visit her. During their talk, Pothan reveals that Kurian had tricked Yosiah into getting arrested so he could have Soyi for himself. Now, he’s put Soyi under a sort of life imprisonment in her house much like Yosiah had. Upset, Soyi confronts Kurian when he visits her, but he doesn’t seem regretful. He claims to have done it out of love, but Soyi remains upset.

Pothan is revealed to be killed by dogs. While all suspicion points towards Kurian being the mastermind behind it all, the DySP realises that they might not be looking at the problem correctly. He hypothesises that Kurian did in fact go into hiding 6 years ago. However, he might not be the master of the dogs. Seeing how well the dogs respond to Soyi, it’s possible that she is the one holding the leash. Kurian might not be hiding in a cave protected by his dogs, but instead being held prisoner. “Sometimes protection and restriction both look the same.”

Peeyoos returns to Soyi, finding her sitting by a cliff with a pair of binoculars. She reveals she knows who Peeyoos is. Peeyoos is about to attack her with a knife, but suddenly becomes aware of them being surrounded by Soyi’s dogs. Soyi continues to look through the binoculars. While we never see what she’s looking at, it’s possible she’s keeping an eye on her prisoner, Kurian, smiling as she continues to exact her vengeance.

Is Eko (2025) worth watching?

Yes. Like Kishkindha Kaandam, this just might end up in my top 10 list of movies this year.

In Conclusion:

Eko (2025) is a fantastically mesmerising film whose final line will leave your jaw hanging. An absolute masterpiece.

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