Chenkol

Sethumadhavan (Mohanlal) is released after serving imprisonment of seven years in central jail for murdering Keerikadan Jose (Mohan Raj), a hardcore criminal. Though it was by accident, which he did to save his life, the society is not ready to accept it. For them he is now a hardcore criminal, who had killed someone who ruled the streets for long years. Upon release Sethu visits the medical college to meet his younger brother Rameshan (Yadukrishnan) who is doing a course in medicine. However, Rameshan responds coldly and openly asks Sethu not to make any further visits as it may hurt his reputation.

Sethu realizes that the world around him has undergone a severe change. At home though, his mother Ammu (Kaviyoor Ponnamma) is elated to see him, but his father Achuthan Nair (Thilakan) is not too keen on having him at home. Achuthan Nair, who always wanted Sethu to be a police inspector, broke down completely after Sethu's conviction and has turned into an alcoholic. Remorseful, Sethu looks forward to building up a life outside jail, but he fails to find employment due to the tag of an "ex-convict" labelled on him.

Sethu tries to catch up with his old friend Najeeb (Maniyanpilla Raju), who tells him about the present physical condition of Parameshwaran (Kundara Johny), whom Sethu had severely assaulted in a bid to save his own life. Fully paralysed, Parameshwaran now runs a cycle repair shop with the help of his wife and daughter. Sethu meets Parameshawaran, who is now a completely changed man. With the help of Parameshwaran, Sethu begins selling fish for a living. Keerikadan also had an affair with another woman named Madhavi Varma (Shanthi Krishna) and had two children, Indu (Surbhi Javeri Vyas) and her brother. The illegitimate wife and children of Keerikadan suffer constant threats from Keerikadan's family after his death. The siblings of Keerikadan, who were looking for a chance to unleash vengeance upon Sethu, attack him violently. He is saved by Indu, who happens to be the illegitimate daughter of Keerikadan. She expresses sympathy for him and encourages him to live a new living. Once, in a bid to escape from the brothers of Keerikadan, Sethu beats them up. Achuthan Nair blames Sethu and asks him to stay away from their house, which he agrees to. However, Sethu gradually realizes that for his surroundings, he is still a criminal.

The local police officer warns Sethu for no reason and humiliates him, which creates deep mental anguish in him. Sethu undergoes deep psychological torture, which slowly transforms him into another person. To counter the attacks from Keerikadan's family, Sethu becomes a thug of a local businessman. He slowly becomes a hardcore criminal and has several criminal cases pending in the police station, but he overcomes them with the help of local politicians. With time, his relationship with Indu grows, and he asks her mother for her hand in marriage, which she refuses, flatly citing that he is a criminal whose life has no guarantee. This incident strikes him deeply, and he decides to change. In the meantime, Sethu shockingly finds out that his sister, under the veil of drama acting, is into prostitution, that too with their father acting as the pimp. This deals him a severe mental blow, and he reacts violently to his father. Achuthan Nair, unable to face his son, commits suicide by hanging himself on the ceiling fan of a lodge where the business takes place. Sethu now shifts back to his old village with the rest of his family and starts farming.

Slowly, Madhavi agrees to get Indu married to Sethu, but their teenager son maintains a bitter hatred towards Sethu. Karadi Antony, the younger brother of Keerikadan, is now released from jail and is back to avenge his brother's death. He hunts down Sethu and Indu's family but is killed by Sethu. However, he is shocked when the illegitimate son of Keerikadan (brother of Indu), at this crucial moment, fatally stabs Sethu. Sethu advises him to run away from the spot to save himself, otherwise he too will end up as another criminal of circumstances. Watching him run away, Sethu closes his eyes. At the time of his death, he thinks, "The story of a prince without a crown and a sceptre ends here".

The songs were composed by Johnson master and lyrics were penned by Kaithapram.

• Kerala State Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer - Dr. K. J. Yesudas
• Kerala Film Critics Award for Best Script - A. K. Lohithadas

• Chenkol at IMDb