Kathal (film)

Kathal - A Jackfruit Mystery also known as Kathal  is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language satirical comedy drama film written by Ashok Mishra and directed by Yashowardhan Mishra for Netflix. The film is produced by Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga and Achin Jain under the banners Balaji Motion Pictures and Sikhya Entertainment. The film features Sanya Malhotra, Anant V Joshi, Vijay Raaz, Rajpal Yadav, Brijendra Kala, Neha Saraf and Raghubir Yadav in prominent roles. The film released on 19 May 2023 via Netflix.

Plot
The movie begins with a local goon Veer Singh 'Veeru' being arrested as a result of an undercover operation led by Inspector Mahima Basoor (Sanya Malhotra). At the press conference, the arrest is announced by SP Angrez Singh Randhawa but Mahima's senior does not reveal her role in this operation, a fact that Mahima's beau Constable Saurabh points out, but she ignores.

Two exotic-breed kathals (jackfruit) go missing from a tree in the garden of the MLA Pateria in the town of Moba. Mahima is assigned to the case. Despite its ridiculous nature, the whole police unit is under much pressure to find the fruit before it ripens. Throughout the case, Mahima faces passive caste based discrimination from her subordinates, including Saurabh's father. SP Randhawa promises to promote her to DSP if she solves the case, but she refuses, asking him to promote Saurabh instead, thereby reducing the hierarchy between them.

After questioning the family and servants of the MLA, Mahima narrows the suspects down to the recently fired gardener Birwa as the chief suspect. The police began to look for him and it is revealed that Birwa had been trying to file a police complaint for his missing daughter Amiya, but was repeatedly turned away by the constables including Saurabh. Mahima is enraged by his neglect but is pressurised by Randhawa to present Birwa as the thief at a press conference the next day.

At the press conference, however, Mahima declares that the jackfruits were stolen by Birwa's daughter Amiya, thereby turning the case into a missing person case in order to quickly rescue the girl. She travels to Birwa's village for questioning and discovers that the girl was likely kidnapped by 3 thugs in a pink Nano, that was stolen from one of her subordinates, Mishra. Meanwhile, a local journalist, Anuj, discovers that Birwa had falsely confessed to his daughter's role in the robbery under the influence of the police. Mahima bribes him with a file containing the details of 43 teenage girls who had gone missing from Moba but were never found, in exchange for him not releasing Birwa's truth.

Relying on intelligence gathered by Saurabh, Mahima and her team pursue the kidnappers to Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, where they finally find Amiya on the cusp of being trafficked to Gulab Seth, a local businessman. After a comic fight, they arrest the traffickers and rescue Amiya.

In the court, Amiya pleads not guilty while Birwa testifies that his daughter had nothing to do with the stolen jackfruits and he was convinced by Mahima to declare his daughter as a thief at the press conference. The prosecution is aghast but Mahima explains the irony of an entire police force engaged in finding stolen jackfruits, while the case of a missing girl was neglected. The judge acquits Amiya due to lack of evidence and commends Mahima for her dedication. As promised, SP Randhawa promotes Saurabh to Sub-Inspector and Mahima is also promoted to DSP and assigned to lead a special cell to combat human trafficking.

In the end, Amiya rejoins her friends and it is revealed that the jackfruits were actually stolen by a group of monkeys.

Development
The film was officially announced in March - 2022.

Filming
The film wrapped up shooting in May 2022.

Music
The music of the film is composed by Ram Sampath. Lyrics are written by Ashok Mishra.

Release
The film was released via Netflix on 19 May 2023.

Critical response
Kathal received mixed to positive reviews from critics.