Dinjith Ayyathan – Bahul Ramesh, EKO is their third collaboration, after Kishkindha Kaandam and part of Bahul’s animal trilogy after Kerala Crime Files Season 2. And with Eko, it becomes clear that Bahul Ramesh is not interested in neat thrillers or clever twists. In both KCF and EKO, he is saying similar things- power that hides behind care, and loyalty that slowly erases free will. This article is not a “what happened in the climax” summary. This is an attempt to understand the psychology of Eko, decode its symbols, and explain the unanswered questions the film deliberately leaves behind.
Spoiler Alert: We will be explaining the entire movie, including the climax.
The World of Eko: A Story That Begins With Absence
The story begins with a void.
Kuriachan — a legendary dog breeder, trainer, fixer, manipulator — has been missing for six years.
What matters is this:
Everyone is still orbiting around Kuriachan, even in his absence.
Some want revenge.
Few want justice.
Some want answers.
And one person wants nothing except his master back.
That absence is the engine of Eko. Kuriachan may not be physically present for most of the film, but his control lingers everywhere — in people, in stories, in fear, and most importantly, in loyalty.
People, Dogs, and Masters: Understanding the Characters of Eko
1. Kuriachan (Saurabh Sachdeva)
Who he is: A notorious dog breeder and trainer with a dark reputation. He is known for his exceptional ability to control dogs and has connections with police, army, and even Naxalites. He owns acres of hills near the Kerala-Karnataka border in a remote area called Kaattukunnu.
Relation to the story: He is the central mystery. The entire film revolves around his disappearance and the search for him. Everyone is looking for Kuriachan – some to find him, some to kill him, some to get answers.
Why he matters: Kuriachan is not just a dog trainer – he is a manipulator of both animals and humans. He treats people like dogs, training them for blind loyalty. He has multiple families, cheats people, and uses his cunning to escape consequences. His most loyal “dog” is not an animal but a human – Manikandan.
2. Mlaathi / Soyi (Biana Momin)
Who she is: Kuriachan’s Malaysian-born wife. Her real name is Soyi. She is an elderly woman living alone in Kuriachan’s isolated hill estate with her caretaker Peeyoos and the dogs.
Relation to Kuriachan: She is his wife, but their relationship is built on lies. Kuriachan manipulated her into marrying him after framing her first husband Yosiah in British Malaya during World War II. She believed Yosiah was dead, but he was actually imprisoned.
Her revenge: She doesn’t kill Kuriachan. Death would be too easy. She keeps him alive but imprisoned – the same “protection” that was actually “restriction” that she suffered under both her husbands.
3. Peeyoos / Manikandan (Sandeep Pradeep)
Who he is: The young caretaker living with Mlaathi Chedathi. But this is a lie. He is NOT the real Peeyoos. His real name is Manikandan – Kuriachan’s most loyal follower, his “human dog.”
Backstory: Manikandan’s parents were Naxalites. They committed suicide by igniting a stick of dynamite while hugging each other. Young Manikandan witnessed their dead bodies. Kuriachan took him in after this trauma and molded him into a ruthless, blindly loyal enforcer.
Relation to Kuriachan: He is Kuriachan’s right-hand man. He has killed for Kuriachan. When Kuriachan disappeared, Manikandan came to Kaattukunnu disguised as “Peeyoos” (a caretaker Mlaathi’s children had arranged) to find his master. He sends money to the real Peeyoos to keep him quiet.
Why he is there: He is searching for Kuriachan. Unlike others who want to harm Kuriachan, Manikandan wants to find and rescue his master. He is the only truly loyal person to Kuriachan.
4. Mohan Pothan (Vineeth)
Who he is: A former close friend and associate of Kuriachan. He was recently released from jail after serving time for a crime Kuriachan framed him for.
Why he is there: He comes to Kaattukunnu seeking revenge and also searching for a rare dog breed. He brings a female dog in heat, hoping to lure Kuriachan’s male dogs and through them, find Kuriachan. Also, it confirms whether the dogs are still under the control of their master or not.
What happens to him: Mohan visits Mlaathi and reveals the truth about Kuriachan’s betrayal – that her first husband Yosiah was not killed but imprisoned. This revelation triggers Mlaathi’s revenge. Later, Mohan is killed by dogs – pushed off a cliff. Mlaathi ordered this killing as revenge for his role in destroying her life in Malaysia.
5. The Navy Officer (Narain)
Who he is: A mysterious ex-Navy officer who arrives at Kaattukunnu searching for Kuriachan.
Relation to Kuriachan: The exact details are not revealed, but Kuriachan cheated or betrayed him in some way. He has a personal vendetta.
Why he is there: He wants to find Kuriachan, likely to confront or kill him. He represents one of the many people Kuriachan has wronged over the years.
6. The Two Truckers / Undercover Policemen (Binu Pappu, Ranjith Shekhar)
Who they are: Two men posing as loggers/truckers. They are actually undercover policemen hunting for Kuriachan.
Why they are there: To find and arrest Kuriachan.
What happens: Manikandan discovers their true identity and kills them to protect Kuriachan.
7. Appootty / Appunni (Ashokan)
Who he is: A local man in Kaattukunnu who knows Kuriachan and his history.
Relation to Kuriachan: He is loyal to Kuriachan, like a “loyal dog.” He helps hide information about Kuriachan and protects his secrets.
Why he matters: He provides exposition about Kuriachan’s legendary abilities with dogs. He also spreads the rumor that Mlaathi practices “Malayan black magic” – which is actually just villagers’ xenophobia. The truth is simpler: she controls the dogs through care and feeding.
8. Pappachan (Saheer Mohammed)
Who he is: Another local character who shares stories and information about Kuriachan.
Role: He helps build the mythology around Kuriachan – the “infinite chronicles” that everyone talks about but no one fully knows.
9. Yosiah
Who he was: Soyi’s first husband in British Malaya. He was a skilled dog trainer who trained rare breed dogs. His dogs were fiercely loyal to him.
The Malaysia Flashback: The First Prison
Soyi was married to Yosiah, a skilled dog trainer. His dogs were fiercely loyal, so loyal that they would not let anyone near her. On paper, this was protection.
In reality, it was a cage.
Soyi could not leave the house.
The dogs would stop her.
Her safety came at the cost of her freedom.
This is the first time Eko introduces its central idea:
protection that removes choice is not kindness.
When Kuriachan and Mohan Pothan arrive by boat, the dogs sense danger immediately. They bark. Block access. They refuse to let Soyi step outside.
This is one of the film’s most important insights:
“No human can measure another human like a dog can.”
The dogs were not controlling Soyi.
They were protecting her from Kuriachan.
Betrayal in Malaysia: Where Everything Breaks
Kuriachan wants two things:
- Yosiah’s rare dogs
- Soyi herself
With Mohan Pothan’s help, Kuriachan frames Yosiah for a crime. Yosiah is imprisoned. Kuriachan tells Soyi her husband is dead.
Heartbroken, isolated, and with no way out, Soyi accepts Kuriachan’s “rescue”.
This is not love.
This is abduction disguised as salvation.
She is taken to India. To Kaattukunnu.
From one prison to another.
The Lie That Sustained a Lifetime
For decades, Mlaathi lives a lie.
Her marriage, her loyalty, her silence, all built on falsehood.
The truth is revealed by Mohan Pothan.
Vineeth as Mohan Pothan
Mohan is not a hero. He is not a saviour. Mohan is a man consumed by Karma. He gave ideas to Kuriachan to frame Yosiah, now Kuriachan betrayed him too, got him imprisoned, destroyed his life.
In his anger, Mohan tells Mlaathi the truth:
Yosiah was never dead.
He was imprisoned.
Kuriachan lied.
This revelation shatters Mlaathi. Her entire life with Kuriachan was built on a lie. He didn’t save her – he kidnapped her. He didn’t love her – she was just another trophy, another thing to control.
Her Patience is what we see next.
Mlaathi’s Revenge: How She Became The Master
Mlaathi does not confront Kuriachan.
She does not scream.
She does not seek sympathy.
Mlaathi, the seemingly powerless woman, begins her own hunt. She uses the one tool Kuriachan taught her to value above all else: loyalty.
As she tells Peeyoos,
“Feeding the dogs is like claiming ownership.”
While Kuriachan was away with his mistresses and business, Mlaathi was quietly feeding his dogs, transferring their allegiance from their loud, absent master to their silent, present one. She became the unseen master.
Loyalty shifts.
Not suddenly.
But completely.
When Kuriachan finally comes to hide in his secret cave, the trap is already set.
The dogs surround the cave.
The dogs, now loyal to Mlaathi, become his jailers
They do not let him leave.
Kuriachan is alive.
But he is contained.
He is fed just enough to survive — through bamboo containers, delivered by dogs.
This is not revenge through violence.
This is revenge through mirroring.
The same protection that imprisoned Soyi now imprisons Kuriachan.
The Central Theme: Protection vs Restriction
At its core, Eko is not about dogs, crime, or revenge.
It is about control disguised as care.
Protection, when imposed without choice, becomes restriction.
Loyalty, when conditioned, becomes obedience.
And obedience, when absolute, destroys identity.
Every major character in Eko exists somewhere on this spectrum.
The Loyal Dog: Who is Peeyoos?
While Mlaathi’s revenge unfolds, another drama plays out. The caretaker, Peeyoos, is not who he seems. He is Manikandan, Kuriachan’s most loyal disciple—his “human dog.”
Manikandan’s backstory is a tragedy. His Naxalite parents committed suicide with dynamite, leaving him an orphan.
Kuriachan took the traumatized boy and forged him into a ruthless weapon, what Kuriachan gave Manikandan was not healing.
This is shown in a subtle way. While the Navy officer is showing the movie to Pappachan, we can hear a background voice-over from the film where a boy asks someone for food, and the other person offers him food.
It was purpose through obedience.
He is in Kaattukunnu disguised as a caretaker for one reason: to find Kuriachan.
Manikandan is the only one searching for Kuriachan out of pure, unwavering loyalty. He kills the undercover cops and, he is the one who removed the break cable and attempts to kill the Navy officer, all to protect a master he hasn’t seen in years.
The Ending Explained: Two Endings, One Truth
The climax of Eko is a masterclass in subtle storytelling, offering two interpretations that both lead to the same terrifying conclusion for Manikandan (disguised as Peeyoos).
Manikandan discovers the bamboo container used to feed Kuriachan. He smells it, and the memory of the Malaysia flashback clicks into place.
The Bamboo Container: This is the most powerful symbol. It’s a direct visual echo of how Yosiah’s dogs fed him in Malaysia.
Mlaathi uses the very method of her first husband’s imprisonment to imprison her second.
He knows. He confronts Mlaathi, ready to force the truth from her. But her dogs surround him, a silent, growling wall of protection.
This is where the brilliance of Bahul Ramesh’s script shines. It’s not about what happens next, but what has already happened.
Ending 1: The Prisoner
In this interpretation, Kuriachan is still alive, trapped in the cave. Mlaathi is his eternal jailer. Manikandan is now trapped in a horrifying stalemate: the only person who knows his master’s location is the one person he cannot touch. He is frozen, a loyal dog with no master to serve, forced to live in the shadow of his master’s captor.
Ending 2: The Judge, Jury, and Executioner
This is the darker, more subtle ending, hinted at by a crucial visual clue. Throughout the film, we see 5-6 dogs around Mlaathi’s house.
In the final confrontation, 12 dogs appear.
Where did the extra dogs come from? They are the guards from Kuriachan’s cave.
Mlaathi has called them back. Why?
1.Kuriachan is dead. Her revenge is complete. She may have finally poisoned his food. The guards are no longer needed.
2.She needs them to control Manikandan. Now that he knows the truth, he is a threat. She has summoned her full army to deal with him.
When Manikandan sees the expanded pack, his eyes fill with tears. He understands. His master is either dead or his fate is sealed, and Mlaathi is now demonstrating her absolute power. This is her checkmate. She has not only imprisoned Kuriachan but has now neutralized his most loyal follower, forcing him to witness her total victory.
The Doubts Eko Doesn’t Answer Directly
Why the Name Eko?
This can be interpreted in multiple ways-
In Japanese, it can mean “transfer of merit.” From Kuriachan to Mlaathi there is an absolute transfer of power.
In Sanskrit, it relates to “Ekam” or “one,” signifying that the dogs obey only one true master.
It also, of course, refers to the echo of Kuriachan’s past sins coming back to haunt him.
Who killed Mohan Pothan?
Mlaathi. She ordered the dogs to push him off the cliff. Her revenge was not just for Kuriachan, but for everyone who had a hand in her lifelong imprisonment, including his co-conspirator.
The Thought Eko Refuses to Let Go
Overall Eko is more than just a mystery thriller; it is a complex psychological drama that rewards patient viewing. I would say, it’s an extension of Kerala Crime Files Season 2, written by Bahul. You can see the similar character shades in Ambili, Ayyappan and Jaison.
The film ends with this standoff. Mlaathi has won. Kuriachan is her prisoner forever or might be dead. Manikandan is neutralized. The Navy Officer has his answer but cannot act on it.
The hunter has become the hunted. The master has become the prisoner. The protector has become the jailer.
This is the echo – the “Eko” – of the past. What Kuriachan did to Soyi in Malaysia has come back to him in Kerala. The manipulation, the lies, the control – all of it echoes back as his punishment.
