Jessy is the eldest of the two daughters of a modest family from the countryside of Wayanad, called Poovaranmala. The lower middle-class family finds a livelihood by farming and Jessy's mother Mary stitches clothes to make earnings for the family. Jessy stopped her studies and she helps out doing household chores. She's also seen doing embroidery. Benny, who opens up a textile shop, likes Jessy. One day, when Jessy returns from town with her friend after collecting lining for her mothers' work, Mary tells her to call one of her clients and confirm the measurements for a blouse. Jessy dials a wrong number that is picked by Vishnu who is an auto rickshaw driver from Malappuram. Vishnu calls her back over again a few times, they gradually develop a romantic relationship without seeing each other. Vishnu lives with two sisters. He is depicted as a helpful guy who often helps a family take their sick mother to the hospital. One day Vishnu's sisters call Jessy and ask her to call Vishnu so they can "see him happy." Jessy and Vishnu talk every day without ever seeing each other. One day they decide to meet up at her church festival but Vishnu couldn't as he had to take a sick mother to the hospital. Their phone correspondence transpires for a while. Meanwhile Jessy receives a marriage proposal from Benny, who owns a textile shop. Jessy informs Vishnu that Benny and his mother are coming to see her. She asks Vishnu what to do and he suggests that she stay calm. Benny's mother was unimpressed by Jessy's family and their home. Benny's mother storms out when Jessy's mother asks her to drink tea. His mother does not like Benny marrying Jessy. Jessy is glad and tells Vishnu that the proposal won't happen. Vishnu tells Jessy that his life is hard and she's better off with Benny. They plan on meeting up one day. Benny insists on marrying Jessy despite his mother's opposition. One day he asks the priest for help with persuading his mother. The priest encourages him to do what he wants. Benny tells Jessy's family that he wants to marry Jessy no matter what his mother thinks. Jessy informs Vishnu that her engagement is confirmed. Jessy asks whether Vishnu can come to her hometown but he says that someone who knows her may see them together. One day her family goes to invite their relatives to the engagement. Jessy sees this an opportunity to meet Vishnu. She travels to Kozhikode by herself to see him. Once she arrives at Kozhikode, Jessy tries calling Vishnu on phone, since he had promised to meet her at the bus terminal. However, Vishnu loses his phone in a scuffle and a passerby steals it. Roy, who witnessed it, gets the phone from the thief and meets up with Jessy instead. Since Jessy and Vishnu had never seen each other, she misidentifies Roy to be Vishnu. But Vishnu finds her and Roy leaves them, returning the phone to Vishnu. The couple then tours the city and soon realizes that Roy is stalking them. Vishnu confronts him and they get into a fight at a park. Vishnu leaves with Jessy and they book a room at a lodge to wash their dirty clothes. The lodge owner, who is an acquaintance of Vishnu, visits them in the room and asks them if they were going toMangalore that day. Jessy is confused, Vishnu pulls the lodge owner out of the room away from Jessy. They discuss him having borrowed money from someone and his duty to transport her. The owner also asks him to send pictures of Jessy to someone. When Vishnu gets back to the room, Jessy who has now become suspicious tries to leave the room to return to her hometown. Vishnu coerces her to prevent her from leaving. Meanwhile, Roy tracks them down and arrives at the lodge. A fight ensues between them, Roy manages to subdue Vishnu and rescue Jessy. At the same time, the police arrests Vishnu's accomplices from his home. Roy helps her safely board the bus back to her hometown.
Kappela was the directorial debut of actor Muhammad Musthafa, who was also the writer and has appeared in a role in the film. The film was produced by Vishnu Venu through the production company Kadhaas Untold. Jimshi Khalid was the cinematographer and Sushin Shyam composed the music. The film was shot in Poovaranthode, Thenjippalam, Alungal, and Chelapram, Kozhikode.
Soundtrack
The music of the film was composed by Sushin Shyam with lyrics penned by Vishnu Shobhana.
Release
The official trailer of the film was launched by Millennium Audios on 18 February 2020. The film was released in theatres on 6 March 2020 but could not continue its theatrical run due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Later on, the film was released through the online streaming platform Netflix on 22 June 2020.
Critical reception
The film received positive reviews from critics. Sajin Shrijith of The New Indian Express rated 4 in a scale of 5 and said that "Kappela is the latest entry from Malayalam cinema that joins the league of films that managed to create something brilliant out of minor incidents. It's yet another testament to the fact that focused writers and directors can do wonders regardless of the scale of the material". Gulf News wrote that "Kappela's writing and screenplay with well-sketched characters is its biggest strength. The narration is simple, the mood and tone rooted in reality, conversations are real as the story glides smoothly like a well-oiled machine lending a fly on the wall experience. The casting is pitch perfect and lead actors Anna Ben, Roshan Mathew and Sreenath Bhasi are fantastic". Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion South wrote " parts of the film are pure pleasure because “nothing” really happens, and no one is better at capturing and conveying “nothingness” — the unremarkable everydayness of life — than the directors of the Malayalam film industry.".
