Rajan Zachariah is a police inspector posted at Palakkad districtpolice station. Zachariah is a person who doesn't give a tinker's damn about what people think. Zachariah is very close to IG Chandrasekhar and his son Arjun. Arjun and his fiancée die mysteriously in Kaliyoor – a place located on the Kerala-Karnataka border. As per the police reports the deaths were due to Maoist attacks but IG Chandrasekhar and Zachariah refuse to believe it. Zachariah being the godfather of Arjun asks Chandrasekhar to post him at Kaliyoor to find out the truth. Zachariah arrives at Kaliyoor and tries to solve the mystery behind deaths of Arjun and his fiancée and how it is connected to the death of six policemen and Circle Inspector Raghavan. Zachariah understands that Parameshwaran Nambiar is the main figure in the village. Zachariah finds out that Kamala- who is in charge of the brothel along with Nambiar had killed CI Raghavan. Arjun and his fiancée witness the murder and flees away. While escaping from Nambiar's goons Arjun and his fiancée get into a police van asking help by introducing himself as I.G.'s son. Nambiar instructs his goons to attack the police van thereby killing Arjun, his fiancée and the six policemen. Nambiar who is contesting district level elections for the first time, finds Thankachan, caretaker of Kamala's brothel as a possible liability and kills him through his goons under the guise of a Maoist attack. Kamala is Thankachan's daughter which is revealed by a letter written by Thankachan to Kamala before his death. Vengeful Kamala kills Nambiar to avenge the death of her father with the help of Zachariah. Kamala later calls Zachariah to thank him for helping her and she intends to finish him off to wipe the slate clean. Zachariah tactfully arrests her for killing CI Raghavan and Nambiar by acting friendly. Zachariah later rescues the sex workers from the brothel.
In January 2016, it was reported that Mammootty would star in Nithin Renji Panicker's directorial debut, the son of Malayalam screenwriter Renji Panicker. Raai Laxmi was earlier reported to be as the heroine, but later Varalaxmi Sarathkumar was confirmed to be part of the film. The filming commenced in February 2016, and the unit filmed in locations of Kozhikode, Kolar Gold Fields and Pazhani. The filming ended in April.
Release
The film was scheduled for an Eid release, on 7 July. The film's teaser has become one of the most viewed Malayalam film teaser, by completing 5.1 Lakhs "real-time" views in 24 hours. At the time, the Kasaba teaser was the fastest Malayalam teaser to cross the 1 million mark, doing so in four days.
Controversy
On July 19, 2016, Kerala's Women Commission board sent court notices to actor Mammootty, director Nitin Panicker, and producer Alice George for portraying women villainous and as sex workers in the film. Commission chairperson, K Rosakutty Teacher, said that the film used dialogues which were "insulting to womanhood in general". She added, "In the name of freedom of expression, women cannot be insulted whether it is for character or else". When an actor like Mammootty involves in such projects, it may lead to a "dangerous acceptance" of such actions and remarks in the society. The Commission also sent a report to AMMA and Malayalam Cine Technicians Association with a request to revise the film's certification. In one of the most controversial scenes in the film, the rogue police officer character portrayed by Mammootty, walks over to a female police officer, pulls at her belt and makes a sexually inappropriate statement. This scene came under severe criticism right from the film's release. In December 2017, specifically referring to this scene, actress Parvathy criticised the film as having misogynistic dialogue. She faced threats by a section of Mammootty fans, after which she filed a police complaint on December 26. Several people came in support of Parvathy and the controversy sparked a discussion on misogyny in the entire film industry of Kerala, with several actresses mainly under the aegis of Women in Cinema Collective, came to the front questioning the male dominance in Malayalam cinema.
Box office
The movie collected in Kerala on its first day. The film collected from first four days, and from first five days of release at the Kerala box office. The film collected in nine days of its theatrical run in Kerala, and in its final run.
