| Aparichithan | |
| Director: | Sanjeev Sivan |
| Producer: | Valiyaveettil Siraj |
| Starring: | |
| Music: | Suresh Peters |
| Cinematography: | Santhosh Sivan |
| Editing: | A. Sreekar Prasad |
| Distributor: | Valiyaveettil Movie International |
| Runtime: | 125 min |
| Country: | India |
| Language: | Malayalam |
Aparichithan (English: The Stranger) is a 2004 Indian Malayalam-language horror film directed by Sanjeev Sivan in his directorial debut. It stars Kavya Madhavan, Karthika, and Manya in the lead roles and Mammootty in an extended cameo role. The plot centers around Ouija board and spiritualism. The music was composed by Suresh Peters.[1] [2]
Aparichithan narrates the story of three carefree college friends - Meenu, Simi and Devi, known as "Three Roses" – who keep landing in trouble. After one such incident where Devi, the leader of the trio, is caught red-handed trying to steal question papers on the eve of exams, they go underground to avoid facing their peers and families. With the help of Chacko, Simi's fiancée, they arrange accommodation with a woman psychiatrist who is also an expert in "tantrik" mysticism and Ouija board, in an isolated house. Fresh trouble begins there, leading to the landlady chasing the girls out, saying a wandering soul is following them.
The girls get harassed and threatened by their college mate, Jithulal. Chacko accepts the help of his friend, Vinod Varghese, who promises to take them to a guesthouse out in the woods. Vinod actually has an agenda to cheat the girls by bringing them to Jithulal. Their bus meets with an accident and they are forced to walk along the deserted road through the woods.
They meet a mysterious wildlife photographer and a drunkard, Raghuram. They take shelter at an old bungalow in the forest and have strange experiences. Ram is a nuisance throughout their journey; however, Minu makes good company with him. Ram tells her his stories. He was left only by a younger sister who went missing from Bombay which made him a drunkard and a psycho. After long treatment, Ram returned to his professional life, and in one of his forest tours, he happened to visit a girl named Kalyani who looked exactly like his sister. He offered to take her to Mumbai and she wholeheartedly agreed. But on the day they planned to leave, she too went missing and the Aborigines accused Ram for the incident. Ram searched for her throughout the forest but on another side of the jungle she was brutally raped by Jithu Lal. She was burnt alive by Jithulal and his friend, Vinod.
The spirit of the murdered girl follows the three girls. At sunrise, Chacko and Vinod inform the police inspector that Ram is missing, and learn that Ram already had died in the accident they earlier met with. They return to the forest house, and Minu once again tries using an Ouija board. Ram's spirit comes to them and they flee the house. They discover that Vinod was cheating them. The soul of Ram follows Vinod and kills him in a marsh. The film ends with Minu back home, noticing activity on the Ouija board again.
All the songs were composed by Suresh Peters, with lyrics by Girish Puthenchery. The song "Masam Masam" was recorded within 20 minutes.