12th Man is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language mystery thriller film directed by Jeethu Joseph and produced by Antony Perumbavoor through Aashirvad Cinemas, with a screenplay by K. R. Krishna Kumar and based on a story by Sunir Khetarpal. The film stars Mohanlal, with an ensemble cast including Unni Mukundan, Anusree, Anu Sithara, Saiju Kurup, Rahul Madhav, Chandunath Nair, Anu Mohan, Priyanka Nair, Leona Lishoy, Aditi Ravi, Sshivada. This film is loosely based on the core idea of 2016 Italian film Perfect Strangers.
The original background score and a song was composed by Anil Johnson. Principal photography took place from August to October 2021 lasting 48 days and post-production went up to March 2022. The film was shot extensively at a custom-built mansion in a hillside resort in Kulamavu, Idukki district, and the remaining in Ernakulam. 12th Man was released directly on Disney+ Hotstar on 20 May 2022.[1]
Plot
11 friends: Fida, Mathew and his wife Shiny, Sam and his wife Merin, Zachariah and his wife Annie, Siddharth and his fiancée Aarathy, and Jithesh and his wife Dr. Nayana, gather at a resort for the bachelor party of their friend, Siddharth. Out of the group, Annie, Fida, Jithesh, Mathew, Merin, Siddharth, and Zachariah are college mates. They are interrupted by a seemingly annoying person, Chandrashekhar, who demands alcohol from them; they pacify and send him away.
During dinner, an argument happens between the friends when Fida claims that even though they are friends, there are always certain secrets kept within them that they would not even share with their own spouse. To settle the argument, they decide to play a game wherein each one of them are to keep their phones on the table and publicly announce the text messages they receive as well as keep their phones on speaker, should they receive a call.
This leads to many embarrassing secrets getting revealed. The main conflict happens when Siddharth gets a call from one of his friends asking him about the name of abortion pills used by him when he made one amongst the group pregnant. This leads to a brawl amongst them as he is unmarried, leading everyone to believe that he must have had an affair with one of their wives. As the night progresses, Shiny is revealed to have fallen to her death on the nearby view point.
An investigation is immediately opened, where the group come to know that Chandrashekhar is actually the DySP, who is on leave. He begins to question each one of them regarding their alibis and possible motives; he also plays the same game from earlier that night. It is revealed that Siddharth was not the one having an affair, but was merely covering up for Jithesh. When questioned, Jithesh claims that he was having an affair with Shiny, implying that she must have committed suicide to avoid the fear of being humiliated.
The fact that Shiny had bipolar disorder, and also contributes to his claims as Shiny's consulting doctor, confirms that bipolar people do have suicidal tendencies depending on their state, but to everyone's shock, Jithesh's claims are proven wrong as Dr. Nayana claims that it is impossible that Shiny fits into the abortion story as she cannot have children. Chandrashekar finds out that an amount of ₹10 lakh (US$12,000) has been transferred to Shiny's account prior to her death, which is revealed from the calls from one of Mathew's moneylenders.[tone]
It is revealed that only ₹5 lakh (US$6,000) had been transferred from Jithesh's account, meaning that the remaining ₹5 lakh (US$6,000) must have been transferred from the account of the woman involved in the affair. Upon further investigation, it is revealed that Merin is the one who transferred the money and was with whom Jithesh was having an affair with. Merin sought Shiny's help as Aarathy told Siddharth to bring both Jithesh and his lover to her in order to prove his innocence.
Shiny thus requested ₹5 lakh (US$6,000) from both Jithesh and Merin. She then asks Annie to pretend to be Jithesh's lover in front of Aarathy instead of Merin, blackmailing her with a video Shiny recorded of Annie having an affair with a colleague, but Annie refuses. After extensive questioning, Chandrashekar deduces that since Sam and Merin have a joint account, Sam was confused as to why a large amount of money was transferred to Shiny. While confronting Shiny, in a fit of rage, Shiny reveals that it was to hide his wife's affair. An enraged Sam unintentionally pushes her to the edge, making her fall to her death. Chandrashekhar leaves the friends in the room as dawn breaks, leaving their fates unknown.
