King of Kotha (2023)

Kotha is a town controlled by drug dealers, chiefly the ruthless Kannan, and the new circle inspector, Shahul, has little hope of cleaning it up. His solution is to dig into the town's past and bring back Raju, the charismatic gang leader who ran Kotha years earlier, until a personal tragedy drove him away. Through a long flashback, the film tells the story of Raju's rise, his friendship with Kannan, his love for Tara and the falling-out that turned the town upside down. King of Kotha is a stylised period gangster saga and the debut of director Abhilash Joshiy, son of veteran filmmaker Joshiy. Dulquer Salmaan also produced it under his own banner, and it was one of the most expensive and widely released Malayalam films of 2023, timed for the Onam festival. Jakes Bejoy and Shaan Rahman composed the music.