The story of Mumbai Police and its fractured protagonist
Mumbai Police tells the story of ACP Antony Moses, a dedicated police officer who's tantalizingly close to solving a murder case—the death of his closest friend—when a brutal accident leaves him with partial memory loss. What makes the premise work isn't just the amnesia itself, but the cruel irony baked into it: Antony's been reassigned to the very same case he was investigating before the accident. He's forced to retrace his own forgotten steps, piece together clues he himself uncovered, and somehow arrive at answers that his fractured mind can no longer access. The setup's devilishly simple, yet it becomes the engine for a film that's far more interested in how we construct truth from fragments than in serving up easy answers. There's something almost Kafkaesque about watching a man hunt for his own lost knowledge.
Behind the making of Mumbai Police and its cast ensemble
Director Rosshan Andrrews and the writing duo Bobby–Sanjay crafted Mumbai Police as a Malayalam-language neo-noir that would go on to find audiences well beyond Kerala's borders. The film stars Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead role—a performer with real range who'd already carved out space in Malayalam cinema as someone willing to take on morally complicated characters. Jayasurya and Rahman round out the principal cast, supported by Kunjan, Aparna Nair, and Deepa Vijayan, with guest appearances from Shweta Menon and Riyaz Khan adding weight to the ensemble. When it hit theaters in 2013, the film clocked in at a brisk 145 minutes, packing a lot of narrative momentum into that runtime. The production came from Nisad Haneefa Productions, and while Mumbai Police didn't become a massive box-office juggernaut, it found critical appreciation and built a loyal following—the kind of film that film buffs recommend to each other in hushed tones. Its influence clearly rippled outward: the film was later remade in Telugu as Hunt (2023) and in Hindi as Deva (2025), with Andrrews himself helming the Hindi version, which speaks to how durable the core concept proved to be.
What makes Mumbai Police stand out as a psychological thriller
What's striking about Mumbai Police is how it refuses to play by standard cop-thriller rules. Instead of the usual procedural satisfaction—clue leads to clue, suspect to suspect—Andrrews creates something more disorienting and, honestly, more interesting. The film's structure mirrors Antony's fractured consciousness; scenes don't always land where you expect them, and the editing creates a sense of dislocation that mirrors his mental state. Prithviraj's performance anchors the whole enterprise. He doesn't play amnesia as a plot device to be overcome; he plays it as a genuine cognitive and emotional crisis, a man watching himself fail to remember crucial moments, struggling against the gap between what he knows he should know and what he actually knows. The supporting cast—particularly Jayasurya—brings real texture to the investigation, and there's a moment late in the film (won't spoil it) where a character's true allegiance becomes clear that lands with genuine force because we've been misdirected just as thoroughly as Antony has been. Critics have noted the film's willingness to embrace ambiguity and unreliable narration, which isn't always comfortable but is absolutely what makes it memorable. It's the kind of film that doesn't let you off easy, and that refusal to simplify is precisely why it's worth your time.
Where to stream Mumbai Police online
Mumbai Police is currently available on major OTT services, and Movie OTT tracks where you can watch it across all the platforms carrying the title right now. Rather than hunting through multiple streaming apps, you can check the Where to Watch widget at the top of this page to see which service has it available in your region—availability shifts, so it's worth confirming before you settle in. The film's 145-minute runtime means you'll want to carve out a solid evening for it, ideally without interruptions, since the narrative requires your full attention.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Who directed Mumbai Police?
Rosshan Andrrews directed the film, working from a script by Bobby–Sanjay. He clearly believed in the material enough to revisit it later, directing the Hindi remake Deva in 2025.
Q: Is Mumbai Police based on a true story?
No, it's an original screenplay. The story was created specifically for the film by the writing duo Bobby–Sanjay, though it draws on recognizable crime-thriller conventions that feel grounded and plausible.
Q: What's the runtime of Mumbai Police?
The film runs 145 minutes, which gives it enough breathing room to develop its mystery and character arcs without feeling bloated.
Q: Why was Mumbai Police remade in other languages?
The core concept—a cop solving a mystery while grappling with his own memory loss—proved durable enough to adapt. The Telugu remake Hunt arrived in 2023, and Andrrews himself directed the Hindi version Deva in 2025, suggesting the premise has cross-cultural appeal.
Q: What's the IMDb rating for Mumbai Police?
The film holds a 6.9/10 rating on IMDb, reflecting solid critical appreciation, though it's not universally beloved—which is fair, given how deliberately it resists easy answers and audience comfort.
Final thoughts on Mumbai Police
Mumbai Police is a film that respects its audience's intelligence. It won't spoon-feed you answers or neatly resolve every plot thread, and that's exactly what makes it worth watching. If you're the kind of viewer who enjoys thrillers that play with structure and perspective—films that ask you to question what you've seen—then this one's for you. It's not a perfect film, but it's an ambitious one, and in Malayalam cinema of 2013, that ambition felt genuinely refreshing. Don't expect a straightforward whodunit. Expect something stranger and more rewarding.
