The teaser of Dhyan Sreenivasan’s upcoming film Detective Ujjwalan, written and directed by debutant duo Indraneel Gopeekrishnan and Rahul G, was launched by the makers on Sunday.

The 96-second teaser begins with two children asking their father, “Why did you get scared when you heard about Kokkachi?” The father begins to tell a spooky story, revealing, “Kokkachi (a mythical figure said to scare misbehaving children) is real. I’ve seen it myself,” giving the children a fright. As he speaks, we catch glimpses of a terrifying masked figure. The teaser then shifts focus to Ujjwalan (Dhyan), a man known for handling more than just minor village disputes. Someone remarks, “He doesn’t just deal with coconut thefts and land issues, right?” We also see a character watching Hitchcock’s Psycho on an old VCR. When a body is discovered under mysterious circumstances, the local police turn to Ujjwalan for help. With more brutal crimes shaking the village, Ujjwalan steps in to investigate. The film promises to be a gripping mystery thriller centred around a local sleuth.

Sophia Paul’s Weekend Blockbusters is producing Detective Ujjwalan, which is planned as the second instalment in the Weekend Cinematic Universe (WCU), launched with the Tovino Thomas-starrer Minnal Murali (2021). The banner’s recently announced zombie film Jambi, directed by George Kora, is also part of the same universe.

Detective Ujjwalan also features Siju Wilson, Kottayam Nazeer, Rony David Raj, Seema G Nair, Nirmal Palazhi, and Kalabhavan Navas in prominent roles. The film also marks the feature film debut of popular social media personalities Ameen, Nihal Nizam, Nibraz Noushad, and Shahubas. Its technical crew includes cinematographers Prem Akkattu and Sraiyanti, editor Chaman Chacko, and music director Rzee.