Ever since its theatrical release in November last year, netizens have been raving about director Dinjith Ayyathan and writer-cinematographer Bahul Ramesh's mind-bending thriller Eko, starring Sandeep Pradeep, Saurabh Sachdeva, Biana Momin, Vineeth, and Narain, among others. However, the film's twisted climax left many of them wondering whether its main character Kuriachan (Saurabh) is alive or not. At the end of Eko, we learn that Biana Momin's character Mlaathi Chettathi has found that Peeyoos (Sandeep) is not who he claims to be but rather Kuriachan's loyal companion. As Peeyoos goes to Mlaathi's hill station hut, she is sitting on top of a stone formation, looking at something afar with a binocular. Then, Mlaathi tells him that she knows about his real identity and asks him whether he plans to do anything against her. She asks Peeyoos something along the lines of: "What if you have a reason to kill me?"
As Peeyoos thinks about the implications of Mlaathi's comment and her dogs start to encircle him from all corners, he starts to realise that she might also have a hidden agenda. The popular interpretation about the Eko climax has been that Mlaathi has kept Kuriachan captive somewhere in the hills with the use of her dogs. It is in line with the film's thematic element about how dogs can be used for protection or even restriction.
Cinematographer-screenwriter Bahul recently talked about his take on the film's climax to The Hollywood Reporter India. Bahul said that the film has no open ending and that the popular interpretation is also what he wanted to convey with its climax. The writer, for whom Eko forms a part of his so-called 'Animal Trilogy', wanted Kuriachan to stay alive in the climax. Arguing that it was not his intention to leave an open ending, Bahul said that the film's nonlinear storytelling style is a deliberate attempt to ensure that it does not "spoon-feed" the audience.
