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Rahul Sadasivan’s Dies Irae, starring Pranav Mohanlal, is a Malayalam horror film centered around a man who was being haunted by the ghost of his past. Rohan’s life was in complete disarray after he learned about the death of his school classmate, Kani. Rohan pretended not to be affected by the news, but somewhere deep down he wondered if he’d been unfair with her. Rohan and Kani had reconnected during an alumni party. They hooked up and indulged in a fling. Kani developed feelings for him, and when she insisted him to marry her, he ghosted her. She used to repeatedly call and text him, but after a while she completely stopped contacting Rohan. Kani died by suicide; she jumped into a well, and her body was recovered after two days. Rohan decided to meet her parents after he heard the news. He went to her room and kept a red hair clip he found on the desk, perhaps just a little something for memory’s sake. But Rohan had no idea that his life would drastically change after the visit. He felt as if he was being constantly followed by a ghost. If it was Kani, then what did she want from him?
Spoiler Alert
Who was following Rohan?
Rohan assumed that Kani’s ghost was following him, and well, things got out of hand pretty soon. The ghost tortured Rohan; it had bitten him in the hand, dragged his body across the room, and almost choked him to death. Rohan remembered how Kani used to always stroke his hair, and he often felt the ghost running its fingers through his hair, so he shaved his head. But it wasn’t enough to keep the ghost away. Rohan consulted Madhu, Kani’s neighbor. He knew Rohan’s father, Shankar, the owner of a prominent architecture firm, and Rohan assumed that he might just agree to help him since he knew his family. Madhu couldn’t believe the horror that Rohan had been through. It was obvious to him that Kani’s soul wasn’t satisfied, and that was why Rohan felt her presence. He believed that after the 16th day prayer for the peaceful departure of Kani’s soul, maybe things would get better. Rohan stayed up every night; he figured that if he fell asleep, the ghost would start haunting him. Rohan assumed the worst was over when he witnessed the 16th-day ritual. He celebrated the night with his friends and even called Kani’s brother, Kiran, to hang out with him. Seeing Kani’s dead body had left Kiran flustered, and it was evident that he’d been struggling to sleep or even perform day-to-day activities. He broke down when he tried to express how overwhelming his life had lately been. Rohan decided to pour him a drink when he suddenly noticed a force pulling at Kiran’s shirt, and before Rohan could even react, Kiran fell off the balcony and ended up fracturing his legs. He was in critical condition, and Rohan naturally blamed himself for it. That night when he returned home, for the first time, he saw the ghostly figure. But to his surprise, it was a tall, thin, headless man. Rohan and Madhu wondered why the ghost of the man was following him, and they decided to solve the mystery together. Madhu, whose father used to be a priest, was somewhat of a seer. He predicted Kani’s death, although he preferred to keep his gift a secret from the world. Madhu figured that whoever was following Rohan had a deep connection with Kani. Since it all began when Rohan took Kani’s hairclip from her house, he figured that the ghost had possibly been keeping an eye on Rohan since then. Maybe he had been lurking in Kani’s room, and he was furious when Rohan took an object that belonged to Kani. Madhu and Rohan tried to search for clues, but Kani had a reputation of being quiet and not mingling with men. But soon they learned about this one thin guy with curly hair who was seen staring at Kani at the dance class for a couple of days. Later, they learned that the man worked at a nearby printing shop and his name was Philip. According to the shop owner, Philip had moved to Dubai, and he had not been in touch since then. Madhu remembered that Kani’s housemaid, Elsamma, who lived next door, had also mentioned that her son had moved to Dubai for work. He instructed Rohan to have a word with Elsamma so that they could find a way to connect with Philip.
What was Manu’s connection with Kani?
Elsamma was hesitant when Rohan asked her to provide him the Dubai agent’s number. She asked for a moment to find the number, and in the meantime, Rohan noticed a picture of Manu. He was a tall, lanky guy with curly hair, and Rohan eventually figured out that Manu’s formal name was Philip. Rohan sneakily entered the house and unlatched a door where he suspected he might find some clue on Philip. When he entered the room, Rohan was shocked to discover a decaying body lying on the bed. It was obvious that it was Philip, aka Manu’s, body, but why were his skeletal remains in his house, and why did Elsamma lie about her son living in Dubai? Rohan struggled to find answers to these questions. By the time he could comprehend what was going on, Elsamma attacked him from behind, and he collapsed to the ground. There were chants written all around the room; Elsamma repeatedly chanted the verses of ‘Dies Irae,’ the ‘day of the wrath,’ a medieval Latin poem that is sung in mass for the dead. When Rohan regained consciousness, she explained that her son used to be obsessed with Kani, but he never got the opportunity to express his feelings for her. He quietly stared at her from a distance, secretly harboring the desire to be with her someday. But soon Manu fell sick, and his condition only got worse with time. Elsamma noticed that her son’s eyes would brighten only when she would bring a little something that belonged to Kani. Gradually the entire room was filled with Kani’s trinkets, and it was only his desire to feel close to Kani that Elsamma believed had kept him alive. When one day he brought Kani’s anklets that she wore for her dance performances, Manu was overjoyed. He enjoyed watching Kani dance from a distance, and the sound of the ‘ghungroo’ made him feel close to her. This explains why Rohan heard the sound of anklets when the ghost started following him. Manu didn’t survive, but he’d made his mother promise to not bury his body because he wanted to continue living in the mortal world. He knew that his physical death wouldn’t be the end of him, and Kani’s little trinkets would always keep him attached to the mortal world. Elsamma followed the wish of her son and kept his body, and that was why his spirit continued to roam the earth and haunt those who dared to touch or keep anything that belonged to Kani.
Did Rohan Succeed In Liberating Manu’s Spirit?
Elsamma refused to let anyone close to her son’s body, so she figured that she had to get rid of Rohan since he knew too much. She dug a grave for him, but thankfully, Madhu arrived at the scene before things could get any worse. He helped Rohan wake up, and as soon as he figured out what Elsamma was up to, Madhu realized that the only way to liberate Manu’s soul was by removing the ghungroo from his feet since it was the one that had kept him tied to the mortal world. But it was almost impossible to remove the anklets, so Madhu asked Rohan to grab a sharp object for him. When Rohan was searching for a knife in the kitchen, Elsamma attacked him once again. The two got into a physical altercation, and Rohan ended up pushing Elsamma forcefully, and she banged her head and lost consciousness. By the time Rohan managed to make it to the room with a sickle, Madhu was on the floor almost choking to death. Manu’s spirit was in the room, and he wasn’t ready to leave. Rohan refused to give up, and when he couldn’t remove the anklet, he ended up chopping off the skeletal remain. He dismembered Manu’s feet and dumped them in the fire oven. Immediately after, Manu’s spirit left the house through the roof. The fire started to spread across the house, and Manu’s body was finally cremated in the most unexpected way. Elsamma helplessly watched her son’s body burn to dust; although the room had caught fire, she wasn’t ready to leave.
During Dies Irae’s ending, Rohan offered Elsamma his hand, suggesting that he had forgiven her. As a mother, Elsamma struggled with the idea of letting go of her son, and Rohan sympathized with her.
What does the final scene suggest?
Rohan had booked a ticket to fly to the United States to be with his family. He met Madhu one last time before leaving. He was thankful to him for going out of his way to help him. Although Madhu continued working as a contractor, he realized that he was indeed blessed, and he started providing consultation for those struggling with spirits and ghosts. We also learn that Elsamma left town and moved in with her brother.
In Dies Irae’ ending scene, just when Rohan was about to leave for the US, he heard the snap of a hairclip. We walked into his room and discovered the red hairclip that belonged to Kani lying on his bed. During the final scene, a female voice called out to Rohan, suggesting that the madness wasn’t over yet. The hairclip and the female voice hint at the possibility that it was Kani’s ghost. Maybe she’d been watching Rohan solve the pieces of the puzzle with amusement and waited until the last minute to reveal that it wasn’t Manu alone who’d been haunting him, but she was also involved. Perhaps she never really got over Rohan, and when she couldn’t be with him in mortal form, she killed herself only to keep haunting him as a ghost. Perhaps Manu’s spirit had contacted Kani, and that was how she found out that as a spirit she could continue to lurk around and keep a constant watch on the man she fell in love with. But how will Rohan liberate Kani’s spirit? Was something or someone helping her spirit remain trapped in the mortal world? Did Kiran know something more than he should? Did Kani blackmail him in some way? Was that the reason why she threatened to kill him if he dared to speak about his misery? The ambiguous ending leaves room for speculation, but one thing is clear: Rohan’s life isn’t going to be easy, and he will have to meet Madhu very soon to find a solution. Maybe a part 2? Well, you never know!
