Chathur Mukham

Lore & Background

The film follows Thejaswini, a social media addict who runs a CCTV solutions business with Antony. After her phone is destroyed in an accident, she buys an unheard-of brand called Liza from a local reseller website. The phone has attractive features and a low price, but soon unnatural events begin to impact her work, self, and body. She tries to get rid of the phone but finds it pulling her back with greater force. The mystery reveals that the malevolent spirit behind the phone is Adarsh Paul, its creator, who became trapped in his own creation after dying in a lab fire. Those who purchase the phone are given 21 days to live, with the number of days left recorded in the selfie photo taken by victims. Thejaswini discovers her count has dropped from 15 to 4, forcing her and Antony to seek help from retired professor Clement. The trio experiments with a Faraday cage to trap the negative energy, eventually building one illicitly at high cost. After a perilous journey, Antony turns on the machine, ending the spirit's power over them. However, a copy of the phone's contents on a computer is accidentally activated when a desk lamp hits the Enter key, leaving the outcome unknown.

Reader's Guide

Chathur Mukham is notable as a techno-horror film that explores the dangers of over-dependence on technology, framing a smartphone as a vessel for a supernatural entity. The film blends body horror and found-footage elements, as noted by critics, and attempts to provide scientific explanations for its horror, with characters dismissing traditional exorcism and black magic. It received positive reviews for its writing and Manju Warrier's performance as a woman possessed by her smartphone. The film was released theatrically on 8 April 2021 but was restricted after a week due to the COVID-19 second wave in India. It grossed ₹1.7 crore against a budget of ₹5.5 crore. Its selection to BIFAN, CIFF, and MIFF highlights its international recognition within the fantasy and horror festival circuit. The film's ending, with the computer activating a copy of the Liza phone, leaves the threat unresolved, suggesting that negative energy cannot be destroyed and may return in new forms.

Did You Know?

• The film was shot in Trivandrum during December 2019 and January 2020.
• The number of days a victim has to live is recorded in the selfie photo taken on the Liza phone.

Narrative Architecture & Plot

The film employs a layered narrative structure. Clement, a retired professor from Kerala Agricultural University and lifelong science enthusiast, serves as the framing device. A young man named Antony visits him with an unexplained phenomenon. Over tea, Antony recounts the story of Thejaswini, a social media–obsessed woman who runs a CCTV solutions business in Thiruvananthapuram. After an accident at a temple mudiyattam ritual destroys her phone, she purchases a cheap, unknown-brand device called Liza from a local reseller site. Unnatural events follow, escalating to physical and professional harm. The true antagonist is Adarsh Paul, the phone's creator, who in life was humiliated when an investor rejected the device over a faulty selfie camera and imposed a 21-day deadline. His rage led him to kill an investor, set his lab ablaze, and perish trapped inside. Now a malevolent spirit bound to his creation, he grants each buyer 21 days to live, the countdown visible in their selfie photos. Thejaswini's number plummets from 15 to 4, forcing the trio to build a Faraday cage to trap the negative energy. The ending is deliberately ambiguous: a copy of the phone's data loads onto a computer, a desk lamp strikes the Enter key, and the screen reads "Press ENTER to activate."

Themes & Cultural Commentary

Chathur Mukham positions itself as a cautionary tale about technology's grip on modern life. Thejaswini is introduced as a woman perpetually glued to her phone and a complete social media addict, yet she also embodies grounded values—insisting on education and financial independence before marriage, caring for aging parents, and navigating a fractured sibling relationship with her elder brother Bijesh. The film's central warning is that over-acceptance and dependence on technology can transform one's closest ally into the most dangerous enemy. The 'fourth face' in the title suggests a hidden, unseen dimension of the devices we carry daily. The narrative weaves in Kerala-specific cultural texture: the mudiyattam ritual at a temple, middle-class family dynamics, and a local reseller economy where an unknown phone brand circulates. The scientific framing through Clement—a rationalist, retired agricultural professor who must set aside his ego to accept the supernatural—creates a productive tension between empirical thinking and folk belief, a tension deeply rooted in Indian storytelling traditions. This blend of the rational and the mystical gives the horror a distinctly South Indian flavor while remaining accessible to global audiences.

Production & Creative Team

Chathur Mukham was directed by Ranjeet Kamala Sankar and Salil V, with the screenplay crafted by Abhayakumar K and Anil Kurian. The ensemble cast features Manju Warrier as Thejaswini, Sunny Wayne as Antony, Alencier Ley Lopez as Clement, Niranjana Anoop as Safiya, and Babu Annur as Thejaswini's father, alongside Shyamaprasad and Rony David in supporting roles. Manoj handled the editing, while Abinandhan Ramanujam was responsible for cinematography. Dawn Vincent composed both the original songs and the background score. Production was a joint venture between Jiss Toms and Justin Thomas under the banner Jiss Toms Movies, and Manju Warrier Productions—marking a notable collaboration where the lead actress also served as a producer. The film was released in 2021 and carries the international title 'The Fourth Face,' signaling ambitions beyond the Indian market. The techno-horror thriller genre, combined with the dual-director and dual-screenwriter approach, gives the project a distinctly collaborative creative DNA that sets it apart from more conventional single-author horror films.

Festival Recognition & International Footprint

Despite being a regional Indian production, Chathur Mukham earned meaningful international festival exposure under its English title 'The Fourth Face.' The film was selected for the 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) in South Korea, a prestigious showcase for fantasy and horror cinema worldwide. At BIFAN, it was programmed in the World Fantastic Red section, a curated slot highlighting standout genre entries from around the globe. Beyond South Korea, the film was also selected for the Chuncheon International Film Festival (CIFF), another Korean venue dedicated to cinematic art and genre work. Additionally, it was entered as the Asian representative at the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF), a network that promotes and celebrates genre filmmaking across multiple countries. These selections collectively position the film within a global conversation about horror and fantasy, validating the creative risks taken by its directors and writers in blending Kerala-specific cultural elements with a universal techno-horror premise. The festival circuit provided a platform that extended the film's audience well beyond its home market and introduced its unique narrative to international genre enthusiasts.