Produced by Ranjith and P. M. Sasidharan, staring Biju Menon and Prithviraj Sukumaran title roles with Gowri Nandha,Anna Rajan, Ranjith,Anil Nedumangad, Anu Mohan, Sabumon Abdusamad,Shaju Shridhar and Kottayam Ramesh Ayyappanum Koshiyum was released on 7 February 2020, and was one of the highest grossing Malayalam films of 2020, earning ₹36.33 crore worldwide.

A Telugu remake, Bheemla Nayak starring Pawan Kalyan and Rana Daggubati was released on 25 February 2022.

Koshy is drunk and nearly passed out in the car's backseat with a case full of alcohol, bought from the military canteen.

The car is stopped on a monthly traffic check, which is a combined police, forest and excise department work.

Within minutes, the officers are startled to see the names of well-known political and media personalities on the contact list of Koshy's mobile phone.

Koshy reveals himself as an ex-army officer living in Kattappana and also the son of an influential and ruthless political leader named Kurian John, who is known for his rude and confrontational behaviour.

Fussing over this and over consultation with his CI Satheesh Kumar, Ayyappan decides to go easy and reveals himself as a native of the area, and that he has only 3 years to retire.

The next day he is brought out on bail by Satheesh, who makes a compromise with Koshy's friend MLA George, that Koshy can sign for all future bail conditions at the same time, and end this melee, in return for not providing original video evidence at the enquiry against Ayyappan.

Kurian John uses his influence to get an arrest warrant for Ayyappan's wife Kannamma (and thus their toddler son) as she was affiliated with a Maoist organisation years ago.

Ayyappanum Koshiyum is the second directorial of writer-turned-director Sachy after Anarkali (2015) which also had Prithviraj Sukumaran and Biju Menon in the main roles.

The film was titled Ayyappanum Koshiyum as Sachy wanted to state that both Prithviraj and Menon have equal importance in the story.

[9] The songs featured in the film and background score were composed by Jakes Bejoy, while the lyrics have been penned by B. K. Harinarayanan, Rafeeq Ahmed, and Nanjiyamma.

[citation needed] The film received positive reviews from critics with praise for performances (particularly Prithviraj Sukumaran and Biju Menon), story, direction, dialogues, cinematography and its tradition to Kerala culture.

[citation needed] The New Indian Express wrote: "This is essentially a masterclass by Sachy on how to make a three-hour film by relying mostly on dialogues which carry enough power to not just reverberate through the walls of the movie hall but also each cell and nerve in your body.

Sachy does that with his characters, a rare skill that not many filmmakers possess today in Malayalam cinema", and praised the performances.

The film also comes with a highly textured screenplay, creating an immaculate balance between lightness and intensity", and the cast gives a stand-out performance, also it is "nearly three hours of riveting reel time devoid of any customary gimmicks".

[13] Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion South wrote "...psychological flourishes make Ayyappanum Koshiyum a very different kind of masala movie about similar-yet-different, different-yet-similar men...as the film progresses, it becomes a very textured thing, with a bubbling undercurrent that keeps questioning a very specific kind of masculinity".

[14] The Times of India said that it is "a commercial film that reflects contemporary socio-political situations aptly" and Sachy "smartly scripts a story" that explains the struggles between an honest police officer and a rich spoiled brat, "the director manages to hold the audience in that compelling mood from start to finish" and "apart from a carefully written script with interesting characterisation, the casting is a bonus".