Kathakku Pinnil (English: Behind the Story) is a 1987 Indian Malayalam crime drama film directed by KG George and scripted by Dennis Joseph, based on the story by George.
The plot develops through a woman (Devi Lalitha) narrating her own traumatic life story to a playwright (Mammootty), which is about Vanitha, a young lady trapped by the society into doing a crime she had no choice but to do.
Thampi is staying alone at a house, trying to come up with a new idea for a play for Sukumara Pillai, owner of Gayathri Theatres.
One night, Vanitha, a beautiful woman clad in a light blue saree runs into his home.
Her father, a business man, married a Christian lady against his family's wishes.
One day, her mother walks into their home with a stranger who she claims is the person who provides for them.
Under pressure to earn for themselves, Vanitha goes to meet Palodan who she remembers used to take money from her father.
He is a bar singer at Hotel Blue Moon, owned by both Palodan and the character played by Thilakan.
Unable to pay rent at the women's hostel, she finally ends up staying at the hotel.
The hotel people come searching for Vanitha at Gayathri Theatres, leading to more issues at home of Thampi.
He writes this story into a successful theatre production, ending it with a happy note of how she is acquitted of all charges.
Like a bunch of K. G. George's other films, Kathakku Pinnil also deals with the problems faced by women in the society of Kerala.
According to critic C. S. Venkiteswaran, in his 2016 article for The Hindu, this film, along with Ee Kanni Koodi, traces "the trajectories of a woman’s life in her relationship with man and entanglements with the family and society.