Kayamkulam Kochunni is a 2018 Indian Malayalam-language period action film directed by Rosshan Andrrews and written by Bobby & Sanjay.

It is based on the life of Kayamkulam Kochunni, a famed highwayman who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor during the British Raj in the early 19th century Central Travancore.

The film stars Mohanlal in an extended cameo as Ithikkara pakki along with Nivin Pauly in the title role as Kayamkulam Kochunni.

In August 2016, Rosshan Andrrews confirmed directing the film, with a screenplay by his regular collaborators Bobby and Sanjay.

Kayamkulam Kochunni released on 11 October 2018 met with a positive critical response and was a commercial success becoming the highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year earning ₹45 crore.

During his time there, Kochunni sees Janaki, a Hindu lower-caste girl who is a servant, and falls in love with her, also learning from her that Thangal, a state-renowned fight master, has opened a school to train students in martial art.

Kochunni goes to the school but is turned away by Thangal on the basis that, like his father, he might become an even bigger thief by learning the martial art.

However, their henchmen beat him up during his return and the Brahmins falsely accuse him on grounds of robbery and punish him by dipping his hand in boiling oil and hanging him upside down for four days.

He is then subjected to intense and hard training by Pakki and his gang of three thieves, Mammad, Kunju Marakkar and Noor Ahmed.

At present, his capital punishment is fixed and at that time arrives Thangal, his former Kalari Master to see him in jail lastly.

By late August 2016, Rosshan Andrrews confirmed via media outlets that he would be directing a film based on the life of Kerala's heroic outlaw Kayamkulam Kochunni, written by his regular collaborators Bobby & Sanjay and Nivin Pauly playing the title character, to be produced by Gokulam Gopalan.

According to Andrrews, the film would feature Kochunni's life before and after his transition as a thief, his survival attempts, romance, and the social structure during the time.

[4] Bobby and Sanjay collected a large amount of information beyond what was already known through Kottarathil Sankunni's Aithihyamala and through hearsay.

Amala's character was said to be an important figure in Kochunni's life; Priyanka plays the role of Suhra, his wife.

[12] In late 2017, Amala opted out from the film due to scheduling conflicts, who was replaced by Priya Anand.

Andrrews said the rain affected their schedule and had to make changes, which conflicted with Amala's dates who had commitments in Tamil films.

[7] In early January 2018, Nivin and Andrrews announced that Mohanlal would appear in the film in the role of Ithikkara Pakki, a robber contemporary to Kochunni.

[14] In a February 2018 interview, Sanjay revealed that Mohanlal has 40 minutes screen time who appears at a particular juncture in the story, "we wished for someone of his stature to play this character.

[15] In March 2018, Nora Fatehi was confirmed to be appearing in a song sequence in the film, which also features Nivin.

[4] Mohanlal joined the sets in Mangalore on 13 February 2018 and began filming from the following day with the combination scenes between Ithikkara Pakki and Kochunni.

Kayamkulam Kochunni was initially set to release on 15 August 2018, but was postponed for about a week due to delays in completing the post-production.

[28] Anna M M Vetticad of The First Post wrote, "Such carefully crafted imagery ensures that despite its visual scale, heart-stopping action, high-adrenaline chases and Gopi Sundar's pulsating music, the dominant takeaway from Kayamkulam Kochunni is its politics and humanity.

"[29] Sajin Shrijith of The New Indian Express gave a rating 3.5/5 and wrote, "It's not the spectacle from Kayamkulam Kochunni that stayed with me after leaving the theatre; it's the characters.

The film has what it takes to bring alive all those visuals you had in mind, when you heard or read the story wonderstruck as a little kid.

"[32] Priyanka Sundar of The Hindustan Times gave a rating 3/5 and wrote, "Nivin Pauly's Kayamkulam Kochunni is the journey of a man who helped his people start a revolution against the oppressors in power.

"[33] Manoj Kumar R of The Indian Express gave a rating of 2/5 and wrote, "Writers Bobby and Sanjay could have made the film more dark and gritty, instead of making it a simple black-and-white story told in broad strokes.