Thalappavu (literal meaning: turban or headgear, which is a symbol of power, status and protection[1]) is a 2008 Malayalam language period thriller film based on the events related to Naxal Varghese and Police Constable P. Ramachandran Nair, directed by Madhupal and written by Babu Janardhanan.

The movie is based on a real-life confession of a police constable (P. Ramachandran Nair) about gunning down a Naxalite (Arikkad Varghese) in a fake encounter as per the order of his superiors in 1970.

The screenplay by Babu Janardhanan uses the stream of consciousness flow to show the mental state of the constable who feels deranged after the incident.

Lal plays constable Raveendran Pillai whose family life is ruined after the killing of Joseph (Prithviraj Sukumaran), a revolutionary leader fighting for the rights of the hapless farmers of Wayanad.

"[3] Babu Janardhanan who wrote the script said he had carried out extensive research on the life of Naxal Arikkad Varghese before capturing it on paper.

"The spark for the script came from the revelation made by Ramachandran Nair (the police constable) through television channels that he was forced to kill Varghese,” said Janardhanan.

Madhupal says his stint with Rajiv Anchal in Hollywood, Los Angeles helped him polish the quality of the sound track of Thalappavu.

[6] That Thalappavu was Madhupal’s crowning glory became clear when veterans like M. Mukundan and R. Sukumaran (Paadha Mudra and Rajashilpi) gave the film their stamp of approval.