Kummatty

The film opens with a sunrise over the mountains and the village landscape, grounding us in the quiet beauty of everyday life. Chindan wakes, brushes his teeth, and heads to school while his mother prepares vegetables. The calm morning sets the stage for the world of wonder to unfold.

Chindan and a friend go to the temple to receive offerings while an old woman sweeps the floors. Chindan, in playful mischief, whispers 'Kummatty' and then runs away, hinting at the bogeyman's looming presence in the village. The moment blends mischief with a creeping sense of myth.

Children walk to school through lush white fields as they are taught about elections and the rules of voting. The lesson situates civic life within the rural landscape, expanding Chindan’s world beyond games. The fields become a canvas for community life and curiosity.

Back home, Chindan plays with a caged parrot and almost throws a stone at a black dog. He stops himself, choosing mercy over aggression as the dog vanishes into the distance. The moment threads gentle compassion into the fabric of his adventures.

Chindan gathers his school friends and plays by the river, the group enjoying carefree moments beneath the open sky. The river setting amplifies a sense of freedom and innocence that will be tested later. Their laughter fills the landscape with a sense of communal youth.

The next day, three men discuss a woman’s deteriorating health and visit her house, where a doctor attempts to pull negative energy from her body. Chindan watches with piqued curiosity, standing at the edge of science and superstition. The scene introduces the village’s tension between belief and medicine.

The old temple woman brings a pot of water, which the children snatch away, prompting a curse: she vows to send them to Kummatty. Chindan and friends sing about Kummatty’s descent, turning myth into a living rumor that tugs at their imagination.

A man arrives in the village with a cloth sack and bohemian animal masks hanging on a rod. Chindan and two girls spot him as he sings and rests under a tree, his presence both eerie and captivating. His arrival stirs a nocturnal curiosity that travels through the village.

In the following morning, the children watch the man bathe in the ancient pool and later witness him performing at the school with a tambourine. The village bursts with excitement as the figure of Kummatty becomes a shared legend. The line between play and myth begins to blur.

Chindan quietly befriends Kummatty, who conjures fruit for him, and then reveals biscuits shaped like birds to all the children. The simple tokens of magic deepen the sense of innocent wonder and friendship. The spectacle solidifies Kummatty’s role in their imaginative world.

The next day, Chindan helps the old woman by bringing her water to the temple and learns that Kummatty is ill. He races to a doctor, hoping to help, while the bond between child and bogeyman strengthens the emotional stakes. The illness tests the village’s faith in the mystical visitor.

Kummatty gathers his masks and leaves for another place, and Chindan and his friends beg him to stay. As a farewell trick, Kummatty makes the children wear the masks and sit on all fours; they transform into animals, with Chindan becoming a dog. The village watches in astonishment as magic upends their identities.

Chindan, now a dog, ends up at a mansion where a girl keeps many dogs. He is chained at a tree while the other dogs bark from the kennel at night. The girl’s family debates his fate, and a plan to release him in open nature emerges, offering a Pomeranian in exchange.

One year later, Chindan hears faint melodies he longed to hear and runs toward the voice, discovering that Kummatty has returned. Kummatty recognizes the dog as Chindan and embraces him, enabling a miraculous return to humanity. The village gathers to witness the moment, and the film closes with a hopeful montage of birds flying freely as Chindan frees his parrot.