Unlike how many reviewers remarked, Kuttavum Shikshayum doesn't have pacing issues. Where it does have problems is in its deadweight mystery. There isn't much going for it in terms of texturing the antagonists (as they're regular village folk), so Rajeev Ravi focuses on the atmospherics of rural Rajasthan to engage the viewer. While Asif Ali's character has some semblance of a redemption arc, the rest of the team (played by Alencier Lopez, Sunny Wayne, Senthil Krishna, and Sharafudheen) has none. The script by Sreejith Divakaran and Sibi Thomas (a cop in real life) focuses almost entirely on the finer details of the procedural. For instance, the film features multiple scenes of the team members taking turns to withhold a suspect in a hotel room.
Your enjoyment levels depend on how you take to realistic procedurals in cinema. There aren't any mass moments, punchlines, or a bombastic score. I liked the film more in the second half when the setting shifts from hilly green Kerala to rustic Rajasthan. Both scenes set in a village are particularly chilling. The unfamiliarity of faces, languages, cultures, and intents is put across in a way that someone like Rajeev Ravi truly excels at. The film has a bit of a weak, forgettable conclusion, as I didn't feel like the writers wanted to offer closure to what I'd watched for over 2 hours. Performances are uniformly good, and I wouldn't mind if Rajeev Ravi brings this team back together for a more compelling case in a sequel.
