Artham (1989)

This offbeat investigative drama is based upon a special friendship formed under extraordinary circumstances. A loner named Ben Narendran (Mammootty) prepares a suicide note. He mentions that he is committing suicide as he has nothing to do with his life. He chooses to jump in front of the train to perform the act. He waits for the train but ends up saving another young man named Janardanan (Jayaram) who has the same intention. Janardanan has committed a murder out of desperation and is scared of revenge. Narendran consoles him and offers him to take the blame of the murder so that Janardanan can live freely. As a consequence, Narendran gets sentenced to lifetime imprisonment. While in jail, he writes a book [Sharanalayam] under the pen name "Ben" which becomes immensely popular. He is also awarded by the state, but his true identity is never revealed. Journalist Manasa (Saranya) discovers that the author is behind bars and tries to get a parole for him. Though Narendran is not initially interested, he eventually applies for parole and is granted 28 days of parole so that he can receive the award in person. Once out of jail, Narendran gets word that Janardanan has died mysteriously. He sets out on a mission to find the culprits and destroy those who caused his death. What kind of dangers will he be faced with during his investigation? Will he succeed in finding and bringing to justice the murderers?