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Nana Patekar's 'The Confession of Mary' to debut at TIFF
'The Confession of Mary' to premiere at TIFF

Nana Patekar's 'The Confession of Mary' to debut at TIFF

Sep 04, 2026
04:10 pm

What's the story

Veteran actors Nana Patekar, Ashish Vidyarthi, and Adil Hussain will be seen in a new crime drama titled The Confession of Mary. The film will make its grand premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), revealed Bollywood Hungama. Directed by National Award-winning filmmaker Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, the film is based on one of India's most infamous real-life judicial mysteries, the 1966 Madatharuvi murder case from Kerala.

Production details

More about the cast and crew of the film

The Confession of Mary is produced by Subhash Kale and Narendra Hirawat under the banners of Camera Take Films Production and NH Studioz.

The film also stars Gautam Rode, Joy Sengupta, Neha Mahajan, Pankhuri Awasthi, and Meenakshi Martins.

The screenplay has been written by CP Surendran with music by Amar Mohile.

Plot

What is the Madatharuvi murder case?

Set in June 1966, The Confession of Mary revolves around the sensational murder of Mariyakkutty, a 43-year-old widow and mother of five.

Her body was found near the Madatharuvi stream in Ranni, Kerala.

The case drew national attention when witnesses claimed to have seen her with a Roman Catholic priest shortly before her death.

A week later, Father Benedict Onamkulam (37) was arrested for the crime.

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Themes

The film will explore themes of faith, institutional pressure

Father Onamkulam was accused of luring Mariyakkutty under the pretext of giving her a job.

He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death by the District Sessions Court.

This marked the first time in India that a Catholic priest had been sentenced to capital punishment for murder.

The Confession of Mary will explore themes of faith, institutional pressure, and the triumph of truth over falsehoods.

After its premiere at TIFF, more information about its theatrical release will be revealed soon.

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