Years later, in 2024, a film crew arrived to shoot a period horror-thriller. The director, a young man from Kochi named Aravind, had heard whispers of the forgotten chant and decided to weave it into his film's climax — hoping to add authenticity. He tracked down Unnimaya, who reluctantly recited the lyrics in exchange for a promise: never film the full performance at midnight in the forest.

Visually, 2024 is a watershed year. The cinematography in films like Malaikottai Vaaliban (Madhu Neelakandan) and Bramayugam (Shehnad Jalal) rivals international standards. The use of lighting, particularly in the latter’s black-and-white palette, demonstrates a maturity in visual storytelling that moves away from the bright, saturated colors typical of Indian commercial cinema.

Following the massive success of 2018 , the appetite for real-life stories remains voracious. 2024 saw the release of Anand Sribala , an investigative drama based on true events, and the industry continues to mine local news stories for cinematic inspiration, treating real life with the gravitas of a thriller.