The Pet Detective

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The Pet Detective
The Pet Detective.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPraneesh Vijayan
Written byPraneesh Vijayan
Jai Vishnu
Produced byGokulam Gopalan
Sharaf U Dheen
Starring Sharaf U Dheen
Anupama Parameswaran
Vinayakan
Vinay Forrt
Shyam Mohan
Joemon Jyothir
CinematographyAnend C. Chandran
Edited by Abhinav Sunder Nayak
Music byRajesh Murugesan
Production
companies
Sharaf U Dheen Productions
Sree Gokulam Movies
Distributed bySree Gokulam Movies
Release date
  • 16 October 2025 (2025-10-16)
Running time
116 minutes [1]
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam
Box office17.05 crore [2]

The Pet Detective is a 2025 Indian-Malayalam language action comedy film directed by Praneesh Vijayan, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jai Vishnu. The film stars Sharaf U Dheen in the lead role, also his debut as producer, along with Vinayakan, Vinay Forrt, Anupama Parameswaran, Shyam Mohan and Joemon Jyothir. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

The Pet Detective was theatrically released on 16 October and received positive reviews from critics and audience alike, who praised the cast performances (especially of Sharaf U Dheen, Joemon and Anupama Parameswaran), humor, music, screenplay, editing and direction.

Cast

Plot

Tony Jose Alula (Sharaf U Dheen), an inexperienced young man who inherits his late father’s failing private detective agency, tries to revive the business in hopes of impressing his childhood sweetheart Kaikeyi Menon (Anupama Parameswaran) and her disapproving father. Tony’s first official case—locating a missing pet dog—seems simple but quickly spirals out of control.

During the investigation, Tony and his loyal assistant Sanoop (Joemon Jyothir) accidentally uncover a criminal racket involved in the smuggling of exotic aquatic species, including a rare and valuable fish. Their amateur detective work soon puts them at odds with both the smugglers and the police, particularly Rajath Menon (Vinay Forrt), a police officer and Tony’s former classmate who also serves as his romantic rival.

As Tony digs deeper, the seemingly minor pet-tracking assignment evolves into a chaotic mix of kidnappings, mistaken identities, and a large criminal conspiracy. Despite frequent blunders and misjudgments, Tony becomes a key figure in exposing the operation. The case culminates in an action-packed, comedic showdown that brings the criminals to justice.

In the end, Tony earns newfound respect, wins back Kaikeyi’s trust, and successfully re-establishes his father’s detective agency—establishing himself as an unlikely yet determined “pet detective.

Production

Casting

The film was announced on 7 April 2024 through the Instagram page of Sharaf U Dheen Productions and The Pet Detective Movie. The cast with Sharaf U Dheen himself and Anupama Parameswaran was revealed on the same day. [6]

Filming

Principal photography of the film was wrapped after 83 days, [7] of shooting on 4 September 2024. [8] [9]

Marketing

A new poster was released on the lead actor's birthday. [7] The film’s production house announced a giveaway challenge of iPhone 17 as a part of promotion. The task was to take a screenshot from the song "Tharalitha Yaamam" and create an AI created retro styled image and tag them for participating on the giveaway. The winners should’ve been announced on its release date but was postponed to October 26.

Certification

The Film received a U certificatation from CBFC and a 12A viewing rights from bbfc with rating of moderate violence, threat, injury detail and implied strong language. [10]

Release

Theaterical

The film was initially planned to be released on 25 April 2025, [11] but was postponed to 16 October 2025 due to clash release with Thudarum. Later it was released on limited screens on United Kingdom, Ireland, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain on same dates.

Home media

The streaming rights for The Pet Detective were acquired by ZEE5. It is expected to start streaming from 28 November 2025. [12]

Reception

Ajith of Manorama Online gave a positive response, stating that "the film is an entertaining fun ride for the whole family, similar to films like C.I.D. Moosa ". [13] Vivek Santhosh of Cinema Express gave 3/5 stars, stating that "the film is very much chaotic, but an amusing comic caper" and "follows gleeful absurdity and slapstick rhythm of C.I.D. Moosa and Vettam , though not matching their flair, but funny enough to keep the audience engaged". [14] Anjaidas NT of Mathrubhumi stated that "the film mixes action and comedy equally and gives us a chain comedy film, that was missing from Malayalam films for a long time", and that "the movie is a non stop laughter and guffaw ride, that entertain[ sic ] everyone". He concluded that "actor Sharaf U Dheen has now became the first choice for film makers, who tries action comedy films". [15] SR Praveen of The Hindu reviewed the film as "a moderately funny template comic book caper, in a screenplay that has interesting bits of several characters brought in at various junctures, but each with a backstory". He concluded that "the high point of the film is the climax set in a theme park, where all characters gets gloriously mixed up, like a Priyadarshan film". [16]

References

  1. "The Pet Detective (12A)". British Board of Film Classification . 9 October 2025. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  2. "പതിയെ തുടങ്ങി കത്തിക്കയറിയ വിജയം; ആഗോള ബോക്സ് ഓഫീസിൽ കോടികൾ കൊയ്ത് പെറ്റ് ഡിറ്റക്ടീവ്" [The Pet Detective worldwide collection report]. Reporter TV (in Malayalam). November 5, 2025. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
  3. "Sharaf U Dheen And Anupama Starrer The Pet Detective Tharalitha Yaamam Song Out Now | The Pet Detective: റെട്രോ വൈബിൽ തകർത്ത് ഷറഫുദീനും അനുപമയും; പെറ്റ് ഡിറ്റക്ടീവിലെ തരളിത യാമം ഗാനം പുറത്തുവിട്ടു | Movies News in Malayalam". Zee News Malayalam (in Malayalam). Retrieved 2025-10-01.
  4. "The Pet Detective: Sharaf U Dheen-Anupama Parameswaran's comedy film to hit the big screen soon". www.ottplay.com. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
  5. "The Pet Detective: Anupama Parameswaran's Return To Malayalam Cinema Gets A Release Date On Her Birthday!". Times Now. 2025-02-18. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
  6. "Malayalam actor Sharaf U Dheen turns producer with 'Pet Detective'". The South First. 8 April 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  7. 1 2 "New Poster Of Sharafudheen And Anupama Parameswaran-starrer The Pet Detective Out". News 18. 29 October 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  8. "Sharaf U Dheen's 'Pet Detective' wrapped up". The New Indian Express. 4 September 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  9. "The Pet Detective': It's a wrap for the Sharafudheen- Anupama Parameswaran starrer". The Times of India. 4 September 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  10. "BBFC | BBFC". www.bbfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
  11. "Sharafudheen-Anupama Parameswaran's The Pet Detective gets a new release window". The New Indian Express. 26 September 2025. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  12. "The Pet Detective OTT Release: Sharaf U Dheen – Anupama Parameswaran film to stream on ZEE5". The Indian Express (Malayalam). Retrieved 2025-11-14.
  13. "തിയറ്ററിൽ വീണ്ടും ചിരിയുടെ പൂത്തിരി; പെറ്റ് ഡിറ്റക്ടീവ് റിവ്യൂ". Manorama Online. 16 October 2025. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  14. "The Pet Detective Movie Review: Sharaf U Dheen shines in a chaotic yet amusing comic caper". Cinema Express. 16 October 2025. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  15. "The Pet Detective Review - ചിരി, പൊട്ടിച്ചിരി, കൂട്ടച്ചിരി, കുടുകുടെ ചിരി; ത്രില്ലിംഗ്, എന്റർടെയിനിംഗ് 'ദി പെറ്റ് ഡിറ്റക്ടീവ്'". Mathrubhumi. 16 October 2025. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  16. "'The Pet Detective' movie review: A moderately funny comic book caper with template characters". The Hindu. 16 October 2025. Retrieved 19 October 2025.