Koodathayi Jolly has been a witty reference during meals in Kerala homes ever since her chilling story came out. In post-mortem reports, cyanide is her favorite mix in food to kill people. She allegedly killed six family members between 2002 and 2016 as per the case. Jolly doesn’t appear to be remorseful in trials. When her sister-in-law Renji whose instinct sent Jolly to jail, faced her there, Jolly Joseph was cool and said: It just happened!

Curry & Cyanide: The Jolly Joseph Case on Netflix tries to reveal the deceptive self of Jolly who got married to an affluent Ponnamattam family. A mismatched alliance and the new bride tries to fit in. She wins the family’s trust and respect soon. People in the locality also liked Jolly. She pretends to be a lecturer at a known institute leaving home in the morning to convince her mother-in-law who insists she should work. It sure irked Joseph as her first prey was her mother-in-law. Other shocking deaths in the same house and outside followed in planned intervals, but the impatience of the killer was reflected in shrinking timelines towards the last ones.
I felt the team behind Curry & Cyanide - a true crime documentary treated it as a news program. How was Jolly in her childhood and youth? Was she a disguised psychopath? Did she marry Tom eyeing family property? Curry & Cyanide fails to fetch anything new. No insights into the real motive and the killer. They don’t explore the popular theory in this case that Jolly alone cannot plan and execute all murders. Why didn’t anybody in the Ponnamattam family turn suspicious about unusual deaths in a similar fashion? There may not be any clear answers. The case is in court. What was the hurry to release it?
Jolly’s son Remo never addresses her ‘mom’ while speaking of her crimes. Only her advocate defends her. She may win the case later aided by the loopholes in the investigation. Whatever, how could she smile and serve poison to her husband? How could she sleep in the same house after killing them all?
Is Jolly a human being?