Malayalam Cinema In No Mood To Slow Down

‘The
film-literate
public
in
Kerala
are
not
happy
watching
run-of-the-mill
movies.’

At
72,
Mammootty
is
in
no
mood
to
slow
down.

The
Malayalam
cinema
superstar
is
displaying
a
voracious
appetite
for
diverse
roles.

In
the
past
two
years,
he
has
played
a
hardened
cop
in

Kannur
Squad,
a
homosexual
in



Kaathal:
The
Core,
an
incarnation
of
the
Devil
in


Bramayugam
and
in



Nanpakal
Nerathu
Mayakkam
he
is
an
irritable
middle-aged
Malayali,
who
wakes
up
from
an
afternoon
slumber
believing
he
is
a
Tamilian
who
disappeared
from
his
village
years
ago.

“When
you
have
someone
like
Mammootty
doing
diverse
roles,
it
tends
to
rub
off
on
others.
Today,
not
just
actors,
but
also
directors
and
writers
are
conscious
of
not
repeating
themselves.
Which
is
why
we
see
such
nuanced
story-telling
and
layered
performances,”
says
veteran
film
critic
Maneesh
Narayanan.

As
a
result,
several
off-beat,
experimental
movies
are
getting
a
rousing
welcome
in
theatres.

“The
lines
between
mainstream
and
arthouse
cinema
in
Malayalam
have
blurred,”
Narayanan
adds.

This
was
pretty
much
the
case
in
the
1980s
and
1990s
as
well,
when
Malayalam
cinema
was
witnessing
what
is
now
known
as
‘the
golden
age’.
The
emergence
of
directors
such
as
P
Padmarajan,
G
Aravindan,
K
G
George,
along
with
the
likes
of
Sibi
Malayil,
Sathyan
Anthikad
and
Hariharan,
ushered
in
timeless
classics
and
blockbusters.

Then
things
went
downhill.

Losing
its
voice

At
the
turn
of
the
century,
Malayalam
cinema
lost
its
voice.

It
was
the
post-internet
boom
and
filmmakers
were
fighting
satellite
rights.
Many
films
began
to
be
tailored
for
television.

In
the
process,
according
to
Narayanan,
Malayalam
cinema
began
mimicking
Tamil
and
Telugu
films.

Things
began
to
change
for
the
better
when
a
group
of
new-age
directors
like
Mahesh
Narayan,
Anwar
Rasheed,
Anjali
Menon,
Lijo
Jose
Pellissery,
Dileesh
Pothan
and
others
resuscitated
Malayalam
cinema,
just
like
their
predecessors
had
in
the
1980s.

The
new
crop
yielded
films
with
a
hyperlink
structure,
which
blends
multiple
storylines,
seemingly
unrelated,
into
a
complex
narrative.
Thus
came
films
such
as

Traffic
and

Chappa
Kurishu.
In
parallel,
there
came
the
rooted
offerings,
such
as



Maheshinte
Prathikaram,
which
were
laced
with
rustic
humour.

Traffic
and



Chappa
Kurishu,
both
released
in
2011,
ushered
in
a
new
wave.

But
Malayalam
cinema
truly
hit
its
apogee
in
2019
with



Kumbalangi
Nights.
It
was
a
film
that
went
beyond
the
borders
of
Kerala
and
South
India.
That
run
has
continued
with
a
spate
of
Rs
100
crore
(Rs
1
billion)
blockbusters
this
year.

As
Hindi,
Tamil
and
Telugu
films
dished
out
lavish,
big-budget
films,
Malayalam
cinema
went
back
to
its
roots
to
rediscover
its
voice.
Camaraderie
and
creative
collaboration
played
a
part
in
empowering
the
new
tribe
of
film-makers
with
technology
and
a
shift
to
digital
filmmaking.

But
few
would
have
imagined
the
blockbuster
year
for
Malayalam
cinema
that
2024
is
turning
out
to
be.

Blockbuster
year

In
February
this
year,
a
raucous
crowd
inside
a
movie
theatre
in
Salem,
Tamil
Nadu,
erupts
into
a
thunderous
applause
when
a
song
breaks
out
during
the
climax
of

Manjummel
Boys,
a
survival
drama.

The
song,

Kanmani
Anbodu,
is
from

Gunaa,
released
in
1991.
Sung
by
Kamal
Haasan
and
S
Janaki,
it
has
gained
cult
status
and
become
the
default
proposal
song
for
Tamilians.

In

Manjummel
Boys,
however,
Director
Chidambaram
uses
this
song
at
a
crucial
juncture
as
an
ode
to
friendship
and
male
bonding.

More
importantly,
by
slipping
in
an
old
Tamil
song
in
a
Malayalam
film
in
2024,
Chidambaram
has
achieved
something
unique.

Manjummel
Boys
would
go
on
to
become
the
highest
grossing
Malayalam
film
in
Tamil
Nadu,
garnering
more
than
Rs
60
crore
(Rs
600
million).
Globally,
the
film,
made
on
a
budget
of
Rs
18
crore
(Rs
180
million),
has
raked
in
close
to
Rs
250
crore
(Rs
2.5
billion)
at
the
box
office
—
the
highest-grossing
Malayalam
film
ever.

The
success
of

Manjummel
Boys
is
not
a
flash
in
the
pan.

A
torrent
of
genre-bending
Malayalam
movies
have
set
the
cash-registers
ringing
this
year.
Take,
for
instance,



Premalu,
a
breezy
rom-com
set
in
Hyderabad.
Co-produced
by
Malayalam
cinema
actor
Fahadh
Faasil,

Premalu,
made
at
just
Rs
3
crore
(Rs
30
million),
would
fetch
a
staggering
Rs
150
crore
(Rs
1.5
billion)
at
the
box
office.

If

Manjummel
Boys
was
a
hit
in
Tamil
Nadu,

Premalu
would
find
resonance
with
the
Telugu-speaking
audience
in
Andhra
and
Telangana.

After
laughing
his
way
to
the
bank
with

Premalu,
Faasil
would
headline



Aavesham,
an
adrenaline-charged
gangster
comedy
set
in
Bengaluru.

Directed
by
veteran
Malayalam
film-maker
Rasheed,

Aavesham
would
turn
out
to
be
the
third
highest
grossing
Malayalam
film
of
the
year,
raking
in
Rs
156
crore
(Rs
1.56
billion).

None
of
these
films
adheres
to
the
conventional
tropes
of
a
masala
entertainer
like

KGF
or

Jailer.
Still,
Malayalam
films
have
stormed
other
South
Indian
states
such
as
Tamil
Nadu,
Karnataka,
Andhra,
and
Telangana,
outperforming
several
films
in
the
states’
native
languages.

The
coup
may
have
taken
place
this
year.
But
the
signs
were
evident
for
more
than
a
decade,
and
it
became
increasingly
apparent
after
the
pandemic,
when
movie-watchers
began
to
throng
theatres.

The
over-the-top
(OTT)
platforms
have
also
been
instrumental
in
boosting
Malayalam
cinema’s
profile.

So
much
so,
that
everyone
from
S
S
Rajamouli,
the
Telugu
movie
director
behind
blockbusters
such
as

Baahubali
and

RRR,
to
leading
Pakistani
actor
Mahira
Khan,
cannot
stop
raving
about
Malayalam
cinema.

Before

Premalu‘s
release,
Rajamouli
had
said:
‘It
is
with
jealousy
and
pain
that
I
admit
the
Malayalam
film
industry
produces
better
actors
and
technicians.’

Sky
the
limit

Faasil,
in
an
interview
to
film
critic
Bhardwaj
Rangan,
asserts
that
the
sky
is
the
limit
for
Malayalam
filmmakers.

‘Do
anything
in
Malayalam
cinema
in
the
next
five
years.
Do
a
film
without
dialogues,
without
music,
a
black-and-white
film.
This
is
the
time
to
push
the
boundaries
and
explore,’
he
says.

Naryanan
gives
the
credit
to
the
audiences.

“I
think
we
have
a
film-literate
public
in
Kerala
who
are
knowledgeable
about
not
just
Indian
cinema,
but
world
cinema.
They
are
not
happy
watching
the
run-of-the-mill
movies.
They
want
to
be
constantly
challenged
and
stimulated,”
he
says.

However,
despite
Malayalam
cinema’s
growing
acceptance
across
the
country,
many
producers
still
have
to
fight
a
battle
to
break
even.
Barring
a
few
films
starring
Mohanlal,
Mammootty,
and
Faasil,
the
others
have
to
prove
themselves
at
the
box-office
before
they
can
find
space
on
OTT
platforms.

But,
like
Mammootty,
Malayalam
cinema
is
in
no
mood
to
slow
down.