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 Jithu Madhavan, 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.