Malayalam cinema…

For a long time, the only idea that my friends had about Malayalam cinema involved big-bosomed women. Of course, that was courtesy Sun TV and their late-night telecast. I was clueless about that part of South Indian cinema for a long time. I have watched Malayalam films all through my childhood and teens. Some of the best films that I’ve seen have been in Malayalam. Some of the stories have been so totally powerful and evocative that I have wondered what kind of an audience is it that can appreciate such cinema? Definitely a mature and sensible one. Believe me, these films can’t even be classified as art-house cinema as Bollywood categorises it. All these great films that I’m talking about were released in commercial theatres. More like middle-of-the-road cinema, in Bollywood terms. Such fantastic stories, such powerful performances…

One of the films that comes to my mind is Sadayam. Mohanlal delivers an amazing performance playing the part of an unemployed painter who lives next-door to a poor family with three girls. When their mother dies and their aunt tries to push these girls into selling their bodies for a living, he decides to take the boldest and most painful step in his life. The film is brilliant, I have to say.
Amruthamgamaya is another painfully honest film. That’s it about Malayalam cinema: complete honesty. So much so that someone who’s used to the candy-floss in Bollywood gets an instant reality check. Not that all reality is painful to watch. There’s so much of beauty in ordinary existence but it takes a master film-maker to know that and weave the idea into an entertaining film. You’ve got to watch Chintavishtayaaya Shyamala to know what I mean! Oh yes, Mallu cinema has done that too and so damn well.

Unfortunately the scene has shifted in the Mallu film world too. Many of the films released nowadays are reminescent of Bollywood. Loud humor, trite one-liners, crass dialogues, weak scripts… But I am confident that one day Malayalam cinema will be back to doing what it does best… Delivering intelligent and honest cinema to the rest of the world.