January
For a film enthusiast, the year started on a buoyant note. The film that was unanimously celebrated at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) 2022, Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam dropped in on the first half of January.
The first-time collaboration of Lijo Jose Pellisery and Mammootty was a reflective drama that circled around James’ (Mammootty) short tryst with duality and illusion. While travelling with his troupe through a village in Tamil Nadu, James, who runs a drama company, wakes up from his afternoon siesta and fancies himself as a Tamilian called Sundaram. Widely acclaimed by critics and on social media for the execution as well as the performance, the film, unfortunately, didn’t really set the box office on fire.
Bash Mohammed’s rom-com Ennalum Enta Aliya was a surprisingly entertaining, uncomplicated watch set in Dubai, with an unsuspecting fun track involving an elderly couple (Lena and Siddique) and the wispy romance of a young couple (Suraj Venjaramoodu and Gayathri) and an impending elopement.
Ayisha, directed by debutant Aamir Pallikkal, which was loosely based on social activist Nilambur Aysha’s life was a dampener despite the efficient Manju Warrier steering it forward. Lazy writing and uninspiring execution failed to rise the film above the banal.
In the same month, there were back-to-back big releases — Alone, a direct OTT release by Shaji Kailas set in the backdrop of the pandemic had only one actor — Mohanlal. He played a character who gets stuck inside a flat owing to the pandemic. But even Mohanlal wasn’t enough to add chutzpah to the dull narrative that rode on platitudes. While Thankam, directed by Saheed Arafath, and written by Syam Pushkaran, pivots around the gold jewellery trading in Palakkad that gradually develops into a murder mystery. With fine performances from Biju Menon, Vineeth Sreenivasan and Girish Kulkarni, the film, despite positive reviews, failed to revive the box office.
February
The year so far has also witnessed several debut directorial ventures, that were mostly made for the OTT crowd and ended up without buyers and therefore had to be accommodated in theatres. Lack of original ideas and lazy execution ensured that they didn’t overstay their welcome at the theatres.
Iratta can be termed one of the most promising directorial debuts of this year. Rohit MG centres his murder mystery around twins, ASI Vinod and DYSP Pramod. The film starts to unravel with the murder of a twin, leading to an investigation and some startling disclosures that can have long-lasting effects on relationships. Despite a stellar performance from Joju George, the film failed to bring in numbers at the box office. Maybe the dark theme kept the family audience away.
A day before the release of Romancham (which was slated to release last year), its producer wrote a pensive note on Instagram, urging people to watch the film and how its fate will decide his survival in the industry. It also introduced yet another talented director into Malayalam cinema — Jithu Madhavan. The narrative spins around seven men huddled inside a grubby, rundown house in Bangalore suburbs. An Ojo board session puts them in touch with a female ghost, leading to a flurry of hilarious events. With just the right touch of irreverence and bonhomie, Romancham was quickly lapped up by the young crowd and it transformed into the biggest box office draw of the year so far. The film didn’t take much time to enter the Rs 50-crore club.
If Mammootty delivered a classic a month ago, he got into an untidy mess with an unappetizing investigative thriller with regressive undertones in B Unnikrishnan’s Christopher. With a bunch of cursory female characters, it was yet another instance of a superstar glorification vehicle gone sour.
Nikhil Murali’s Pranaya Vilasam, a charming rom-com that facilitates the romance of two generations made more noise when it was released on OTT. There is a husband battling a mid-life crisis, seeking validation in the arms of his former girlfriend. A neglected wife and an adult son who is still figuring out his lover. The mother’s death reopens a forgotten romance in her past, leading to bruised egos and realisations. Effective performances and engaging narrative ensured that a film that was overlooked in theatres was devoured on OTT.
Bhavana’s stunning comeback through a warm and cozy rom-com Ntikkakkakkoru Premandaarnnu, directed by Adhil M Ashraf was the highlight of February. She played a single woman seeking divorce from her toxic spouse. But at the core is a poignant romance between the woman and her former lover (Sharafudeen), who has never gotten over her. The treatment is lighthearted but some of the subtexts hit home.
Meanwhile, there were always four to five releases weekly that hardly registered.
March
Finally, Thuramukham, set in the '40s that throws light on the Chappa labour allocation system, got a release. Except for the performances (Nivin Pauly, Poornima Indrajith and Joju George were superb), this technically topnotch Rajeev Ravi film largely remained a tedious watch. Krishand’s Purusha Pretham, a police procedural, though not as magnificent as his debut (Aavasavyuham) was still an interesting watch, topped by some surprisingly good performances.
Meanwhile, Manju Warrier continued with her flavourless choice of films with Mahesh Vettiyar’s Vellari Pattanam. Just one of those instances when you are stoked by the one-liner (The efficient and canny elder sibling who carries forward her father’s political legacy) that gets squandered while adapting on screen (bad attempt to do a Sandesham). And Soubin Shahir once again proves that when thrown out of his comfort zone, things can get icky for the actor in him.
April-June
Priyadarshan’s Corona Papers, a remake of 8 Thottakal, was mostly dull, with Shane Nigam struggling to add heft to his first outing as a cop. Enthada Shaji directed by Godfy Xavier Babu, headlining Nivetha Thomas and Kunchacko Boban was an awful watered-down version of Ranjith’s Pranchiyettan and the Saint. Ganesh Raj’s Pookkalam was a promising idea that stumbles in execution, thereby pouring cold water on Vijayaraghavan’s superb internal and external transformation as a 100-year-old.
But then things started looking up with Madanolsavam, the debut directorial of Sudheesh Gopinath, texturally similar to last year’s Nna Thaan Case Kodu. You have a back-in-form Suraj Venjaramoodu playing a guy who makes a living by selling painted chickens. But things turn murky when he is made a scapegoat in electoral fraud as his name is similar to a right-wing politician. Fun, thoughtful and irreverent.
While the much-awaited Neelavelicham, Aashiq Abu’s version of the 1960 classic Bhargavi Nilayam, remained a superb theatre experience, despite the underwhelming performances of the main leads. Ayalvaashi (debut by Irshad Parari) had two friends (Soubin Shahir and Binu Pappu) getting needlessly pitted against each other and how they stretched the screenplay to accommodate a mostly unremarkable narrative.
But Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham, directed by debutant Muhashin Nalakath would be my pick of the month. A poignant little story that unspools in the backdrop of pandemic-hit north Kerala, you find yourself being swept into a rollercoaster of emotions, powered by characters that stay with you for a long time. The writing (Harshad) is understated yet satisfying.
Ashraf Hamza’s Sulaikha Manzil focused on a Malabar Muslim wedding and was more a flashy home video that endorsed regressive ideas.
Akhil Sathyan, yet another promising director enters the marquee with a lengthy rom-com, Pachuvum Athbudha Vilakkum, headlining Fahadh Faasil along with a host of lovely actors. The highlight would be Anjana Jayaprakash who is mesmerising as the perceptive, emotional, and plain-speaking Hamsadhwani. True, Akhil has very evident influences of his legendary father Sathyan Anthikad, but the old wine is served in a sparkling new bottle.
May had three interesting films — 2018, Jude Antony’s memorable cinematic tribute (despite chaotic writing and characters) to the heroes of the 2018 Kerala floods (reportedly, the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all times), Sudhi Maddison’s Neymar, a middling feel-good drama that has two boys bonding over a dog, and Thrishanku, a rom-com, directed by Achyut Vinayak, that has an elopement that goes hilariously wrong.
June had around 21 releases. The most-awaited Fahadh Faasil-Pawan Kumar association, Dhoomam that was a message film about the business of narcotics camouflaged as a limpid thriller failed at all counts. While debutant Stephy Zavier’s Madhura Manohara Moham was a passive fun film that turned counter-productive due to its absurdly written female representation.
So far the year looks abysmally disappointing, with far too many films and only a handful making some sort of an impression. The infrequency of well-made superstar films seems to be taking a heavy toll on the box office. Or the audience would rather wait for OTT unless it is a film that promises a great theatre experience.
What to look forward to in the rest of 2023?
Currently, there are only three biggies that promise to make some noise at the box office — Dulquer Salmaan (his last theatre release was Kurup in 2021) starrer King of Kotha, directed by again a newcomer, Abhilash Joshiy. The trailer hints at an out-and-out commercial potboiler, with Dulquer playing a gangster in a fictional town called Kotha. For Dulquer, this will be a test dose as it is unfamiliar terrain for him (August release). The other one will be Lijo Jose Pellisery’s biggest film to date, Malaikottai Valiban (December release), in which he teams up with Mohanlal for the first time. Reportedly set in a different era, with the actor playing a wrestler, this is a crucial film for Mohanlal who has been going through a lean patch lately.
Jithin Lal’s Ajayante Randam Moshanam, an epic period action drama, in which Tovino Thomas comes in a triple role is another film that has created a lot of buzz already.
Mammootty has three releases this year — Jeo Baby’s Kaathal co-starring Jyothika, which is said to be a direct OTT release, cinematographer Roby Raj’s directorial debut Kannur Squad, a crime drama thriller and Bazooka, a crime drama directed by debutant Deeno Dennis.
With a tepid first half, let’s hope the tempo will pick up post-interval for Malayalam cinema.
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