Mollywood Cinema have their own class and you wont regret after watching them at least the ones that I am going to suggest ! There have been remakes to other languages but still they miss something.
There has been a plethora of cult classics in malayalam movies before the 2000s but I am not focusing on that.
I started loving malayalam movies during 2010s when there was a different wave in film making. There are few of them which I can watch again and again and never get up without a different kind of feeling over powering me , the feeling which comes to you when you know you have watched something really good!
So these are my personal favorites which I want others to watch.
Traffic (2011)
A trend setter in Malayalam. The treatment and pace of the movie was pretty new to Malayali audience. Was really impressed by the screenplay which is said to be inspired from an incident happened in Chennai.The trailer of the Hindi remake has been released.Hope Bollywood goers find this interesting as it doesnt have big names excluding Manoj Bajpayee and Jimmy Shergil.
Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi (2013)
(Blue Skies, Green Waters, Red Earth)
My all time favorites.The movie is about a teenage guy,along with his friend travels from Kerala to Nagaland to meet his college love, who was not accepted by his parents.But on the way to Nagaland they keep halting, for good amount of time,in several places, which gives them first hand experience of different kinds of people from different circumstances.
A single thought which has truly inspired my heart from the movie:
“എന്റെ വിധി, എന്റെ തീരുമാനങ്ങള് ആണ്”
“My destiny is my decisions”
North 24 Kaatham (2013)
Another Road movie.The story occurs during a strike/bandh day.Three strangers due to circumstances need to travel to from South to North Kerala.The cameraman captures various shades on a harthal day and different modes of transport taken by the characters to reach their destination.The lead Fahadh Faasil also suufers with OCD.
Drishyam (2013)
A gem by director Jeethu Joseph.Most of you might have seen the Hindi remake starring Ajay Devgn.I havent seen the Hindi flick yet, but I am sure its no way near to the acting of Mohanlal.A brilliant innovative plot.The narration of story line was clever and natural which enables the audience to stick in their seats till the end.
Memories (2013)
Yet another brilliant thriller by Jeethu Joseph.The director has shown his brilliance in plot of serial killing.A suspense thriller, where the lead is an alcoholic police officer who is investigating a psychopathic killer.
Mumbai Police (2013)
A crime thriller movie.ACP Antony Mosses finds the killer of his friend ACP Aryan Jacob and just before revealing it, he meets with an accident, causing him to forget everything. Days later, he is forced to investigate the murder once again.An engaging thriller with the mind-boggling climax.If rumours are correct it is being remade in Hindi with John Abraham playing the lead.
Manjaadikuru (2008)
Theatre Release : 2012
(Lucky Red Seeds)
A surprise entrant to the list. :P I guess even most of the Malayalis havent watch this movie,reasons being an art movie which are only screened in Film Festivals.Directed by Anjali Menon won many awards in International Film Festivals.A story of homecoming from late 1980s, when a 10-year-old boy arrives at his grandparents home in rural Kerala to attend his grandfather's funeral. Vicky discovers more about himself, his family and culture than he had expected to. The journey is narrated through the memories of an adult Vicky who returns to the same house to recount the experience.
Thattathin Marayathu (2012)
(Behind the Veil)
A beautiful, simple, muscial love story set against the usual cultural norms which leaves a smile at the end.Vinod an average student from a Hindu household falls in love with Aisha born in a wealthy and influential Muslim family.
Premam (2015)
(Love)
There was no trailer/teaser released for this movie, only two video songs and couple of posters.Yet the movie was able to attract cinema lovers.The story tells the matters of the heart of a young guy named George David from his adolescence to his late 20s.Premam is a cinematic brilliance with both music and cinematography, a few nostalgic moments as well.
Usthad Hotel (2012)
The storyline created by Anjali Menon is beautiful.All in all, it is a good family movie, about love ,between a grandfather and a son, between a girl and a guy, between a man and his goal.Doesnt have any thrilling plots or dramatic twists but it is etertaining to watch and at some instances make your eyes moist.
Shutter (2012)
The story is set in teo days and one night in Calicut.It showcases unexpected incidents bteween three men when they happen to meet a women.A suspense thriller, was also remade in Marathi with the same name starring Sachin Khedekar.
Chappa Kurish (2011)
(Heads or Tails)
As the name suggests shows two sides of a human being which changes due to unexpected circumstances.The film follows the life of two young people from the two extremes of society.Their lives get entangled with each other when one loosed his phone and lands in front of the other guy.
1983 (2014)
A cricket based film.The story of a man,wanted to be a cricketer tries to look upon his dreams through his son.It also brings in a lot of nostalgia for those malayalis who were born during the late 80s.But I am not not sure how this aspect would connect to the non-malayalis :
Maheshinte Prathikaram (2016)
(The Revenge of Mahesh)
One of the simplest movies ever seen.Debutant director Dileesh Pothen has portrayed a simple story of photographer in an aestetic but detailed way.Mahesh(Fahadh Faasil), a studio photographer and studio owner gets into a fight and loses. He ends up taking revenge which leads to certain realizations in his life. The scenic beauty of Iduuki is well captured by DOP Shyju Khalid.The Idukki song beautifully captures the scenery and everyday life of villagers living there.Every single detail has been taken care of by the director, which is not limited to the main characters, but also the ones in the sidelines too.
KammattiPaadam (2016)
A story of how poor Dalits in old-time Kochi were driven out of their homes by the builders who transformed it into the megacity as it is today, filled with high-rise residential complexes and other modern structures.The movie spans for about 30 years, starting from the childhood to their adulthood of two friends and ending as a revenge thriller.Though Dulquer Salmaan is the lead in the film but the movie is all about the memorable performace of Ganga and Balanchettan played by Vinayakan and Manikandan respectively.Kudos to the director Rajeev Ravi for making such an attempt.
Charlie (2015)
One of the best movies to show someone who doesn't know Malayalam.Tessa (Parvathy Menon)wants to go go away from daily chaos of life and she lands in a hotel room,where she finds a poster where ishe is enchanted by Charlie played by Dulquer Salmaan.The poster is incomplete and she finds people potrayed in the poster to enquire about Charlie.Each person share their own experiences with Charlie.Tessa discovers herself and Charlie throughh the stories narrated.Dulquer,Nedumudi Venu,Aparna Gopinath and soubin Shahir have done their job with pure excellence but Paravathy Menon mesmerizes the audience with her expressions and acting skills.Half of the movie's charm is due to amazing camera work by Jomon T John.
Vinod (Nivin Pauly), an average student from a modest Hindu household falls in love with a beautiful girl named Aisha (Isha Talwar), hailing from a wealthy and influential Muslim family
Read more at: http://www.sify.com/movies/thattathin-marayathu-review-malayalam-pcma0Jfgdcjcf.html
three strangers due to circumstances have to travel from South to North Kerala on a bandh day forms the crux of this road movie.
Read more at: http://www.sify.com/movies/north-24-kaatham-review-malayalam-pcmbaCbeiadgb.html
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