After the first quarter of 2023, 58 Malayalam films hit theaters in Kerala. Out of this, 20 films were released in the month of February alone. It’s doubtful that there has been a month in recent years that has seen so many releases come together. Yet the number of hits with audience acclaim is staggering. Even fewer have achieved financial success. Even the films of big stars leave the theater empty, not to mention the smaller films. ‘Nankakal Nereth Mayakam’, ‘Thangam’, ‘Romancham’, ‘Pranaya Vilasam’, ‘Ntikakkoru Premandarnn’, ‘Iratta’, ‘Uharmugham’ and ‘Purushpretham’ are the only ones that have been discussed in any way.
Producer CV Sarathi responded that one day many films will be released and none of them will be noticed and this trend will have to be seen as mass suicide. His criticism pointed out that nine films were released on the last Friday of February.
1 Drowsiness in the morning
‘Nanpakal Nereth Mayakam’ was a ‘Tippikal LJP’ style film that made the audience wonder whether it was drama or life. But this time the human conflicts were not in the circumstances, but only within the main character. The film hit the theaters after being screened at IFFK, garnering great response from the audience and critics. The release was on January 19. The film started streaming on Netflix from 23rd February and received a nationwide viewership.
2 gold
Produced by Dilish Pothan, Fahadh Faasil and Shyam Pushkaran under the banner of Bhavana Studios, ‘Thangam’ is directed by Saheed Arafat. Thangam was a stark departure from the usual pattern of Bhavana studios, often referred to in social media as ‘nature pictures’. The screenplay was by Shyam Pushkaran. Biju Menon, Vineeth Srinivasan and Aparna Balamurali played the lead roles in the film. Along with Vineeth Thattil, Srikanth Murali and late actor Kochu Preman, the film also featured many Marathi, Hindi and Tamil actors. Although not a commercial success, the film received critical acclaim and audience acclaim.
3 excitement
‘Romancham’ was the first Malayalam superhit of the year. Even after the announcement of the OTT release, the film is being shown to packed audiences in many theaters in Kerala. Romancham hit the big screens on February 3. The genre of the film is a horror-comedy that would have been worse if it had been slightly layered. But the good timing and well-executed horror sequences were hailed as the success of ‘Ramanja’ by the audience. After 57 days in theaters, the film has already collected 41.8 crores from Kerala alone.
4 Ntikak is a lover
Bhavana’s return to Malayalam cinema after a gap of six years is ‘Ntikakkakuru Premandarnn’. Although the film was not a financial success, it received good reviews. Another important character was played by Sharafuddin. After six years, when Bhavana entered Malayalam cinema, the audience also discussed the maturity of her acting.
5 double
The film written and directed by debutant Rohit MG Krishnan, starring Joju George as the ‘double’ heroes, hit the theaters on February 3. Along with Joju, Anjali, Srinda, Arya Salim, Srikanth Murali, Sabumon and Abhiram played other important characters. Although the audience has seen Joju as a policeman many times, the audience response was that the characters in the double are not boring. The film received applause for the actor who portrayed the two characters differently in the film. And the film had a climax that haunts the audience as seen in Korean films.
6 port
After years of waiting, Rajeev Ravi’s film ‘Thuramugam’ has hit the theatres. Magic Frames, owned by Listin Stephen, brought the film, which faced various difficulties, to the exhibition. The main theme of the film was the chapa labor division system that existed in Kochi till 1962 and the struggle of the workers to end it. The film is not going to claim huge collections but is satisfying the audience and critics alike. Nivin Pauly, Joju George, Indrajith Sukumaran, Nimisha Sajayan, Purnima Indrajith, Arjun Asokan, Darshana Rajendran, Sudev Nair, Manikanta Rajan, Senthil Krishna, Santosh Keezhatoor and other big stars have lined up for the film.
7 male ghost
The audience response is that ‘Purusha Pretham’, which came as a direct OTT release this year, offers a different experience. The film is the third directorial venture of Krishand, the director of ‘Aavasavyuha’, which was selected as the best film at the Kerala State Film Awards last year. The director has followed the method of telling the story in a different style. Streaming started on March 23 on SonyLive.
Story Highlights: Malayalam Cinema in first quarter of 2023