11 OF THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL MALAYALAM FILMS OF ALL TIME

film Papilio Buddha

Living in a time such as ours, you shouldn’t be surprised if tilting your head a certain way ended up offending someone or some group somewhere longing for attention and waiting to pounce. Despite all the ongoing debate on freedom of expression, art, books, films and other such creative media has increasingly been attacked time and again in the name of the liberty taken to “overstep that line”. Many a controversies have arisen owing to the disputed interpretation of the said freedom, and one of the most targeted areas in this case has forever been the movie world. In Kerala where every Mahesh, Suresh and Ramesh veneer their opinions as criticisms, there have been many occasions where films were beaten and cut to size for freely expressing a view different from the conventional; like when the movie name Ponmuttayidunna “Thattaan” had to be changed to Ponmuttayidunna “Tharavu” following severe protests from the goldsmith community who took offence from the original title; like when the multiple endings of Harikrishnans kick started a storm verging on communal; like with the filming of a live childbirth in Kalimannu and the partial nudity in Thanmatra cocked a lot of eyebrows. Many derided Fazil’s Ente sooryaputhrikku as bad influence, Jeetu Joseph’s Drishyam for sending the wrong message and Alfonse Puthran’s Premam as provocative and misleading. Similarly film Parudeesa directed by R. Sarath was accused of instigating anti-religious propaganda and Padmavyooham directed by Bijoy P.I. for posing security concerns to Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The ambitious Adoor film Kathapurushan garnered much criticism for the resemblance of its stammering protagonist to veteran Communist leader EMS Namboothiripad. Most Shaji Kailas films scripted by Renj Panicker from Ekalavyan to Commissioner courted controversy for daring the system. So was the case with numerous I.V. Sasi films written by T. Damodaran. Following is a list of movies in the Malayalam language that became controversial for its subject matter as well as its portrayal more than any other.

22 WOMEN-CENTRIC FILMS IN MALAYALAM worth your time

films Akashadoothu & Kannezhuthi Pottum Thottu

There have been several memorable and powerful female characters in Malayalam cinema since its conception, those that stand on par with their male counterparts and those that stand alone. They variously showed us different facets of women- their extraordinarily courage, their selfless love, their all-consuming anger, their amazing endurance, their unparalleled beauty and so on and so forth. Gifted with a talented league of writers, our films have often discussed issues pertaining to the fairer sex- both serious and in lighter vain- and such female oriented subjects with memorable women protagonists have always been very well accepted as well. Following is a list of some of the best films in Malayalam dealing with women-centric subject.

13 GREAT MOVIE METAPHORS IN MALAYALAM CINEMA

Symbolism is a very sticky business, both to use and to comprehend, yet if cleverly done could be greatly rewarding. Intelligent films in Malayalam have always had a rich tradition of symbolism to address ideas of social, psychological, ideological or religious bearing using brilliant metaphors. These parallels have in the past not only added layers to our thought processes, but have also been enriching our taste over the years. Following is a list of some of the greatest metaphors used in Malayalam Cinema, some of which bask in plain sight, while others, you got to dig a great deal to even locate.