10 OF THE FUNNIEST CAMEOS IN MALAYALAM FILMS

film Gandharvam

Cameo roles in films, variously known in India as “guest appearance”, “special appearance” or “friendly appearance” is a brief role by a known actor in a film in which he or she is not a part of the main cast. The lengths of such roles are varying in degrees of ‘short’, as well as the number of times they appear on screen. Some of them take you by surprise, while some others despite their short-lived screen presence make a lasting impression on the entire film, and yet others are remembered for their priceless comic timing in the briefest of appearances. We know how difficult it is to pull off good comedy. It must only be worse when the time to affect it is shorter. There are a few brilliant cameos in Malayalam films that are still cherished for their hilarious timings. Following is a list of such roles- some impactful, some evergreen, and some others outright hysterical- in Malayalam films, we will never forget.

10 MALAYALAM THRILLER FILMS that will keep you on the edge till the very end

film Mumbai Police

Thrillers have always been one of the most popular genres in storytelling as there is not another variety that is so naturally and quickly involving. There is a reason as to why Agatha Christie is literally the best selling novelist of all time according to the Guinness Book of World Records, and why she is the most published, only behind Shakespeare and the Bible. Such is the reach of suspense and thriller stories. In movies, Hitchcock, the ‘Master of Suspense’, is still an all time favorite, and is one of the most revered filmmakers who specialized in suspense and thriller films. We have a fair share of thrillers in the Malayalam language as well, and the more recent exploration into the genre shows an increased number of promising films that commit to realistic execution of the same, successfully instilling suspense, anxiety, surprise, excitement and nail-biting anticipation in the viewers. Following is a list of such movies in the thriller genre in Malayalam that are worth your time, be it action, crime, psychological, legal or medical.

5 OF THE BEST POLITICAL SATIRES IN MALAYALAM CINEMA

film Vellimoonga

The role criticisms have had in the evolution of the quintessential Malayali psyche is immensely consequential, and it's difficult to isolate a Malayali from his or her endless concerns for society, commerce, bureaucracy and numerous things under the sun in daily realities of life even if it was only for the sake of a chitchat or an argument. Based on such criticisms, there are a handful of good satires that came into being in the Malayalam language- thanks to veteran satirists like Sreenivasan- including a few of those really sharp ones that penalize our questionable political framework. Following is a list of such piercing political satires that successfully drove home the message without being all sanctimonious about it.

10 SPOT-ON PERFORMANCES BY ACTORS CAST AGAINST TYPE in Malayalam movies

film Vaishali

It is only understandable why it is extremely difficult to escape typecasting when it comes to film actors, as there is always a kind of role that a particular actor seemingly does better than the rest staying within the comfort zone. But every once in a while we see brave moves from a few of them at trying out roles diametrically opposite to their trademark image. There have been instances when it terribly backfired, like when Kavya Madhavan deplorably played a retard and slaughtered it. Then there are also times when with brilliant performances they show us a new side shining another part on their versatility spectrum. Following is a list of such incredibly bold casting where actors played characters totally against their type and remarkably owned it.

10 ROMANTIC FILMS IN MALAYALAM worth your time

film Annayum Rasoolum

The sheer idea of romance, in general, has never stopped being a part and parcel of Indian Cinema from the time of its very conception, let alone in the Malayalam language. Be it an action thriller, political satire or a murder mystery, romance somehow seemed to always make its way into even the unlikeliest of turfs. The protagonists are always expected to have a love interest, and they are invariably covered in the eventual scripts how much ever fleeting it may be. Romantic comedies are one of the most successful genres, and the sensational records of films of the likes of Thenmavin Kombath, Godfather and Chithram says a lot about their reach (which is why they will be accounted for in another list altogether). Even a complex film like Thoovanathumbikal that deals with a man’s tussle with the lines separating love and lust and his quest thereof is remembered more as a romantic film although it’s so much more than that. Then there are those serious romantic films mostly falling in the drama genre, where love between the lead characters is the main focus. However there always seem to be a level of associated schmaltziness that requires some quality taming for a decent output with these types, call it jinx or occupational hazard (that jaded films like Madanolsavam and Aniyathipravu), but there certainly is a handful of those ones too. Following is a list of some such films that stays clear of the corny and that are totally worth your time if you are a fan of the genre.

10 GREAT INDIE FILMS IN MALAYALAM FROM THE PARALLEL CINEMA MOVEMENT

film Elippathayam

Even after the formula movies of the 1950s gave way to adaptations of popular literary works in the 60s, the look, feel and the general choice of story premise in Malayalam cinema was still badly in need of a revolution, and, thanks to everything influential about the Italian Neorealism, an uprising happened very soon. As an upshot of the 50s’ Parallel cinema movement by movie giants of the likes of Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen that was greatly influenced by the Italian Neorealism, Malayalam cinema also underwent a radical makeover, and a new stream of films came into being right from the beginning of the 1970s lead by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, G.Aravaindan, John Abraham and the like. These films were characterized by serious subject matter that took into consideration the sociopolitical situations prevalent at the time, and their realistic depictions strictly devoid of the song and dance routine. The following list sticks to the 1970s and 80s that marked the boom of the parallel cinema, which gradually reduced in number and gave way to their much more canonical middle-stream counterparts.

15 MOST ENDURING LAST SHOTS IN MALAYALAM CINEMA that will stay with you for a while

film Aparan

“Spoiler Alert”. If there is something more long lasting than a first impression, it has to be that last impression. In fact some goodbyes stay with you much longer than you think. Maybe that’s why some people are remembered more for their last words than the lifetime of discourse they spend the better part of their time yapping. Movie endings have a similar effect. While the climaxes are critical in defining the plot and the overall viewing experience, that final shot where the frame freezes right before the end credits roll are capable of making a lasting impression. Some last shots are so striking they stay with you for days and at times weeks and months. They may variously be optimistic, heartbreaking or shocking, but the good ones certainly last. Following is a list of such lasting ‘last shots’ in Malayalam films that will positively stay with you for a while, be it elating or unsettling.

10 ESSENTIAL FILMS OF THE MALAYALAM NEO NEW WAVE thus far

film 1983

We faltered, and then we learned. At least so it appears from the drastic change- both in quality and earnestness- noticeable in films that are being made since 2010 in the Malayalam language. As opposed to the spell of kitschy products that were churned out in the 2000s, a genus of new experimental cinema is visibly in the making, and not to be misunderstood with the groundbreaking New Wave that uplifted Malayalam Cinema in the 1970s, this new age movement, bidding on smaller themes and unconventional narrative techniques, seems to have taken shape from a willful attempt to stay away from the formulaic Malayalam blueprint that had grown to full-fledged tripe in the 2000s. Like never before, a plethora of films addressing the life and issues of the expat and the urban Malayali also came into being, and a volley of exceedingly unconventional characters took shape in these stories. Although this intentional cry ‘to be different at any cost’ has intermittently created a bunch of cocky unsavory results, there are also some fruitful efforts with popular appeal that stood out in their thematic excellence and alternative executions. Following is a list of ten such new generation films that will give you an introduction to the merits of the Malayalam NEO NEW WAVE. Let’s hope this ‘wave’ takes a really high sweep before it turns to land, or never land all.

15 GREAT EXAMPLES OF MALAYALAM FILMS THAT BEGIN ‘IN MEDIAS RES’

film Oru Vadakkan Veera Gatha

The way a story is told is as important as the story itself, only if not more, no matter how amusing the subject matter. Even a great story could go down the q-trap if not narrated in a way appealing to the listener. There are several narrative techniques used in literature and films, which in order to hold the interest of the reader or the audience, employ various elements to set a sequence of events in the plot to do justice to the overall story. ‘In medias res’ is one such technique that is as popular as is effective. Latin for “in the middle of things”, this is when a book or movie starts in the middle of the story creating curiosity, and the bygone events are filled in through flashbacks or verbal accounts. There are several films in Malayalam that begins in medias res, where we are thrown right into the middle of action and the root cause of it all comes out only in time. Following is a list of such movies that brilliantly employ this non-linear narrative technique, scrambling the time sequence in ways beneficial to the story, and it doesn’t necessarily mean they are better or worse than each other as movies in whole, but only in their effectiveness in having started in medias res alone.

10 MOST SURPRISING PLOT TWISTS IN MALAYALAM MOVIE HISTORY that you never saw coming

“Spoiler Alert”. With a sizeable reserve of investigative thrillers and detective films, Malayalam cinema has long tasted the amusing tremors of good plot twists both mild and harsh over time, be it in the form of unforeseen revelations in great whodunits like Oru CBI Diary Kurippu or surprise endings as in Thenmavin Kombathu. Furthermore they have not stuck merely to crime genres, but have enriched our experience in drama as well as comedy with its radical change in the direction of the overall narrative, emerging at the most unlikeliest of instances. Following is a list of some such surprising plot twists that are both clever and disorienting. Some of the most popular whodunits are excluded considering the long anticipation that steals most of the fun away from the shock element.

15 MOST DANGEROUS VILLAINS IN MALAYALAM CINEMA we all love to hate

film Paleri Manikyam

Villains have always been an integral part of movie history, and the share of its Malayalam contributions have some brilliant ones that have stood out and have become more memorable than their good counterparts over time owing to their seething wickedness and idiosyncrasies that made us cringe with aversion. Following is a list of the very best of such bad guys that have enticed us with their sheer evilness and corruption in Malayalam films.

15 MALAYALAM MOVIES FROM THE 2000s you don’t want to miss

film Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja

Literally the Dark Ages in the history of Malayalam Cinema, the noughties was an absolute disaster as much with their mindless choices of subjects as with their appalling executions. More often than not they were characterized by a general lack of sensitivity, jarring aesthetics and outlandish productions. It was also a period when the graph of theatregoers drastically plummeted, and quite not unreasonably. An industry that was known to produce gems of the likes of Moonnam Pakkam, Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha and Bharatham brilliantly blurring the difficult lines that separated the egotistical art-house cinema from their popular formulaic counterparts, was reduced to mind numbing idiocy and larger-than-life mockery with absolute disregard for visual imagery, and lasted almost an agonizingly long decade. However amidst the storm of such mass stinkers there were occasional glimmers of hope that kept our faith in the art form from totally dying out a wretched death. Following is a list of such rays of hope that was a saving grace and an exception to the barrage of bad taste that ruled the decade.

7 FANTASY FILMS IN MALAYALAM that are worth seeing

film Njan Gandharvan

For a people that viewed anything slightly deviating from the normal with distrust or sarcasm, creating something that challenged realism altogether remained a dare forever. In cinema, fantasy has never been a successful Malayali staple, although it was tried one too many times, and not entirely without occasional successes. But they never earned the appreciation that films with realistic themes did, maybe owing to the alien nature of its subject matter, or due to a general incompetence in convincingly executing the essential surreal imagery. However this had not completely deterred our filmmakers, who occasionally used fantasy to form the spine of narration as in the form of the apparition of St. Francis in Pranchiettan & the Saint and the comic plot line with the lead ghosts in Ayushkaalam and Pappan Priyapetta Pappan. But to step a few serious paces ahead, the challenge was mostly to stay within the confines of realism and put forward the idea of fantasy unhurriedly and as matter-of-factly as possible. Following is a list of such bold attempts in Malayalam language that were both indigenous enough to involve the audience and effective enough to enchant them, far from the glitz and magnanimity of its Hollywood parallels that had long owned the genre.

10 MALAYALAM MOVIES WITH COMPLEX FATHER-SON RELATIONSHIPS

 

                                                                             film Kireedam

There is no dearth of Malayalam movies dealing with the warmth and compassion in relationships between fathers and sons. Deshadanam, Thanmatra, Pappayude Swantham Appoos and Piravi among others, portray the said bond that could be variously classified as loving, friendly, protective, understanding and so on. But these relationships with the given variables of society, circumstances, and one’s inherent nature, more often than not, complicate matters resulting in slightly different outcomes, and these too are portrayed brilliantly in Malayalam movies. Following is a list of such particularly complex father-son relationships that deviate from those conventional ones built on love and respect alone, that you might want to reflect upon. That six out of the ten in the list feature one of the stalwarts of Malayalam cinema, Thilakan, says quite something about this late veteran actor and eternal father we will all love and admire forever in all his diverse avatars.

20 MALAYALAM COMEDY MOVIES that will make you laugh till it hurts

film Sanmanasullavarku Samadhanam

As the man once said, “Laughter is the best medicine”, it’s been long since man has started talking about the importance of laughter and longer still since he’s been laughing. We have always known the importance of comedy movies and we’ve been continuously making them for a long time, in fact in great quantity too. Malayalam Cinema has produced countless good comedies over the years although the language barrier has jaded its popularity to a niche audience. It's extremely difficult to sum them all up in a list of twenty, but the ones listed are invariably a few of the best examples in the genre and will make you laugh till it hurts real bad.  So have a blast!