The Journey Of A ‘Mainstream Masala Mind’ Trying To Appreciate Quality Malayalam Cinema
Malayalam Cinema over the years, needless to say, has gained the reputation of one that takes the phrase ‘Cinema is an art’ seriously. And rightfully so. The industry is known for producing some of the finest content-driven, technically and aesthetically sound films which have stood the test of time.
Nevertheless, on the other end of the spectrum, we’ve always parallelly had a generation of movie-goers predominantly in the rest of the South and probably in the rest of the country, who’ve perhaps been a little late in joining the ‘Let’s view films as not just popcorn entertainment but also as a medium of storytelling and art’ party.
I, for one, have no shame in admitting that I am or rather was a part of this group.
Growing up in the early 90’s Chennai, we had a balanced mix of ‘mass’ and ‘class’ films, if one were to put it crudely. Movie-going was always a family event to look forward to. The thrill of waiting outside the single-screen complexes looking at the hoardings and posters. The whistles. The ‘punch’ moments when the hero enters.
It’s what I like to call ‘big picture movie watching’, literally. A zoomed-out perspective of enjoying films.
Things had to be in your face, loud. No little details. No reading between lines, at least for me. Something had to happen constantly.
Sure, there were your Mani Ratnams and your Vasanths and the likes, who tactfully interspersed intelligent storytelling with ‘commercial’ elements. However, by and large, when I walked out of a movie and someone asked me what it was about, I should be able to say ‘It’s about character A, trying to achieve B, but then C happens and he finally overcomes that and wins in the end’. A clear-cut beginning, middle and end was what I (and most of my peers at that point) looked for in a film. Anything else, would make us go ‘look at this filmmaker trying unnecessary experiments’ and would be a put off.
Cut to 15–20 years later. Cinema has evolved. Times have changed. New narrative formats have emerged. Audiences are catching up and evolving too. The new wave of Malayalam cinema makes a big impact with the likes of Premam, Bangalore Days etc. Me, an average ‘mass’ film watcher can now genuinely appreciate a film like Kaaka Muttai or Sillu Karupatti. In my head, I’m pretty proud of the kind of film connoisseur I’ve come to be.
So then I plunge deep into the Malayalam scene. Constantly checking reviews, articles, interviews with filmmakers to make sure I’m up-to-date regarding the films to watch out for.
The previously mentioned ‘zoomed-out view’ of films, slowly starts ‘zooming-in’.
Enter Kumbalangi Nights. The entire world goes gaga over it. Reviewers raving about it saying things on the lines of ‘a terrific portrayal of toxic masculinity, Fahadh plays the ultimate alpha male’ etc. I then go watch it of course. A bunch of brothers fighting, a crazy maniac living in the same town who likes to put women ‘in their place’. Their lives collide. The good guys win. This is what I took from the movie and I thought to myself ‘Okay so what is all the fuss about? It was a decent movie with good performances’. Scenes like Fahadh moving his chair to sit at the ‘head’ of the table felt too pretentious and forced I thought.
Speaking of a forced sense of ‘poeticness’, reminds me of the Dulquer-Parvathy starrer Charlie, which again I watched first day-first show in the theatres. What’s up with their obsession with fairytale-like plots and narratives? I’ve always wondered if I’m one of the few who finds these to be a little pretentious and perhaps silly.
The examples can go on and on — films such as Action Hero Biju, Ayyapanum Koshiyum, Lijo Joe Pellissery’s Angamaly Diaries, Ee Ma Yau & the much raved about Jallikkattu.
While watching these, I’d sometimes tend to get distracted or look away during ‘slow’ scenes where I’d think ‘nothing’ is happening, so I won’t miss much. Turns out that’s the entire film. Hardcore fans would say ‘Dude, everything is in the nothing. See how realistically he has captured daily life in a small village, raw emotions, grey shades and all that’.
Of course, we’ve seen more than enough of the ‘slice-of-life, fresh and realistic take’ of Kerala’s small villages, hill-stations, relatable characters such as a postman, a barber, a farmer and so on. We’ve seen it all starting with Maheshinte Prathikaram. It was fascinating the first 20 times. But then how can I just continue appreciating just that aspect in every other film? I question myself. ‘There has to be more. Something that I’m missing.’
Then back to the drill of reading reviews after watching the films to understand what I missed out. Soon I start losing hope that perhaps I’m not smart enough for Malayalam films but then every now and then a relatively mainstream and accessible film like Virus or Varane Avashyamund comes out, reinstilling some faith in me.
Circling back to the main point, do Malayalam cinephiles live in their own world? If so, does my ‘Mainstream Masala Mind’ have a place in that world? Only time will tell.