New Delhi: Malayalam film industry, of late is on an upsurge with the success of a few multiple narrative, multi-star and new-age films like 'Traffic', 'Salt N' Pepper' , 'Chaappa Kurish'. A bunch of new directors like Ranjith Shankar, Mamas, Vysakh, Lijo Jose Pellissery are up with fresh themes.
The question is whether this new trend is here to stay now? And how the youth looks upon the new waves in Malayalam industry? We went through the opinions of different students across the city.
"It is a relief that many movies released in the past one-and-a-half year have been different. They stand apart in terms of quality. We were starting to get bored with slapstick comedies and are really looking forward to new experimental films. Dearth of good stories is the problem here. The most important thing that one looks in a movie is the story line. We are not really bothered if the film has a superstar in it or not, as long as the story is appealing," says Sruthi V S, a History student from Maharaja's College.
Of the 30 movies released in the first quarter of this year, majority of the successful ones were multistarrers. Rijo M N, an Economics student says, "Gone are the days of a single superstar movie. Look at the films that were released recently. 'Christian Brothers', 'China Town' and 'Urumi' all have more than a single protagonist. There are so many actors in it, and the audience can chose their favourites", says Tinu Loius, his friend.
Shibina T S, another student says, "'Traffic' was a trend setter, in many ways. There were several actors and there was an interesting storyline. The narrative was gripping and one was anxious about what would happen till the end. I think that suspense element was the reason for its success."
Though students welcome the new waves of change, they believe that in general the standard of films have fallen in the last few years. Barring exceptions like 'Passenger', 'Salt N Pepper', most others have been sub-par.
"Even veteran directors known for the quality of their films, are now churning out movies that we can't stand," adds Sandhya. "The comedy films these days are nonsense and are completely lacking in aesthetic values," says Gireesh, a young film buff.
Lack of novelty is another factor that the youth points out. Aswin from St Albert's College says, "Why are we not making a 'Subrahmanyapuram' or 'Paruthiveeran' in Malayalam? Tamil film industry is a lot more versatile, which is why there are both action films that stand out for their technical finesse as well as quality films. Movies like 'Adaminte Makan Abu', though they bag awards are so offbeat that it does not create any interest in us. The directors should make an attempt at movies that are appealing to youngsters."
The budget of Malayalam films is also a talking point. Anola Mathews from Maharaja's college says, "We being a small industry with lack of infrastructure should ideally produce realistic low budget movies without compromising on quality."
But there are also others who feel that compromising on the budget is the biggest reason for not having technically sound movies.
A group of students from Government Law College criticised the reigning superstars for the present state of our film industry. "It is true that they are highly talented and continue to be crowd pullers. But they should play their age. Movies like 'Pranjiyettan and the Saint' were successful not just because they starred in it, but because they were ready to transform themselves and become the characters instead," says Jaisy George, a law student.
Conversely, there is also an opinion that the Malayalee audience while very receptive to fresh and different subjects in English and Tamil, are somewhat skeptical when the same is done in Malayalam. For example, James Cameron's 'Avatar' and Rajni's 'Enthiran' were major hits in Kerala. "The mindset of the viewers should also be blamed for this," says Shibina.
Youngsters are not too gung-ho about old films being remade, but many give the thumbs up to period movies like 'Pazhassi Raja' and 'Urumi' and believe that they are a welcome change. There's also an opinion that heroines are getting to do precious little in films.
Remya V R, from Thevara says, "Actresses are not so serious about their career and look upon it as a stop-gap thing till they get married. Though there are a few exceptions like the role Swetha Menon did in 'Salt n Pepper', one Lena did in 'Traffic', majority of them get sidelined."
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