Young directors Dinjith Ayyathan, Anand Ekarshi, Girish AD and Rahul Sadasivan headline 2024’s Malayalam cinema

Malayalam film industry continues to produce and nourish movies made by young filmmakers, and the results are never less than fascinating. Take a detailed look.

Year 2024 was a creatively satisfying year for Malayalam cinema that saw a wide variety of high quality movies being released, impressing the audience with their story telling skills, technical craft and soul-stirring performances.

Stills from Aavesham, Manjummel Boys and Premalu- some of the most impressive Malayalam films of 2024.

The year also saw the Hema Committee report being released shaking up the industry and highlighting women’s safety on the sets as a priority. It also saw a controversy regarding the movie Manjummel Boys where the Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned the producers about an alleged money laundering case. (Also read: Parvathy Thiruvothu says Hema Committee is more than Me Too part two: ‘We are taking the space that is rightfully ours’)

However, the year will be remembered for the sheer quality of directors that Malayalam cinema continues to produce while other movie industries are busy looking to make pan-India crowd pullers.

A cocktail of hits

Aavesham, Bramayugam, Manjummel Boys, Premalu, Kishkinda Kandam, Aattam, Aadu Jeevitham, Ullozhukku and Sookshmadarshini headlined Malayalam cinema in 2024, as it continued to pull ahead of other movie industries in content, technique and performances.

Aavesham saw Fahadh Faasil putting out a power packed, uninhibited performance as a gangster - a genre not many people associated with him. The movie made substantial inroads in the box office appealing largely to the young crowd, buoyed by Sushin Shyam’s music and background score. Director Jithu Madhavan seem to know the pulse of his audience and delivered another superhit after Romancham.

Bramayugam, Rahul Sadasivan’s impressive directorial effort after Bhoothakalam, saw Mammootty in his elements. The movie, shot in black and white mode, added to the eeriness of the horror flick deeply immersed in Kerala’s folklore. Mammootty essayed his devilish character with finesse reminding people of his performance in Vidheyan, the 1994 movie directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan.

Manjummel Boys and its impact went beyond the Kerala market and made waves in the other southern industries, telling a tale of friendship and sacrifice. The survival thriller directed by Chidambaram, based on the Guna Cave rescue in 2006, featured an awesome musical score by Sushin Shyam and excellent performances by almost all the actors led by Soubin Shahir, who was also the producer. The movie is one of Malayalam cinema’s biggest grossers in the box office with some trade reports estimating collections upwards of ₹200 crore.

Premalu, the laugh riot directed by the highly talented Girish AD, placed youngsters Naslen and Mamitha Baiju as safe bets in the industry. The producers have announced a sequel to the hit. Girish has been having a stellar run in the box office with his unique brand of humour hitting home in movies like Thannimathan Dinangal and Super Sharanya. The comedy genre had slipped in the Malayalam industry in the interim but in Girish’s hand the genre is in safe custody.

Kishkinda Kandam and Aattam were two of my personal favourites this year. Kishkinda Kandam absolutely blew my mind with its setting, rare story line, execution of the plot and outstanding direction. In Dinjith Ayyathan, Malayalam cinema has found another gem of a director, and the industry seems to be producing these brilliant technicians seemingly out of nowhere. Ayyathan’s splendid handling of the script, tight control on story-telling, ability to extract the right kind of performances without losing grip on the technical execution, make him one of the best directors to have come out of Malayalam cinema in last one decade. Vijayaraghavan and Asif Ali stood out with their acting skills in the movie that underlines the complexities of human relations. Bahul Ramesh’s cinematography was top class too.

Aattam, made on a shoe string budget, evoked the feel of world class cinema that can draw international audiences. Helmed by a director completely in control of his craft, the movie dealt with a subject that was universal. Director Anand Ekarshi stunned audiences with the way in which he logically argued various points in the movie about molestation, victim shaming, gaslighting and also critically examined how people behave in a group versus individually. The movie won three National Awards – Best film, Screenplay and Editing – showcasing it as a movie that could be watched by students of cinema for years to come.

Aadujeevitham, Blessy’s lifelong dream of making a movie out of Benyamin’s novel based on the struggles of a man who gets lost in the Arabian deserts, did not get the same kind of reaction that the industry expected it to receive. The movie was brilliant in parts but somehow did not reach the heights that it was designed to provide. Blessy still had his moments, Prithviraj played the lead role to the best of his abilities and AR Rahman came up with a score that was a bit underwhelming. But there are no two opinions about the effort made to create a grand-scale production, with Blessy and Prithviraj spending over a decade trying to complete the difficult project.

Urvashi’s brilliant performance in Ullozhuku, directed by Crishto Tomy, was another highlight of 2024. The intense family drama saw Urvashi winning the Kerala state award for best actress and the movie received plaudits from the viewers and critics alike. Sookshmadarshini, directed by Jithin MC, brought Nazriya and Basil Joseph together for the first time as a lead couple. The murder mystery, designed as an edge of the seat thriller had enough plot twists to keep the audience engaged and showcased Basil’s talent to keep churning out performances of various shades.

The continuous rise of Basil Joseph and Sushin Shyam

Basil Joseph has been a huge feature of Malayalam films in 2024, positively impacting the fortunes of many of the releases. Apart from Sookshmadarshini, he was involved as an actor in Nunakuzhi, Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil, Ajayante Randam Moshanam (ARM) and a few more this year, making him the busiest actor in the industry.

Basil is now considered the safest bet in Malayalam movies who can play the lead role or be a part of the support cast. Having him in the cast seem to bring in family audiences and kids and slow but steadily he has worked his way up into a slot where his presence is beginning to ensure good box office returns. But many of the cine-goers are waiting for him to return to direction and in 2025 he’s expected to make some announcements in that regard.

Sushin Shyam’s scores are now an instrumental part of Malayalam movies and any movie that features him as the music composer is getting top billing in theatres. Production houses are now routinely using ‘A Sushin Shyam Musical’ as a tagline to promote their movies. He has followed up his outstanding scores in Kumbalangi Nights, Varathan, Minnal Murali, Bheeshma Parvam and Romacham with rousing compositions in Manjummel Boys and Aavesham in 2024.

Bhavana Studios and Fahad Faasil & Friends – 2 production powerhouses

Production house Bhavana Studios, with Dileesh Pothan, Fahadh Faasil and Syam Pushkaran as partners, bankrolled Premalu this year. Their earlier projects like Kumbalangi Nights and Joji were superhits with the former considered as one of the all-time great movies that has found resonance globally. Bhavana Studios will roll out Premalu 2 soon and Karate Chandran with Fahadh in the lead is also in the works. Fahadh Faasil & Friends is a movie production venture owned by the actor and his actress wife Nazriya.

This fulcrum of Fahadh, Dileesh and Syam has been instrumental in making classics like Maheshinte Prathikaram and Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum and they have now formed a unit that can power Malayalam cinema through the next 10 years at least with high quality movies. They have been largely successful in identifying the right projects to back and are now the wind beneath the wings for several upcoming artists and directors.