Yes, the Malayalam film industry is still not on the recovery side, as there have been several flops in the year 2024, similar to the previous condition of the industry in 2023. But what changed in the industry is how filmmakers quickly adapted to the audience's needs and delivered unique films that catered to their tastes. Even though the success ratio is less compared to the number of films that hit the big screens this year, let’s take a look at how the filmmakers used a certain formula to engage viewers and mint huge numbers at the box office.
22 precious wins out of 207
2024 saw a huge number of releases in the Malayalam film industry where only a handful of films turned out to be profitable ventures. Although the hit ratio is low, these movies literally broke the four walls and gained much appreciation from the audiences and critics from the other states.
Made on a very low budget, ‘Premalu’ surely stands high as the most profitable venture in Malayalam cinema during the year 2024. Followed by ‘Manjummel Boys’, ‘Bramayugam’, Aadujeevitham’, ‘Aavesham’, ‘ARM’, ‘Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil’, ‘Kishkindakaandam’, ‘Vaazha’, ‘Varshangalkku Shesham’, and ‘Bramayugam’.
Now, Malayalam audiences seek a proper theatrical experience - ‘ARM’ director Jithin Laal
Kudos to the newbie director Jithin Laal for pulling out a large-scale film as his first directorial movie and making it a success. In an exclusive interview with ETimes, the talented director said, “Now, Malayalam audiences seek a proper theatrical experience that provides genuine entertainment. They can discern which films to watch in theaters. Films like ‘Manjummel Boys,’ ‘Bramayugam,’ and ‘Premalu’ exemplify the type of content that connects with audiences. Filmmakers have now cracked the code on the type of content and storytelling styles that audiences prefer.”
Small-scale films also excelled
On the contrary to what the ‘ARM’ director said, there has been several small-scale films which doesn’t necessarily demand a theatrical experience, also received much traction from the viewers.
Movies like ‘Golam’, ‘Bharathanatyam’, ‘Aattam’, ‘Ullozhukku’, and many others received good responses from the audiences and also turned out to be hit due to its engaging content. Looking from this point, the films that rely only on content and others that demand a theatrical watch were full-heartedly received by the audiences this year.
More socially relevant, women-centric stories will be created in the future - Saritha Kukku
2024 witnessed several bold and inspiring women characters on-screen and one among them is surely the character Rajalakshmi from the superhit comedy film ‘Mandakini’. Speaking with ETimes, the actress said, “The past year has been fantastic, with many pan-Indian hits. Films like ‘Mandakini’, ‘Premalu’, ‘Ullozhukku’, ‘Sookshma Darshani’, and several others featured prominent roles for women and also performed well at the box office. This is a very encouraging sign for the Malayalam film industry. The commercial success of women-oriented films suggests that more socially relevant, women-centric stories will be created in the future.”
Talking about her role in ‘Mandakini’, the talented actress said, “Personally, ‘Mandakini’ was a very challenging role for me, as I portrayed a strong single mother. The most demanding part of the role was gaining almost 6-7 kg in a very short period. Additionally, my action scenes were highly appreciated by the audience. I hope to continue playing such meaningful roles in commercial cinema and look forward to more opportunities like this.”
The sequel curse- Not all were positive!
Everything being said, 2024 witnessed another trend in the Malayalam cinema where the majority of the movies didn’t have a proper ending. From ‘Golam’, ‘Turbo’, ‘Vaazha’ to ‘Thalavan’, the majority of these superhit films this year fell under the trap of ‘Sequel curse’.
This was most evident in Mammootty’s ‘Turbo’ which was written by Midhun Manuel Thomas. The film ended on a cliffhanger that literally came out of nowhere and also ruined the flow of the climax. Although this is a trick used by many writers when they feel less confident about the climax of a movie or even a series, the continuous arrival of this sequel curse was one of the negative aspects in many of the superhit films that were released in 2024.
How ‘ARM’ broke the ‘Sequel Curse’
https://www.instagram.com/p/DAgZdvRy4Vc/ https://www.instagram.com/p/DAgZdvRy4Vc/
Just when the Malayalam film industry was getting tied up with the cliffhanger issue, the ‘ARM’ director Jithin Laal perfectly broke this practice with a proper ending in the Tovino Thomas starrer. Such type of proper endings need a special encouragement and shows how confident the writer and the director is about the project.
Asif Ali’s ‘Kishkindha Kaandam’, Mammootty’s ‘Bramayugam’ and even ‘Premalu’ also tries to stay away from this so-called ‘Sequel curse’.
A banger December!
With Unnu Mukundan’s ‘Marco’ and Aashiq Abu’s ‘Rifle Club’, the Malayalam film industry proved that it is capable of pulling off a high-voltage action flick. Unni Mukundan recently said in a promotional interview, “‘Marco’ was initially promoted as Malayalam’s most-violent movie ever made, now it has turned out to be the most brutal film ever made in the Indian film industry.”
