The Mirror of Kerala: A Review of Malayalam Cinema and its Cultural Significance

3. Media, Power, and Surveillance: Films like Joseph (2018) and Nayattu (2021) take a scalpel to Kerala’s police state and political nexus. Nayattu is perhaps the most important political film of the decade: a chase thriller where three police officers (representing three major religions—Hindu, Muslim, Christian) become fugitives due to a false case. It exposes how caste and party loyalty override justice in the state. The Great Indian Kitchen (2021) became a phenomenon, shifting from a feminist critique of patriarchal kitchen rituals to a national conversation about menstrual purity and domestic labour.

Kerala’s culture is a sensory overload of coconut, fish curry, and the distinct aroma of Malabar spices. Malayalam cinema has moved beyond mere food porn to use cuisine as a cultural identifier. The preparation of the sadya (feast) on a plantain leaf is not just a scene; it is a ritual of community. In films like Salt N’ Pepper (2011) or Ustad Hotel (2012), food becomes the language of love, loss, and migration—central themes to the Keralite experience, given the state's history of sending its sons to the Gulf.

What makes Malayalam cinema, the fan or the buff? - The Hindu

Take Off (2017) showed a Malayali nurse in a war zone, highlighting the state’s export of female labor to the Middle East. The Great Indian Kitchen (2021) was a cultural atom bomb. It did not feature a rape or a murder; it simply showed the drudgery of a homemaker’s day—waking at 5 AM, grinding spices, washing dishes, enduring patriarchal taunts. The film became a political movement, sparking debates about menstrual hygiene (a scene where the heroine cannot enter the kitchen while menstruating) and the invisible labor of women. It forced the Kerala government to look at temple entry restrictions and kitchen hierarchies.

Malayalam cinema has gained a significant global following, with films like "Take Off" (2017) and "Sudani from Nigeria" (2018) gaining international recognition. The success of these films has not only put Malayalam cinema on the global map but also showcased Kerala's rich cultural heritage to a global audience.

Long before the arrival of celluloid, Kerala’s storytelling was rooted in traditional art forms like Tholpavakkuthu (shadow puppet dance), which used moving images to narrate mythological stories during temple festivals. This familiarity with "screen images" paved the way for modern cinema.