Film News
2022 is the year Malayalam cinema goes to court; Out of the seven films that came as courtroom dramas, four have hit status
2022 was the year Malayalam cinema recovered from the impact of the covid lockdown. People who were reluctant to come to theaters were brought back to Mollywood theaters with excellent films. 2022 is the year when a handful of courtroom dramas hit the theaters. Seven movies related to the court hit the theaters this year.
Courtroom dramas were the wave that hit Malayalam cinema this year, which was hovering around the psycho-thriller genre. After the 5th Pathira, Malayalam cinema shifted from the psycho-thriller wave that became widespread later to courtroom dramas.
First came Narada who joined the Tovino-Ashiq Abu alliance. The second half of the film was almost entirely inside the court. The court scenes were also the most boring in the film which failed at the theatres. The film was a preaching about journalism and ethics in journalism. Naradan, which started court-based films in 2022, failed, but Jana Gana Mana, which followed it, created a huge wave.
Directed by Dijo Jose Antony, the film hit the theaters on April 28. The film, which sharply criticized caste-religion-political equations in India, was accepted outside Kerala as well. Arvind Swaminathan’s mass political dialogues in the courtroom were an exposure of the political and social tyranny of present day India. Jana Gana Manak also had the character of a thriller as every thread of the case was unraveled along with politics.
After Jana Gana Mana, Tovino and Keerthy Suresh came back with a courtroom drama. Vishnu G. Directed by Raghav, Vaashi approached a sexual harassment case in shades of grey. The film, which examined the sensitive areas of both sides without taking the side of Atijeevta or the accused, did not create any movement in the theatres.
The courtroom drama that came after Vashi was Kunchacko Boban’s Nna Than Case Kodu. With the background of Kasaragod, Ratheesh Balakrishna dressed up the film in a different style and the audience welcomed it with open arms. On the day of its release, the film was in discussion due to the pothole poster controversy.
The audience quickly connected with the common man’s struggle for the justice and rights he deserves. And Kasargote is a court room and its events are narrated realistically, which set the film apart. And situational comedies added a humorous element to the courtroom in this film.
Asif Ali and Nivin Pauly’s Abrid Shine film Mahaviryar was next set in a court setting.
Mahaveeryar was a courtroom drama told with magical realism. The film, which brought together the monarchy and the democratic era, sparked discussions but was not a huge success.
Vineeth Srinivasan joins Mukundan Unni Associates in November. Directed by debutant Abhinav Sundar Nayak, the film is perhaps the best Malayalam film that has used the dark humor genre. Although there are not many court scenes in the film, the court, the cases and loopholes within the cases were crucial elements in the film. This film also got huge audience acceptance.
Tarun Murthy’s Saudi Vellaka is the latest in 2022 courtroom dramas. Saudi White Crow also had the hype of Tarun Murthy’s film coming after Operation Jawa. Tarun, who did not wait for the audience’s expectations, sent the audience back from the theaters full of hearts. The film is made in the genre of social drama. The film also showed how the delay in cases in the Indian legal system affects people’s lives.
Content Highlight: Seven films related to the court hit the theaters in 2022