Thiruvananthapuram, First Published Dec 31, 2021, 8:05 PM IST
A surprise New Year’s announcement from the Malayalam film world was that ‘Drishyam 2’ would be a Direct OTT release. From that announcement to Netflix’s Christmas release, to the smash hit ‘Minnal Murali’ across language boundaries, 2021 is the turning point of Malayalam cinema. ‘Sufi and Sujatha’ starring Jayasurya in July 2020 is the first direct OTD release in Malayalam cinema. Although it was not a direct OT release, before that, two major Malayalam films of 2019, Amazon Prime Video, had been prominently released on their platform after their theatrical release. It was Kumbalangi Nights directed by Madhu C Narayanan and Lucifer, Prithviraj’s directorial debut Mohanlal film. Kumbalangi Knights was the first to hint at a possible growth for Malayalam cinema through OTD. Kumbalangi Nights and Fahad’s performances have become a favorite of a large section of North Indian film lovers. This year has seen the literal realization of the ODT revolution started in ‘Kumbalangi’ and later in the first direct OTD release by Sufi and Sujatha.
Out of the total 170 films released in Malayalam this year, 108 were direct OTD releases. In other words, almost twice as many films as theatrical releases reached audiences through ODT platforms. ODT platforms, which had an accurate understanding of the audience pool of Tamil and Telugu films, viewed Malayalam cinema and its audience with some skepticism. The fact that the film industry is relatively small compared to the Tamil and Telugu industries and the declining Malayalee audience (compared to other South Indian languages) were issues they considered. But during the Kovid period when the theater was closed, Kerala was one of the areas where the leading OT platforms made the most gains. While all the major platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, C5, Disney Plus Hotstar and Sony Live gave a lot of importance to Malayalam cinema, many other platforms started locally came during this period. By the end of 2021, Malayalam movies will be released on 28 OTT platforms, large and small.
The three major releases of the year that have witnessed the potential of Malayalam cinema in the world are The Great Indian Kitchen, Drishyam 2 and Minnal Murali. If Scene 2 was the expected success as a sequel to the multilingual remake of the film, the surprise hit would have been The Great Indian Kitchen. The success of Scene 2 was due in part to the pre-release hype created. The movie starring Nimisha Sajayan in the lead role under the direction of Geo Baby was not a hit movie before its release. The film was released through Neestream, a local OT platform, but by the time the first shows were over, social media had taken over with huge word-of-mouth publicity. The film, which was initially rejected by leading OT platforms, later reached several platforms, including Amazon Prime, and saw the extent of the film’s impact. The film received rave reviews from international media, including the BBC. It was a beautiful sight for Malayalam cinema to see a Malayalam film cross the language barrier only with the thickness of the content, without any huge star cast or big budget.
The first Malayalam superhero film to be released on Netflix’s Christmas, Minnal Murali, has won the title by erasing the language barrier. From the day of its release, the film has topped the Netflix’s Top 10 list in India, and has been ranked in the top 10 of the other 10 countries, as well as fourth place in Netflix’s Global Top 10. Minnal Murali is the proof of how far Malayalam cinema can go through OTD. Joji, Home, Churuli and many other direct OTD releases from Malayalam have been the talk of the town.
Theater without crashing
Theaters in Kerala reopened in January 2021 with the release of a Tamil film after a gap of 10 months. When Vijay movie Master arrived in Kerala on January 13 along with other states, it got a big initial. After months of uncertainty, the spectators who flocked to see the master were no less inspired by the theater owners. Kovid’s second wave came after the second show, which opened on January 13 and started on March 9, was a setback for the theater industry. After months of closure, cinema theaters reopened in the state on October 25. Despite the uncertainties and trials and tribulations created by Kovid, there were films this year that convinced the theaters of the potential market potential of Malayalam cinema.
The biggest theatrical success of the year was Kurup, directed by Srinath Rajendran and starring Dulquer Salman. The reaction from the first day was such that Kurup did not disappoint the audience with his huge hype with accurate pre-release publicity and charting. In the first two weeks alone, the film grossed over Rs 75 crore at the global box office. Another film that got huge hype this year was Mohanlal-Priyadarshan team’s Marakkar. Despite the overwhelming response on social media that the film did not come with hype beyond its first screenings, Marakkar was the center of attention with fan shows starting at 12 midnight and 16,000 screenings on the day of its release, according to the producers. While many films like The Priest, Weed, and Ajagajantaram created a stir at the box office, this year’s surprise hits in theaters were Operation, Java and Jan A. Man. The newcomer director’s films were well received by the audience.
The year is passing by which underscores the progress of Malayalam cinema with theater and break. Another achievement of the new age is that the OTD release, which follows the films that have not received any positive reviews at the box office, has reached a large audience. Many films like Nayat, Biryani and Arkariyam were noticed by ODT after its theatrical release. This huge acceptance of Malayalam films may lead to the Malayalam original productions of the leading OT platforms. The anthology of Netflix’s MT stories is likely to be the first of its kind.
Last Updated Dec 31, 2021, 8:10 PM IST
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