Mollywood’s 2024 Rewind: An exciting year filled with daring tales and outstanding directing debuts.

Mollywood’s 2024 Rewind: A year of bold stories and stellar directorial debuts

Malayalam cinema shone in 2024 with bold themes, stellar debuts, ₹100 crore hits, and legends like Mammootty and Mohanlal redefining storytelling.

When Mammootty decided to star and produce director Joe Baby’s film, Kaathal – The Core, in 2023, most people didn’t think too much about it – till it released in December. After his superbly written film, The Great Indian Kitchen, Joe Baby (his fourth film) came back with a story around a couple where the husband was gay and the wife wants a divorce so he can be free to live his life and vice versa. Kaathal – The Core was highly praised for its theme and the fact that one of Malayalam industry’s legends, Mammukka aka Mammootty, 73, would accept to play the role of the gay husband. However, this film showed that Malayalam cinema continues to evolve and be the harbinger of change in Indian cinema and that this voyage would continue in 2024. (Also read: Best acting performances of 2024: From Fahadh Faasil in Aavesham to Kani Kusruti in All We Imagine As Light)

Great beginnings
This year saw several new Malayalam directors emerge with some brilliantly crafted films that captivated the audience’s imagination. Debutant director Anand Ekarshi’s Aattam (The Play) set the tone for the year with its January release. A film revolving around 12 men and a sole woman who are part of a theatre group, the story explores how an incident of sexual harassment brings to light the strains and differences in the group’s relationships. Given his theatre background, Ekarshi seamlessly combines elements of theatre and cinema in the film. This highly thought-provoking and nuanced film saw Ekarshi win the National Award for Best Film in 2024.

Cut to February and we saw a thrilling black and white horror movie that is still being talked about. Director Rahul Sadasivan is not a debutant filmmaker but his third film, Brahmayugam, stunned audiences across India. He has a penchant for horror flicks and in Brahmayugam combined period folklore with horror and presented it in monochrome! The combination of these elements, along with splendid performances by Mammootty, Arjun Asokan and Siddharth Bharathan, saw this film collect nearly ₹85 crore at the box office. Sadasivan’s horror stories flex simplicity, yet depth and this is what makes them compelling.

A win in every genre
Police procedural dramas are a successful genre across all regional film industries and director Darwin Kuriakose chose to take the trodden path with his first film, Anweshippin Kandethum. Starring Tovino Thomas the movie was a hit and made Kuriakose one of the directors to watch out for in the coming years.

Now, it is not easy to get into the ₹100 crore club in Malayalam cinema and particularly with your directorial debut. However, Jithin Lal managed to do just that with Ajayante Randam Moshanam, again starring Tovino Thomas. Released for Onam this year, this visual spectacle combined elements of folklore and the 1990s to present a unique love story-cum-adventure. The success of this film, which saw Tovino Thomas play a dual role, proved that Jithin Lal’s flair for spectacles was loved by the audience.

Who doesn’t know Malayalam actor Joju George? Given that he is now working in Tamil and Telugu cinema as well, Joju George has become a popular and well-loved figure among the south audience. This year Joju George made his directorial debut with Pani, a film around Thrissur mobster gang when its life is situated by two petty criminals. The gangster drama story may not be new but Joju George’s localised presentation was engaging and showed that he was talented as a director too. And in this film, he played the lead role as well to boot.

What’s next?
Children’s films are hardly ever given much thought when it comes to Indian cinema but Malayalam cinema has always strived to make movies for kids. Does anyone remember the super hit 1984 film, My Dear Kuttichathan?

And Malayalam acting legend Mohanal is all set to release his magnum opus Barroz on December 25 and this is the stalwart’s directorial debut! Touted as a film for both adults and kids, the fantasy movie has been shot in 3D and presents Mohanlal as Barroz, the guardian of treasure. There is a lot of anticipation for this film not just because it is Mohanlal’s directorial debut but the fact that it is set to be never-seen-before large-scale visual spectacle in 3D from Malayalam cinema.

While we wait for December 25 to catch Barroz, another children’s film, Pallotty’s 90s Kids, made headlines this year for winning several honours at the Kerala State Awards. Jithin Raj made his directorial debut with Pallotty’s 90s Kids and given the accolades it garnered, it shows that the he has a good future in Malayalam cinema.

Mollywood may have had its share of controversies this year thanks to the Hema Committee Report but its cinema is thriving as always.

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