Controversial mainstream Malayalam movies

Malayalam cinema industry has created movies that have challenged the political oppression and social hierarchies, especially during the 70's and 80's. A parallel and independent wave of new cinema formulated as a result of a turbulent political climate in the country which produced many rebellious and radical filmmakers whose movies trembled with the authorities. Post-2000, with capitalism accepted as the norm, and profit, the only motive, mainstream movies mostly focused on instant entertainment resulting in shallow movies filled with commercial elements. Few of those movies crossed the limit in their pursuit to induce more mindless entertainment and ended up drawing criticism from the social circle. Here we look at some movies which hit headlines for the wrong reasons.

Presumably, a mass entertainer with megastar Mammootty in the lead, ‘Kasaba’ directed by Nithin Renji Panicker, son of veteran director-actor Renji Panicker, became a controversial subject as it reportedly had dialogues degrading women. Mammootty, who plays the role of Rajan Zachariah, a typical hardened cop in pursuit to hunt down evil forces, is glorified for his proud arrogance over women and dialogues that show women as a commodity. The movie was severely criticised by movie critics for glorifying derogatory dialogues against women. The movie again became a topic of controversy when actress Parvathy openly said an actor as influential as Mammooty shouldn't have acted in such a movie. Later the actress was trolled on the social media platforms by Mammootty fans.

Though the film was well received by critics and movie lovers for its candid narrative technique and realistic script, Abdrid Shine's police movie action hero Biju was flaked for his racist dialogues. The movie follows a day from the life of a circle inspector named Biju. Nivin Pauly, who played the role of Biju, is shown as a sincere cop who tries to settle small cases inside the police station itself. In one of the scenes, Biju slams an autorickshaw driver for loving a dark-skinned, fat woman asking, "How could you possibly love such a thing?". The movie also shows people with dark skin tone as criminals. This racist mentality shown in the movie was heavily criticised, as it trivialised racism.

A political thriller, ‘Ramaleela’ directed by Arun Gopi became controversial even before its release. The movie, which had Dileep in the lead role, had its release dilemma with the actor was accused in the actress abduction case. While some boycotted the movie, some other appealed the viewers to watch the film. The trailer of the movie was much discussed as it had resemblances with the arrest and subsequent events that happened in Dileep's real life. However, the movie was a commercial success amidst protest against Dileep.

‘Left Right Left’, a multi-linear political narrative directed by Murali Gopi became controversial as the movie allegedly portrayed the present Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan in a bad light. The movie showed an ambitious communist leader with a grey side which had a resemblance to Pinarayi Vijayan which sparked controversy. The movie was criticised by party members as they blamed that the movie had twisted history and facts. The movie was not allowed to play in the theatres in northern Kerala where left parties are strong. The movie shows communist party secretary as the master orchestrator behind the brutal attack on an emerging left leader named Che Guevara Roy which had similarities with the life of with Simon Britto, a real-life character who lost his leg in a political violence during college days in the 80's.

‘Thirakadha’, directed by Ranjith was an attempt to tell the life story of late actress Srividya. The movie draw criticism as a faction of people believed that the movie depicted Srividya in a bad light. Srividya's relation with Kamala Haasan during the start of her career was the main theme of the movie. The movie had Anoop Menon, Prithviraj and Priyamani in lead roles. The movie, however, did well at the box-office and was highly rated by the critics.