So-called alpha males crying their heart out, bringing home the widow and baby of a deceased best friend, a mute brother falling in love with an American black woman – are all progressive themes for the middle-class milieu. One of the finest mainstream films of the previous decade, Madhu Narayanan’s directorial debut ‘Kumbalangi Nights’ takes on social taboos along with challenging several stereotypes but never lets loose its grip on the entertainment quotient. The idea is to include as many great filmmakers in this list and evoke interest in the readers to explore more of their work. Please note that many filmmakers have created several masterpieces but I’ve capped them to two per director. It is not ranked in any particular order instead, I’ve clubbed the work of filmmakers who have more than one film featured here. This list is an attempt to compile the best of mainstream and independent films that I’ve watched over the years. To handpick 25 great Malayalam movies from an industry whose veteran filmmakers like Priyadarshan alone have made more than 60 Malayalam movies (many of which are classics), can create a conundrum for many Malayali cinephiles. If the 2000s were the worst years for Malayalam movies, then the best era was definitely the 70s and 80s, which witnessed the rise of the New Wave and Middle cinema respectively.
Ever since Malayalam cinema underwent a renaissance in the past decade- with the influx of new-age filmmakers creating some groundbreaking work, it has been unarguably the foremost film industry in India when measured by the quality of films produced.
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