By- K. R. Rejeesh
This year began with turbulence in Malayalam Cinema as ‘Prakambanam’ (meaning ‘turbulence’) emerged as the maiden winner at the box office. With its shoe-string budget and less star-value cast, this Vijesh Panathur-directed film was a surprise hit after its release on January 30. It certainly gifted a perfect start and also provided the much-needed momentum to the industry in the New Year. However, in the following six months, the entertainment industry’s floundering is evident, largely due to lack of good scripts and out-of-the-box creative musings. Even big budget and multi-star films like ‘Patriot’ bit the dust at the box office.
The statistics regarding the budget and profits made by the films released between January and June 2026 is yet to be formally revealed by the apex body of the Malayalam industry. Still, it is obvious that a plethora of movies have incurred significant loss to the producers during the first six months. In a relatively small film market like Malayalam, even the thought of entering the elite ‘100-crore Club’ is ambitious, let alone the achievement. It is true that hit films are not bragging of great content and those having good content are not always crossing the finishing line of blockbuster. Despite its dismal screenplay, ‘Drishyam 3’, which was released in May, has a worldwide gross collection of Rs 241.92 crore. This Mohanlal-starrer flick is the biggest winner at the box office during this period. Meanwhile, Jayasurya’s ‘Aadu 3’ (March) racked up Rs 111.17 crore worldwide, according to sources.
Indeed, the first six months were bereft of films with fabulous content. But there were a few films that had exuded glimpses of neat content and theme. Released in February, ‘Pennum Porattum’, which marked the directorial debut of actor Rajesh Madhavan, has a riveting premise and rich freshness elevated by the performance of a group of newcomers. Surprisingly, this film hadn’t got much theatrical reception. Riyas Marath’s ‘Anomie,’ starred by Rahman and Bhavana,had a potential content as a medical crime thriller thatwas botched up by its mediocre execution. I would say writer-director Krishand of ‘Purusha Pretham’ and ‘Aavasavyuham’ fame is a maverick craftsman in the making among the new generation filmmakers. Like his earlier oeuvres, ‘Masthishka Maranam’ has a bizarre and quirky concept but it couldn’t set cash registers ringing ‘loudly’ in cinemas!
The next in line among the attention-grabbing movies was ‘Sambhavam Adhyayam Onnu,’ a supernatural psychological thriller written and directed by Jithu Satheesan Mangalathu. It was released in March with a time-travel narration. Albeit, it offered a novel experience peripherally, the befuddled tale failed to connect with audience. Meanwhile, the month of April shruggued off TS Eliot’s famous dictum “April is the cruellest month” and made the industry enthralled with the humongous success of ‘Vaazha 2’ and ‘Bharathanatyam 2 Mohiniyattam’. According to Wikipedia, ‘Vaazha 2’ lapped up Rs 234-235 crore while the latter notched up an estimated Rs 52 crore worldwide through theatres and OTT (Over the Top) platform. It is a mind-blowing performance by ‘Bharathanatyam 2 Mohiniyattam’ at the box office considering its lean budget of roughly around Rs 5 to 6 crore. However, films like ‘Spa’ and ‘Ashakal Aayiram’ had safe passage at the cinemas during this period.
‘Mollywood Times’ was released in the first week of June. Director Abhinav Sunder Nayak’s comedy drama is about the deception and hypocrisies of tinsel world when a passionate young budding director repeatedly knocks at the door of filmdom. The regular issues of copycat and infringement of intellectual property are highlighted in the movie, yet beyond the idea of making the best horror flick in the industry, the sequences prepare us for an easy watch rather than experiencing a real impact from the plot’s essence. A film within the film, the ideas are good but it struggles to transcend the middling situations.
The third week of June saw director Chidambaram’s ‘Balan-The Boy’ making waves in the tinsel world. Tale of an in-depth bonding between a mother and her six-year-old son even reverberated outside the state. It keeps us immersed into the slow-burning realm yet this compelling film is enriched by captivating performances. Chidambaram has astutely leveraged the conflict with his appealing craft and keeps immaculate balance with a tout screenplay written by Jithu Madhavan (the director of ‘Avesham’). Joining the race was Indrans and Madhubala-starrer ‘Chinna Chinna Aasai,’ helmed by debutant writer-director Varsha Vasudev. The film explores anxiety and the quest for happiness of two souls in the backdrop of Varanasi. A tender tale with all its full warmth, the movie had garnered attention of viewers even as the ‘Balan’ was grabbing the headlines.
