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Best Malayalam Movies to Watch Right Now. (Photo Credit – IMDb)

The magic of Mollywood knows no bounds. Despite the absence of traditional pan-Indian blockbusters, Malayalam films have captured hearts far beyond Kerala’s shores, earning recognition as a pan-Indian sensation. While ambitious attempts like “King of Kotha,” “Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea,” and “Malaikottai Vaaliban” may have faced challenges, the true marvel lies in how local gems have won over audiences nationwide. Join us on an exploration as we unveil the top 10 Malayalam movies that break cultural barriers, promising an enchanting journey filled with heart-warming tales, unforgettable characters, and breathtaking visuals. Get ready to immerse yourself in the joyous world of Mollywood and experience cinema like never before!

10. Second Show (2012)

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Gauthami Nair, Sunny Wayne Runtime: 2h 6m IMDb Rating: 7.1/10 Available on: YouTube

The film begins with Harilal, an ex-convict known as Lalu,...

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 9 (Ians) Saturday morning, it was a rare meeting of two giants when veteran actor Nana Patekar came calling on legendary film maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan at the latter’s house.

Soon the discussion between the two veterans centered around the films and Patekar explicitly informed Adoor (as he is popularly known) his concern that not once has Adoor invited him to act in any of his film.

The 72-year old triple national award winner said that he has been active in the industry for nearly half a century and never once has Adoor invited him to act in his film.

“I wish he invites me in his next film,” said Patekar with folded hands before Adoor.

Adoor reacted by saying he has never made a Hindi film as that’s a foreign language.

“I am not in a position to say if I will do a film. I cannot...

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 9 (Ians) Saturday morning, it was a rare meeting of two giants when veteran actor Nana Patekar came calling on legendary film maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan at the latter’s house.

Soon the discussion between the two veterans centered around the films and Patekar explicitly informed Adoor (as he is popularly known) his concern that not once has Adoor invited him to act in any of his film.

The 72-year old triple national award winner said that he has been active in the industry for nearly half a century and never once has Adoor invited him to act in his film.

“I wish he invites me in his next film,” said Patekar with folded hands before Adoor.

Adoor reacted by saying he has never made a Hindi film as that’s a foreign language.

“I am not in a position to say if I will do a film. I cannot...

Eighty-two-year-old legendary filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, who is known for his open and plain speaking, on Friday said not many in the film industry speak out of fear of the Enforcement Directorate but he does not fear to open up.

“Not many in the film industry open up as they do not know from where a windfall is going to come. Now not manycriticise for fear of the arrival of the Enforcement Directorate officials , but I am not like that, I will say what I have to say,” said Adoor as he is popularly known in the presence of Goa Governor P. S. Sreedharan Pillai.

He also asked all not to place him on a pedestal as he is just an ordinaryperson.

“I wish to tell all, I am a struggling filmmaker and please do not place me on a pedestal praising me,” added Adoor.

Though the filmmaker has directed just...

Eighty-two-year-old legendary filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, who is known for his open and plain speaking, on Friday said not many in the film industry speak out of fear of the Enforcement Directorate but he does not fear to open up.

“Not many in the film industry open up as they do not know from where a windfall is going to come. Now not manycriticise for fear of the arrival of the Enforcement Directorate officials , but I am not like that, I will say what I have to say,” said Adoor as he is popularly known in the presence of Goa Governor P. S. Sreedharan Pillai.

He also asked all not to place him on a pedestal as he is just an ordinaryperson.

“I wish to tell all, I am a struggling filmmaker and please do not place me on a pedestal praising me,” added Adoor.

Though the filmmaker has directed just...

Fans of the 2000 Malayalam comedy film ThenkasiPattanam have a reason to rejoice as the lead actor Dileep and the director Rafi have confirmed that a sequel is in the works. In an interview with Cans, the duo revealed that they are planning to make Thenkasi Pattanam 2 with the same cast and crew as the original film.

ThenkasiPattanam, which was written and directed by Rafi Mecartin and produced by Lal, was a blockbuster hit that starred Suresh Gopi, Lal, Dileep, Samyuktha Varma, Geethu Mohandas, and Kavya Madhavan in the lead roles.

Cans Interview

The film was a hilarious action comedy that revolved around two friends, Kannan (Suresh Gopi) and Dasan (Lal), who are owners of a market in Thenkasi town. They become famous rowdies under the guidance of their godfather. Shatrugnan (Dileep), who later joins as the manager of their firm Kd & Co, is in love with Devootty, and what happens...

Dileep caseDileep, alleged mastermind of the actor assault case, also became the prime accused in a criminal conspiracy case to kill police officials investigating the assault case.CrisIn a plea asking for the rejection of bail given to actor Dileep, alleged mastermind of the Kerala actor assault case, additional public prosecutor Kb Sunilkumar has urged the court to consider the cases Dileep got involved in and the kind of influence he has been wielding on the witnesses. Dileep, the eighth accused in the 2017 assault case, became the prime accused in another case of conspiracy earlier this year. The prosecution’s plea asks the court to see it very seriously that the man who is an accused in the sexual assault of a woman actor has become an accused in another case for allegedly conspiring to kill police officials investigating the first case. It should be seen an important reason for rejecting his bail plea,...

The probe team, investigating the 2017 actress abduction case in which actor Dileep is the main accused, is likely to serve a notice to his wife and former actress Kavya Madhavan to appear before it. Dileep, along with others, is also facing a trial for conspiring to kill the officials probing the assault case. Kerala […]...

MollywoodThe four Mollywood actors shared the screen in the 2006 Mollywood coming-of-age romantic drama ‘Classmates’. Tnm StaffwwwmyworldofmoviesinIn what seems to have become a lockdown tradition, actors Prithviraj, Indrajith, Narain and Jayasurya recently got together over a video call, which was a reunion of sorts for them. Last year, shortly after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the four actors who played the lead roles in the 2006 Malayalam movie Classmates, met over video call to catch up with each other. Sharing a screenshot of the video call on Instagram, Prithviraj noted how he is grateful to be at home with family, as opposed to being stuck in the middle of the desert. He was referring to when, in March last year, he was stuck in Jordan for over a month as he was shooting for the upcoming Malayalam film Aadujeevitham in March. The crew had to halt production at the time and...

EntertainmentSamantha recently launched 'Saaki', a fashion brand for casual and chic apparel. Tnm StaffActor Samantha, known to create a splash with her choice of attire, has launched a new fashion brand called 'Saaki'. The actor said that Saaki is a reflection of who she is, as she is. She also recounted her journey in fashion, noting that she's always been enamoured by it. "Saaki has been a dream of mine, and my baby for many months. ...It is a reflection of my love for fashion and my journey in life. Before I even started my acting career, I was enamoured by fashionable people and styles in magazines. I remember when I was in college, there was no way that I could afford a designer outfit. Since I started acting, I’ve had the honour of wearing clothes designed by talented designers. Many years later, I would wear an outfit with my signature on it.

Adoor Gopalakrishnan came back into the scene of filmmaking after a long absence of eight years with ‘Pinneyum’ or “Once Again”, but the movie fails to live up to expectations. A poor narrative and a slow and predictable script have made the movie a damp squib.

“Once Again” screened at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles

Purushothaman Nair (Dileep) is a thirty one year old man, unemployed for eight years. He has been trying to get a job for a long time but with no luck. Purushothaman is married and has a six year old daughter. Purushothaman’s wife Devi (Kavya Madhavan) , teacher in profession, runs their family. Purushothaman is always blamed by his family members and even by his wife for this depressing and hopeless situation. He is insulted often by close relatives and people do not bother to use harsh words against him. Trapped in the midst of this uncertainty,...

MollywoodRarely are the characters portrayed as people with feelings just like everyone else, especially when it comes to romance and enjoying life.Neelima MenonDifference and diversity - physical, neurological, mental - have never been accepted wholeheartedly by our society. Even the most privileged of us have to conform to bodily ‘norms’ and ‘normality’. This being the case, the depiction of persons with disabilities has been consistently below par in Malayalam cinema. Disability depictions often vacillate between a comic interlude, underplayed heroism, liability and burden. It’s also wrongly projected as a medical problem that can be fixed through Ayurveda, occult powers or even plain miracles when the truth is that disability is an irreversible condition that can be reversed only if it is diagnosed earlier. No, an alien cannot cure a disability like it is shown in Koi Mil Gaya. Rarely are the characters portrayed as people with feelings just like everyone else,...

MollywoodCan stalking someone be considered a legitimate way of wooing?Aradhya KurupShe enters the room, unaware that a man has sneaked under her bed. After drawing the curtains, she undresses, and the man gets a peek of her in the nude. Overwhelmed, he walks out in a daze as the landlady shouts after him. He reaches his apartment, still in a daze, and describes her at length to his equally curious friend. It’s a much celebrated cutesy, romantic scene from the Priyadarshan film, Vandanam, where Mohanlal plays that guy under the bed and looks adorable and endearing as well. Now picture this in real life. Imagine a guy hidden under your bed, watching you while you undress, following and pestering you at work, while you are travelling and at home? Imagine him blackmailing you for an intimate hug in office and even getting away with it? And imagine him...

Tnm Editorial#SarcasmAlert: All of womankind must be thankful to Mamtha Mohandas for telling us once again that if we get assaulted, it's our own bloody fault. Sowmya RajendranIf Mamtha Mohandas plans to retire from her film career anytime soon, she must consider becoming a guru dispensing wisdom to the world. If you have difficulty buying the idea, I urge you to read Friday's Times of India (Kochi Times) where the actor has given an extensive interview. While reading the interview, you may find that the ideas she has are things you've heard all your life - from well-meaning family, upstanding members of the society, and even the courts. If you're a woman, it's unlikely that anything in the interview would be unfamiliar to you because it's stuff that's been drilled into you from the time you became aware of your gender. But, it's all the more pleasurable to read it in a national newspaper,...

Mollywood'Bhayanakam' won three National Awards this year.CV AravindFacebook/Jayaraj NairMalayalam cinema has reaped a rich harvest at the National Awards for 2017 and three of those awards were won by the yet to be released film Bhayanakam. The awards were for Best Direction (Jayaraj), Best Adapted Screenplay (Jayaraj) and Best Cinematography (Nikhil S Praveen). For director Jayaraj who helmed his first film Vidyarambham in 1988 and is still going strong, this was his second National Award for Best Director. The first came way back in 1997 for the internationally acclaimed Kaliyattam starring then mainstream hero Suresh Gopi in the lead role. Apart from several National Awards, Jayaraj's work has also won international honours at various film festivals. An engineering graduate, Jayaraj was drawn to films after being fascinated by classics like Akiro Kurosowa’s Rashomon and Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves. Fortunately for the young man, he had as his neighbor one of Malayalam cinema’s most celebrated directors, Bharathan. Bharathan took Jayaraj under his wing and their first collaboration together was Chilambam. Jayaraj assisted the veteran in six more films, including the lavishly mounted Vaishali. After getting his first break with Vidyarambham, Jayaraj went on to direct several films that did precious little to further his career. Most of them were commercial ventures like Aakasha Kottayile Sultan, Johnnie Walker, Highway, Arabia, Kudumbasameham etc. But the first film in which Jayaraj showed flashes of his brilliance was Desadanam, released in 1997. The film which eschewed commercial ingredients in toto, narrated the story of a young boy all set to renounce material life and embrace the life of a sanyasi and the emotional churn in the lives of his parents who are loath to part with him. The film turned out to be a commercial success and also won the National Award for the Best Regional Film. But the film that created a greater impact was Kaliyattam, also released in 1997 an adaption of Shakespeare’s Othello. The principal characters of Theyyam artistes were played by Suresh Gopi, Lal and Biju Menon, with Lal playing Iago to Gopi’s Othello and Manju Warrier, with her large expressive eyes was cast as Desdemona. Misled by Paniyan ( Lal), Kannan Perumalayan (Suresh Gopi) suspects his wife’s fidelity and slays her, only to realise later that she was innocent of his suspicions. Stung with remorse, Perumalyaan kills himself. Jayaraj won the National Award for Best Director for the film and Suresh Gopi was adjudged the Best Actor. After flirting with comedy in Thilakkam, starring Dileep and Kavya Madhavan, Jayaraj again captivated audiences with his hard hitting film 4 The People, a story of four engineering college students who raise a banner of revolt against corruption. The major highlight of the film, however, was Jassie Gift’s music score with a few numbers turning into chartbusters. While 4 The People was a hit, the other two films which were part of the trilogy - By the People and Of the People turned out to be damp squibs. Jayaraj embarked on a series of films, dubbing them as a ‘navarasa’ series and the culmination of the journey was Bhayanakam. The films were titled Shantham, Karunam, Bheebats (Hindi with Seema Biswas and Atul Kulkarni), Adhbudham, Veeram and Bhayanakam. Except Bhayanakam which is expected to hit the screens this month, all the other films were released commercially to varying degrees of success. Veeram, which had Bollywood actor Kunal Kapoor in the lead, was an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth and was a period film set in 13th century Kerala. A painstaking effort by Jayaraj, his cast and technicians, the film which had Kerala’s celebrated martial arts discipline ‘kalari’ as a backdrop met with little success at the box-office. Bhayanakam was based on a couple of chapters that were a part of Jnanpith winning author Thakazhi Sivashankara Pillai’s epic novel Kayar. A simple film with a few characters, Bhayanakam is set in the days of World War II and the protagonist isa postman (Renji Panikkar) who delivers money orders from soldiers to their kin in a village in the pre-war days. With the outbreak of war, the same postman turns into an omen of death, carrying telegrams conveying tragic news of ultimate sacrifice on the war front and becomes a dreaded figure. Among the oeuvres of this director who has always trodden his own path, was Naayika, the story of an actor. It had Urvashi Sharada in the role of a diva past her prime and Padmapriya as her younger version. Jayaram, as the evergreen hero of Malayalam cinema Prem Nazir, played his part to perfection, bringing to life the mannerisms of the star and his perfect diction as well. Naayika won critical acclaim but bombed at the box office. But, perhaps the one film that should deserve a pole position among Jayaraj’s works was the much admired Ottaal, the plot of which he borrowed from the play Vaanka by the Russian playwright and author Anton Chekov. The film narrated the story of an emotional bond between a young orphan boy and his grandfather, with their simple joys and profound sorrows forming the nucleus. Brilliant acting by Ashank Sha as the young boy and Kumarokom Vasudevan (a fisherman in real life), as the grandfather, haunting visuals and Jayaraj’s deft directorial touches were the highlights of the film. Ottaal won all the major awards at the International Film Festival of Kerala and also the Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. The film also had the distinction of being the first Malayalam film to be released in the theatres and online simultaneously. While Jayaraj has worked with superstar Mammootty in three films Johnnie Walker, Loudspeaker and The Train, he is yet to make a single film with the other reigning superstar Mohanlal. Jayaraj has plans to direct films based on the arts, Shringara, Roudram and Hasyam in the coming days. His greatest strength so far has been the discerning viewer and most of his films have catered to that segment of film aficionados.

Malayalam master filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s first film in eight years, Pinneyum (“Once Again”) opens with the discovery of a dead man in a hotel room – and it will take the whole film for us to discover who this man is, and why he died.

Thirty-one year old Purushothaman Nair (Dileep) has been looking for work as an accountant since his graduation eight years earlier. His wife, Devi (Kavya Madhavan) works as a school teacher in order to sustain their extended family (her daughter, father and brother), and their apparently once loving relationship (theirs was a love marriage, approved of by family) shows the strain that Purushothaman’s unemployment creates. Finally, after much failure, Purushothaman obtains a visa and employment in the Gulf, following in the footsteps of so many other Malayalees who looked – and still look–to the Gulf as a way out of chronic unemployment.

The change in...

In the recent past, there have been several instances of imposters operating fake profiles of film stars. While some choose to ignore it, others immediately file a police complaint to ensure that the account is deactivated. It may be mentioned here that actors like Kavya Madhavan have filed a complaint with the police and have had the culprits arrested.

Outsized ambition transforms a modest family into virtual outcasts in Once Again, a cautionary tale framed as an unusually understated crime drama. After debuting last year at Toronto and playing the recent Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s latest feature could go on to draw further attention in niche markets or via digital formats.

Struggling Purushothaman (Dileep) is well known around his small south Indian city not only for his chronic unemployment, but also as the target of frequent jokes and snide comments, mainly because his wife Devi (Kavya Madhavan) singlehandedly supports their household of five. Despite a...

The biggest celebration of South Indian cinema, the Fortune Sunflower Oil Iifa Utsavam co-powered by Gionee smartphone and Renault- Passion for Life was a splendid event that witnessed the coming together of the biggest superstars of the Tamil and Malayalam Film Industries on 24th January 2016. With some of the year’s biggest films taking home the prestigious awards, the evening came alive as some of the most prolific names in the South Indian film industry came together to revel in the success of Tamil and Malayalam Cinema in 2015.

In the Tamil Film Awards, Baahubali-The Beginning took home the highest number of accolades with a total tally of six awards including Best Picture, Direction, Supporting Role (Male), Supporting Role (Female), Playback Singer (Male) and Playback Singer (Female). For the Malayalam Film Awards, Ennu Ninte Moideen took home the highest number of accolades with a total tally of six awards including Best Picture,...

Kochi: In the recent past Kochi got to see the glimpse of superstar Shah Rukh khan and now they will be witnessing the beauty of the superstar Katrina Kaif. The actress will be visiting Kochi to walk the ramp for a fashion show organized there. The show will take place on 25th of March. As per the internal reliable source it is found that Katrina will be paid around 1 crore for performing about 10 minutes on the ramp. The amount that will be paid to the actress is more than the double of the amount that is been paid to the south Indian superstars.

Actresses such as Asin, Trisha gets 30 Lakhs for their appearance in the show. Suresh Gopi, Samvritha Sunil and Kavya Madhavan are the local superstars who are making the public appearance every now and then. Other superstars like Mammootty and Mohanlal.

Kochi, Oct 22 – Popular Malayalam film actress Kavya Madhavan and her husband Nischal Chandra Friday agreed to part ways and filed a joint divorce petition at the Ernakulam family Court.

George Sebastian, secretary general of Kerala Congress (a ruling Left Democratic Front member), said that it was through his talks with the two estranged families that this solution was worked out.

‘I have been in constant touch with both the families for the past two months. It was after several rounds of talks that it was decided that there will be.

Malayalam actor Dileep has signed a new movie tentatively titled Marykkundoru Kunjadu, in which he will play a very innocent guy and thus will be nicknamed as ‘Kunjadu’ by the villagers.

The actor has recently given a hit movie titled Pappy Appacha, which starred Kavya Madhavan and Innocent in important roles.

The onscreen name of his character will be ‘Solomon’. His character is a very sincere naive young man, who is popular for his simplistic ways. Solomon falls in love with a girl called Marry, which is played by actress Bhavana.

Benny P Nayarambalam, who has been associated with almost all the recent hit films of Shafi, is the script writer of this movie. The shooting of the movie has already started at Thodupuzha. The movie is produced by P Rajan under the banner of Vysakh Cinema.

The other actors like Biju Menon, Jagathy Sreekumar, Vinaya Prasad, Salim Kumar, Kochupreman...

Kochi, July 24 – Popular Malayalam film actress Kavya Madhavan Saturday filed petitions for divorce and domestic violence here.

She filed the divorce petition with the Ernakulam Family court while another one in the Ernakulam First Class Magistrate Court is against her husband and in-laws under the Domestic Violence Act for causing mental stress.

Kavya, 24, got married to computer engineer Nischal Chandra February last year and decided to call it a day from the film industry at the height of her popularity.

After.

Actress Bhavana is really having a great time and quite a tough situation as well. The great time is all about her continuous successes in all regional languages including her recent Malayalam release ‘Happy Husbands’ that portrayed as a unenlightened wife starring opposite Jayaram. On the pars, her Tamil release ‘Asal’ has taken her to greater heights and is now receiving more offers.

She happily adds that the two songs ‘Tontadoing’ and ‘Dushyantha’ have got her a good reach amongst Children and youth cohorts.

Recently, the actress was injured while riding a bike for a Kannada film along with Puneeth Rajkumar. The actress has a bad injury over her left leg and is now taking bed rest in her home town.

Sooner, she’ll have to fly down for Us, where she will be sharing the stage with Dhilip, Kavya Madhavan and other Malayalam actors for a stage show.

Get well soon Bhavana!

Mammootty reigned supreme at the Mathrubhumi Amrita Film Awards (Mafa) held in Cochin’s Marine Drive to celebrate Malayalam cinema. Growing as an event, the awards now also celebrate the best in Tamil and Hindi cinema as well.

In a star-studded evening, wrapped in entertainment, Mammootty walked off with the Best Actor prize and his epic film Pazhazzi Raja, telling the tale of the Kottayam king who rebelled against the British, won Best Movie. In addition, Best Supporting Actor went to Manoj K Jayan and Best Supporting Actress to the beautiful Padmapriya for the same movie.

Best Director was Renjith for the intriguing Paleri Manikyam - Oru Pathira Kolapathakam, a Kollywood film noir, also starring Mammootty as a private detective investigating a fifty-year old murder. Best Actress was Kavya Madhavan for her role as a classical dancer in Banaras, a love story set amongst the pilgrim centres of the holy river.

Malayalam superstars Mammootty and Mohanlal reigned supreme at the popular Ujala-Asianet Malayalam film awards 2009 announced here Sunday. While Mammootty bagged the 'Millennium actor award', Mohanlal was named best actor for his role in "Ividam Swargamanu".Mammootty had more reason to cheer as his blockbuster movie "Pazhassi Raja" was adjudged as the best film. Renjith was named best director for "Paleri Manickam", which also stars Mamootty. The names of the awardees were announced Sunday by Asianet Television officials. The award ceremony will be held here January 18. Kavya Madhavan was selected as the best actress for her role in "Banares" while ...