Youth movement

Prithviraj in 7th Day.- Supplied photo

Last week, the Malayalam film industry once again celebrated another festival season. Four high-profile releases were lined up: Mammootty’s comedy-flick Manglish, directed by Salam Bappu; Dileep’s Avatharam, directed by Joshiy; director Lal Jose’s Vikramadityan, scripted by Dr. Iqbal Kuttippuram, starring Dulquer Salman and Unni Mukundan; and Hi I’m Tony, directed by Lal Jr, starring Lal, Asif Ali and Biju Menon.

A cursory glance at the titles shows the emergence of youth power both in the cast and crew. While our superstars continue to make their impassioned attempts to maintain their thrones, young upstarts are giving them a run for their money.

That, indeed, has been the dominant trend all through this year. With some 86 films released in Malayalam until last weekend, comparable to the numbers last year, the industry has once again illustrated that even raw talent has its place.

At one point in time, with television channels going slow on their purchase of satellite rights, it was feared that the industry was on a downswing. However, sheer numbers prove that even the muscle power of television channels cannot dampen the spirit of youth, who leverage digital technology to cut down costs and bank tremendously on script power to pull off hits with panache.

While stardom has taken a backseat and story, style and structure have gained prominence, there is one star who is standing tall. This is Nivin Pauly, who has a largely unblemished track-record at the box-office, and has made his mark this year with three back-to-back hits.

The strength and success of Nivin Pauly lies in his ability to pick the right scripts, and if his films – 1983, Om Shanthi Oshaana and Bangalore Days – have scored big at the box office, a chunk of the credit also goes to the power of the script and the sheer talent of the directors.

In a year that opened to the successful hangover of Mohanlal’s Drishyam, the month of January, despite ten releases, saw only one certified hit – 1983, directed by debutant Ebrid Shine. The photojournalist turned filmmaker banked on Kerala’s 1980s nostalgia, married it with cricket and Sachin Tendulkar, roped in a realistic story, and laughed all the way to the bank with a critically and commercially acclaimed movie.

History repeated in February, a month that saw 17 releases, with Nivin Pauly scoring once again with Om Shanthi Oshaana, directed by Jude Anthany Joseph. With Nazriya Nazim, who consolidated her stardom along with Pauly, taking the lead in the film, the innocent romance of OSO touched a chord with the audience. While Jayasoorya’s Happy Journey earned some plaudits, the month also saw Mammootty and Prithviraj facing a box-office thumbs down for their movies Balyakaalasakhi and London Bridge, respectively.

If March offered no clear winner – not even Mammootty’s Praise the Lord, April, another festival month, saw Mammootty floundering badly, despite the support of Aashiq Abu. Their much-awaited Gangster opened to hostile reviews, while Fahadh Faasil’s One By Two, which had Murali Gopy in a double role, also receiving a lukewarm response.

Once again demonstrating the magical touch of fresh talent, debutant Syamdhar’s 7^th Day with Prithviraj became a runway hit, matched by a crass commercial offering, Ringmaster, starring Dileep.

May had an exciting selection of films – from the classy Mosayile Kuthira Meenukal and the multilinear God’s Own Country starring Fahadh Faasil to the crassy Ulsaha Committee and the much-awaited comeback vehicle of Manju Warrier, How Old Are You. She offered stiff competition to Mohanlal’s Mr. Fraud, which did not live up to the expectations that followed Drishyam.

And then along came Bangalore Days, and the rest, as they say, is history. The film has smashed box-office records, and is emerging as the most loved family, youth flick, placing its director Anjali Menon in the top league. The youth heavy multi-starrer featuring Fahadh Faasil, Dulquer Salman, Nivin Pauly, Nazriya Nazim, Parvathy Menon and Nithya Menen, continues to be the toast of audiences, even in the face of new releases.

The cheer that Bangalore Days brought helped audiences overcome their disappointment in Mohanlal’s Koothara and a slew of also-ran films in June.

The success track record of the year definitively proves two points: One, you can bring audiences to theatres with superstars but you cannot sell them a bad product; two, while youngsters can revel in their newfound success, they are yet to prove that their single-hero credentials are hot enough to sell even a mediocre product.

Ultimately, Malayalam cinema owes its current fortunes to just one factor: Talented writers. Great scripts have been the heart of this year’s success streak.

Actor-writer-director Sreenivasan predicted this turn of events a while ago. He was then accused of poking fun of superstars. How right he has proved to be, and how needed this change is.