I am from Kerala and here, we have the Malayalam movie industry which is world-famous. Yeah, you read it right. Kerala is a small state, just about the size of a 'Karela' which when translated means bitter gourd, and funnily our state is in that shape too. Jokes apart, the movies made here are so worth it that remakes are made very often.
The movies are also a constant in international film festivals.
What makes the Malayalam movie industry different?
Basically, the movies are not just masalas like the usual Bollywood genre where there is a love story, a few songs, and a happy ending with a few fights in between nor is it like the Tamil or Telugu industry where the hero is seen to even get up from a bad state and fights goons away.
Malayalam movie is all about reality. It kinds of relates to the general life of the normal human being like you and me and does not showcase any superhuman either. So, everyone can relate and sometimes it is criticized that the reality is just too sharp for that matter.
The comedy phase
With the arrival of the mimicry artists and mainstream actors like Mohanlal and Mammootty and Jayaram who also perform comedy with ease, the comedy phase started and we could see movies that tickled even the most serious persons and honestly speaking, it is way better than those stand-up comedians we get to see on Amazon Prime, who are quite unbearable to watch, in my opinion.
Police and mystery
Back to the Malayalam movies, we also got to see the CID specials starred by Mammootty and it really raised the bar for others to follow. The CBI dairy kurippu is one movie that piqued the interest of many and remakes were made too. It also glorified the police personnel of Kerala who is really a class apart when it comes to solving cases.
Music
Movies and music blend well in the film industry of India. Malayalam movies are not different. K.J.Yesudas, S.Janaki, Chitra. M.G.Sreekumar and now Sid Sriram are great singers who have soothed the ears of the listeners for generations.
The Bengal connection
It wouldn't be fair to ignore the Bengal connection. Great names like Salil Chowdhury can never be forgotten. Be it Hindi, Bengali, or Malayalam, his songs always hold a place in our hearts. It was a bold move to bring the Bengali music director to a movie in Malayalam and it became such a hit that the movie - CHEMMEEN went on to be featured in international movie festivals.
New generations still entertain
The newer generations of actors like Dulqur Salman, Fahad Fazil, Vineeth Srinivasan, Nivin Pauly, Suraj, Soubin and female actors like Parvathy, Nazriya, Manju, and others are continuing the legacy and despite the constraints of covid, they are trying their best to entertain the audiences.
Endnote - Malayalam movie was never about superhuman strength and never will be as long as the people prefer reality movies. That is why we are people who stand apart from the rest of the crowd. It's not self-praise. Just the fact.
I have not done justice by leaving out many facts but then it would be too long.