It was a promising year that rejected self-indulgent star charades in favour of simple, sincere attempts. There were no colossal blockbusters or multicrore clubs, but the industry rediscovered its penchant for raw, realistic themes, taking cinematic art to an all-new level.
With its irreverent style and dark humour, Angamali Diaries announced the arrival of gritty, intense narratives in Malayalam. Lijo Jose Pellissery’s gangster drama had an unconventional craft, filled to the brim with provincial quirks and casual violence. Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, the next in line, could easily pull you into its unhurried rhythm without striking a false note. There was muted melodrama, an unlikely marriage of hope and hilarity, incredible performances and terrific camera angles.
Parava is another near-perfect adventure so full of passion and earnestness. Composed of poetic frames and impeccable detailing, it wings through adolescent fancies and streets chock-full with stark, dilapidated buildings. Buoyed by Parvathy’s brilliant performance and Mahesh Narayan’s neat treatment of the hostage drama, Take Off was a film that worked both artistically and commercially. While Manju Warrier went for dark greasepaint to look her part in Udaharanam Sujatha, Surabhi Lakshmi needed none, totally nailing it with her nuanced performance in Minnaminung, to win the national award for the best actor in a female role. S. Durga, though not released owing to censorship issues, triggered sufficient debate on creativity and freedom.
Maayaanadi, with its simmering intensity, offered a fitting finale to a year that celebrated zeal and originality. An urban drama masquerading as romance, the film comes with a razor-sharp storyline, amazing frames and soulful music. Aiswarya Lakshmi, who was little more than a prop in Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela, claims your attention this time. She breathes a vivacious life into the film as the spunky and spontaneous Aparna.
There were women-oriented narratives, some of them straying from the regular survivor format. Ramante Edenthottam had a young mother walking out of her marriage instead of losing herself in the sanctimonious pleasures of domestic violence. Then, we had another lead lady articulating perhaps the most bold and audacious lines of late, as Aparna in Maayaanadi says, ‘sex is not a promise.’ 2017 was not a great year for celluloid gods as their stale, repetitive fares failed to impress the crowds. As usual they flexed muscles, violated the rules of gravity, mouthed punch dialogues and strolled away in slow motion. While films like Velipaadinte Pusthakam and Puthan Padam proved to be little else but a wastage of resources, Solo and Role Models tried to balance their hopeless screenplays with technical flamboyance. While A-listers delivered dud after dud, small films like Godha and Rakshadhikari Baiju raked in much profits banking on their feel good quotient.
2017 also saw a horrid crime rocking the industry, leading to a string of confessions and controversies. From all the chaos and outrage emerged Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), a pioneering body formed to address the gender issues in the entertainment industry. The WCC started exposing the patriarchal skeletons Recently, when Parvathy pointed out the misogynistic elements in Kasaba, it started a nasty, long-brewing social media war. But then, the women turned out to be real warriors, braving the nasty assault, taking the legal route and supporting each other.
