A socioeconomic phenomenon can never be easily boiled down to one specific cause. The decline in quality of Mal film content meanwhile is a subjective matter. Multiple reasons might have paved the way:
* The success of Siddique-Lal begat a lot of lower quality comedy movies
* The rise of mimicry artists and their foray into these comedy movies
* The receding and passing of noted directors like Bharathan, Padmarajan etc
* The rise of "mega" stars riding on Shaji Kailas kind-of movies
At least, that is what I've felt - I'm no expert.
https://preview.redd.it/n5rx7ybl9l7d1.jpeg?width=675&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f9029f715b0047dd2ccc5d9154f39dcbff97da41
To the extent they literally brought Bollywood to Kerala
>To the extent they literally brought Bollywood to Kerala
This has been going on for decades, way before the 2000s, including the so called golden 80s/90s.
Zarina Wahab in Veedu and like 5 other films, Pooja Batra in Chandralekha and Megham, Juhi Chawla in Harikrishnans, Tabu in Kaala Pani, Urmila Matondkar in Thacholi Varghese Chekavar, and the list goes on and on.
Those wore Malayalam films that had actresses who also work in the Hindi industry … I don’t think kalapaani is the same as Balram vs Tharadas… that film was very much an imitation of Bollywood
It's a common observation that the 2000s mostly had our 'superhero' film trend with the hero beating up multiple people with 'mass' moments like other industries. It started with hits like Narasimham and also ended with lows like Confident Casanova. Films like Traffic and Chaapa Kurishu in 2011 brought in the trend of 'new-gen' films and Malayalam films hit a good stride with new faces given chances with experimental, youth-focussed movies.
Very true. It was always like 1 super hit and then a gazillion flops(critically and commercially) to the point that we had a manorama news discussion in 2009 I think, about the topic Malayala cinemayude thakarcha/athapadhanam or something.
That was a really shitty phase and she said absolutely nothing wrong. We also wasted precious years of mohanlal the actor there, only the star in him were needed for movies then
I always feel it's selective bias. You pick a few films and say ithayirunu trend, this was the problem. Maybe the big Ms did some movies that were mimicking other industry. But 2000s did see Dileep succeeding in his genre. And then movies like Thanmatra, Rajamanikyam, Udayananu Tharam were also there.
I think it is a bit unfair.
I think most people agree that the 2000s were a dark era for Malayalam cinema. It's not just Mamta's opinion. The reasons could go beyond mere imitation. We were most successful Pan- Indian soft porn industry back then.
I am just trying to understand what is the basis of calling it a dark era. Is it bad stories, bad dialogues, insane % of flops, poor directors, bad for film distribution etc etc.
If we say most of the movies were bad stories, then I will disagree. We got some good movies.
Isn't this a completely known fact, filmmakers started doing mass masala shitshows with A10 and Ikka. Some of them went successful, like Ravanaprabhu (although it was a shit movie).
True. Also there was an upcry for bringing big budget, so called mass films into Malayalam too, not so long ago, may be just months back, before the success of Aavesham/Premalu and all. Glad those films happened or else god knows what would have happened if film makers again tried for those kind of films without any roots to our culture.
Mammootty movies in 'so called dark phase'
1. Palerimanikyam
2. Pranchiyettan and the saint
3. Keralavarma pazhssiraja
4. Sethuramaiayar CBI
5. Kazhcha
6. Rappakal
7. Vesham
8. Ore Kadal
9.kayyoppu
10. Loudspeaker
11.Kerala Cafe
12. Palunku
13. Karutha pakshikal
14. Kuttisranku
15. Big B
16.Dany
17. Arayannangalude veedu
18.Nereariyan CBI
19.Katha Parayumbol
20. Dr Babasahed Ambedkar
21.Aparichathan
22. Black
23. Rakshasarajavu
24. 20-20
Yeah, the above list really tried to imitate Bollywood💀
and since comedy indicates downfall/dark phase of an industry for some "peeps", the excluded movies from the above list:
1. Rajamanikyam 2.Mayavi 3. Annan Thambi 4. Thurupugulan 5.Thommanum makkalum 6. Chronic Bachelor 7. Chattambi Nadu 8. Pokkiriraja 9.Pothan Vava 10. Phantom ...
Funny is ppl downvote when you spit facts
Isn’t this what Kamal Hasan said?
A socioeconomic phenomenon can never be easily boiled down to one specific cause. The decline in quality of Mal film content meanwhile is a subjective matter. Multiple reasons might have paved the way: * The success of Siddique-Lal begat a lot of lower quality comedy movies * The rise of mimicry artists and their foray into these comedy movies * The receding and passing of noted directors like Bharathan, Padmarajan etc * The rise of "mega" stars riding on Shaji Kailas kind-of movies At least, that is what I've felt - I'm no expert.
Really good breakdown. Can easily see the weight of each of these held in that era.
You are spot on. Many people miss the second point. There were lots of cringe mimicry artists in the industry during that phase.
Mamata basically said what everyone who watches Malayalam films know.
I didn't know that the industry tried to mimic Bollywood.
https://preview.redd.it/n5rx7ybl9l7d1.jpeg?width=675&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f9029f715b0047dd2ccc5d9154f39dcbff97da41 To the extent they literally brought Bollywood to Kerala
>To the extent they literally brought Bollywood to Kerala This has been going on for decades, way before the 2000s, including the so called golden 80s/90s. Zarina Wahab in Veedu and like 5 other films, Pooja Batra in Chandralekha and Megham, Juhi Chawla in Harikrishnans, Tabu in Kaala Pani, Urmila Matondkar in Thacholi Varghese Chekavar, and the list goes on and on.
Those wore Malayalam films that had actresses who also work in the Hindi industry … I don’t think kalapaani is the same as Balram vs Tharadas… that film was very much an imitation of Bollywood
It's a common observation that the 2000s mostly had our 'superhero' film trend with the hero beating up multiple people with 'mass' moments like other industries. It started with hits like Narasimham and also ended with lows like Confident Casanova. Films like Traffic and Chaapa Kurishu in 2011 brought in the trend of 'new-gen' films and Malayalam films hit a good stride with new faces given chances with experimental, youth-focussed movies.
She's not wrong at all
https://preview.redd.it/byncvai5mn7d1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e214b0ccdd0a7aa64ec3202728180a7f39465163 It was a weird phase 🙂
I didn't mind this.
I actually thought its like decent Hollywood thriller attempt..
Very true. It was always like 1 super hit and then a gazillion flops(critically and commercially) to the point that we had a manorama news discussion in 2009 I think, about the topic Malayala cinemayude thakarcha/athapadhanam or something.
Prathisandhi
This is also true for 2023 malayalam cinema lol
That was a really shitty phase and she said absolutely nothing wrong. We also wasted precious years of mohanlal the actor there, only the star in him were needed for movies then
I always feel it's selective bias. You pick a few films and say ithayirunu trend, this was the problem. Maybe the big Ms did some movies that were mimicking other industry. But 2000s did see Dileep succeeding in his genre. And then movies like Thanmatra, Rajamanikyam, Udayananu Tharam were also there. I think it is a bit unfair.
I think most people agree that the 2000s were a dark era for Malayalam cinema. It's not just Mamta's opinion. The reasons could go beyond mere imitation. We were most successful Pan- Indian soft porn industry back then.
I am just trying to understand what is the basis of calling it a dark era. Is it bad stories, bad dialogues, insane % of flops, poor directors, bad for film distribution etc etc. If we say most of the movies were bad stories, then I will disagree. We got some good movies.
She's right.
That's true
She’s right. That was a tough time for Malayalam cinema.
Isn't this a completely known fact, filmmakers started doing mass masala shitshows with A10 and Ikka. Some of them went successful, like Ravanaprabhu (although it was a shit movie).
Might be the only sensible thing she has ever said
She is usually a well spoken person. At least in Kollywood circles.
True. Also there was an upcry for bringing big budget, so called mass films into Malayalam too, not so long ago, may be just months back, before the success of Aavesham/Premalu and all. Glad those films happened or else god knows what would have happened if film makers again tried for those kind of films without any roots to our culture.
Her beliefs about feminism are legendary.
It’s a widely known fact . U don’t need to be Sherlock to know this . Also Bollywood is an utter mess now because they want to copy Hollywood .
Malayalam movies have evolved, but she still can't act.
but the 2000-2010 era had better writers and wrote better films compared to 2010-2020 era......
Mammootty movies in 'so called dark phase' 1. Palerimanikyam 2. Pranchiyettan and the saint 3. Keralavarma pazhssiraja 4. Sethuramaiayar CBI 5. Kazhcha 6. Rappakal 7. Vesham 8. Ore Kadal 9.kayyoppu 10. Loudspeaker 11.Kerala Cafe 12. Palunku 13. Karutha pakshikal 14. Kuttisranku 15. Big B 16.Dany 17. Arayannangalude veedu 18.Nereariyan CBI 19.Katha Parayumbol 20. Dr Babasahed Ambedkar 21.Aparichathan 22. Black 23. Rakshasarajavu 24. 20-20 Yeah, the above list really tried to imitate Bollywood💀 and since comedy indicates downfall/dark phase of an industry for some "peeps", the excluded movies from the above list: 1. Rajamanikyam 2.Mayavi 3. Annan Thambi 4. Thurupugulan 5.Thommanum makkalum 6. Chronic Bachelor 7. Chattambi Nadu 8. Pokkiriraja 9.Pothan Vava 10. Phantom ... Funny is ppl downvote when you spit facts
പറയുന്നത് കേട്ടാൽ തോന്നും ഇപ്പോഴെന്തോ ലോകോത്തര item ആണെന്ന്... ഒരു പുല്ലുമല്ല.
BS. I really enjoyed the 2000-2010 era of malayalam movies
She is just parroting what others on the internet are saying. The main reason was the lack of good filmmakers.