CinemaMalayalam films are known for keeping stories realistic on screen. Though not all are free from problematic stereotypes, many have poignantly questioned conventions. Here are our picks.Malayalam films are known for keeping stories realistic on screen. The same also reflects when it comes to portraying romantic love. Though not all of it is free from problematic stereotypes, there are many romances that have poignantly questioned the status quo and have been celebrated. How about the ones that took the turbulent, unconventional path to reach fruition in love? We give you our picks, this Valentine’s Day. Akbar and Ameer (Moothon) The most poignant stretch in Geethu Mohandas’s otherwise generic gangster film comes when Aamir enters the frame. As Akbar slashes his body with a knife, flagging himself as part of a ritual (Kuthu Ratheeb), Ameer, the gorgeous young man, cannot take his eyes off him. Even when Akbar...

Malayalam director Kaladharan is back with his signature style of treading the subtle path of emotional family drama. His latest venture ‘Granny’ is now becoming the talk of the tinsel world. In a career that began in 1991, Kaladharan is known for his quality over quantity. ‘Granny’ is just his ninth film that that comes after a gap of nearly 12 years.

In this latest film, Kaladharan has written the story and lyrics in addition to directing the movie.

Focussing on three generations of a family, the film is a gripping emotional family drama of tender human relationships with a mix of emotions and humour. In short, ‘Granny’ is a clean family packaged.

Kaladharan told that while he was away from the film industry, he was busy with television doing serials.

“Once I decided to return to where I belong (films), I was searching for a topical subject and I decided to...

ReviewThough director M Padmakumar comes to his element in some scenes in the second half of the film, the cliché-ridden first half is likely to have already drained you out by then.Fahir MaithuttySuraj Venjaramoodu as Solomon in Pathaam Valavu | Credit: YouTubeWhen M Padmakumar's Joseph released in 2018, it had come as a pleasant surprise. A sleeper hit, the film also gave a big boost to the career of actor Joju George. Pathaam Valavu is Padmakumar's attempt to return to the crime drama genre after the debacle of Mamangam. The result, however, is rather underwhelming when compared to Joseph. Pathaam Valavu begins with Sub Inspector Sethu (Indrajith) and his fellow officers on the lookout for a jail inmate named Solomon (Suraj Venjaramoodu), who has absconded at the end of his parole. Sethu and his men soon find and arrest Solomon. But on the way back down the hill, there is a...

MollywoodThe actor will return to the silver screen later this year through a film directed by his son Rajkumar. Treesa JohnMalayalam cinema's king of comedy, Jagathy Sreekumar, is celebrating his 70th birthday on Tuesday, January 5. According to Mathrubhumi News, the veteran actor is spending his birthday with family at his house in Peyad in Thiruvananthapuram. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the family has decided to avoid grand celebrations for his birthday. As he turns 70, Jagathy Sreekumar has a special gift for fans who lovingly call him “ambili chettan”. The actor will return to the silver screen later this year through a film directed by his son Rajkumar under the Jagathy Sreekumar Entertainments banner. Jagathy Sreekumar's acting career took a backseat after a car accident in 2012 at Thenhipalam in Malappuram district, Kerala. The accident forced the actor to stay out of the limelight for several years. His daughter Parvathy told Tnm...

Flix FlashbackIn #WatchWithTNM this week, we revisit the 1987 film which has three characters who have been judged much, loved and ridiculed.CrisOff-season rain, haunting background music, and visions of a woman whom a man is yet to meet as he writes his first letter to her – that scene in Thoovanathumbikal is perhaps the crux of what has made it alluring to generations. The fairytale-like romance of two people that nature, it seems, wants to bring together, rain lashing every time one spoke or even so much as jotted down the name of the other. But Padmarajan’s film, bringing a sort of anticlimax after all that build-up (helped a lot by Johnson’s enchanting music), has the man – Jayakrishnan – choosing to be with another woman, Radha. Clara, the woman whose face forms in the rain, became an enigma for men of many ages. The woman you cannot reach, the one that you let slip away.

EntertainmentHundreds of movies, web series, short films and shows in Malayalam are available on Mainstream TV, which was launched two days ago.CrisMohanlal’s very first movie, made even before the famous Manjil Virinja Pookkal, is still sitting on a shelf somewhere, not seeing the light of day. It would be splendid if, somehow, a copy of Thiranottam could be retrieved and brought out for the public to finally see how the superstar launched his more than four-decade-old career as a teenager in 1978. Siva S had this thought in his head when he walked out of the jobs he had been doing in the entertainment industry to start something of his own. The ‘something’ turned out to be an over-the-top (Ott) media platform in Malayalam, ‘Mainstream TV’, the first of its kind, made available on Play Store two days ago. ‘Mainstream TV’ has hundreds of Malayalam movies, short films, animation films,...