#Rewind2020: A recap of 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' occurrences in Malayalam cinema this year

The Malayalam cinema stepped into 2020 on a positive note. Everything went as per the plan till March. The pandemic upended the industry, forced it to put things on temporary halt, and cinema halls went into hibernation. The sudden halt left many crew members unemployed, pushing them to the verge of finding odd jobs to meet ends. The financial ebb shook the investors, and a few others decided to cope up with the lockdown blues by releasing films direct to the OTT platforms. The initial dislike for direct release on OTT’s later faded and many stars including Fahadh Faasil’s film went for direct release on the OTT platform. The boom of OTT attracted many, however, superstars like Mohanlal and Mammootty chose to wait for the silver screen.

As the year is about to come to an end, here’s a quick recap of the major occurrences that took place in Malayalam cinema in 2020.

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If the pandemic didn’t break out, 2020 could have been a favourable year for Malayalam cinema in many ways. The acceptance that 2019 release films like ‘Kumbalangi Nights’ and ‘Virus’ received across India, had placed Mollywood under the spotlight. The attempts for making good content and engaging narratives were on the plate.

Most of the stars including Mohanlal, Dileep, Tovino Thomas were busy filming for their upcoming projects and a few others like Prithviraj Sukumaran announced the forthcoming films. Films like ‘Anjaam Pathira’, ‘Shylock’, ‘Ayyappanum Koshiyum’, ‘Varane Avashyamund’, and ‘Trance’ attracted the attention of movie buffs as well as did well at the box office.

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The month of March was very crucial for Mollywood, as Mohanlal-Priyadarshan’s ambitious project ‘Marakkar: Arabikkadalinte Simham’ was slated to release. The big-ticket release had the global audience as the target, but the announcement of Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan to shut the cinema halls forced the makers to postpone the release. The cinema halls remained shut from March 11. Apart from Mohanlal’s magnum opus ‘Marakkar: Arabikkadalinte Simham’, a few others including Mammootty’s ‘One’, Fahadh Faasil’s ‘Malik’, and Rajeev Ravi’s ‘Thuramukam’ pushed their dates of release. Although on March 10 the CM requested the theatres to remain shut for that month, the surge of COVID-19 cases prevented the cinema halls from resuming.

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The sudden halt shook the entire movie industry. Although many thought that the standstill is for a month or two, the situation worsened day by day. Mollywood’s daily wagers were forced to do odd jobs to win their daily bread. While many daily wagers opted to take construction jobs, a few others turned vegetable vendors. The lockdown blues were intense and many makers and producers decided to release films direct to OTT platforms. Actor-producer Vijay Babu took the bold step of releasing ‘Sufiyum Sujathum’ direct to OTT. Producers and exhibitors expressed strong disapproval to it but later on many makers followed Vijay Babu’s path. Indrajith Sukumaran’s ‘Halal Love Story’ and Fahadh Faasil’s ‘C U Soon’ won applause.

Although there was a boom of OTT platforms, the superstars Mohanlal, Mammootty, and Manju Warrier decided to wait for the cinemas to reopen. The most bankable young actor in the industry Tovino Thomas refrained from direct OTT and instead opted for a television premiere for his ‘Kilometers and ‘Kilometers’. Prithviraj Sukumaran too abstained from the OTT trend.

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Even in the tiring times, the M-Town's filmmakers weren’t ready to give up on their passion for cinema. When the state government gave certain relaxations to the lockdown, the filmmakers resumed the shoot, adhering to the directives and safety protocols. Jean Paul Lal’s ‘Tsunami’ was the first film to resume shooting during the pandemic. The crew completed the filming and the whole team was safe from the virus. Khalidh Rahman’s ‘Love’ becomes the first film to be shot completely during the lockdown. The movie features Rajisha Vijayan and Shine Tom Chacko in the lead and the major parts were shot indoors. ‘Love’ is also the first Indian film to release in the cinemas. It was released in the GCC countries.

Filmmaker Jeethu Joseph, who was shooting for ‘Ram’ featuring Mohanlal, prior to lockdown, announced a sequel to his hit film ‘Drishyam’. Kunchacko Boban and Nayanthara’s ‘Nizhal’, Mohanlal’s ‘Drishyam’ and ‘Aarattu’, Manju Warrier’s ‘The Priest’ and many others had resumed filming towards the end of 2020.

Although the industry was on a standstill, 2020 is also a year, where the industry had all reasons to celebrate. Malayalam film ‘Jallikattu’ directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery is going to the 93rd Academy Awards for the ‘Best International Feature film’ category competition. The Malayalam film was chosen as India’s official entry for Oscar! ‘Jallikattu’ also becomes the third Malayalam film to have been selected as India’s official entry to the Academy Awards. Mohanlal starrer ‘Guru’ and Salim Kumar starrer ‘Adaminte Makan Abu’ are the other Malayalam films, which earlier received a chance.

Some deserving talents including Suraj Venjaramoodu, Kani Kusruthi, and Lijo Jose Pellissery were awarded at the 50th Kerala State film awards.

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