Trends we want to see in Mollywood !

2013 was an year of evolution for Malayalam cinema, with fresh themes, treatment and a horde of new talents. There were several trends which we welcomed with open arms last year, while others disappointed. Here is a lowdown on some of them.
Fresh faces
It is definitely an age where new faces are welcomed in the industry, but still only the actresses keep changing in our films while the actors remain more or less the same.Filmmakers continue to be hesitant to launch a new actor in big budget films citing channel rights as the reason. Dhyan Sreenivasan and Krish Sathar are the only new entries this year. It seems like one still needs a filmi backing for an entry, and we would definitely like to see a change in the
scenario.
Love stories
The year began with Rajeev Ravi’s Annayum Rasoolum, a simple love story sans any other elements, which portrayed a love struck couple played beautifully by Fahadh Faasil and Andrea Jeremiah. It was the same old boy-meets-girl theme, but we sat mesmerised as the sad story of Anna and Rasool unfolded onscreen. Unfortunately, there were no more such films in the year. We would also like to see more of romantic comedies.
Women-centric films
The audience were getting bored to death of old formula — of a hero, a side-kick and a heroine, whose job is to be the hero’s love interest — so were the filmmakers. This year saw a volley of experiments where the female lead was as important, if not more important than the male lead. Kalimannu, Artist, Zachariyayude Garbhinikal, the anthology Anju Sundarikal and Thira were women-oriented films which did well at the box office. We saw never before performances from actresses like Ann Augustine, Swati Reddy and of course, Shobhana. We would definitely like to see many more actresses taking centre stage. And we can’t wait to see Manju Warrier back on screen.
Suspense thrillers
Jeethu Joseph undoubtedly re-defined the concept of a suspense thriller this year with Memories and Drishyam. Not far behind was Rosshan Andrews’ Mumbai Police and Vineeth Sreenivasan’s Thira, all of which kept us on the edge of our seats. These filmmakers proved that an investigative thriller needn’t be a copy of a Hollywood film, and can be still watched and enjoyed by all sections of the audience.
Anthologies
Gone are the days when three hours was the normal length of a feature film. Filmmakers too have sensed that the audiences’ attention span is getting shorter, and are making films accordingly, with great results. The anthology, Anju Sundarikal, had five unrelated segments by five directors, and was appreciated for the versatility of each segment. The USP of such films was that there was something in it for everyone, and we would like to see more of them in the future.
‘New gen’ films
Having city bred youngsters as the main characters is fine but somewhere along the way, the modernity seemed to have got equated with beeped out cuss words and adult jokes. While we would definitely welcome the portrayal of contemporary reality on screen, modernity for the sake of modernity is a definite no-no.
Clichéd action films
Action flicks don’t seem to sell in Mollywood, what with most of them turning out to be ridden with clichés and a weak story line. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that we aren’t as technologically advanced as bigger industries, which produce technically perfect action sequences. We certainly wish to see less of them this year.
Crass comedies
Some of them raked in moolah at the box office, but the current slapstick and crass comedies seem to insult the comic tradition of Malayalam cinema, which has seen the best and classiest of humour in the country. We would definitely want less of crassness and more of real humour.
Sequels
The fact that the original was a super duper hit doesn’t seem to guarantee that the sequel will be equally appreciated. This year, much awaited sequels of cult films not only disappointed the viewers but developed in them an aversion to sequels. We hope the upcoming sequels of Mannarmathai Speaking, CBI series and Yodha won’t disappoint.