Malayalam cinema impacts Tollywood big time

Malayalam film industry has had a tectonic shift in the manner its heroes and heroines have been received and accepted in the neighbouring film industries. From the time when shady soft porn films from Mallu land were the staple diet of standalone theatres all through the ‘80s, the times have changed for the better over the last three decades. Brazenly raunchy Shakeela hits are not the only identity for the industry today, which is much sought after by every movie maker for its interesting films, a steady influx of good looking heroines and dignified ‘guest appearances’ by its iconic heroes like Mohanlal in Telugu and also Tamil cinema.

If the Telugu film patrons of the earlier era were familiar with the K Vishwanath films in which big names like Mammotty featured, today’s viewers are yet to tire of the Nayantaras and Keerthy Suresh types who are seen along the local lads in releases every week. The mantle for a solo heroine box-office pulling power, which was what Vijayashanti, the ‘Lady Amitabh’ enjoyed for a good period is now with Nayantara in both Tamil and Telugu films where she is seen regularly. Her recent ‘Dora’ may not have set the Musi on fire but her metamorphosis from a mere ornamental slot alongside male superstars to one who can keep her fans involved has become a reality in the past few years.

A solid counterfoil to the upcountry imports in Telugu cinema, the Malayalam film heroines are both sassy and traditional in their looks and appearance, which wows the local fans all the more. For every Anu Emmanuel, there is a Madonna Sebastian or Anupama Parameswaran, who blend seamlessly into the masala fare that our film banners churn with unfailing regularity. Alongside them, the new boys in Kerala like Nivin Pauly or Prithviraj too are familiar figures for the Andhra audience, more because of the widespread availability of their films over social media.

From the business point of view, with the younger heroes like Allu Arjun and Junior NTR household names in Kerala along with their Tamil counterparts, there are collaborations that are being heard frequently of late. Allu Sirish is now completing a film 1971- Beyond Borders -in Malayalam along with none other than Mohanlal. The portly hero from the coconut land had enjoyed great visibility in Telugu with Jr NTR ( Janatha Garage) and his dubbed films ‘ Manyam Puli’ and ‘Kanupapa’ too found favourable response.

With multiplexes bringing original Malayalam releases into different cities in India for them to enjoy their own films, connoisseurs too have a chance to watch them in real time, prior to their dubbed re-incarnations flooding the theatres. Thus, increasing interconnectivity all over has made an erstwhile distant industry to enter the drawing rooms of the home crowd easily and effectively of late.

K Naresh Kumar