However, Bollywood no longer holds the monopoly on domestic and international acclaim. The midyear list also features, in the seventh spot, the Chidambaram-directed Manjummel Boys—now the highest-grossing Malayalam-language film of all time—a raucous true story at the opposite end of the spectrum from Laapataa Ladies. While it begins with a dozen male best friends engaging in testosterone-fueled mischief, the movie eventually transitions into an intimate, hair-raising survival drama when one of the close pals plummets into a dangerous cavern amidst a monsoon downpour, forcing the rest of the ensemble to navigate both nature and local bureaucracy against a ticking clock.
The Malayalam-language industry, based in the southern state of Kerala, is generally known for producing some of the country’s most thoughtful, fine-tuned and aesthetically inventive cinema, with recent hits like Madhu C. Narayanan’s 2019 dysfunctional family saga Kumbalangi Nights and Lijo Jose Pellissery’s zestful 2017 crime epic Angamaly Diaries becoming instant classics amongst fans of regional Indian cinema.
It should come as no surprise, then, that Chidambaram’s tightly wound thriller is one of five Malayalam movies in the year’s Top 25. In his review of Manjummel Boys, member Pranav says the movie left him breathless, while adding: “I think that’s the biggest achievement a director could have. To produce an art so good, so thrilling that you silence even the most reckless of crowds.” Meanwhile, Niteshadk sings the praises of the industry at large: “Malayalam cinema not only grasps you with excellent stories, but it also uses music and places as characters.”
