r/MalayalamCinema

2000s was a culturally iconic time in other places and languages but not so in Malayalam. Tamil and Telugu films had great demand and audience. It saw the peak of actors like Surya, Vijay and Allu Arjun. The period saw the debut and rise of actresses like Trisha, Asin, Nayanthara and Anushka - the actors who are still the face of South Indian Cinema.

In Bollywood, 2000s were even more special. It saw the debut of fresh faces who went onto become icons like Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaife, John Abraham, Shahid Kapoor etc.

2000s alsoo made great changes in Bollywood Music, Shreya Ghoshal debuted and KK, Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi etc ruled the industry. Many new kinds of songs were experimented. Went a bit unconventional and stayed iconic.

Now, when it comes to malayalam, the actors that marked Malaylam Cinema in 2000s are mostly not in the industry rn.

2000s saw a lot of flops. The only male actor who had consistent hits was Dileep. But his films didn't age well. In case of actresses, Kavya, Navya and Meera Jasmine were the top tier actors at that time and all of them took a break in the peak.

So how do you see Malayalam films and Music Industry in 2000s? Personally I found songs before 2000s and and after 2000s generally better. Although exceptions exist. In case of films also, different from the preceding decades we had a high number of commercial films but a lot of them were terribly executed. We had a lot of art films in the 80s but not much in the 2000s.

It was more of a rant than a question 😭 anyways lemme know your thoughts

Nivin's character Justin is wonderfully conceived: throughout the film, he is a man who shows self-restraint in multiple situations. Ofc, he is 36, carrying the burden of family and neighbourhood, not to mention, his own demons from the past where he loved and lost his love. But Nivin plays the character with a light touch: this is a new kind of manly man for Kerala cinema where the provider/protector is not a toxic alpha wolf but a pack-man who has a core of dear friends both male and female, and who still puts forward family and neighbourhood as priorities.

His red Ford Ikon is a great symbol: the bright red a hangover from the halcyon days of his youth (a la Premam perhaps) when he must have been so dashing and cool with his ride. Now, it's a car that does family chores, though each time Justin revs, steers, and drifts it (usually to save someone's skin!), sparks of that young yokel fly across the screen and we know that this responsible driver is in full control of the vehicle. Other instances: Justin making peace (even at great financial cost) while his younger brother wants war; Justin stopping the fight once Hari goes mental (partly because the possessed moment gives him seemingly superhuman strength so Justin, wisely, steps back and watches!); Justin holding back his attraction until Ashley is both convinced and can convince him that she knows her mind and will not regret her decision in the future.

So, throughout Justin does all the things that Malayalam film heroes have rarely done and he pushes back against social toxicity of all kinds (not just gender/patriarchal). He drinks with his buddies but will not use alcohol as a crutch to headline his life, plus his vow to Ashley is more important to him. Justin is a character in a film and perhaps no real man can be that mix of charm and desirable manliness that Nivin imbues into the character (film's writers, take a bow too!) but that a Justin can be imagined-- with all his flaws and comic lightness -- gives Malayalam cinema's fictional men and real Keralan men a great role model to keep in mind.

This kind of self-deprecating humour does not undermine Justin as it might have the earlier set of Malayalam film heroes whose hero status is so tied to their self-gravitas and macho which other characters, esp female, pamper and puff up continually. "What would Justin chettan say or do?" is a great framework to keep in mind, for young men navigating 21st century social mores that are changing rapidly in an era of massive digital change and women's visibility in all social and cultural spheres. For young women too, Ashley is a character worth remembering as she is interesting in her own right. However, the film really belongs to Justin, a Valiyettan sans the melodrama, narcissism, and toxicity.

For a while now, a range of Malayalam films has been trying to create and flesh out an interesting, charming, sexy male hero figure whose vulnerabilty is not weakness and whose strength is not narcissism or artificial stunts but a comic lightness maintained along with the capacity to feel deeply. Nivin brings to life this lovely fiction of a man that the rest of us can think of as a shining light for the dark evenings of life.

If you made it till here, thanks for reading!