Flashback 2015: Youngsters reigned, superstars failed in Mollywood

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 28: Be it Nivin Pauly-starrer "Premam" or debutante director R S Vimal's "Ennu Ninte Moideen", young actors and filmmakers reigned Malayalam film industry in 2015, while superstars and veteran directors failed to recreate their magic at the box office.

Fresh themes and new narrative styles were well-received even as few movies, set in traditional format, had some relief at cinemas.

The unprecedented history created by Jayaraj-directed "Ottal" (The Trap) at IFFK by sweeping all major awards including the coveted Suvarna Chakoram (Golden Crow Pheasant) infused a fresh confidence into the makers of serious cinema in Malayalam.

"Neram" director Alphonse Puthren's second movie "Premam" (The Love), which revolves around the three phases of the love life of the protagonist George, hit headlines not only in the name of its immense theatre collections and long queues of youngsters before cinemas but also for some wrong reasons.

People from various walks of life including state police chief T P Senkumar and veteran director Kamal criticised the "wrong" influence the movie cast on young generation.

The alleged leak of the Censor copies of the movie on social media, when it was set to cross all collection records, created a row in the industry.

"Ennu Ninte Moideen" (Yours forever, Moideen), a romantic movie based on a real-life story of Moideen and Kanchanamala, a couple from north Kerala, attracted both classes and masses and was hailed by critics as one of the most evergreen romantic films of Malayalam.

The success of the film was such that there were people thronging to visit the real life Kanchanamala, who is 75 now, to catch a glimpse of the woman who had spent her entire life waiting for her love-- Moideen, who died in a tragic boat accident decades ago.

But, the legal battle and war of words between its director Vimal and Kanchanamala, over the script of the movie, reduced the sheen of the historic success of the Prithviraj-Parvathi starrer film to some extent.

Of over 140 films released in Mollywood this year, only a handful of them did well at the box office and could be tagged as hit, super hit or blockbuster. Besides "Premam" and "Ennu Ninte Moideen", "Oru Vadakan Selfie", "Amar Akbar Antony", "Anarkali" and "Madhuranaranga" also did ring the bells of cash boxes.

A number of films like "Su Su Sudhi Valmeekam", "Chandrettan Evideya", "Picket 43", "Life of Josutty" and "Love 24x7" received good reviews and wooed audience.

PTI