The reasons are too private to be discussed at a round table, listed out during a seminar, or uncovered in an academic course. A proud but insomniac connoisseur murmuring in his sleep may do a better job of explaining the phenomenon than an expert on a podium. Sreehari Nair airs his thoughts.
You will appreciate the Mammootty of this movie better if you do not take the servile reviews to heart, for this is a grand, broad, almost proudly comic performance, assures Sreehari Nair.
What follows is essentially a long scene set in a single location, and you watch in amazement as the scene grows into one of Indian cinema's funniest and most spectacular pieces of sustained craftsmanship, accumulating emotional power and subtext, growing wings and claws, becoming its own beast, applauds Sreehari Nair.
Manjummel Boys is a largely conventional, commercial movie. But given the rather curvy observations that do stay intact in the film, Rohit Sathish is tempted to think what an even braver, more ambitious film would have done.
Huma Qureshi's Rani Bharti was the ace in the pack, but everything that she does in this season smacks more of script conveniences than careful plotting, observes Deepa Gahlot.
These films, even at their saddest, darkest and grossest, retain their sense of humour, their sense of proportion, which again is something you associate with a Malayali.
As good as Mammootty is playing Sundaram, we see this facet of his performance through two lenses: That of Sundaram being an offset to whatever we know about James, and that of Mammootty doing quintessentially Tamil tics, including enacting scenes from old Tamil movies like solo plays, observes Rohit Sathish Nair.
It might have been done out of excitement but a "kiss on the foot" act of a noted Malayalam football commentator, done to an Ukranian playing for Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League during an interview.
'Suddenly the audience pool feels bigger, like everyone is watching everything now.' 'It's no longer limited in terms of boundaries, like a state or a language.' 'Whether it's a series, a movie or even a Korean film, the audience has access to all of it.' 'Slowly, the boundaries are blurring, so that's great for actors.'
Wonder why this Kerala rani was not invited for the coronation of Charles III.
Girish AD doesn't make romantic comedies so much as he elevates the genre, observes Sreehari Nair.
Dr Biju talks about his Cannes experience.
'Hope is about being more accepting of each other, the kind of solidarity and friendship that even our families may not be able to give.'
National Award winner Salim Kumar talks about the politics behind the awards and how he manages to play comic and serious roles with equal conviction.
Though the lies hardly go beyond extramarital affairs and conception problems, they are laid out by arresting storytellers who raise the stakes while speaking in tongues not wiped clean to make progressive points (No Made in Heaven-type diddling, here), notes Sreehari Nair.
Despite their opposition based on ideology, both the political Right and the political Left possess similar behaviour, observes Shyam G Menon.
Joginder Tuteja looks at southern directors who started with a big bang in Bollywood.
The Madras high court has ruled that pedigree based on caste will have no role to play in the appointment of archakas (priests) in temples and allowed trustees to appoint any person well-versed and qualified to perform the puja as per the requirements of the temple Agama.
Mouni Roy made a gorgeous bride at her Goa wedding to Suraj Nambiar.
Kerala Kootu is best enjoyed with steamed rice, but also goes well with rotis or crisp dosas.
'What The Kerala Story is trying to do is take the fake hate propaganda which we saw earlier only on WhatsApp to the big screen now.'
He is among several leaders of Indian heritage who have ascended to the highest echelon of public service globally.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday shared a video of a group of Taliban celebrating their victory in Afghanistan in his Twitter account, in which gun-wielding men are heard speaking in Malayalam.
A court of chief judicial magistrate granted the police 60 days to carry out the probe and directed it to provide progress reports every three weeks, public prosecutor K Balachandra Menon said.
With Malayalis immune to Modi's charms, the Pradhan Sevak must be quite unhappy today, surmises Dominic Xavier.
Shankar Ramakrishnan on helming Island Express in the anthology.
Vishakan has urged the court to issue an interim direction for return of his mobile as it was the sole source of his livelihood.
Vijayan said that the trailer of the Hindi film, at first glance, appears to be "deliberately produced" with the alleged aim of creating communal polarisation and spreading hate propaganda against the state.
Indian fans wait for Messi's '2011 Tendulkar moment'
'Here's looking at you, my loving and lovely friend.. beautiful inside and out. Love you Mon!'
'Once Mohanlal's ever-swelling entourage grasped his enormous worth, once it realized that the innate Mohanlal appeal could be profited from, it set about to exploit, to make uproars, to create the Mohanlal brand.' 'And he wasn't meant to be a brand. He was meant to be an artist, a tireless explorer of the unique seas inside him,' asserts Sreehari Nair.
Thankam delivers an engaging drama that fans of good crime-solving tales will enjoy, recommends Mayur Sanap.
'I have wanted to act since I was seven. I wasn't confident enough.' 'I thought I didn't have the face, the body and the figure because back then, it was all about the body.' 'Now, the industry is changing.' 'People are noticing talent.' 'It has become more than someone just having a good body.'
Aseem Chhabra lists his favorite 2023 films -- a healthy blend of Bollywood, Hindi indies and some of the best work that is being done in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Bengali cinema.
If a 15 seconds-long mic problem merits a case being registered, then the police risk an avalanche of complaints of similar and greater gravity, seeking their intervention, notes Shyam G Menon.
From dark humour to days of innocence, it's quite an emotional spectrum on OTT this week.
'Bharat is a name that is 7000 years old.' 'We are not saying the name of the country should be changed from India to Bharat; we only recommended that the stress should be on Bharat.'
Ariyippu is not a movie where you ask for a happy ending and you are served it on a platter. As situations change, the central characters conceal and display their vulnerability as any other real-life couple, observes Divya Nair.
