In a world of movie freaks, what better way to discuss contemporary issues than through films? With dubbing and subtitles to bridge the language gap, and nationally renowned actors who provide a familiar face on screen, movies made by Mollywood are widely enjoyed today. The recent rise of OTT platforms has also provided filmmakers easy access to their widespread audiences, thus highlighting the need for careful consideration of cinematic themes.
Apart from just widespread viewership, themes also form an important factor in gauging the impact of a movie. Much like extreme violence or graphic depiction of disturbing scenes are criticised for the negative impact they produce on viewers, good themes also tend to strongly impact most viewers. In other words, people are greatly influenced by their preferred actors, and powerful movies also result in changing people’s outlook towards different aspects of life.
A recent Malayalam movie titled, “Malik”, starring Fahad Fasil and directed by Mahesh Narayanan is noteworthy. By tackling an extremely controversial issue, namely communal riots in Kerala, this movie attempted to transform the public’s understanding of the issue. The slow paced movie accurately captured the fanatic attitude adopted by people in such situations. But it also showed the ill-effects of such blind passion. Initially in the movie, characters from different religious backgrounds coexist peacefully without any thought of asserting their religious dominance. The birth of conflict can be traced to political agenda within the minds of some individuals. The story subsequently portrays complex situations that lead to communal strife instigated by cunning political leaders. The filmmaker asserts the point that no religion or caste can separate people until they are manipulated by external forces.
However, any societal issue or controversy has many sides to it! Another side of this issue of communal riots was portrayed in the Malayalam movie titled, “Kuruthi”, starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and directed by Manu Warrier. This movie portrays a clash of communities due to cultural traditions that create an environment devoid of mutual trust and respect. However as the story progresses, Ibrahim (Roshan Mathew) distances himself from the passionate fervor of his fellow Muslims to take a wise decision based on humanity, thus portraying a new angle to the two-sided communal riot.
In both these cases, the films have analysed the reality of the conflict and presented new ideas about dealing with communal issues. Consequently, they were widely accepted as noteworthy movies by the masses. In conclusion it is befitting to say that most contemporary movies dealing with serious social issues, do so with the responsibility of what they entail.
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