The Malayalam industry is unlike any other film industry in India, in the sense that it doesn’t have huge budgets and doesn’t depend upon the star power of its actors to sell a film. Rather, the Malayalam industry depends purely upon its content and skill, which makes it unique and special. Let’s take a look at the top ten Malayalam movies to watch on Netflix.
The superhero trope has not fully been explored in India yet, but the fever most certainly caught on in 2019, when Avengers: Endgame was released. While many industries, including Bollywood, tried to cash in on the superhero fever, it was only the Malayalam industry that could manage to deliver a bonafide superhero film in the form of Minnal Murali, featuring Tovino Thomas in the lead role, with the film having been released in 2021.
The film features Suresh Gopi, Shobana, Dulquer Salmaan, and Kalyani Priyadarshan in the lead roles, and is a feel-good entertainer, which appealed to audiences from everywhere, upon its release. The film also marked the return of Suresh Gopi after a 5-year hiatus from acting.
Kappela was all the rage when it was released in 2020. The film made a huge impact on audiences everywhere, and the film is currently being remade in Telugu as well.
Featuring Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead role, Jana Gana Mana was released this year. The film is an investigative drama, with the right amount of action. There’s also a lot of thought put into the writing of this film, which makes it a good watch.
Yet another thriller, Forensic features Tovino Thomas in the lead role, and is about a medico-legal advisor who puts his forensic skills to good use when a psycho killer is out on the loose. Forensic was highly appreciated upon its release and is a wonderful film to watch.
The Malayalam industry, while producing a number of terrific films every year, has very few female-driven films, of which one is Uyare. It is about the life of a girl who wishes to be a pilot but cannot, due to an unfortunate incident. It is an empowering and wonderful film to watch.
Featuring Dulquer Salmaan in the titular role, Kurup is an interesting thriller, which also features Shobhita Dhulipala, Tovino Thomas, and Anupama Parameswaran in important roles. The setup of Kurup is interesting and spell-binding to watch, right from the get-go.
Politics is a field of backstabbing and a lot of behind-the-scenes conspiracies, which makes it difficult for the honest to survive. One explores exactly that concept when false allegations are made against an honest politician, and how he manages to come out innocent in the end.
Maniyarayile Ashokan is about a man who desperately wants to get married, as he is way past his marriage age. However, things aren’t as easy for him, as there are a lot of hurdles that he has to go past. What are those hurdles and how he manages to move past them forms the rest of the story.
Another thriller, Nayattu is about three police officers who try to clear their names of the false allegations made against them. They go on the hunt for those who framed them, which makes for a very interesting watch.
