Malayalam films are known for keeping stories realistic on screen. The same also reflects when it comes to portraying romantic love. Though not all of it is free from problematic stereotypes, there are many romances that have poignantly questioned the status quo and have been celebrated.
How about the ones that took the turbulent, unconventional path to reach fruition in love? We give you our picks, this Valentine’s Day.
Akbar and Ameer (Moothon)
The most poignant stretch in Geethu Mohandas’s otherwise generic gangster film comes when Aamir enters the frame. As Akbar slashes his body with a knife, flagging himself as part of a ritual (Kuthu Ratheeb), Ameer, the gorgeous young man, cannot take his eyes off him. Even when Akbar takes his time to acknowledge the butterflies in his stomach every time Ameer crosses his path, Ameer is unflinchingly persuasive, letting his intense brown eyes do the talking.
It is there when he sits at the shore, staring, as Akbar takes a dip in the sea on a moonlit night. The portions are handled with sensitivity, allowing us to witness a beautifully tragic love story unfold in front of our eyes. Be it Akbar (Nivin Pauly) blushing at his reflection in the water at the thought of his lover, or Ameer’s (Roshan Mathew) gently unabashed love for him, Moothon will always be remembered for portraying one of the greatest gay romances in Indian cinema.
Prof Mathews and Grace (Pranayam)
By the time Mathews and Grace are introduced to us in this Blessy directorial, they are already past their prime. Mathews (Mohanlal) is in a wheelchair and Grace (Jayaprada) spends every waking hour of her life taking care of him. But strangely, despite how despondent it might sound, the fact is that we aren’t looking at a middle-aged, married woman (it is her second marriage) who has tirelessly spent all her time nursing her partner in a wheelchair. Instead, we are choked with emotion to see how deeply profound their relationship is on emotional and carnal levels.
They have weathered the tempests in their life together and still carry the same passion, respect, and love for each other. It is there in the way Mathews, who hasn’t lost his zest to live, looks at Grace, or in her wanton love for him. Pranayam begs you to believe in a love that is timeless, transcending the superficiality associated with romantic love. And yes, it also celebrates the beauty of second chances.
Ammalukutty and Krishna Kurup (Oru Cheru Punchiri)
Ammalukutty (Nirmala Sreenivasan) and Krishna Kurup (Oduvil Unnikrishnan) live in a sedate old house at a little hamlet in Kerala. In their 70s, like most couples, they are constantly squabbling, but still put up with all their idiosyncrasies. They can finish each other’s sentences, and haven’t been apart from each other for a long period. Looking at them, you feel a strange sense of inner peace—a reassurance that love hasn’t rusted despite warts and all. Krishna Kurup’s eyes glimmer when Ammalukutty wears a new Kasavu Mundu, and she still simmers with jealousy when Kurup talks about his old love. Maybe director MT Vasudevan Nair never realised that by capturing the simple pleasures in the life of an old couple, he was framing one of the finest love stories in Malayalam cinema. Their love seems to have truly aged like fine wine, more potent and intoxicating.
Nathan and Deepthi (Ore Kadal)
Nathan (Mammootty) enters the life of the much-married Deepthi (Meera Jasmine) as a benefactor. But when their relationship evolves into a tumultuous affair, Deepthi finds herself falling madly in love with him, not realising that Nathan never saw it beyond a physical affair. Their breakup ironically turns out to be the most humbling experience for the cocky, emotionally unavailable Nathan. As he realises his love for Deepthi, she recuperates from a mental breakdown.
Adultery isn’t perhaps the best backdrop to celebrate a love story, but in Shyama Prasad’s Ore Kadal, it is unusually heart-breaking and passionate, more so because they keep away the moral compass and dig deeper into the emotional and physical intimacies in a man-woman relationship. Their reunion, throwing caution to the winds, can even be called poetic justice.
Clara and Jayakrishnan (Thoovanathumpikal)
For Jayakrishnan (Mohanlal), the sulky man-child who beds Clara (Sumalatha) as a way to deal with Radha’s (Parvathy) rejection, love can only mean possession. It is the guilt of being the first man to covet her virginity that makes him offer marriage to Clara. Like a typical chauvinist who expects his woman to be a virgin on their wedding night, he feels responsible for Clara. The alluring, mysterious Clara who falls in love with him wisely rejects his offer.
The man is torn between love and guilt and even that decision is conveniently taken for him by the women in his life. Padmarajan’s Thoovanathumpikal is every single young man’s fantasy trip— a Clara who desires him without conditions and a domesticated Radha who is waiting to commit a lifetime with him. That’s why a generation of Malayalee men celebrate the film as a cult romance.
Basheer and Narayani (Mathilukal)
Can you pass waves of lust and longing through your voice, without ever seeing each other? Can you build romantic castles in the air just by vocalising your thoughts? It is solitude that brings Basheer (Mammootty) and Narayani (KPAC Lalitha), two prisoners lodged inside adjacent jails, together. One of the most charming scenes in the film has to be Basheer’s expression of pure delight when he first hears a female voice in that atmosphere of gloom. From then on, evolves one of the most unusual love stories on celluloid, between a man and woman on either side of a wall, falling into a vortex of longing, companionship, and desire.
Like every romance, there is love, misgivings, lust, tenderness, and insecurity. As Basheer takes his leave from jail, helplessly in love and unable to say goodbye, and stares with longing at the flower bud that floats in the air from the other side of the wall, one feels that the love story (directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan) ended even before it started.
George and Malar (Premam)
All it takes is a split second for the irreverent George (Nivin Pauly) to fall for the charms of the newly joined Tamilian lecturer Malar (Sai Pallavi) miss. But director Alphonse Puthren gives a cute little spin to an affair that is otherwise perceived as sordid. He adds some endearing bits to their romance—the stolen shy glances, harmless jealous tiffs, and a simplicity in their interactions that makes it easier to root for them. That’s why George’s heartbreak seemed so real to us.
Ravunni Nair and Saraswathi Teacher (Oru Minnaminginte Nurunguvettam)
Sure, they married in their 40s, an age when you may have long bypassed the rose-tinted romantic illusions of life. But maybe they were just savouring the romance that came late and unexpectedly in their lives. Either way, the elderly Ravunni (Nedumudi Venu) and Saraswathi (Sharada) are too delightfully in love with each other. Theirs isn’t the tempestuous kind of love, just tenderness, companionship, and a lot of respect.
It is lovely to watch the couple slip into romance when they witness young love flourishing in front of them. It is one of those love stories (directed by Bharathan) that make you believe in fairy-tale endings.
Dr Sarayu and Dr Satheesh (Love 24/7)
In Sreebala K Menon’s debut directorial set in the backdrop of broadcast journalism, there are two love stories running parallel. But it is the romance between the middle-aged widow Dr Sarayu (Suhasini) and the divorcee Dr Satheesh (Shashikumar Menon) that warms the cockles of your heart. When circumstances don’t allow them to unite, they marry different people, but serendipity reunites them at a very crucial, lonely phase in their life.
Though the romance isn’t very eloquent, it is more about addressing the loneliness of a certain age group that touches you. You are suddenly made aware of the importance of seeking and finding romance irrespective of age.
Malini and Raman (Ramante Edenthottam)
When a married woman who has always lived under her husband’s shadow befriends a quiet and charming widower, she realises how emotionally barren and lonely her marriage was. The romance between Malini (Anu Sithara) and Raman (Kunchacko Boban) takes its own sweet time to unravel. He offers her everything she was inadvertently searching for in her partner—appreciation, respect, acknowledgment, and friendship.
Their emotional intimacy soon catches them unaware, giving Malini a new perspective on her life. Raman, in hindsight, was her life-giver. Though they (directed by Ranjith Sankar) played it safe in the end, the Malini-Raman love story is among the most tender and empathetic stories recently told on screen.
Roy and Sherly (Kanamarayathu)
Sherly (Shobana) is barely 17, with an all-consuming love for Roy (Mammootty), her benefactor. Even when Roy is struggling to hide his feelings for her as he feels he is too old for her, Sherly with her unspoiled innocence carries her heart on her sleeve. He tries to matchmake her with a much younger man who is already smitten with her, but Sherly has eyes only for Roy. Whether storming into his office to nag about her admirer, feigning an emergency to give him snacks, or claiming to Roy’s ex-lover that she is carrying his child, Sherly can be exasperating. But we also know that it is only a matter of time before Roy succumbs. And he does. This love story (directed by IV Sasi) has oddly, aged well.
Neelima Menon has worked in the newspaper industry for more than a decade. She has covered Hindi and Malayalam cinema for The New Indian Express and has worked briefly with Silverscreen.in. She now writes exclusively about Malayalam cinema, contributing to Fullpicture.in and thenewsminute.com. She is known for her detailed and insightful features on misogyny and the lack of representation of women in Malayalam cinema.