Furthermore, food is sacrament. You will rarely see a “song-and-dance” sequence in a realistic Malayalam film, but you will see elaborate, mouth-watering sequences of sadya (the grand feast on a banana leaf). The act of eating appa with ishtu (stew), the breaking of a puttu (steamed rice cake), or the communal sharing of chaya (tea) serves as a narrative device for bonding, negotiation, or even betrayal. The food is the love letter to the culture.

In an era of pan-Indian blockbusters where every film looks like a VFX video game, Malayalam cinema is swimming against the current. It is small, intimate, and deeply rooted in its soil.