Director Jeo Baby’s Malayalam language film, ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’, has taken my love for Indian cinema to a whole new level. It has heightened my appreciation for South Indian filmmaking. It is one of the best films I have ever seen. What the film IS is it’s a showcase of the delectable delights of South Indian cuisine, but also what the film IS NOT (despite the title) is a showcase of the delectable delights of South Indian cuisine. The film’s subtext brings to mind the Sabarimala Temple case that kept on showing up in my newsfeed years ago. It’s a film which highlights patriarchy’s resistance to women as societal equals vis a vis the guise of religion.

I love ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ so much, I’ve spent the past couple of days looking for other Malayalam language films to appease my appetite and quench my thirst for more of Kerala’s cinema.

So far I’ve found a film by the name of ‘Joji’, and another by the name of ‘Moothon’, which are also both really f**king good, man!.

I do watch a bit of South India’s cinema, but mostly Tamil and Kannada language films. Come to think of it I did see a film back in the day that I really liked by the name of ‘Sudani From Nigeria’, which was also Malayalam, I think. It was an excellent film.

Okay this is what I will do:

FIRST: Make a mental note of these four Malayalam films that I’ve seen so far: The Great Indian Kitchen, Moothon, Joji, and Sudani From Nigeria.

AND: Research these directors: Jeo Baby, Geetu Mohandas, Dileesh Pothan, Zakariya Mohammed.

ALSO: Google these actors whose performances have made an impression on me: Nimisha Sajayan, Roshan Mathew, Nivin Pauly, Fahadh Faasil and Soubin Shahir.

THEN: Find films made by and starring all of the above and introduce myself to the world of Malayalam cinema and descend down the rabbit hole of binge watching.

Next on my list are Muhammad Musthafa’s ‘Kappela’, Mahesh Narayanan’s ‘C U Soon’, and Anil Menon’s ‘North 24 Kaatham’.

Malayalam cinema, it’s like getting to know a new friend…#CinepicksTME