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Kerala is the only Indian state to have democratically elected a communist government multiple times. That political culture seeps into every frame of its cinema. Unlike Bollywood, which often treads carefully around ideology, Malayalam cinema wears its politics on its sleeve.

To understand Malayalam cinema is to understand the unique cultural psyche of Kerala: a land of political radicalism, high literacy, matrilineal history, religious diversity, and a relentless obsession with realism. In recent years, with the global success of films like Drishyam , Kumbalangi Nights , Jallikattu , and The Great Indian Kitchen , the world has finally woken up to what locals have always known: that Malayalam cinema is arguably the most intellectually vibrant and culturally rooted film industry in India.

is recognized as the "father of Malayalam cinema". He directed the first silent film, Vigathakumaran (1928), which faced significant social and technical hurdles at its inception.