Veteran filmmaker, screenwriter and actor Anant Mahadevan has made sharp remarks about contemporary Malayalam cinema, saying many recent films feel “half-baked” compared to the classics of earlier decades. Speaking in a recent interview with Rediff Originals, Anant said he feels the current wave of Malayalam films often tries to appear intelligent and unconventional but does not achieve the depth or clarity of the landmark works made by earlier masters.
“I feel they are all half-baked,” he said while referring to what he described as the “Malayalam brigade”. He added that he holds this view because he grew up watching some of the greatest works from the industry. Anant pointed to films by auteurs such as Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Shaji N Karun as examples of the artistic heights Malayalam cinema once reached. He cited classics, including Vanaprastham, Elippathayam, and Thampu by G Aravindan, as well as Kanchana Sita, describing them as films that once set global benchmarks. “They were world beaters,” he said, questioning whether the same artistic standard exists today.
The filmmaker also referenced M T Vasudevan Nair’s Nirmalyam as an example of the emotional power Malayalam cinema once carried. Anant argued that contemporary Malayalam cinema has become trapped in what he called “a new kind of formula”. According to him, many films now project themselves as intelligent or unconventional but often fail to fully deliver. He also suggested that such films are sometimes overpraised by critics, particularly in metropolitan circles. “Good enough to keep the critics in a city like Mumbai totally fascinated,” he said, adding that the acclaim does not necessarily reflect the highest standards of filmmaking.
Anant further observed that this decline is not limited to Malayalam cinema. He said that industries such as Bengali, Marathi and Kannada cinema also once produced landmark films, pointing to works by Girish Kasaravalli as examples from Kannada cinema. “I think we have left the best behind us,” he said.
Anand, a veteran director who has helmed more than 20 films and acted in over 50, won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay and Dialogues in 2010 along with Sanjay Pawar for the Marathi film Mee Sindhutai Sapkal. His most recent directorial venture was the 2025 film Phule.
