Best Malayalam Films 2022: A year so good that keeping this list down to 10 was impossible (2024)

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The adversity of the COVID19 years seems to have brought out the best in the writers and directors of Malayalam cinema. After the visionary approach that had them first off the block in tailoring their formats to COVID protocols and incorporating the pandemic into their storylines in films such asC U Soon,Santhoshathinte Onnam RahasyamandJojiin 2020 and 2021, they got even better in 2022. In the year gone by, Malayalam cinema explored themes and issues that many other Indian film industries avoid, and some that Malayalam itself is often accused of treating poorly; filmmakers stood the conventions of traditional genres on their head, all this while staying true to themselves. They persisted with the culturally rooted, middle-of-the-road works that have drawn pan-India audiences to Malayalam cinema, and ended up standing out even in this year of big bucks earned by big-budget Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films mounted on a massive scale.

There were so many great Malayalam films released in 2022 that keeping this list down to the customary 10 proved impossible. Even restricting myself to 15 was heartbreaking. Here they are:

BEST FILM:Ariyippu

Director: Mahesh Narayanan

Primary cast: Divya Prabha, Kunchacko Boban

Excerpt from my review: “No man inAriyippubears the grotesque markers of villainy that commercial cinema often resorts to. Here, we have sweet-looking Hareesh, the avuncular manager Suresh… and the merciful factory owner… – the sort of benign-looking chaps whose grievous acts of omission or commission society would gladly forgive. The film, however, is clear that it stands with the persecuted, not the persecutors or their facilitators… Ariyippudepicts women’s oppression including physical abuse without ever seeking to titillate. Even in the video that sparks the pivotal conflict, sex is implied, not shown. In the film’s most shocking scene, when a man commits rape, we barely see the violence with our eyes.”

Read the full review here:

Misogyny collides with corruption and alienation in a compelling COVID-time saga

Streaming on: Netflix

2:Bhoothakaalam

Director: Rahul Sadasivan

Primary cast: Revathy, Shane Nigam

Excerpt from my review: “Bhoothakaalamis as terrifying as it is clever, a horror drama that is impossible to pin down as being a psychological thriller or a paranormal thriller. It is either or both, depending on how you wish to view it. Neither the title nor the finale provides a spoon-fed answer…The games in this film are being played as much in a viewer’s mind as in the goings-on on screen, which of course is how it is in any good suspense story, but in this one more than most.”

Read the full review here:

Terrifying mind games with Revathy and Shane Nigam on board

Streaming on: SonyLIV

3:Aavasavyuham – The Arbit Documentation of an Amphibian Hunt

Director: Krishand R.K.

Primary cast: Rahul Rajagopal, Nileen Sandra

Excerpt from my review: “The hero ofAavasavyuham: The Arbit Documentation of an Amphibian Huntshares a name with a species of frog that plays a crucial part in the story. This is no fairytale about a princess kissing a frog and turning him into a prince though. Quite the opposite. It is also far from being an academic treatise although that’s what that mouthful of a title might suggest. Aavasavyuhamis wacky, wacko in the nicest way possible and wild. Linguists and critics might have to put their heads together to envision a new genre into which they can fit this film by writer-director-producer Krishand, since it is, as of now, indefinable and unslottable.”

Read the full review here:

Wacky, wacko, wild and indefinable

Streaming on: SonyLIV

4: Asanghadithar (from the anthologyFreedom Fight)

Director: Kunjila Mascillamani

Primary cast: Srindaa

Excerpt from my review: “Srindaais lovely as an ordinary woman forced into activism because she is – it sounds bizarre when stated in black and white – desperate to pee. She does not have lofty-sounding goals, and the essence ofAsanghaditharis that even the tiniest of rights in this world have been gained through hard-fought battles that seem ridiculous in retrospect once those rights have been granted to oppressed communities – and taken for granted by younger generations.”

Read the full review here:

The Great Indian Kitchen’s director presents a solid anthology with a glaring blemish

Streaming on: SonyLIV

5:Nna, Thaan Case Kodu

Director: Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval

Primary cast: Kunchacko Boban, Gayathrie Shankar

Excerpt from my review: “…sharpness and underplayed hilarity…(define)Nna, Thaan Case Kodu(Then Sue Me), a biting political satire about a former petty criminal taking on a mightynetav. It is written and directed byRatheesh Balakrishnan PoduvalwhoseAndroid Kunjappan Version 5.25risked scrutinising a difficult father-son relationship in a society that pedestalises parents. InNna, Thaan Case Kodu, Poduval sticks his neck out again, this time to spotlight systemic support for government corruption.”

Read the full review here:

Sparkling political satire, one of contemporary Indian cinema’s best

Streaming on: Disney+Hotstar

6:Oruthee

Director: V.K. Prakash

Primary cast: Navya Nair, Vinayakan

Excerpt from my review: “Orutheefollows in the footsteps ofMaheshinte Prathikaaram,Vikruthiand other precious Malayalam films of the past decade that spotted cinematic potential in seemingly simple yet unusual, telling real-life occurrences. Sometimes, Soumyas emerge because instinct kicks in and gives them more stamina and courage than they knew they possessed. In Radhamani’s case, her resilience is a result of desperation due to straitened circ*mstances made worse by a series of recent setbacks. She has her back to the wall. Her anguish powers her. National Award winning director V.K. Prakash’sOrutheeis about the latent extraordinariness in ordinary folk, the havoc that wealthy, well-connected people casually cause while covering up their corruption, and what could happen when one of the ‘little people’ decides to fight back.”

Read the full review here:

Navya Nair makes this world a better place

Streaming on: ManoramaMAX. It can also be viewed through an add-on subscription on Amazon Prime Video.

7:Puzhu

Director: Ratheena

Primary cast: Mammootty, Parvathy, Vasudev Sajeesh Marar

Excerpt from my review: “It is unfortunate thatMammootty’s filmography for decades has been dominated by loud, spiced-up, formulaic, misogynistic fare. Every once in a while though, he picks a film likePuzhuand reminds us of the greatness he is capable of. He did it most recently with Khalidh Rahman’sUnda(2019, Malayalam), the screenplay of which was written by Harshad who has co-writtenPuzhuwith Sharfu and Suhas (Varathan_,_Virus). Together, the thespian, the writers and the director have created a deeply disturbing portrait of a bigot’s persecution complex.”

Read the full review here:

Mammootty’s electrifying portrait of a bigot’s persecution complex eclipses a mishandled climax

Streaming on: SonyLIV

8:Pada

Director: Kamal K.M.

Primary cast: Kunchacko Boban, Joju George, Vinayakan, Dileesh Pothan

Excerpt from my review: “There is anger throughout – the anger of the righteous against oppressive dominant forces – yetPadasteers clear of cinematic loudness. In this, it is far removed from formulaic, machoistic commercial Indian cinema of all languages, which substitutes hollow, violent machismo for valour. These four are certifiable heroes who do not require the crutches of low-angle shots, hyper-ventilating dialogue writers or screaming signature tunes to lionise them in the way characters played by male megastars are faux lionised inmass-targeted men-centric films.”

Read the full review here:

Captivating thriller on a real-life fight for Adivasi rights and the fury of the oppressed

Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video

9:19(1)(a)

Director: Indhu V.S.

Primary cast: Nithya Menen, Vijay Sethupathi

Excerpt from my review: “19(1)(a)is cinema in Pranayam form. It engages with pressing political issues, but it does not scream like noisy TV debates. Instead, it pauses, it observes, it absorbs, it reflects, it calms. Debutant director Indhu V.S. draws the title of her film from Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution that guarantees freedom of speech and expression to every citizen. The bravely black-and-white name fronts a film that is, in contrast, incredibly nuanced even as it remains unequivocal about its politics and intent every step of the way.”

Read the full review here:

Nithya Menen and Vijay Sethupathi lead a meditative ode to the idea called Gauri Lankesh

Streaming on: Disney+Hotstar

10:Dear Friend

Director: Vineeth Kumar

Primary cast: Tovino Thomas, Darshana Rajendran, Arjun Radhakrishnan, Basil Joseph, Arjun Lal

Excerpt from my review: “Vineeth Kumar’s sophom*ore enterprise as a director is an ensemble film about Jannath (played byDarshana Rajendran), Vinod (Tovino Thomas), Shyam (Arjun Radhakrishnan), Sajith (Basil Joseph), Arjun (Arjun Lal, who is also one ofDear Friend’s writers) and Amudha (Sanchana Natarajan). Jannath is a psychologist. The men are flatmates and business partners in an app development project. When a member of this seemingly tightly knit band disappears,Dear Friendmetamorphoses from being a buddy flick – or rather, from giving the appearance of being a regular buddy flick – to becoming an indefinable thriller.”

Read the full review here:

Intriguing blend of buddy flick, thriller and psychological profile

Streaming on: Netflix

11:Appan

Director: Maju

Streaming on: SonyLIV

12: Old Age Home (from the anthologyFreedom Fight)

Director: Jeo Baby

Streaming on: SonyLIV

13:Rorschach

Director: Nisam Basheer

Streaming on: Disney+Hotstar

14:Paka (River of Blood)

Director: Nithin Lukose

Streaming on: SonyLIV

15:Naradan

Director: Aashiq Abu

Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

Kuttavum Shikshayum(Streaming on: Netflix)

Malayankunju(Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video)

Ela Veezha Poonchira (Released in theatres. Not yet streaming online.)

Innale Vare(Streaming on: SonyLIV)

Kotthu (Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video)

Anna M.M. Vetticad is an award-winning journalist and author of The Adventures of an Intrepid Film Critic. She specialises in the intersection of cinema with feminist and other socio-political concerns. Twitter: @annavetticad, Instagram: @annammvetticad, Facebook: AnnaMMVetticadOfficial

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