Malayalam cinema is often known for its ability to find drama in the seemingly ordinary. Such films also do this by taking a deep dive into the human psyche and experimenting with the form. If you find yourself looking for a list of such films that are hard to box into just one genre, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a list of off-beat Malayalam titles on SonyLIV you can watch.
An unrecognisable Sunny Wayne as a rubber tapper in the hills of central Kerala is the most familiar face in Appan. With no big names attached, director Maju with his co-writer R Jayakumar manages to pack a disturbing story of generational trauma in a toxic family set exclusively in a middle-class home. Early in the film, Kuttyamma (a brilliant Pauly Valsan) wakes up from her blissful sleep and narrates her dream to her daughter-in-law: her husband, the bedridden patriarch Ittychan (Alencier Ley Lopez) dies and her son, Njoonju (Sunny Wayne) places cotton in his nose. This unusual dream captures the wistfulness of the reality of that home. Ittychan, who commands hatred so severe that his family prays for his demise, is introduced to us through the menacing folk song he sings late at night with the sole intention of disrupting others’ sleep. Throughout the film, he never leaves his bed, yet manages to spew so much venom that the terror in a scene where he slightly moves his leg surmounts what other villains can manage with weapons and bloodshed. Appan explores the constant trauma and helplessness of the people cursed to be the “family” of this beast. Even with minor flaws especially towards the end, this film challenges the idea of home in the most disturbing way.
It's difficult to claim one Lijo Jose Pellissery film to be “his best” since each work in his filmography bursts with a sense of whimsy and realism. But one can call Churuli his most confusing (in the best way) film yet, which is a delightful concoction of science fiction, mysticism and surrealism. The film starts with a story of a Namboothiri who goes in search of a Perumadan (Phantom) in a dark forest and gets stuck in a loop. This myth to Churuli is what the Thirukural is to his latest film Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam — the crux.
Churuli also places two policemen, Antony (Chemban Vinod Jose) and Shajivan (Vinay Forrt) an undercover operation to nab a criminal in the forest. Who is the Perumadan in an unruly village where everyone carries secrets? What is this god-forsaken world so enchantingly captured by cinematographer Madhu Neelakandan? Will we come out of this dreaded space-time loop? Many such questions will haunt you long after watching Churuli and make you run to your cinephile friend to compare interpretations.
Saudi Vellaka, the sweetest film on this list rewrites the popular adage — Justice delayed isn’t justice denied, it is injustice, to both parties involved and makes an earnest plea for quicker resolution of cases. It all starts on a fateful day in Kochi when a group of kids playing cricket hit an elderly bypasser, Ayesha Rauthar (Devi Varma), who in a fit of anger hits the kid back. The family files a case that entangles everyone in a long legal battle that drags on for 14 years which becomes the real punishment rather than the measly amount that is finally extracted as a fine. In these 14 years, kids grow up, witnesses die, sons get lost, and people move away. Life happens but the tight leash of the long impending case makes everyone victims. Tarun Moorthy in his sophomore film as writer-director manages to create a warm human story that raises some pertinent questions.
Bhoothakaalam in Malayalam means 'past' as well as 'time of spirits', both of which fittingly describe this film. It is a psychological horror thriller where the ghosts of the past are just as visceral as the ghosts in the haunted home. The horror here is in eerie silences designed by Vicky and Kishan, and the frames of the old home captured by Shehnad Jalal. A middle-aged school teacher who is battling with clinical depression (a brilliant Revathy) lives with her old ill mother and unemployed son (Shane Nigam). The drudgery of elderly care, their past and the son’s frustration of feeling stuck run undercurrent in the rented home that carries dark secrets of its own. When the old grandmother dies, the tensions acerbate with odd things starting to happen in the home. Written and directed by Rahul Sadasivan, Boothakaalam sheds light on mental health issues that are still pushed under the rug in our society, while creating a chilling horror story.
When a film is titled ‘The Arbit Documentation of An Amphibian Hunt: Aavasavyuham’, it generates curiosity. This Best Film winner in the Kerala State Awards by writer-director Krishand is as experimental as it can get. At the outset, it is a satirical mockumentary set in the ecologically fragile zone of Puthuvype, a small island in Kochi about different people who met a mysterious man (or say, being?) named Joy (Rahul Rajagopal), with supernatural powers to summon fishes. And Avasavyuham manages to pull off the impossible — to create a large ecosystem that ponders on broad themes like environmental degradation, human greed, power structures, male ego and so much more while being hilarious. Krishand’s brand of social humour hits the bull’s eye in this mockumentary framework, where people’s narration sits in direct contrast to the actual events happening. This film shows how inventive treatment and writing help creators make engaging films on social themes even with a shoestring budget.
In Puzhu, Superstar Mammootty plays (rather becomes) Kuttan, a bigoted upper-caste single dad with OCD. We have seen the actor essay fathers who go to extreme lengths for their children multiple times and we forget all of that when we see Kuttan, with military precision, churn out punishments and play recorded happy moments with his late wife. Kuttan’s mistrust and paranoia heighten after his estranged sister (Parvathy), who is married a lower-caste man, moves into their apartment complex. Mammootty manages to humanise Kuttan in silent stares and minute quivers showing us glimpses of the man he could have been — if only someone had shown him some love. Baring the end which forgoes Puzhu’s strengths — subtlety and pace, debutant director Ratheena with the writers Harshad, Sharfu and Suhas create a hard-hitting character study.
In Kaanekkaane, a grey-haired Paul (Suraj Venjaramoodu, who carries the loneliness in his eyes) after a year-long self-imposed exile after the death of his daughter Sherin (Shruthi Ramachandran), visits his son-in-law Allen (Tovino Thomas) and his new wife (Aishwarya Lekshmi) for his grandson, Kuttu’s birthday. He finds a few clues that set him on a journey to find the truth behind his daughter’s death. Kaanekkaane puts a bunch of grey characters who at the core are good people in tough situations and let them figure out the course of action. It is a thriller but has an evidently different structure as the reveal happens early on and the film is more interested in how the people involved grapple with the truth. Kaanekkaane, written by Bobby and Sanjay and directed by Manu uses a lot of back and forth in timelines and is slow to build up but has some interesting points to make about human nature.