Scriptwriters like M.T. Vasudevan Nair (a Jnanpith awardee) and Sreenivasan have elevated screenwriting to an art form. The culture of political satire and literary debating (Sahitya Sabha) in Kerala seeps into the films. Watch a scene from Sandesham (a political satire from the 1990s) or Valsalyam, and you will notice dialogues that sound like poetry written by a civil servant. The Keralite audience, traditionally quick to catch logical fallacies, demands linguistic precision. A character who misuses a Sanskrit-derived word in a script is a character who will be mocked by the audience.
The 1970s, often referred to as the "Golden Era," was defined by a leftist undercurrent. Filmmakers like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, G. Aravindan, and M.T. Vasudevan Nair used the medium to dissect the crumbling feudal order. Films like Nirmalyam and Kodiyettam were not just stories; they were commentaries on the socio-economic transitions of the time. They questioned the blind faith in religious superstition and the oppression of the lower castes by the feudal lords. Www.MalluMv.Guru -Kanguva -2024- TR...