Good news is a little hard to come by in pandemic times, so sometimes you’ve to make your own happiness. Can there be a better time then, to revisit some of the best Malayalam rom-coms to have come our way in the past decade? So take a break and fall in love alongside (and with) Nazriya Nazim, Dulquer Salmaan, Nivin Pauly and others...
1. Ohm Shanthi Oshana (2014)
Pooja (a brilliant Nazriya Nazim) is like a 2.0 version of MT Vasudevan Nair’s Ammini (Aranyakam): that rare female teenage protagonist who drives the narrative forward. She is impish, temperamental and surprisingly rational despite being madly in love. Directed by Jude Antony and written by Midhun Manuel Joseph, Ohm Shanthi Oshana is a quintessential romcom that is deeply rooted in the Kerala milieu. That the narration is provided by Pooja keeps the fun alive and lends agency to the spunky character. The film begins with a photographic account of her moving out of her diapers to pre-school, from adolescence to teenage—her quirky and fun equation with her parents is a highlight—until that defining moment when she bumps into her dream man at a waterpark. In this movie occupied with the female gaze, the handsome Nivin Pauly happily plays second fiddle to his co-star.
Streaming on Hotstar
2. Premam (2015)
In his second film, Alphonse Puthren chronicled the eventful coming-of-age journey of George (Nivin Pauly) from adolescence to adulthood. There is George in school who develops a gigantic crush on Mary; in college, he falls for the charming Tamilian teacher Malar; and finally ends up marrying Celine. You’ll wish that Puthren spent more time developing the women’s characters, but Premam still makes for a laugh-out-loud, nostalgic watch with its impromptu dialogues, cheeky humour, endearingly real characters and beautiful music.
Streaming on Hotstar
3. Varane Avashyamund (2020)
This film, the debut of director Anoop Sathyan (son of Sathyan Anthikad), sometimes feels like a fanboy tribute to Shobana, and we’re ok with that. It’s not often that a 50-year-old actress playing a single mother gets compliments and songs about her beauty and charm in our movies. Neena (Shobana), who works as a French teacher in Chennai, wears exquisite saris and has a daughter, Nikki, (Kalyani Priyadarshan), who has, surprisingly, signed up on a marriage site herself and is looking to arrange her own marriage. There are some interesting, uncomfortable undercurrents in their relationship, only some of which are explored in the movie. There are also several relationships running parallely in the narrative. There is a stocky, grumpy retired army man (Suresh Gopi), who gets all sweaty and goofy in front of Neena, a friendly neighbourhood lad (Dulquer Salmaan) and many characters who slide in with their own little squabbles and fun into the narrative. Part of the film’s charm lies in how it brought together some popular veteran actors (Suresh Gopi, Shobana, Urvashi) in one movie.
Streaming on Netflix
4. Anuraga Karikkin Vellam (2016)
Khalid Rahman’s directorial debut revolves around two love stories—between a middle-aged couple who rediscover romance in their staid marriage and a young couple who is battling compatibility issues. The younger girlfriend isn’t a celluloid stereotype—she is clingy, annoying and when she gets ditched, gets drunk and cries hoarse for days. The boy is a typical, entitled sexist. With excellent characters, performances, mood, music and writing, the film is an interesting commentary about marriage and relationships, though the narrative is more from the man’s point of view.
Streaming on Sun NXT
5. Salt N Pepper (2011)
One of the first films that ushered in the new wave of Malayalam cinema, this food rom-com added some new dialogues to our lexicon. A dosa leads to an endearing romance beginning between a grumpy, middle-aged man (Lal) and woman (Swetha Menon), forming a warm love story in the backdrop of food, humour and music. Their love progresses over a coconut chutney her mom made and spills over to a decadent cake recipe. Another young romance is also brewing on the side and eventually, it all leads to a comedy of errors and a delicious closure. A caveat: there are some objectionable dialogues against the character of an old, tribal man which are played for laughs.
Streaming on Sun NXT
6. Bangalore Days (2014)
If her debut Manjadikuru was a nostalgic look at large families, summer vacation reunions and the fraternal dynamics in a decadent Nair tharavadu, Anjali Menon let her hair down in Bangalore Days. At its core is a beautiful friendship between cousins and how they all have each other’s backs during the various upheavals in their life. Set in Bangalore, there is Kuttan (Nivin Pauly) who is a techie but daydreams about the rains in Kerala and hopes to marry a ‘traditional’ girl, while Divya (Nazriya Nazim) finds herself married to a man who can’t get over his painful past. Aju (Dulquer Salmaan) is the rebel and a biker who comes from a broken home. The women characters sometimes get a raw deal and not enough understanding (Kalpana’s character as Kuttan’s mother, especially), but this was a huge hit that spoke to many young Malayalis living and working away from their hometowns.
Streaming on Hotstar
7. Thattathin Marayathu (2012)
Vineeth Sreenivasan crafts a candyfloss love story between a Hindu boy and a Muslim girl in the backdrop of a picturesque town in North Kerala. Vinod (Nivin Pauly) who falls instantly in love with the beauteous Aisha (Isha Talwar)—to the viewer, she remains as ephemeral and unknown as the director portrays her to be—and fights minor battles to eventually win her over. What makes it an engaging rom-com is the spontaneous humour. When Vinod gets a reply to his love letter, he does a little jig and equates it to cricketer Sreesanth’s reaction after he gets a wicket. This was the film that made Nivin Pauly a star.
Streaming on Sun NXT and Mx Player
8. Charlie (2015)
Tessa (Parvathy) flees from an arranged alliance and finds refuge in a ramshackle room in old Fort Kochi. Soon, the collectibles and memories left behind by the previous tenant make her so intrigued she sets out on a mission to find him. On her journey, she pieces together (and falls in love with) the mystery man (Dulquer Salmaan) through the stories told by his many acquaintances. Written by Unni R and directed by Martin Prakkat, Charlie is the story of a free-spirited wanderer who is also a good Samaritan, bringing sunshine to the lives around him. It seems fitting that Tessa, who herself is something of a rebel, finds her match in this travel junkie with a kind heart. With great music, pleasing performances and some pop philosophy, Charlie is a neat rom-com.
Streaming on Sun NXT and Mx Player