You cannot sell a flying, gun-toting superhero to a Keralite who debates Marx at a tea shop. But you can sell them Kireedam , where a young man’s life is destroyed because society labels him a "goonda." You can sell them Mathilukal (The Walls), a haunting love story set in a prison, based on the real-life struggles of writer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer.
For decades, cinema was dominated by "hegemonic masculinity"—the invincible hero. Modern masterpieces like Kumbalangi Nights