Malayalam cinema, often called , is the film industry based in the South Indian state of Kerala. It is globally renowned for its social realism
(1965), the first South Indian film to win the President's Gold Medal, defined this era.
Perhaps nothing connects Malayalam cinema to culture more intimately than food. Unlike other Indian industries where a "hero" eats sparingly, the Malayalam hero eats voraciously.
Kerala is a contradiction: It has the highest literacy rate in India and a thriving public health system, but also a deep history of caste discrimination and a complex relationship with gender equality. Malayalam cinema has been the primary battleground for these contradictions.