The Malayalam film industry may have had a tough time in theatres in 2021, but the South Indian film industry has continued to deliver brilliant projects for viewing on the small screen. Films like ‘Drishyam 2’, ‘Malik’, ‘Joji’, ‘Kuruthi’, ‘#Home’, etc. are excellent examples of some direct-to-OTT releases that fit this description. Even theatrical releases like ‘Kala’, ‘Kurup’, ‘Nayattu’ and ‘Aarkkariyam’ are brilliant must watch films. However, no Malayalam film has come close to OTT released feature film, ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’. Even with films like ‘Marakkar: Lion of The Arabian Sea’ and ‘Minnal Murali’ yet to release, there is a very good chance that ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ will be the Malayalam film of the year.
‘The Great Indian Kitchen‘ was one of the first Malayalam films to be released in India. It premiered on a little known OTT platform (at the time), called Neestream, back on January 15th 2021 – days before theatres reopened in theatres after the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. After getting rejected by major streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, many didn’t expect this film to do all that well. Except… it did.
Not only did this film take off among Malayalam viewers, but the film also managed to attract national attention after multiple Bollywood stars recommended this film. After its immense reception, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video were mercilessly trolled on social media for their vetting of projects – with the latter OTT platform eventually acquiring the streaming rights for the Malayalam movie. So what is this movie all about?
The film follows an educated young dancer who gets married to a teacher belonging to a traditional patriarchal family. While things start off “well”, she quickly realises that all the domestic work in the house is done by the women. The men have no regard for the women in the house and she slowly starts to suffocate. While the film talks about a very important lesson about women in the Indian household, the film surprisingly does not preach any message (much). The film shows a common situation and has left the film up for the audience’s interpretation. While it might be difficult, this movie is also in contention for India’s movie of the year as well.
Check out ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ on Amazon Prime Video.
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