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Films, in which an innocent village guy gets acquainted with the cruelties of the modern world in the city are pretty common in Indian cinema and especially in Malayalam cinema. Director Bash Mohammed debuted with “Lukka Chuppi” (“Hide and Seek”), one of the best Indian films of 2015, which was about a reunion of college mates after 14 years, but presented with such a novelty that even though it didn’t perform well at the box office it is slowly gaining a cult following which is rare for such a film in Malayalam film industry. So Mohammed’s approach was something to look out for as in finding out what new he can bring on this subject.

“Prakasan” screened at Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles

Prakasan is a tribal youth from the wilderness of Chamakudy where the small population lives in harmony using the resources of the forest. Prakasan is the...

MollywoodA profile tracing the slow and sure rise of Malayalam actor Joju George – from an extra in the 1990s to headlining films two decades later.Neelima MenonFacebookIn the recently released One, directed by Santosh Viswanath and written by Bobby-Sanjay, which revolves around a fantastical Chief Minister, Kadakkal Chandran (Mammootty), and his utopian political ideals, Joju George played his childhood friend and Party secretary, Babychan. Their camaraderie, punctuated with respect, understanding and fierce loyalties is one of the warmest sights in the film. In broad strokes, the film also accentuates the actor’s phenomenal growth in Malayalam cinema and also takes us back to a bit of a history between the two actors. Joju’s first dialogue (in a brief role as a gunman) was in Vinayan’s Dada Saheb (2000) headlined by Mammootty in twin roles. When the same actor shares parallel space and significance with the same Megastar in a film 21 years later,...

A country bumpkin from the remote forests of Kerala wins a government job and is abruptly transplanted to a big, bustling city in Prakasan, the sophomore feature of Dubai-based director Bash Mohammed (Lukka Chuppi, 2015.) Though its ending is telegraphed from the very first scenes, the scripting is basic and its humor at times painfully broad, this Malayalam comedy with a message becomes heartfelt and endearing thanks to a vivid turn by upcoming actor Dinesh Prabhakar, who is also credited as exec producer and casting director. It was one of the more direct and communicative films making their bow at...

The New York Indian Film Festival (Nyiff) announced the full lineup last night for their 16th year of celebrating independent, art house, alternate, and diaspora films from/about/connected to the Indian subcontinent (May 7 – May 14). Dedicated to bringing these films to a New York audience, the festival will feature 40 screenings (35 narrative, 5 documentary) –all seen for the first time in New York City. In addition, the festival will also feature five programs of short films.

The festival highlights various cinemas of India’s different regions. All the films are subtitled in English and some of the languages this year include Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Telegu, Assamese, Haryanavi and Urdu. This year’s festival will feature a couple of sidebars –Nfdc restored first films of filmmakers and a three-generations sidebar, films of Bimal Roy, Basu Bhattacharya and Aditya Bhattacharya.

The festival’s film lineup includes 2016 National Award winners A Far Afternoon,...