Similarly, Parava (2017) explored Muslim community life in Mattancherry, while Joseph (2018) dealt with police corruption within the Christian-dominated police force. The cinema treats religion as a social reality, not a box-office sentiment.
Regarding gender, the cinema has often mirrored Kerala’s paradoxical culture—highly literate yet socially conservative. The "mother" figure was long a sacrosanct, suffering symbol. However, recent films have offered fierce correctives. The Great Indian Kitchen (2021) became a cultural phenomenon by showing, with clinical realism, the drudgery of a homemaker’s life and the ritualistic patriarchy of a Brahmin household. It sparked real-world debates about menstrual taboos and domestic labor. Similarly, Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam (2021) subverts the grand Malayali wedding narrative, while Ariyippu (2022) explores the gendered politics of the body in the context of migrant labor. These films demonstrate that Malayalam cinema is no longer just mirroring culture but actively participating in the state’s ongoing social revolutions. Similarly, Parava (2017) explored Muslim community life in