The late 2010s witnessed a linguistic revolution in Malayalam cinema, led by writers like Syam Pushkaran and directors like Dileesh Pothan and Mahesh Narayanan. Films like Maheshinte Prathikaaram (2016) and Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum (2017) broke the mold by featuring dialogues spoken exactly as they are in real life—complete with stutters, incomplete sentences, and local slang from Idukki or Palakkad.