2011: The five success stories in Malayalam

2011 has been a mixed bag of few good films, and far too many not-so-good ones. Small films with young heroes which were genuinely engaging, worked at the box-office, earning money for its producers.

The economics in Malayalam film industry are often baffling. Most of the biggies ended up as huge losses but still, almost everyone is busy launching new projects! The trade figures rarely get published and there are no real analysis on the hits, the misses and the reasons. It was a year when the superstars got the drubbing at the box office and new experiments got welcomed by the viewers.

Here is a look at the movies that earned the maximum profit for the producers:

Seniors: After the hugely successful Pokkiri Raja, director Vysakh came up with another blockbuster, Seniors. Well, the script may have been just about fine, the comedy was good and the film banked on a thin storyline. But the recipe turned out to be perfect and the film set the cash registers ringing.

Salt 'N' Pepper: A perfect mix of romance, comedy and music, with food as the backdrop. The film, directed by Aashiq Abu, hit the right note with the viewers. Baburaj, who is always seen in baddie roles made the viewers laugh with his amazing comic timing and such differences made it look like a well made dish.

Traffic: The first release of 2011 was narrated the lives of four different people, who come together on an eventful day, in a pattern that was new to Malayalam. Director Rajesh Pillai told the tale in a beautiful way, ably supported by a well written script and crisp editing.

Beautiful: Director V K Prakash struck gold with a good script from Anoop Menon. The dialogues were bold and for once, the viewers seemed to enjoy it all. The good visuals by Jomon T John and Jayasurya’s matured acting style attracted all.

Indian Rupee: Director Ranjith reportedly told his lead actor to “get out of shape and preferably develop a paunch” to play a small time real estate broker named JP. Thilakan and Jagathy Sreekumar came up with powerhouse performances and the viewers were evidently delighted.

Urumi: Ace cinematographer and director Santhosh Sivan’s Urumi brought in the crowds mainly thanks to its grandeur. The film had some of the well known Bollywood heroines and Kollywood heroes in the list. Here was one film which brought in the crowds mainly for everything other than its script or presentation.