: There is a growing call within the industry to hire intimacy coordinators —professionals trained to choreograph scenes to ensure actor safety and comfort—similar to Hollywood standards.

For decades, Malayalam cinema (specifically the "new wave" of the 1980s led by Bharathan and Padmarajan) killed the Indian "hero." In place of the muscle-bound savior, we got the lalettan (Mohanlal) as the frustrated cop, the failed goldsmith, the reluctant smuggler.

The last decade has witnessed what critics call the "New Wave" or "Neo-noir" movement. This is where Malayalam cinema stopped being a mirror and became a magnifying glass, zooming in on the festering wounds of Kerala society that the world prefers to ignore.