The 1980s and 1990s were dominated by two acting titans: Mammootty and Mohanlal. Their parallel reigns defined the industry for nearly four decades. What set them apart from superstars in other Indian film industries was their willingness to shed their heroic image.
Deepa Unnimary’s journey from a child artist to a leading figure in Malayalam B-grade cinema is a story worth telling. Born on March 12, 1962, in Ernakulam, Kerala, her mother owned a ballet troupe and she started performing from a young age.
For a long period, cinema celebrated the Tharavadu (feudal ancestral homes) and upper-caste heroes. However, modern Malayalam cinema has systematically deconstructed these patriarchal, feudal structures, offering platforms to marginalized voices and subaltern narratives. The Superstars and the Shift in Stardom
: Early masterpieces were direct adaptations of progressive Malayalam literature. Authors like Vaikom Muhammad Basheer and Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai provided the source material for foundational films.