Ramu Kariat’s adaptation of Thakazhi’s novel won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film. It proved that a regional story about coastal myths, caste, and romance could achieve global artistic acclaim. The Parallel Stream: Commercial Viability Meets Art House

For the non-Malayali, watching these films is the best possible introduction to Kerala. You will learn that the Malayali is not just the waiter in a Mumbai restaurant or the nurse in a London hospital. The Malayali is a philosopher who watches a three-hour film about a man trying to fix a leaking roof ( Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum ), because that leaking roof is a metaphor for the leak in his soul.