Crucially, Malayalam cinema has recently become a battleground for gender and caste politics. The Great Indian Kitchen didn’t just critique patriarchy; it explicitly linked it to religious orthodoxy, sparking a statewide debate on ritual purity and menstruation. Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey (2022) used a dark comedy frame to depict domestic violence, empowering the suburban housewife protagonist to slap back—literally.
Contemporary filmmakers like Lijo Jose Pellissery and Dileesh Pothen