A superhero in Indian style and culture: Minnal Murali goes global

Abstract

Indian cinema has always tried to emulate the stylish superheroes of the west like Spiderman, Batman, and various characters of marvel comics which take the audiences to space, time travel, glossy VFX, and unbelievable stunts. As a country, India has not tapped into the rich written content specific to India, which can translate into beautiful cinematic stories. While Indians look at the west to quench the superhero appetite, such as Spiderman, Ironman, Superman, Batman, etc., India still is at the infant stage to establish one’s superhero industry in the same genre. However, a film released on Netflix during the 2021 Christmas eve in Mollywood (Malayalam film industry based in the south Indian state of Kerala) was different and left the viewers spellbound globally. Minnal Murali directed by Joseph, made the charts of the most viewed films in four countries, India, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, two days after its debut. It was among the top ten greatest non-English movies on Netflix worldwide (TNM). The film revolves around two persons who are hit by lightning simultaneously and get superpowers. The duo can also run with Minnal (lightning) speed. One uses the superpower for good other for evil. Indian culture is one of the world’s oldest and dates back to civilizations as ancient as 4500 years ago. Indian women mostly wear Sarees (long rectangular cloth). The traditional attire of men, particularly in south India, is Dhoti or Mundu (cloth knotted around the waist) and a loose shirt stretching to the knee length.Indian cinema is rooted in Indian culture. The narratives of ancient epics such as Mahabharata and Ramayan have influenced Indian cinemas.The direction of such influences includes side stories, backstories, and stories within a story. There is a long cultural tradition of using music and dance to tell mythology, culture, and fairy tales in Indian cinemas. Genre and styles of Indian films fall into masala movies (which portrays action, drama, love, melodrama), parallel movies (art movies), multilingual movies, and pan India movies that are released simultaneously in many Indian languages. Many Indian films like Pazhassi Raja, Baahubali, Lagaan, PK, etc., have previously depicted Indian culture. Minnal Murali’s message to society and its relation to Indian culture is worth citing. While most superhero movies often lose their identities to mimic the west’s character, Minnal Murali stays deep-rooted in Indian culture and its original story. Based in rural Kerala in the 1990s, the film depicts the protagonist and adversary performing action scenes. The superhero chases the villain in Mundu, slippers, and masks made from cotton