Scene Change

Anjali Menon has reshaped the gender dynamics of the Malayalam film industry like no one else.

- Cithara Paul

If one were to write the feminist history of the Malayalam film industry, then one of its chapters would certainly begin with the story of Anjali Menon. With every Malayalam superstar eager to be part of her films, she has changed the power equations within the industry, and shaken its patriarchal moorings. But Anjali would shrug it off, saying that although these equations exist, “when a box office hit happens, the industry sits up with a welcoming smile”.

“Then, gender does not matter,” she says.

She does not enjoy being tagged as a “woman director”, and would rather be called a director woman. The Malayalam film industry is, in fact, gradually overcoming the initial shock of encountering a successful woman director. All her films—Ustad Hotel (which she wrote), Bangalore Days, and the latest one, Koode—have been critical and commercial successes.

Anjali is an alumna of the London Film School, where she specialised in editing and direction. Her first feature film Manjadikuru (lucky red seeds) was a children’s take on the adult world. It won her many awards for best debut director, including the FIPRESCI award at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) in 2012. Her next film, Ustad Hotel, won her the national award for best dialogues, and also the state award for best screenplay. Then came the super-hit Bangalore Days, which again won her the state award for best screenplay.