History MediaNotes / TheOtherwoods

Yet, the cultural fallout of these movies transcends their obscurity. Many South Indian movies became massive commercial or critical hits, went on to be dubbed in several other Indian languages, and then became hits in those languages also. Mani Ratnam's 1992 ''Roja'', an influential film beloved all over India, was first a Tamil movie, though its origin is often glossed over. This film also debuted the composer AR Rahman, who went on to win awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song at the 81st Oscars. But before he did Slumdog Millionare and before he worked in Bollywood, he spent a decade composing music for Tamil movies. This not a rare scenario: it is easier for a no-name talent to debut in South India than it is in Bollywood. Many iconic Hindi film stars, from Aishwariya Rai to Kajol to Katrina Kaif, started their careers down south.

The reasons for why this industry suffered decay, while others flourished, has to do with other major events that occurred in the early nineties. A major factor is the makeup of Bengaluru. While Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi were large South Indian cities, with Chennai being larger than Bengaluru, the capital city of Karnataka was always more cosmopolitan, with people from all over India residing there. This was initially due to many people retiring there, owing to Bengaluru's slightly cooler temperatures, but also due to many important research institutions for IndiansWithIglas being based there. The founding and subsequent explosive growth of the software industry in Bengaluru, turned it into a BoomTown that attracted a ''lot'' of people across India. A lot of these people wanted to see movies made in their own language, or alternatively more Hollywood movies and foreign films. As a result, Sandalwood's movies suddenly faced stiff competition in Bengaluru. Unable to penetrate the non Carnatic speaking residents of Bengaluru, the industry focused instead on pandering to their rural audience. Other "woods" also avoided this problem by arm twisting theatre owners and local governments to be more protectionist and screen only their films.

* ''Adaminte Makan Abu'' ([[https://allpoetry.com/Abou-Ben-Adhem Abu, son of Adam]], 2011) - The story of a poor Muslim family whose only wish is to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. Won four National Film Awards.

* ''Iyobinte Pusthakam'' (The Literature/BookOfJob, 2014) - Set in the mid-20th century before Independence, the story of a landowner and the sibling rivalry between his sons. The characters are based on the characters of Fyodor Dostoevsky's Literature/TheBrothersKaramazov.

* ''Maheshinte Prathikaaram'' (Mahesh's Revenge, 2016) - A part slice-of-life, part revenge-thriller set in a small mountainous village.

* ''Sudani from Nigeria'' (2018) - About a Nigerian [[spoiler:illegal]] immigrant playing in a local-level league in football-mad Malappuram.

* ''Film/BrideAndPrejudice'': Moslty in English, with some Hindi and Punjabi dialogue.

* ''36 Chowringhee Lane'' - A movie about an Anglo-Indian English teacher, her cat and two young lovers. This bittersweet story is told in a mix of Bengali and English.

* ''Film/{{Karnan2021}}'': A film about a lower caste village fighting oppression, and trying to be seen with dignity and get their own bus stop.

* ''Film/{{Kummatty}}'' (Bogeyman, 1979) is a [[MagicalRealism magical realist]] story about the Kummatty (boogeyman) and a boy he accidentally turns into a dog.

* ''Amma Ariyan'' ([What i want my] Mother to Know, 1986) - An avant-garde movie about the aftermath of the death of a young Naxelite.[[note]] The Naxals were an illegal left-wing organisation. [[/note]] It was included in the British Film Institute's Top 10 Indian Films list.

* ''Mayanadi'' (Mystic River, 2017) - A remake of Creator/{{JeanLucGodard}}'s Film/{{Breathless}}.

* ''Kandukondein Kandukondein'' (2000): A slice of life drama based on ''Literature/SenseAndSensibility'' about a school principal who falls for an assistant film director trying to make his debut and a classic Tamil poetry loving young woman who can't choose between a charming yet douchey politician who shares her interests or a close friend she's known her whole life.
* ''Snegithiye'' (2000): A mystery thriller about two girls whose lives are turned upside down when they are accused of killing a man, when it may or may not be their rival who did it for the sake of ruining their reputations.

* ''Neelakuyil'' - A story of a romantic affair between an upper-caste schoolteacher and a Dalit girl
* ''Chemmeen'' - Based on Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai's novel by the same name, Chemmeen ('Prawn') is about an affair between a married Hindu woman and a Muslim man in a coastal fishing village. It became the first South Indian movie to win India's Gold Medal for Best Film, in 1965.
* ''Swayamvaram'' - The story of a couple that married against their parents' wishes and started a life of their own. Won four National Film Awards and took the Malayalam industry to the international stage.
* ''Amma Ariyan'' - An avant-garde movie about the aftermath of the death of a young Naxelite.[[note]] The Naxals were an illegal left-wing organisation. [[/note]] It was included in the British Film Institute's Top 10 Indian Films list.
* ''Kanchana Sita'' - A reimagining of the Uthara Kanda, the last act of the Indian epic Ramayana, which is about King Rama being forced to abandon his wife Sita due to baseless accusations. The film tells this tale from a feminist and environmentalist perspective, with the characters played by Rama Chenchu tribals. G Aravindan won the National Award for Best Direction for this film.
* ''Film/{{Kummatty}}'' is a [[MagicalRealism magical realist]] story about the Kummatty (boogeyman) and a boy he accidentally turns into a dog.
* ''Film/{{Elippathayam}}'' documents the fall of feudalism in Kerala, and tells the story of a dying feudal family struggling to adapt to democracy and withdrawing into itself. Premiered at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival and won the Sutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival.
* ''Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha'' - An alternative retelling of a popular folk-tale. It won four National Film Awards.
* ''Manichitrazhazhu'' - A cult-classic psychological-thriller about a 'haunting' affecting the Alummoottil clan of central Travancore. It tackles dissociative identity disorder from both a scientific and religious perspective.
* ''Guru'' - A fantasy story that tackles bigotry, prejudices and superstitions. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.
* ''Kaazhcha'' - Loosely inspired by the 1986 Iranian film, ''Bashu The Little Stranger'', this movie revolves around a young Gujarati boy who finds himself in Kerala following the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat.
* ''Adaminte Makan Abu'' - The story of a poor Muslim family whose only wish is to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. Won four National Film Awards.
* ''Bangalore Days'' - A tale of three cousins and their adventures and love lives in Bangalore.
* ''Iyobinte Pusthakam'' - Set in the mid-20th century before Independence, the story of a landowner and the sibling rivalry between his sons. The characters are based on the characters of Fyodor Dostoevsky's Literature/TheBrothersKaramazov.
* ''How Old R U'' - A story of a thirty-something year old woman rediscovering her purpose and meaning in life.
* ''Drishyam'' - A gripping tale of a film buff who goes through great lengths to protect his family following their accidental killing of a police inspector's son.
* ''Kammattipadam'' - The story of the lower-caste residents of Kammattipaadam, who were drastically impacted by the gentrification of their locality in mainland Ernakulam.
* ''Maheshinte Prathikaaram'' - A part slice-of-life, part revenge-thriller set in a small mountainous village.
* ''Angamaly Diaries'' - The story of a young man who lands himself in hot water in a dispute with a rival gang.
* ''Sudani from Nigeria'' - About a Nigerian [[spoiler:illegal]] immigrant playing in a local-level league in football-mad Malappuram.
* ''Uyare'' - The story of an aspiring female pilot who gets acid-attacked by her possessive boyfriend.

** The Apu trilogy, consisting of ''Literature/PatherPanchali'', ''Film/{{Aparajito}}'' and ''Film/ApurSansar'' - These three films tell the story of a boy named Apu, from his childhood through middle age. They are probably the best known Indian films outside the country.

* ''Magadheera'', where a vengeful hero's ancestor was also a vengeful hero

* ''Kandukondein Kandukondein'' (2000): A slice of life drama based on ''Literature/SenseAndSensibility'' about a school principal who falls for an assitant film director trying to make his debut and a young woman who loves classic Tamil poetry who can't choose between a charming yet douchey politician who shares her interests or a close friend she's known her whole life.

* ''Kummatty'' is a [[MagicalRealism magical realist]] story about the Kummatty (boogeyman) and a boy he accidentally turns into a dog.
* ''Elippathayam'' documents the fall of feudalism in Kerala, and tells the story of a dying feudal family struggling to adapt to democracy and withdrawing into itself. Premiered at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival and won the Sutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival.

* ''Maheshinte Prathikaaram'' - A part slice-of-life, part revenge-thriller sett in a small mountainous village.

** ''Literature/PatherPanchali''
** ''Film/{{Aparajito}}''
** ''Film/ApurSansar''

* ''Film/BowBarracksForever'': A rare English-language independent film by a Bengali producer and director, this movie tells the story of a community of Anglo-Indians [[note]] People designated as having a European father or patrilineal heritage, and an Indian matrilineal heritage, who’ve been given special minority status [[/note]] struggling to retain their homes and heritage.
* ''Film/BrideAndPrejudice'': Moslty in English, with some Hindi and Punjabi dialogue.

[[WMG: The Orissa Industry: Ollywood]]

Sandalwood is the nickname given to the Kannada film industry, based in Bangalore. The name is derived from the sandalwood trees, that are ubiquitous in the southwestern Indian state of Karnataka. They are in these times considered the [[AndZoidberg Zoidberg]] of South Indian film industries, owing to their movies being generally of lower production quality and horrible plots. The truth is that this industry is a WhiteDwarfStarlet, which once produced movies equal in quality and commercial success to the other South Indian "woods", but have been in a prolonged DorkAge since the early nineties.

The reasons for why this industry suffered decay, while others flourished, has to do with other major events that occurred in the early nineties. A major factor is the makeup of Bangalore. While Chennai, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram were large South Indian cities, with Chennai being larger than Bangalore, the capital city of Karnataka was always more cosmopolitan, with people from all over India residing there. This was initially due to many people retiring there, owing to Bangalore's slightly cooler temperatures, but also due to many important research institutions for IndiansWithIglas being based there. The founding and subsequent explosive growth of the software industry in Bangalore, turned it into a BoomTown that attracted a ''lot'' of people across India. A lot of these people wanted to see movies made in their own language, or alternatively more Hollywood movies and foreign films. As a result, Sandalwood's movies suddenly faced stiff competition in Bangalore. Unable to penetrate the non Carnatic speaking residents of Bangalore, the industry focused instead on pandering to their rural audience. Other "woods" also avoided this problem by arm twisting theatre owners and local governments to be more protectionist and screen only their films.

* Gandhada Gudi (Temple of sandalwood) - an early seventies popcorn flick about a forest ranger, trying to bring down a notorious sandalwood smuggler.
* Parasangadha Gendethimma - a [[spoiler: tragic]] tale of a village forced to change with the times.
* Yeradu Kanasu (two dreams) - a romantic comedy, possibly the first lighthearted one in this language, not weighed down by drama.
* Srinivas Kalyana: A dramatization of a mythological tale.

* ''Film/MinchinaOta:'' [TheCaper heist movie]] that won a government award for movies that send an important social message.

* ''Film/HrudayaGeethe:'' Translation -song from the heart. Another rarity in the Otherwoods - a lighthearted RomCom that falls prey to the CerebusSyndrome and becomes quite dark [[spoiler: and tragic]] towards the end. A remake of the Bollywood film "Paagal Kahin Ka"

* ''Film/GowriGanesha:'' A BlackComedy with an [[/index]]UnscrupulousHero protagonist. One of the very few Indian movies in which this kind of protagonist [[KarmaHoudini doesn't get any comeuppance in the end]].

* ''Neelakuyil'', A story of a romantic affair between an upper-caste schoolteacher and a Dalit girl
* ''Chemmeen'', A story about an affair between a Hindu woman and a Muslim man in a coastal fishing village. First South Indian movie to win India's Gold Medal for Best Film
* ''Swayamvaram'', The story of a couple that married against their parents' wishes and started a life of their own. Won four National Film Awards and brought Malayalam Cinema to the international stage
* ''Amma Ariyan'', An avant-garde movie that revolves around the incidents following the death of a young Naxelite.
* ''Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha'', An alternative retelling of a popular folktale. Won four National Film Awards.
* ''Manichitrazhazhu'', A favorite of every Malayali! A horror-psychological thriller based on the tragedy of the Alummoottil clan of central Travancore, that tackles dissociative identity disorder from both a scientific and religious perspective
* ''Guru'', A fantasy story that tackles bigotry, prejudices and superstitions. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film
* ''Kaazhcha'', Loosely inspired by the 1986 Iranian film, Bashu The Little Stranger, this movie revolves around a young Gujarati boy who finds himself in Kerala following the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat.
* ''Adaminte Makan Abu'', The story of a poor Muslim family whose only wish is to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. Won four National Film Awards.
* ''Bangalore Days'', A tale of three cousins and their adventures and love lives in Bangalore.
* ''Iyobinte Pusthakam'', Set in the mid-20th century before Independence, the story of a landowner and the sibling rivalry between his sons.
* ''How Old R U'', A story of a thirty-something year old woman rediscovering her purpose and meaning in life
* ''Drishyam'', A gripping tale of a film buff who goes through great lengths to protect his family following the accidental killing of a police inspector's son.
* ''Kammathipadam'', The story of residents of Kammathipadam who were drastically impacted by the gentification of their locality in mainland Ernakulam.
* ''Maheshinte Prathikaaram'', An edge-of-your-seat tale of revenge in a small village
* ''Angamaly Diaries'', The story of a young man who lands himself in hot water in a dispute with a rival gang
* ''Uyire'', A story of a young aspiring female pilot who gets acid-attacked by her possessive boyfriend.

"Mollywood" refers to the Malayalee industry, from the Southwest Indian state of Kerala. Historically, these films tended to be a little more thoughtful, subversive, and low-key than their southeastern counterparts, but Mollywood also churns out its share of cheap action films, intended to compete for eyeballs with Malayalee dubs of the Tollywood and Kollywood mainstays. The Mollywood action films tend to unimpressive compared to the Tollywood and Kollywood output: they have much smaller budgets, not much action choreography, and usually star middle-aged men who originally made their reputations in more cerebral films, and aren't really action hero material.

Another minor quirk of Mollywood cinema is that Kerala has a relatively high percentage of Christians, and a very long history of hosting them [[OlderThanFeudalism (with one group claiming to have been evangelized by St. Thomas The Apostle).]] As a result of this, Mollywood portrayals of Christians tend to be less caricatured and more naturalistic than Bollywood's portrayals of Christians.

Yet, the cultural fallout of these movies transcends their obscurity. One can't begin to count all the South Indian moves that became massive commercial or critical hits, went on to be dubbed in several Indian languages, and then became hits in those languages also. Mani Ratnam's 1992 ''Roja'', an influential film beloved all over India, was first a Tamil movie, though its origin is often glossed over. This film also debuted the composer A.R Rahman, who is now world-famous. But before he did Slumdog Millionare and before he worked in Bollywood, he spent a decade composing music for Tamil movies. This not a rare scenario: it's easier for a no-name talent to debut in South India than it is in Bollywood. Many iconic Hindi film stars, from Aishwariya Rai to Kajol to Katrina Kaif, started their careers down south.

These films are today thought of as the LargeHam, even by Bollywood standards. They are unabashedly escapist. The heroes are generally unapologetic Stus of the highest order. The LoveInterest (called a "heroine", even if she never does anything heroic) is usually a straight-up [[TheChick chick]] and DistressedDamsel. Every film will have copious amounts of intrusive comic relief[[note]]Comedic actors in South India are powerful figures. Big-name ones appear in most every film made.[[/note]] as most films attempt to stuff in as much action, romance, music, and comedy as possible. This all-in-one genre combination is familiar to Indian movie buffs as 'masala', but is more commonly called 'mass' in Telugu lingo. Even movies with a serious subject matter (politics, horror, history, mythology) may follow the same pattern. Combine all of that with the low quality special effects and you get an industry of Narmy, SoBadItsGood movies.

What the mainstream of Kollywood and Tollywood have going for them is that they tend to be [[RatedMForManly more action-oriented than Bollywood and more on the "gritty" side.]] Where Bollywood movies tend to focus on the wealthy, these movies are more likely to feature middle-class and working-class characters (partly because of political influences in the past). Also, they are usually very high-energy. The main reason that the stuey ActionHero is accepted is because the actors are [[BoisterousBruiser entertaining and enthusiastic]] enough to pull off such overbearing roles. Action Heroes in Kollywood and Tollywood tend to be superheroic in their power, and will often be able to take massive amounts of punishment before pulling a HeroicSecondWind and taking the villain down.

But it should not be assumed that these tropes are the default or definitive state of Indian cinema. Infact, the masala formula arose very recently, just in the last two or three decades. Southern movies before this era, while still being very idealistic and sometimes glorifying the hero, were not typically so uproarious, and quieter stories concerning romance, family, and marriage were common. The most famous and beloved movies from the past (e.g. ''Film/{{Mayabazar}}'', ''Chandralekha'') went to the other extreme, with epic, meanders g stories involving royalty or mythological figures. In the late 70s and the 80s, there was a small but influential genre of acclaimed movies that revolved around the topic of music and dance, where the story focus was on the characters learning, mastering, sometimes being consumed by the art. The most famous of these was ''Film/{{Sankarabharanam}}''.

* ''Film/{{Baahubali}}'' (2015): A duology of big-budget mythological fantasy epics about a vengeful deposed prince battling the usurper who killed his father.

* ''Michael Madana Kama Rajan'': Quadruplets separated at birth and raised by different people allow Kamal Haasan to showcase his ability to nail four different accents and sets of mannerisms while events around him turn increasingly farcical and out of control.

* ''Abhiyum Naanum''
* ''Angaadi Theru'', a simple realistic movie about poverty and love
* Film/{{Anjali}}: A rare AwardBait film, featuring a terminally IllGirl born with a developmental disability.
* ''Film/{{Baahubali}}'': A duology of epics about a vengeful deposed prince battling the usurper who killed his father.
* ''Bombay'', a movie about an interfaith couple dealing with the aftermath of the 1992 Babri mosque demolition and the 1993 Bombay Stock Exchange terrorist bomb strikes.
* Film/{{Indian}}: A vigilante movie with a distinctly Indian version of the NinetiesAntiHero, that was submitted to the Oscars for consideration for "Best Foreign Film".
* ''Iruvar'', a biopic about the friendship between two famous political figures
* ''Mozhi''
* ''Naan'', about identity theft
* ''Film/TheTerrorist''

Roughly 1,000 movies are produced in Film/{{India}} every year. Of these, around 200 films are produced by UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} each year. Of course, few people outside of India are aware of this, and many foreigners [[SpotlightStealingSquad assume that]] ''[[SpotlightStealingSquad all]]'' [[SpotlightStealingSquad of Indian cinema is Bollywood]]. Contrary to popular opinion, "Bollywood" only refers to [[UsefulNotes/IndianLanguages Hindi]] films. So where do the other 800 movies come from?

Roughly 1,000 movies are produced in India every year. Of these, around 200 films are produced by UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} each year. Of course, few people outside of India are aware of this, and many foreigners [[SpotlightStealingSquad assume that]] ''[[SpotlightStealingSquad all]]'' [[SpotlightStealingSquad of Indian cinema is Bollywood]]. Contrary to popular opinion, "Bollywood" only refers to [[UsefulNotes/IndianLanguages Hindi]] films. So where do the other 800 movies come from?

* Bayalu Daari - a romantic film that also deals with PTSD and disability.