Minnal Murali — Basil Joseph, 2021 | Malayalam

The superhero movie Hollywood quite know exists.

Most people love Earth's mightiest superheroes (including me). Taking the big screen by storm, they redefined the superhero genre and brought beloved comics to life. Yet these heroes are also the front for villainy masquerading as good cinema — a billion-dollar blockade against any film that dares venture into the superhero genre with a smaller budget and a language other than English. Dramatic, I know, but for the purposes here it's far more entertaining to assume the good vs evil premise.

Enter Minnal Murali.

As a resident of the western hemisphere, you may not have heard of this phenomenon — a lightning-struck superhero that has taken the world, if you'll forgive my wordsmithing, by storm. A supposedly classic story of an unlikely hero who must face a villain close to home, this film brought the superhero genre not only to new production standards but created a nuanced grey in both hero and villain that makes it all the more relatable — and all the more human. While I could certainly delve into the cinematographic merits of what is now one of my favorite superhero movies, it is potentially more important to look at what this film actually does to the genre.

Most everyone loves Earth's mightiest heroes, or perhaps they prefer brooding animal-inspired billionaires — but at the end of the day, English reigns supreme. Although some small and potentially erroneous steps have been taken to incorporate diversity into these beloved franchises, they still cast a shadow over other attempts to tell superhero stories. Several international films haven't gotten the respect they deserve as a result. If crushing dreams was a superpower, the MCU could be the most powerful of them all.

Hopefully my ample praise has sparked an interest. My only suggestion is to simply watch Minnal Murali in order to fully appreciate the groundbreaking strides that have — hopefully — allowed Indian superheroes to finally get the recognition they deserve from an international audience. Who knows.

Maybe the MCU will come to be known as the Malayalam Cinematic Universe.