Mollywood and its male hero stereotypes is a topic that hasn’t been explored as much as we’d like it to.
There has always been a set of stereotypes that dominates the characterisation of the characters in a movie. Mollywood had its own in the past, especially when it comes to the hero. Fortunately, Malayalam cinema is starting to welcome a change in the portrayal of its male protagonists. But, the years-old conditioning of our past cinema history lingers around and there’s still a long way to go. So why is this relevant you may ask? We still rewatch our old favourites and imitate and quote our movie icons- Is there anything we have missed?
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So here’s a bunch of Mollywood male hero stereotypes from yesteryear you probably should be conscious of.
Looks is key
There would always be a categorisation of actors where each one is labelled ideal or non-ideal for that ‘alpha male’ role. This is because personality will never count unless it comes with a good physique, height, and complexion.
The aggressive softy
Nobody messes with the aggressive hero who fears no man. Though he a pure and soft heart, he switches the mood when he is faced with a gang of goons. After all, he has to beat them up one by one single-handedly. For some reason, the goons always seem to wait for their turn instead of attacking the hero at once and getting it over with. Discipline.
Singing is mandatory
K-pop idols who sing and dance might be impressive, but have you seen the heroes of a Mollywood movie? Every single one is blessed with a heavenly voice, strangely not their own. And forget about rehearsing the dance moves or even learning it, free-style dancing is what they were born for!
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The moustache
The iconic style for the ideal male hero – the moustache. Nothing powers you up like that stroking of the moustache, your manhood defined.
Heart of gold but devoid of emotion
Emotions and feelings are for the spineless man obviously. No matter how emotionally challenging the situation might get, there is nothing more manly than bottling up everything and secretly breaking down on the inside.
The sidekicks
Every protagonist would have that one friend or that group of two friends, whose stupidities and hopeless lives are what make the hero shine. It’s mostly the trio of hero, dumb, and dumber.
Sexism is everything
If you can’t lecture a woman on how she is to behave in society and towards men, then you don’t deserve the title. The hero must give the arrogant modern woman a down dressing because only that would make her realise her mistakes and follow traditional ways. All thanks to the righteous hero, now your heroine is ready for marriage!
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The passionate lover
He will either be the most romantic Romeo or wouldn’t even look over to the heroine even if his life depends on it. Casual flirting is a sin for the one-woman-only hero, and it won’t be a relationship unless he tells the whole story to his extremely supportive mother before it even happens.
First love or nothing
While the rest of us as teenagers have tried and failed a million times in this, the ideal hero has that special instinct to wait and fall for the correct person. His standards and priorities are so high and strict, that he won’t fall for anyone less than his soulmate, and will marry her no matter what.
The perfect connections
No matter how introverted or misunderstood he is, when the right time comes, he would always have that one friend who would save the entire movie from going down. The hero, who has never been outside town, suddenly forms a flashback where he goes on a business trip and meets his life-saver friend.
Have we missed out any Mollywood male hero stereotypes? Let us know in the comments below!
