India, April 24 -- A new wave emerges from a hopeless era; The 2000s

Transitions are messy affairs, more so when you are down in a bleak, dark and hopeless place and you spot those first little rays of light after fumbling around for long. It takes a while to get used to the light, to rush forward to it, and be yourself. This whole messiness of the change from the industry's bleakest phase is visible in what are now considered the first saplings of the current new wave in Malayalam mainstream cinema, be it Ritu (2009), Nayakan (2010), Traffic or Salt N' Pepper (2011). But it is this very messiness, this uncertainty and circumspection that mark them out as the flag bearers of transition. I specified mainstream cinema since the original ne...