A Social History of Malayalam cinema from its origins to 1990. - IJHSSI
This era gave rise to the "Middle Cinema"—a glorious bridge between commercial tropes and raw realism. Screenwriters like Sreenivasan and directors like Padmarajan and Bharathan created a world where village ponds, temple festivals, and family tea shops were as important as any hero. The cultural emphasis on samoohya prathibhasa (social reflection) meant that a film like Kodiyettam (1977) could star a non-actor (the great screenwriter Sreenivasan) as an everyman, and become a landmark. A Social History of Malayalam cinema from its