Anuraj Manohar, director of the Malayalam political thriller Narivetta released earlier this year, has contested the list of successful and flop Malayalam films in 2025 published by the Kerala Film Producers’ Association (KFPA) on Tuesday (December 23, 2025).
According to the list, only eight of the more than 180 films released so far in 2025 were classified as ‘super hits,’ with the estimated total loss pegged at around ₹360 crore.
Mr. Manohar questioned how his debut film was excluded from the list of successful movies despite being critically acclaimed and generating profit for the producer. “The announcement came at a time when I was in the process of doing another film with the same producer. I would really like to know their criteria for judging success and failure. It is not just about my film, but other films like Ponman and Ronth, which I know made profits, were also missing from the list of successful films,” he said.
He further pointed out that the producers’ association had organised the largest number of damaging press meets about film failures in the Malayalam movie industry in 2024, despite it being one of the best years for the film industry. This, he said, was hurting the industry’s prospects by projecting it as a loss-making sector and discouraging potential investors. “Many projects are being dropped because of this perception,” he added.
“A new project is registered with the producers’ association. Will it be able to judge from the screenplay whether the film will be a super hit or not? The success and failure of films cannot be assessed like that of a masala company. Profit and loss alone cannot be the basis for judging this industry, as every film is an effort. For instance, I had to wait five years, facing many rejections, before I could make my film,” he said.
Mr. Manohar stated that he will raise the issue in the directors’ union, of which he is an executive member. He challenged the producers’ association to prove that his film was a failure, asserting that he would counter their claim with the producer’s accountant’s figures.