'A lot of truth and idealism': Anurag Kashyap praises ‘Mollywood Times’

Bollywood filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has heaped praise on the latest Malayalam film Mollywood Times, calling it a film filled with "truth and idealism" and describing it as a dream project for cinephiles in the internet and social media era.

Kashyap shared his review on the film discovery platform Letterboxd, where he applauded director Abhinav Sunder Nayak for his storytelling and expressed confidence that the filmmaker's craft would only become sharper with time.

Kashyap wrote that the film is a rare blend of realism and idealism. That is, while it reflects the realities of the film industry, it also preserves the romanticism that aspiring filmmakers hope for.

"A post Internet/social media’s cinephile filmmakers wet dream is this film. A lot of truth and a lot of idealism. The articulation of it all from the filmmaker that Abhinav Sunder Nayak is only going to get sharper with time. This is how it all is but the wee bit of romanticism of it all is what we wish. Loved the film."

Mollywood Times follows the journey of Vineeth Madhavan, a young man who dreams of becoming a horror filmmaker. The film explores his struggles through the politics and harsh realities of the film industry while offering a satirical take on the compromises, passion and ambition behind filmmaking.

The film stars Naslen in the lead, alongside Roshan Shanavas, Althaf Salim, Sangeeth Prathap, Sharafudheen, Prashanth Alexander, Gopika Ramesh and Vineeth Sreenivasan.

Produced by Ashiq Usman, the film is written by Ramu Sunil. It marks Abhinav Sunder Nayak's latest feature after the critically acclaimed Mukundan Unni Associates and has already received widespread critical appreciation since its release last month.