Malayalam OTT Release Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal Angers Fans! Here's Why

Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal, the new Malayalam movie that's released on Amazon Prime Video, is subjected to some criticism from fans over the portrayal of the relationship between a boy and a girl who are cousins. The movie is about three estranged brothers coming back to their house to visit their mother who is on a deathbed. The three brothers had issues in the past and they are not on talking terms anymore. Athira and her cousin, played by Garggi Ananthan and Thomas Matthew respectively, try to bond over their past traumas and childhood memories. 

This brief relationship shown in the movie angered fans as some of them even went on to claim that this attraction between cousins is insulting Hindu tradition. There has been sharp criticism aimed at the makers for ruining sibling love by throwing romance into it. However, it must be noted that the two people in discussion are cousins and they got separated and grew up in different worlds altogether. 

When they met again at their family house, it started off as an innocent meet-cute as they attempt to figure out a way to find peace amid all the chaos and thus, a chemistry was sparked. This is the movie director's way of showcasing something pleasant amid the siblings drama that's happening in the foreground. 

Even when Premam was released, there was backlash over how the teacher-student relationship was romanticized by Alphonse Puthren. Years later, the film ended up being a cult classic in South India. Film-makers, especially from Malayalam, showcase even the most complicated of relationships with an empathetic gaze and even in this movie, it was never the director's intention to romanticize a bond between two cousins.