Best Malayalam Drama Movies

101 films · 51 with 3+ critic reviews

The backbone of Indian cinema — family sagas, social realism and character studies. The largest and most critically decorated category on the site.

The best Malayalam drama movies, ranked by aggregated critic score.

01Kaathal - The CoreMalayalam · 2023“Kaathal – The Core speaks about the struggles of coming out and addresses the need for…” — Harshini S V

7.6

14 criticsExceptional02Bethlehem Kudumba UnitMalayalam · 2026“Bethlehem Kudumba Unit is a continuation of that world and yet a more mature and resonant…” — Santanu Das

7.4

15 criticsRecommended03All We Imagine as LightMalayalam · 2024“All We Imagine As Light has its share of lovely moments, but the film struggles with…” — Bollywood Hungama News Network

7.1

8 criticsRecommended04RonthMalayalam · 2025“Shahi Kabir's Ronth almost achieves the impossible of giving us a peek into the deepest…” — S.R. Praveen

7.0

8 criticsRecommended05EkoMalayalam · 2025“With Eko, Dinjith Ayyathan and Bahul Ramesh craft a solid mystery thriller, in which the…” — S.R. Praveen

7.0

9 criticsRecommended06ThudarumMalayalam · 2025“He features Mohanlal in a role that has a good character arc with emotional depth and is…” — Latha Srinivasan

6.9

14 criticsRecommended07PonmanMalayalam · 2025“Ponman could have easily turned into another film with a progressive message against…” — S.R. Praveen

6.9

12 criticsRecommended08BramayugamMalayalam · 2024“Everything about this Bramayugam. Every aspect of the film works towards making this film…” — Priyanka Sundar

6.8

12 criticsRecommended09Kishkindha KaandamMalayalam · 2024“Here, screenwriter Bahul Ramesh achieves a near flawless pay off, worthy of the painfully…” — S.R. Praveen

6.8

7 criticsRecommended10Manjummel BoysMalayalam · 2024“With Manjummel Boys, Chidambaram pulls off an immaculately-crafted survival thriller.…” — S.R. Praveen

6.7

8 criticsRecommended11Vaazha 2Malayalam · 2026“Vaazha 2 improves upon the flawed original, managing to pack in a lot that a young crowd…” — S.R. Praveen

6.6

15 criticsRecommended12HridayamMalayalam · 2022“Hridayam might not stir your soul, but Vineeth has delivered enough to keep you…” — S.R. Praveen

6.6

6 criticsRecommended13Jana Gana ManaMalayalam · 2022“The form does not match the powerful content, but this is a very effective and very…” — baradwajrangan

6.6

5 criticsRecommended14KalamkavalMalayalam · 2025“Kalamkaval could have become just another slow-burn serial killer despite some of its…” — S.R. Praveen

6.5

11 criticsRecommended15RDX: Robert Dony XavierMalayalam · 2023“RDX promises to deliver no-holds barred action and delivers just that, and nothing more.” — S.R. Praveen

6.5

7 criticsRecommended16The Goat LifeMalayalam · 2024“The Prithviraj Sukumaran film must be watched on the big screen for a wholesome…” — Latha Srinivasan

6.5

6 criticsRecommended17A.R.M - Ajayante Randam MoshanamMalayalam · 2024“Tovino Thomas shines in triple role but execution is flawed.” — Latha Srinivasan

6.4

10 criticsMixed18Bro DaddyMalayalam · 2022“Bro Daddy is a sweet, silly, very likeable movie with lots of laughs and I enjoyed all of…” — Baradwaj Rangan

6.4

7 criticsMixed19Bheeshma ParvamMalayalam · 2022“In Bheeshma Parvam, Amal Neerad makes up for the lack of novelty in the story with style…” — S.R. Praveen

6.4

4 criticsMixed20GarudanMalayalam · 2023“Garudan is filled with contrivances and some old-fashioned narrative tricks, though M.…” — S.R. Praveen

6.3

8 criticsMixed21Pradhama Drishtiya KuttakkarMalayalam · 2026“Shahad, who debuted with the forgettable coming-of-age drama Prakashan Parakkatte (2022),…” — S.R. Praveen

6.3

11 criticsMixed22ThallumaalaMalayalam · 2022“Even with all its craft, Thallumaala at best has the depth of a social media reel. Yet,…” — S.R. Praveen

6.2

8 criticsMixed23NeruMalayalam · 2023“After the forgettable 12th Man and the passable Drishyam 2, Jeethu has found his mojo in…” — S.R. Praveen

6.2

9 criticsMixed24Anweshippin KandethumMalayalam · 2024“Ultimately, Anveshippin Kandethum is an engaging entertainer with a gripping narrative,…” — Shilpa Nair Anand

6.2

6 criticsMixed25Alappuzha GymkhanaMalayalam · 2025“Alappuzha Gymkhana does not deliver much of the latter but makes up with a relatable tale…” — S.R. Praveen

6.2

10 criticsMixed26Pachuvum AthbhuthavilakkumMalayalam · 2023“Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum is structured like a lighthearted novel, with characters…” — Sajin Shrijith

6.1

5 criticsMixed27Journey of Love 18+Malayalam · 2023“Arun. D. Jose manages to come up with only some average fare from the thin plot of…” — S.R. Praveen

6.0

7 criticsMixed28PatriotMalayalam · 2026“Despite its predictable narrative, Patriot is an engaging and even brave film on a…” — S.R. Praveen

6.0

7 criticsMixed29Jo & JoMalayalam · 2022“The entire movie gets a treatment similar to that of some light-hearted web series, but…” — S.R. Praveen

6.0

5 criticsMixed30NarivettaMalayalam · 2025“Director Anuraj Manohar was inspired by this true story and wrote Narivetta (Leopard…” — Latha Srinivasan

6.0

3 criticsMixed31Balan - The BoyMalayalam · 2026“The defining image in Malayalam film director Chidambaram's Balan The Boy comes in the…” — Santanu Das

5.9

7 criticsMixed32Drishyam 3Malayalam · 2026“Drishyam 3, the least effective of the three films, does not feel like a page from a…” — S.R. Praveen

5.8

15 criticsMixed33ThalavaraMalayalam · 2025“Thalavara tugs at the heartstrings in unexpected little ways, gives hope, and, by the end…” — Shilpa Nair Anand

5.8

5 criticsMixed34AthiradiMalayalam · 2026“Tovino Thomas storms into Athiradi like a one-man festival riot, turning this colourful…” — Sreeju Sudhakaran

5.8

3 criticsMixed35Abraham OzlerMalayalam · 2024“... The movie sure offers a cinematic experience, but is that enough?” — Vishal Menon

5.7

9 criticsMixed36ThudakkamMalayalam · 2026“If not for the thoughtful weaving in of Vismaya's martial arts skills, Thudakkam would…” — S.R. Praveen

5.5

18 criticsMixed37Malayalee from IndiaMalayalam · 2024“For, other than the strength of the politics that they attempt to convey and Nivin…” — S.R. Praveen

5.5

9 criticsMixed38TurboMalayalam · 2024“Malayalam star makes a rare error of judgement with this massy but unexciting action film.” — Latha Srinivasan

5.5

8 criticsMixed39HridayapoorvamMalayalam · 2025“With Hridayapoorvam, Sathyan Anthikad crafts a light-hearted entertainer by stretching a…” — S.R. Praveen

5.5

6 criticsMixed40I, NobodyMalayalam · 2026“Things are quite taut till the halfway point, with the movie taking us to all the…” — S.R. Praveen

5.4

15 criticsMixed41Varshangalkku SheshamMalayalam · 2024“Vineeth Sreenivasan's tale of friendship is earnest but melodramatic. The film captures…” — Latha Srinivasan

5.4

6 criticsMixed42KaapaMalayalam · 2022“Despite having a solid story to build on, Kaapa fails to become anything more than a…” — S.R. Praveen

5.3

7 criticsMixed43VaazhaMalayalam · 2024“What redeems Vaazha, 'the biopic of a billion boys', is the humour woven in all the…” — Saraswathy Nagarajan

5.3

5 criticsMixed44ThalavanMalayalam · 2024“Despite having quite an intriguing plot, Thalavan is weighed down by all these situations…” — S.R. Praveen

5.2

5 criticsMixed45King of KothaMalayalam · 2023“King of Kotha, in the end, is an unabashed vehicle for Dulquer's superstardom…” — S.R. Praveen

5.1

11 criticsMixed46AaraattuMalayalam · 2022“The script is chock-a-block with references to old Mohanlal films. Such an indulgence can…” — Sowmya Rajendran

5.1

6 criticsMixed47I'm GameMalayalam · 2026“Dulquer Salmaan's fantasy actioner is a gamble that nearly pays off” — Anandu Suresh

5.0

8 criticsMixed48Corona PapersMalayalam · 2023“Despite its glitches, including some horrible dubbing, Corona Papers remains an average…” — S.R. Praveen

5.0

5 criticsMixed49VivaahMalayalam · 2026“The first half is kind of slow though the pace picks up in the second half. Music here is…” — Patcy N

5.0

3 criticsMixed50Drishyam 2Malayalam · 2021“But it's for a cause that is really not worth it. The trick to a horror story is to know…” — Shalini Langer

4.4

3 criticsUnfavorable

See all 101 Malayalam drama films →

Recent Malayalam Drama releases

6.3

Pradhama Drishtiya Kuttakkar

11 critics

5.0

Vivaah

3 critics

5.0

I'm Game

8 critics

7.4

Bethlehem Kudumba Unit

15 critics

5.5

Thudakkam

18 critics

5.4

I, Nobody

15 critics

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