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15 Best Malayalam movies on Hotstar; From Mohanlal’s Neru to Premam
Malayalam movies have always offered the best content across genres. From comedies and thrillers to dramas and romance, let us look at the 15 best Malayalam movies to watch on Hotstar.
The Malayalam Film Industry, or Mollywood as it is often called has always produced some of the best content to come from Indian cinema. While Malayalam movies have always stood out for their brilliant storytelling, it is only recently that the industry is getting its due credit.
In this list of Malayalam movies streaming on Disney+Hotstar, we cover the best comedy movies from Malayalam, the best thrillers, the best romances, and the best of everything that the industry has to offer. These movies are listed in descending order of their year of release.
15 Best Malayalam Movies streaming on Disney+ Hotstar
1. Neru (2023)
- Writer-Director: Jeethu Joseph
- Running Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
- Cast: Mohanlal, Siddique, Anaswara Ranjan, Priyamani
- Genre: Drama/Thriller
- Where to Watch: Hotstar
Trigger warning: Neru contains depictions of sexual harassment and abuse.
The latest Malayalam movie to stream on Hotstar is Mohanlal’s courtroom drama Neru. It is the hard-hitting story of Sara, a blind lady who fights for justice after suffering from a traumatic incident. How the skilled yet currently not practicing lawyer, Vijayamohan helps Sara win the case against all odds is the rest of the story. 
2. Romancham (2023)
- Writer-Director: Jithu Madhavan
- Running Time: 2 hours 9 minutes
- IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
- Cast: Soubin Shahir, Arjun Ashokan, Chemban Vinod Jose
- Genre: Horror/Comedy
- Where to Watch: Hotstar
Mollywood has always made some of the best comedies, but out of the new Malayalam comedies, the best one has to be Romancham. A crazy fact about Romancham is that it is based on real incidents that occurred in the life of director Jithu Madhavan.
3. Bheeshma Parvam (2022)
- Writer-Director: Amal Neerad
- Running Time: 2 hours 2 minutes
- IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
- Cast: Mammootty, Shine Tom Chacko, Anagha, Sreenath Bhasi
- Genre: Action/Thriller
- Where to Watch: Hotstar
Bheeshma Parvam is one of the best Malayalam action-thriller movies streaming on Hotstar, with stylized fights and stunning camera work.
4. Hridayam (2022)
- Writer-Director: Vineeth Sreenivasan
- Running Time: 2 hours 51 minutes
- IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
- Cast: Pranav Mohanlal, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Darshana Rajendran
- Genre: Romance/Musical
- Where to Watch: Hotstar
Hridayam is one of those movies that feels like a warm hug on a chilly day. It is comforting, it is reassuring, and it is a medicine to the soul. The movie also arguably has the best music to be made in Malayalam cinema in the last decade.
5. Varathan (2018)
- Writers: Sharfu, Suhas
- Director: Amal Neerad
- Running Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
- IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
- Cast: Fahadh Faasil, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Arjun Ashokan, Dileesh Pothan
- Genre: Thriller/Action
- Where to Watch: Hotstar
When a married couple, Abin and Priya decide to leave Dubai to spend some time in Priya’s childhood home in Kerala, mysterious things start happening in their home as they encounter a section of society that is different from the normal world. Varathan boasts cinematic brilliance, with clever camera work and extremely well-stylized fight sequences.
6. Parava (2017)
- Writers: Soubin Shahir, Muneer Ali
- Director: Soubin Shahir
- Running Time: 2 hours 27 minutes
- IMDB Rating: 8/10
- Cast: Soubin Shahir, Dulquer Salmaan, Amal Shah, Shane Nigam
- Genre: Drama/Action
- Where to Watch: Hotstar
In his debut directorial, Soubin sets his familiar story in an unexplored backdrop of pigeon flying, making this an extremely compelling watch. Just like any good drama film, Parava triumphs because of its characters and their stories.
7. Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum (2017)
- Writers: Sajeev Pazhoor, Syam Pushkaran
- Director: Dileesh Pothan
- Running Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
- Cast: Fahadh Faasil, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Nimisha Sajayan
- Genre: Crime/Thriller
- Where to Watch: Hotstar
One of the best Malayalam movies on Hotstar if you are looking for something truly unique. A thief steals a gold chain from a lady in a moving bus and swallows the chain in front of her and yet, there is not enough evidence to convict the thief. The series of events that follow are stuff of gold. Get it?
8. Kammattipaadam (2016)
- Writer P Balachandran
- Director: Rajeev Ravi
- Running Time: 2 hours 57 minutes
- IMDB Rating: 8/10
- Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Vinayakan, Vinay Forrt
- Genre: Action/Thriller
- Where to Watch: Hotstar
Krishnan, a native of Kammattipaadam leaves for Mumbai to make a life for himself. But how much ever he tries, the filth and violence of Kammattipaadam never leave him. So, when he is forced to return to help his childhood best friend, Ganga, trouble ensues. Kammatipaadam is a raw and rustic story, presented with gutsy storytelling and even now, feels like a fresh take on the gangster genre.
9. Ennu Ninte Moideen (2015)
- Writer-Director: R.S Vimal
- Running Time: 2 hours 46 minutes
- IMDB Rating: 8/10
- Cast: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Tovino Thomas, Parvathy Thiruvothu
- Genre: Romance/Thriller
- Where to Watch: Hotstar
Ennu Ninte Moideen is the tragic real-life tale of Moideen, a Muslim, and Kanchanamala, a Hindu. Apart from the storytelling, what makes this film so special are the performances. Prithviraj and Parvathy are fabulous but so is the supporting cast of Tovino Thomas, Sai Kumar, Lena, and many others.
10. Premam (2015)
- Running Time: 2 hours 36 minutes
- IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
- Cast: Nivin Pauly, Sai Pallavi, Anupama Parameswaran, Madonna Sebastian
- Genre: Romance/Comedy
- Where to Watch: Hotstar
A list of the best Malayalam movies on Hotstar, and no Premam? Impossible! Premam starring Sai Pallavi and Nivin Pauly is an iconic film that stands the test of time even today. It is not only one of the best Malayalam romances but also boasts of some of the best comedies written in Malayalam movies.
11. Bangalore Days (2014)
- Writer-Director: Anjali Menon
- Running Time: 2 hours 52 minutes
- IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
- Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Nivin Pauly, Nazriya Nazim, Fahadh Faasil, Nithya Menen
- Genre: Romance/Comedy
- Where to Watch: Hotstar
If you still haven’t watched Dulquer Salmaan starrer Bangalore Days, can you really call yourself a movie buff? Bangalore Days is a film that set the benchmark for all the Malayalam films to follow. It is one of the best buddy comedy movies in Malayalam cinema and is feel good in every sense of the word.
12. Ohm Shanti Oshaana (2014)
- Writer-Director: Jude Anthany Joseph
- Running Time: 2 hours 16 minutes
- IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
- Cast: Nivin Pauly, Nazriya Nizam, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Aju Varghese
- Genre: Romance/Comedy
- Where to Watch: Hotstar
Breaking the then stereotype in Indian cinema of a boy following a girl until she accepts her love for him, Ohm Shanti Oshaana flipped this narrative and had a naive young girl, Pooja, follow Giri until he accepted her love.
13. Memories (2013)
- Writer-Director: Jeethu Joseph
- Running Time: 2 hours 23 minutes
- IMDB Rating: 8/10
- Cast: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Miya George, Meghana Raj
- Genre: Crime/Thriller
- Where to Watch: Hotstar
One of Jeethu Joseph’s lesser-known works is the 2013 Prithviraj starrer Memories. After a death in his family, police officer Sam Alex has to return to investigate a series of murders, having a similar modus operandi.
14. Ustad Hotel (2012)
- Director: Anwar Rasheed
- Running Time: 2 hours 19 minutes
- IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
- Cast: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Nithya Menen, Thilakan, Siddique
- Genre: Romance/Comedy
- Where to Watch: Hotstar
Ustad Hotel is a simple yet emotionally scintillating tale of following your dreams and noticing your passion. If you are feeling down, trust me, do yourself a favor, and pause life to watch Ustad Hotel.
15. Akkare Akkare Akkare (1990)
- Writer: Sreenivasan
- Director: Priyadarshan
- Running Time: 2 hours 36 minutes
- IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
- Cast: Mohanlal, Sreenivasan, Nedumudi Venu
- Genre: Comedy/Thriller
- Where to Watch: Hotstar
There will be many comedy movies to emerge from Malayalam cinema but Akkare Akkare Akkare will always be one of the best comedy Malayalam movies. When a priceless gold crown is stolen from India, two CID officers go to the USA to retrieve it. What follows is the hilarious story of Akkare Akkare Akkare.
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