Meet the IIT-ian Redefining Malayalam Pop Culture On Social Media

Arya Prakash (29) is a popular face among the Malayali community on social media. In fact, even the non-Malayalis who are fond of or familiar with Malayali pop culture would know her, thanks to her online media-startup Pop Cult Media (aka Pop Cult Tribe) and her blog ‘Silma Reviews’ – which provides hilarious takes on cult favourite movies in Malayalam.

“I studied in Chennai and had a lot of non-Malayali friends. I have always found that there are certain jokes or phrases, certain expressions to particular situations that can only be set in in reference to Malayalam,” she tells MAKERS India, about wanting to spread Malayali pop culture far and wide. Now a PhD scholar in Visual and Performing Arts at the University of Texas in the US, Arya spoke to MAKERS India over a Zoom call recently about her journey and views on contemporary Malayalam cinema which has gained national attention over the past few years.

From Marketing to Much More

Originally from Kollam district in Kerala, Arya graduated from IIT Madras with MA in English Studies in 2016, and started working as a marketeer in a startup in Hyderabad. As a content creator, she spent most of her time reading articles on technology and artificial intelligence. “But I felt distanced from the things that I studied in college. I had spent five years studying about gender, culture and society, and how all these are intertwined. But in marketing, especially when you're writing for tech audience, you use a different language. I felt like some part of me was getting lost somewhere, and it was reclaiming that part that I did through Silma Reviews,” she tells MAKERS India.

Reading her blog, Charles Andrews reached out to her online – he was an aspiring entrepreneur from Kerala, hoping to start a Youtube channel on Malayalam movies and pop culture. “In the beginning, I was just giving him some guidance. I was not even planning to be part of it, but the more we talked, we – Charles and I - realized how much we love pop culture. So why not we do anything about it?” says Arya, adding, “Like how Buzzfeed caters to North Indian/ Bollywood audience, why can't we do something for Mollywood/ Malayali jokes and pop culture references?”

That's how ‘Pop Cult Tribe’ was born, in 2018 – initially as an Instagram page (which got more than 100,000 followers in just three months) and then grew as a Youtube channel. Two more co-founders joined the duo, and between Hyderabad and Cochin, the team was set. Their content includes newer perspectives on peripheral characters in popular movies, celebrity chats, imaginative posts by film characters were they on social media, and the critical analysis of problematic themes in films - all done in a lighthearted, relatable way.

The Pop Cult Journey

Funded by Saina Video Vision, Pop Cult Tribe grew popular in no time with ‘Pop Cult Dictionary’ becoming a rage among netizens who loved Malayalam pop culture. The dictionary redefined popular words in Malayalam pop culture. It was the progressive, feminist undertones of the content that caught the attention of new generation content consumers, Arya says.

“When we gave progressive definitions and more inclusive definitions to Malyalam words like Vedi (which otherwise slut-shames women) and Feminichi (cuss-format for a feminist woman), there were people who are listening and they actually liked that a social media channel is doing this and they supported. During the time, everybody's Instagram status and WhatsApp status were my definitions (on Pop Cult Dictionary); it was such a rewarding time,” says Arya.

The social media content of Pop Cult Tribe is mostly in English, as it aims to cater to audiences not just in Kerala but also Malayalis who grew up outside Kerala and lovers of Malayalam pop culture. The idea was to start building the brand identity through image posts on social media and then move on to videos, which had more revenue potential (through brand placements and partnerships).

On the New Wave in Malayalam Cinema
Arya has a deeply insightful perspective on Malayalam cinema of today and yesterday. “In 1990s and 2000s, we had horrible movies. And with the ‘new-gen’ wave, we are actually thinking about how these characters have an influence on people. Social media now plays an important role in understanding movies and calling out when things are wrong. And I think that is also affecting how people are making movies. Nowadays people are a little conscious about making rape jokes or contributing to the rape culture or being openly misogynistic in movies,” she says.

However, she adds that women’s issues are yet to see a more realistic portrayal in Malayalam cinema. She points to the recently-released film Kappela, to explain. “In Kappela, the protagonist Jessie is the life of the movie. But as it progresses, you realise It was a movie about how, what we see on the outside might not reflect what is on the inside. And it becomes a movie about a damsel in distress, a movie about two men who are not what they seem to be. And it was a set-up for the audience, (with the message that) it happened to Jessie because this is what happens to women when they don't listen to elders.” More importantly, she adds, Jessie survives a sexual assault attempt from a man she had trusted, and her reaction to that trauma is going to the beach with another man. “It’s like filmmakers can’t realize the trauma that women face in such situations. In the ending scene, we see Jessie in her same old happy self. I don't know if the directors are trivializing the issue of trauma,” she says.

Arya hopes to give a wake-up call to the Malayali filmmakers through her content, addressing social issues and giving a larger scope to the cultural space in Kerala. For a generation of film-lovers, Arya’s efforts may just spring a pleasant surprise.