Ullozhukku: Unseen but not unheard, the stand-out performer in Malayalam cinema’s thrilling new gem isn’t Parvathy or Urvashi, but a secret third lead | Malayalam News

There’s a reason behind this, of course — and we’ll get to it in a minute — but one artist has been routinely defying the tropes of mainstream Indian moviemaking, while invisibly elevating material to a level of excellence that would’ve eluded it otherwise. The new Malayalam film Ullozhukku, directed by Christo Tomy, is a claustrophobic psychological drama about two women trapped in man-made prisons both literal and imagined. It features a couple of incendiary central performances by Parvathy Thirovothu and Urvashi, themes that feel both evergreen and urgent, but…