Cannot Differentiate: Mohanlal Speaks About Malayalam Commercial And Art House Cinema Going Hand-In-Hand At WAVES

The inaugural session of the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025 summit is being held at the Jio World Convention Centre, from May to May 4. The summit aims to unlock a USD 50 billion market by 2029, expanding India's footprint in the global entertainment economy. WAVES will integrate films, OTT, gaming, comics, digital media, AI, AVGC-XR, broadcasting, and emerging tech, and seek to present itself as a comprehensive showcase of India's media and entertainment prowess.

Also read: Wave Summit 2025 In Pics: Stars Gather Under One Roof

One of the plenary sessions was hosted by Akshay Kumar with guests Hema Malini , Mohanlal, Chiranjeevi, Mithun Chakraborty and Rajinikanth as guests. During the panel discussion on 'Legends & Legacies: The Stories That Shaped India’s Soul', Akshay asked Malayalam star Mohanlal if there was a time in his career when he had to pick between commercial and art house cinema. He further questioned Mohanlal if the two can go hand in hand or not. Addressing the cinema icon, Akshay also called Malayalam cinema the "intellectual soul of Indian cinema".  

Also read: WAVES 2025: PM Modi Hails Stalwarts Of Indian Cinema In Keynote Speech

In response, Mohanlal, whose recent release Thudarum is performing well at the box office, said, "Thank you for calling Malayalam cinema the intellectual soul of Indian cinema. We are blessed with great actors and directors. From the very beginning in Malayalam cinema, there is a thin line between art house and commercial cinema. It is closely knit. It's a very well-balanced... I had the chance to work with great directors. That time they used to call it art cinema, but those films also had entertainment values. The so-called entertainers have art in them. In Malayalam cinema, content wise we are very rich. In 46 years of my journey, I had the chance to work with great directors. I cannot differentiate... We call it movies and cinema. There were art films and commercial films long ago. Now, content-wise, with the new directors, it's full of art."