On a fine, sunny morning, Australian YouTuber Corrie Hinschen woke up and decided to check his mailbox. This was part of his daily routine but he was amused by the number of mails he got from Malayalis requesting him to watch the trailer of Mollywood gangster flick Angamaly Diaries. While there’s nothing new about requests from viewers, the sheer number of requests perplexed him. Same was the case for American film reviewer and YouTuber Melanie Greenberg who reviews Malayalam films and does trailer reaction videos. Different types of videos are successful on YouTube, from unboxings and reviews to stop-motion movies and time-lapse. But these reaction videos are perhaps the most popular ones. Among them, trailer reactions are some of the most watched videos on YouTube! Though movie trailer reactions were just a fad in the beginning, many YouTubers now enjoy reviewing popular movies from India.
Corrie, who is a film buff, says the love for Indian cinema, especially Malayalam, is boundless. “What struck me the most was the vast range of stories and genres as well as the amount of heart and soul that gets put into many films (mainly South Indian cinema). Before I started watching Indian films, I had a preconceived notion in my head, as many foreigners do, that Indian cinema was all singing, dancing and cheesy romance. I was glad to discover, however, that there are filmmakers in India who strive to tell original and compelling stories,” he explains. On his YouTube channel Pieces of Work, with almost 42k subscribers, the Aussie has uploaded more than 500 videos, in which most of them are movie reactions and reviews. He is focusing on Asian movies and majority of them are Indian and Malayalam films. Since his first Malayalam review (Drishyam), he has been a big fan of Mohanlal and Malayalam films in general. His love for the actor is evident in the videos.
Corrie Hinschen
“My favourite Malayalam film is Drishyam. I say this because not only is it an incredible film, it was the very first Malayalam film I watched. The film is very unique with its structure; it engages you with a light-hearted family drama and then in the middle, it turns into something much more sinister. “This film also piqued my interest in Mohanlal. There is something so mesmerising about his performance in Drishyam. In my opinion, he is the Brando of Indian cinema,” he adds. American YouTuber Melanie also has a special place in her heart for Malayalam movies, the prime reason being Dulquer Salman. She has seen over 400 Indian films and over 50 Malayalam films. “The Malayalam film industry has a more natural style of acting and many stories are women-centric. I find it funny now that I didn't even know Dulquer is a star kid,” laughs Melanie.
“Malayalam cinema is something truly special. Angamaly Diaries is a great example of that and was my top film for all of Indian cinema in 2017,” she adds.
Through her YouTube channel Pardesi, she has reviewed so many Malayalam movies. Njan Marykutti starring Jayasurya is the latest on the list. Viewers can request for reviews and reaction videos via her Letterboxd.com account. She says, the reactions from viewers are fantastic and they have been very nice to her.
Another hit YouTuber is Jaby Koay. Jaby is based in California and in each video, with honest reviews and reactions, he also shares the space with one guest. Since Indian movies are watched by not just Indians but also by foreigners, plagiarism has also been an issue identified by many YouTubers. They feel some filmmakers blatantly ‘draw inspiration’ from Hollywood for their movies. Corrie says it really bothers him that there are several high-profile directors (mainly from Bollywood) who have copied films their entire careers. He is also planning to attend this year’s IFFK so that he can interact with movie makers and movie lovers in Kerala. Though these YouTubers are not film professionals or celebrity reviewers, their trailer reactions and reviews are clearly resonating with the people.
