In recent years, the term “rooted storytelling” has become a buzzword in Bollywood boardrooms and promotional interviews. It’s often thrown around to explain the success of South Indian films, or to justify yet another village-set drama with big stars and flashy sets. But rarely does the industry pause to ask: What does being rooted actually mean?
The answer lies not in any Hindi film, but in Khalid Rehman’s Malayalam sports comedy, Alappuzha Gymkhana—a modest, deeply human film that premiered on SonyLIV after a strong theatrical run.
Unlike the hyper-stylized “mass” spectacles Bollywood has borrowed from Telugu cinema (and softened beyond recognition), Alappuzha Gymkhana isn’t trying to impress you with scale or stardom. It doesn’t have a villain. There are no high-stakes showdowns. What it has, instead, is something Bollywood keeps missing—people who feel real, problems that feel lived-in, and a world that hasn’t been art-directed into oblivion.
It’s a hangout movie, a rarity in Indian cinema, where characters—not plot contrivances—take the front seat. Naslen and Sandeep Pradeep aren’t “launching” themselves. They’re just being. The story of underdog teens trying to gain college admission through a sports tournament is neither glamorous nor tragic—it’s relatable.
If Bollywood wants to stop faking authenticity and start earning it, it needs to learn that being rooted isn’t about where you set the story. It’s about how you tell it—with respect, empathy, and lived understanding.