Films like Virus (2019), based on the Nipah outbreak, resonated globally because it showed a competent, secular state handling a pandemic—a sharp contrast to global ineptitude. The Great Indian Kitchen (2021) became a viral phenomenon not just in Kerala, but among Indian women worldwide. It showed the drudgery of the illathamma (housewife) grinding masala, washing vessels, and serving men. The film’s power was so visceral that it sparked real divorces and family court battles. A film became a feminist weapon.