Hybridized Hegemonies: The Changing Face of the Male Protagonist in Malayalam Cinema Dr. Preeti Kumar In cinema, hegemonic masculine behaviour is exhibited by the traditional hero-the tough physically attractive male who displays the normative values of the masculine ideal. Hegemonic masculinity can even be demonstrated by a hero of lower social order by adopting certain stylistic features – being muscular, violent, dominating, and sexually assertive. A study of select Malayalam films produced post-2015 – Varnanae Avashyamundu, Vikruthi, Home- however, reveals a different kind of male protagonist – physically and emotionally crippled, diffident, ineffectual, blustering, unattractive, unimpressive, and victimized. This paper borrows from the theory of ‘hybrid’ masculinity proposed by Demetrius and ‘inclusive’ masculinity as put forth by Anderson to argue that since hegemonic masculinity is culturally and historically situated and reconfigures itself by appropriating and embodying divers