Kerala Tourism has come out with yet another viral campaign, and this time it is for the lovers of Christopher Nolan's IMAX epic 'The Odyssey' who missed a hidden treat because of the cropped frame on regular Indian screens. Kerala Tourism's extended shot reveals that what King Odysseus (Matt Damon) was offering his divine protector Athena (Zendaya) was a royal treat from the Malabar coast, Kozhikodan halwa (sweet meat).
Taken at face value, the post would mean that Odysseus and his men were on another epic quest during the ten years after the Trojan War, which opens up a sequel possibility for Bollywood or Mollywood.
A treat worth the odyssey.#KozhikodeHalwa #KeralaCuisine #TheOdyssey #KeralaTourism pic.twitter.com/a6CdjDmdvi
— Kerala Tourism (@KeralaTourism) August 5, 2026
'The Odyssey', which stars Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland and Zendaya among a large ensemble cast, released globally on 17 July and has been the source of memes and trolls across the world since then. Several scenes have been reworked and shared online for their meme value. One such trend is the sarcastic take on watching the film in 2D against watching it in IMAX. The film was shot entirely on IMAX cameras, a first for a feature-length production. Nolan has said that more than two million feet of film was used over a 91-day shoot. IMAX is the format in which the film is meant to be seen in full.
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The latest round of trolls pokes fun at those watching it on regular 2D screens. The memes play on the difference in aspect ratio between the two formats, with the standard version cropping away the top and bottom of the IMAX frame. Marketing teams then spotted a promotional opening in the trend. One such adaptation came from the Kerala Tourism social media team, which recreated a scene between Matt Damon and Zendaya as a comical plug for Kozhikodan halwa, with Damon holding out a plate of the sweet in the doctored still. The film has been the talk of the town since its release, and it continues to run in cinemas across the world.
This is not the first time the Kerala Tourism team has gone viral with meme content. Earlier this year, when a lorry carrying more than 400,000 KitKat bars went missing in transit in Europe, the team took a light jab at the brand, posting that it had checked its backwaters, hill stations and beaches and could confirm that none of the stolen KitKat had reached Kerala.
Similarly, when a British Royal Navy F-35B jet was forced to remain at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport after developing a technical fault, the team shared an AI-created visual showing the stealth fighter surrounded by Kerala's coconut palms, along with a mock five-star review praising the state and quipping that the jet "didn't want to leave". Kerala Tourism credited the satire account The Fauxy, which had put out a version of the image first.
