Madhavan Nair, commonly known by his stage name Madhu, is an Indian actor, director, producer, former college lecturer and former film studio owner, who works in Malayalam cinema and a certain number of Hindi and Tamil films. He was a prominent lead actor during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and has acted in more than 400 films. Madhu has also directed 12 films, produced 15 films and at one time owned the Uma Film Studio. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2013 for his contributions towards the arts. He was honored with the J. C. Daniel Award by the Government of Kerala in 2004, for his outstanding contributions to Malayalam films. He is the president of Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) Kerala Unit.
Gopynathan Velayudhan Nair, popularly known by the stage name Bharat Gopy, was an Indian actor, producer, and director. Considered one of the greatest actors in the history of Indian cinema, Gopy was one of the first actors to be associated with the New Wave cinema movement in Kerala during the 1970s.
Swayamvaram is a 1972 Indian Malayalam-language drama film co-written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, starring Madhu and Sharada in the lead roles. Notable smaller roles were played by Thikkurisi Sukumaran Nair, Adoor Bhavani, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, and Bharath Gopi. The film depicts the life of a couple—Vishwam (Madhu) and Sita (Sharada)—who have married against their parents' wishes and want to start a new life at a new place. The title is an allusion to the ancient Indian practice of a girl of marriageable age choosing a husband from among a list of suitors.
K. P. Kumaran is an Indian film maker who works in the Malayalam cinema. He co-authored the script of Swayamvaram directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. Kumaran's first directorial venture was Athithi. His major films include Rugmini, Thenthulli, Laxmivijayam and Thottam. His latest film, Akasha Gopuram, is based on Henrik Ibsen's play The Master Builder.
Naalu Pennungal is a 2007 Malayalam language anthology film produced and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan based on four short stories written by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. The film stars Padmapriya, Geethu Mohandas, Manju Pillai and Nandita Das in the major roles and KPAC Lalitha, Mukesh, Manoj K. Jayan, Kavya Madhavan, Sreejith Ravi, Nandhu, Remya Nabeeshan, and M. R. Gopakumar in supporting roles.
Mukhamukham (1984) is a Malayalam feature film written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan.
Kodiyettam is a Malayalam-language film written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. The film stars Bharat Gopy in the lead role. Notable smaller roles were played by K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Kuttyedathi Vilasini, Azeez and Adoor Bhawani. The film depicts the life of Shankaran Kutty, a carefree simpleton who eventually rises to be a mature, responsible adult. The title of the film translates to 'Ascent' which symbolizes the growth of Shankaran Kutty.
Mankada Ravi Varma was an Indian cinematographer and director who worked in Malayalam cinema. He is exclusively known for his association with renowned film-maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan. He has associated with other major directors such as G. Aravindan and P. N. Menon. He has also directed two films. He has won two National Film Awards and seven Kerala State Film Awards in various categories. In 2006, he was honoured with the J. C. Daniel Award, Kerala government's highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema.
Praveena is an Indian actress and dubbing artist who predominantly appears in Malayalam television series and films in addition to a few Tamil television series and films. She is known for portraying the role of Goddess Devi in popular series Devi Mahathmyam.
Mathilukal (transl. Walls) is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language film written, directed, and produced by Adoor Gopalakrishnan based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. The film focuses on the prison life of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer and the love between him and Narayani, a female inmate of the prison, who remains unseen throughout the film. Mammootty plays the role of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer while K. P. A. C. Lalitha gives voice to Narayani. The film was screened at the Venice Film Festival.
Ravi Vallathol was an Indian actor, mainly noted for his acting in many famous serials, including the first serial in Malayalam.
Celluloid is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language biographical film co-produced, written, and directed by Kamal, starring Prithviraj Sukumaran, Sreenivasan, Mamta Mohandas, and Chandni in the lead roles. The film is a biopic based on the life story of J.C. Daniel, the father of Malayalam cinema, the making of his film Vigathakumaran, and the story of Vigathakumaran's heroine P. K. Rosie. The film is particularly based on Life of J. C. Daniel, a biography of J. C. Daniel written by Chelangatt Gopalakrishnan. The filming started in November 2012, and the online posters were done by a 16-year-old boy, Aswin, which went viral on social media. It was released in February 2013. The film opened with positive reviews and received seven Kerala State Film Awards, including Best Film and Best Actor (Prithviraj). The movie received many awards and much appreciation with the support of All Lights Film Services (ALFS), a leading film festival consultancy. The film was a blockbuster at the box office.
Narayanan Lakshmi Balakrishnan, commonly known as N. L. Balakrishnan, was an Indian film still photographer and actor who worked in Malayalam cinema. He worked as a still photographer in about 170 films and has associated with great directors including G. Aravindan, John Abraham, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, P. Padmarajan, Bharathan and K. G. George. He was an actor, with 180 credits to his name, and has also worked as a photo journalist with Kerala Kaumudi.
Narayanan Nair Harikumar is a sound editor, designer and mixing engineer, known for his works in Malayalam films. He has won two National Film Awards and nine Kerala State Film Awards for audiography. He has worked for many Adoor Gopalakrishnan movies like Anantaram, Mathilukal, Nizhalkuthu, Naalu Pennungal, Oru Pennum Randaanum etc. He worked as Chief Sound Engineer and Studio Manager at Kerala State Film Development Corporation's Chithranjali Studio and later as the Chief Audio Engineer at Aries Vismayas Max.
M. J. Radhakrishnan was an Indian cinematographer working mainly in Malayalam films. He got National film award 2018 as best cinematographer for his work on Malayalam movie Oolu. He won Kerala State Award for Best Cinematography 7 times, equal with Mankada Ravi Varma. Earlier he worked as a still photographer and then as an associate to cinematographer turned director Shaji N. Karun. His important works included Deshadanam (1996), Karunam (1999) Naalu Pennungal (2007), Veettilekkulla Vazhi (2010) and Akasathinte Niram. His films were screened at several prominent film festivals around the world including Cannes, Shanghai, Cairo, Montreal, Telluride, Jeonju, Toronto, Chicago, Rhode Island and Rotterdam. One of his works, Marana Simhasanam, won Caméra d'Or in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. Another film Veyilmarangal won Golden Goblet award for Outstanding Artistic achievement at Shanghai International Film Festival 2019. He worked on over 117 feature films and several documentaries and worked with some of the prominent Indian filmmakers including Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Murali Nair, Shaji N. Karun, TV Chandran, Dr. Biju, Jayaraj and Renjith. He mostly worked on arthouse films and was known for his natural lighting styles. In a career spanning more than two decades, he worked with a number of young film makers, mostly in their maiden ventures. Film Kalamandalam Hyderali 2019, directed by Kiran G. Nath was his last completed work as director of photography.
Krishna Ravindranathan Nair , also known as Achani Ravi or General Pictures Ravi, was an Indian film producer of Malayalam films, industrialist and philanthropist. He was known for a number of critically acclaimed films he produced, such as Kanchana Sita, Thampu, Kummatty, Esthappan, Pokkuveyil, Elippathayam, Manju, Mukhamukham, Anantaram and Vidheyan. Nair was credited with fostering the art film movement in Malayalam cinema during the period from the 1970s to the 1990s. A multiple recipient of National and State film awards, Nair was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award by the Government of Kerala, in 2008, for his contributions to Malayalam cinema.
Mohan Kupleri (Malayalam: മോഹൻ കുപ്ലേരി; born 19 June 1957) is an Indian film director in Malayalam cinema, Television Serials and Advertising Films. He made his debut cinema with Grihaprevesam (1992). His films include Nandini Oppol (1994), Kaathil Oru Kinnaram (1996), Dravidan (1998), Kattathoru Penpoovu (1998), Saavithriyude Aranjaanam (2002), Payum Puli (2007), Evadaina Sare (2007), Grihanathan (2012) and Chandragiri (2018).
Rajasekharan Parameswaran, also known as Marthandam Rajasekharan, is an Indian art director and self-taught painter from Tamil Nadu. He holds two Guinness World Records.
S. B. Satheesan is a national award-winning Indian costume designer or fashion designer working predominantly in Malayalam films.
Images/Reflections is a documentary film on Adoor Gopalakrishnan directed by Girish Kasaravalli. The documentary was first screened in April 2015 in Bangalore.
