Malayalam cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Malayalam language, which is widely spoken in the state of Kerala, India. In 1982, Elippathayam won the Sutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival, and Most Original Imaginative Film of 1982 by the British Film Institute. The film Marana Simhasanam has won the prestigious Caméra d'Or at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.
Kattassery Joseph Yesudas is an Indian playback singer and musician who sings Indian classical, devotional and film songs. He is widely considered one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian music and a cultural icon of Kerala. Yesudas is estimated to have recorded more than 50,000 songs in various Indian languages, including Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Tulu, Hindi, Odia, Bengali, Marathi as well as Arabic, English, Latin, and Russian, in a career spanning six decades. He is often referred to as Gaanagandharvan. Yesudas holds the record for singing 11 songs in different languages in a single day. He has also composed a number of Malayalam film songs during the 1970s and 1980s.
Meena Durairaj, known professionally as Meena, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in the South Indian films as well as Hindi cinema. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. Meena has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi films She is one of the most sought after actresses in the South Indian film industry. In addition to acting, Meena is also a playback singer, TV judge, and occasional dubbing artist. She has received numerous accolades, including two Filmfare Awards South, three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, two Nandi Award for Best Actress and Cinema Express Awards. In 1998, she was honoured with the Kalaimamani Award by Government of Tamil Nadu.
Thattil Antony Johnson, popularly known as Johnson Master, was an Indian film score composer and music director who has given music to some of the most important motion pictures of Malayalam cinema, including those for Koodevide, Namukku Paarkkan Munthiri Thoppukal, Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam, Vadakkunokkiyantram, Perumthachan, Njan Gandharvan, Ponthan Mada, and Bhoothakkannadi. Regarded as one of the finest composers in the industry, he was noted for his lyrical and expressive melodies together with simple but rich tonal compositions of thematic music. Johnson is a recipient of National Film Awards twice and Kerala State Film Awards five times.
Malabar Gopalan Sreekumar, better known as M.G. Sreekumar is an Indian playback singer, composer, music producer, television presenter and film producer, who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. He has sung more than 25000 songs in various Indian languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Sanskrit. He owns a music company named KMG Musics and the Saregama School of Music in Thiruvananthapuram. Sreekumar has won several awards, including two National Film Awards, three Kerala State Film Awards and 5 Filmfare Awards South. He was also honoured with the Harivarasanam Award by the Government of Kerala in 2016. His career as a singer spans over 44 years.
Vijay Yesudas is an Indian playback singer and actor. He has sung over 1000 film songs. Vijay works predominantly in the South Indian film industry, mostly in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi. He is the son of acclaimed singer K. J. Yesudas.
Prem Kumar Gangai Amaren, better known as Premgi, is an Indian playback singer, composer, songwriter, actor and comedian. The son of composer and director Gangai Amaran, he often composes rap songs in Tamil cinema and is known for his comical performances in his elder brother Venkat Prabhu's films. His stage name, Premgi, is actually a spelling error, as it is meant to be "Prem G.",. He is also best known for his catchphrases Enna Koduma Sir Idhu ? and Evvalavo pannitom, itha panna mattoma, the former being a modified version of a famous dialogue used by Prabhu in Chandramukhi (2005).
Gopi Sundar C.S. is an Indian music director, programmer, playback singer, songwriter, actor and performer who works in the Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil film industries.
Irshad is an Indian actor in Malayalam films. He hails from Kechery, Thrissur. He has acted in a number of Malayalam television serials and telefilms besides acting in films.
Dulquer Salmaan is an Indian actor, playback singer and film producer who predominantly works in Malayalam films in addition to Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in business management from Purdue University and worked as a business manager in Dubai before pursuing a career in acting. Dulquer is a recipient of several awards including, four Filmfare Awards South and a Kerala State Film Award.
Inspector Garud is a 2007 Indian Malayalam-language action drama film directed by Johny Antony, starring Dileep and Kavya Madhavan as the lead roles. The film was a commercial success at the box office.
Cheriyan Joseph, popularly known as Prem Prakash is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam television serials and a renowned producer in Malayalam movies. He is mainly known for supporting roles and character roles. He has produced 19 Malayalam films. He is known as Kariachan amongst his family, friends and cinema circles.
Kizhakke Potta Udayabhanu was an Indian playback singer and music director, mainly in Malayalam films. In 2009, he was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour.
Jayaram is an Indian actor who acts predominantly in Malayalam in addition to Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada films. The list of films in which Jayaram played a leading role follows:
Ambili is an Indian film singer in Malayalam cinema during the 1970s and 1980s. She has sung more than 3000 songs in 800 films. She has sung in Tamil, Hindi and Bengali. Her popular songs are "Thedi varum kannukalil", "Oonjala, oonjala", "Swarnamalakal", "Maayalle raga mazhaville" and "Guruvayoorappante thiruvamruthethinu".
Zero Babu, also known as Mohammed Babu, was an Indian film singer, actor and music composer who was active in Malayalam cinema during the 1980s. He was a theater artist turned movie actor. His debut film song was for Kudumbini in 1964 at the age of 18. In P. J. Antony’s play, K. J. Babu played the role of a man who is fed up with life owing to the cotton gambling game that prevailed in the past. Open Zero was the name of the game. Ever since he acted the role and performed a song called Open Zero, he was known as Zero Babu. He also composed few songs including Nakshathrangal Chimmum from the 1983 film Marakkilorikkalum, Manavaattippennorungi from 1982 movie Kurukkante Kalyaanam. He was a recipient of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award and also sung in nearly 90 films and various plays. He has sung more than 300 movie songs.
Harikumar is an Indian screenwriter and film director, who works in Malayalam films. He has written screenplay, story, and dialogues for more than 20 Malayalam films. He has directed films such as Sukrutham, Ayanum, and Udhyanapalakan, which has received critical acclaim. He was a member of National Film Awards jury in 2005 and 2008.
Kammatipaadam, alternatively spelled as Kammatti Paadam, is a 2016 Indian Malayalam-language action drama film directed by Rajeev Ravi and written by P. Balachandran. The film stars Dulquer Salmaan, Vinayakan, Shaun Romy, Manikandan R. Achari, Vinay Forrt, Shine Tom Chacko, and Suraj Venjaramoodu. The songs were composed by K, John P. Varkey and Vinayakan while the background score was composed by K.
Sanah Moidutty is an Indian singer songwriter. She has been trained in Carnatic and Hindustani classical music as well as western vocals, and performs Indian classical and pop music.
Samyuktha is an Indian actress who primarily appears in Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil films. She made her acting debut with the Malayalam film Popcorn (2016).
