Balakrishnan Nair, more popularly known as Balan K. Nair was an Indian actor known for his roles in Malayalam cinema. Although he appeared as a villain in most films, he was also noted for his performances in strong character roles. He emerged as one of the top villain of Malayalam cinema in the second half of the 1970s and played some of the best villain characters in Malayalam films during that period. He won the National Film Award for Best Actor in 1981 for his performance as Govindan in the film Oppol.
Sreekumar P. K., better known by his stage name Jagathy Sreekumar or simply Jagathy, is an Indian actor, director and playback singer, who has appeared in over 1500 Malayalam films in a career spanning almost four decades. Widely regarded as one of the most influential actor and finest comedian in the history of Malayalam cinema, he is also known for his highly nuanced character roles. He is the son of acclaimed dramaturge and writer, the late Jagathy N. K. Achary.
M. G. Soman was an Indian actor and former Indian Air Force officer who appeared in Malayalam films. He was one among the leading star actors doing hero roles in Malayalam Cinema during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He has also done roles in Tamil films Aval Oru Thodar Kathai, Naalai Namadhe, Kumaara Vijayam and Airport. However, in the late 1980s and 1990s, he switched to character and villainous roles.
Oduvil Unnikrishnan was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam cinema. He has portrayed supporting roles in both dramatic and comedic roles. He is a four-time winner of Kerala State Film Awards.
Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai (1900–1979) was a Malayalam dramatist, poet, screen play writer and actor who was well known in the role of Ashaan in Kavyamela. He was born in 1900 in Muthukulam, a small village near Haripad in Alappuzha District, Kerala, India. Known as the Akshara Guru of Malayalam talkie films, he wrote the screenplay and dialogues of Balan, the first Malayalam talkie and Jeevithanauka, the first box office hit in the Malayalam film industry. He is also the author of about 55 dramas and dozens of film stories and screenplays. In 1968, he acted in Viruthan Shanku, the first full-length comedy in Malayalam cinema directed by P. Venu. He acted in around 150 Malayalam films and wrote Tataka Parinayam Kathakali. An award named Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai Puraskaram has been instituted by Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai Samraka Samithi in honour of him.
Padmadalakshan, known by his stage name Kuthiravattam Pappu, was a popular Indian stage and film actor. His repertoire of acting was based on his unique style and use of the Kozhikodan dialect, impeccable timing and the capability to grasp the subtle nuances of any character and mould it into his signature "Pappu style". He acted in over a thousand Malayalam films. He made his debut in a small comic role in Bhargavi Nilayam. His character was called ‘Kuthiravattom,’ a name that stuck for the rest of his career.
K. Bhaskaran Nair, known by his stage name Adoor Bhasi, was an Indian actor and film director from Kerala. Adoor Bhasi was almost always cast as the man who stands next to the hero. His hilarious actions and roles became the cynosure of comic scenes in the Malayalam films of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, especially with Ever Green Hero of Malayalam Cinema, Shri Prem Nazir. He is also famous for his eloquent speeches in fluent English. He directed three Malayalam films during the late 1970s.
Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair was an Indian poet, playwright, script writer, lyricist, orator, film director and actor, though he is best known as an actor in Malayalam cinema. He is the recipient of Padma Shri from the Government of India, which is one of the highest civilian honours in India. In a career that spanned about 47 years, he acted in over 700 films. He is considered to be the "First Superstar in Mollywood". In 1993, he was honoured with the J. C. Daniel Award, Kerala government's highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema.
Kachinamthoduka Puthiyapurayil Ummer known as K. P. Ummer was an Indian actor from Thekkepuram quarter of Kozhikode, Kerala, India. He was active in the Malayalam cinema from early sixties until late nineties.
Prathapachandran (1941–2004) was an Indian actor, who worked predominantly in Malayalam film industry, though he acted in a few Tamil and Telugu movies as well. He known for the portrayal of villainous and character roles in over 300 movies. He was born in 1941 at Omallur in Thiruvithamkoor princely state, currently within the Pathanamthitta District, Kerala.
Janardhanan Nair is an Indian actor, producer and a former Indian Airforce personnel who predominantly acts in Malayalam films. He acted in his first feature film Adyathe Kadha, directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan in 1971, he acted in more than 700 films. He started his career when Malayalam films were made in black and white. He is known for his style of handling humour and his iconic voice. He started his career playing brusque villains and sub hero roles in the 1970s and early 1980s, acting along with Prem Nazir and Jayan, but later established himself as a highly sought-after comedian.
Vadakkekarayil Koran Bharathan, better known as Paravoor Bharatan was an Indian actor who acted in Malayalam films. He started his career in movies during the 1950s. Bharathan is known as a versatile actor and has played a variety of roles including negative roles, character roles and comedy roles.
Kaduvakkulam Antony was an Indian actor from Kerala who performed more than 300 films as comedian during the 1960s and 1970s. One journalist considers him to have been one of the best and most popular comedians in Malayalam cinema.
Jose Prakash was an Indian actor and singer who worked in Malayalam cinema. He was a singer turned actor who had appeared in more than 300 films mostly in antagonist roles. He was awarded with the J. C. Daniel Award in 2011, a day before he died aged 86. In a career spanning for around 40 years, he is known for portraying some of the iconic villain characters in the Malayalam film industry. Later, he switched to character roles in the mid 90s.
S. P. Pillai was an Indian film and stage actor, best known for his comic roles in Malayalam films.
Kunchan is an Indian actor, primarily concentrating on Malayalam films. He has done over 650 films in Malayalam. He usually does minor roles. He has also done important character roles. He started his career when Malayalam films were made in black and white. He made his debut with Tamil film Manaivi (1969), which went unreleased, and his first release was Rest House released in 1970. His most remembered roles were in films like Ivar (1980), Nayakan (1985), Avanazhi (1986), Carnivel (1989) Aye Auto (1990), Kottayam Kunjachan (1990), and Lelam (1997). Recently he has also done Kamal Haasan' s Manmadhan Ambu.
Raveendran Nair, known by his stage name Poojappura Ravi is an Indian actor, primarily concentrating in Malayalam films doing comedy roles. He was a stage actor and was a part of Kalanilyam Drama Vision, the famous drama institution. He started doing Malayalam films in mid-1970s. He has done many " black and white " movies produced in Kerala. Ravi is actually a very flexible character actor who can do almost any roles which is evident from his movies. Even though the exact count of his movies list are not updated, he has surpassed 600 films. In the 1990s he also did TV serials.
Alummoodan was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam films. He had acted in more than 100 films and mainly did comedy roles.
T. S. Muthaiah was a Malayalam and Tamil film actor. He was a very popular actor in both film industries who usually played character and supporting roles in 1950s and 1960s. He acted with M. G. Ramachandran in Thayin Madiyil.
N. Govindan Kutty was a Malayalam film actor. He has appeared in around 100 films, acting mainly in villain roles.
