Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai ; known mononymously as Shobana, is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer, who works predominantly in Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil films. She is a recipient of two National Film Awards, one Kerala State Film Awards and two Filmfare Awards South. In 2011, Shobana received the Kalaimamani by Tamil Nadu Government. She established herself as one of the leading South Indian actresses of her time.
Manichitrathazhu is a 1993 Indian Malayalam-language psychological horror film directed by Fazil, written by Madhu Muttam and produced by Swargachitra Appachan. The film stars Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi and Shobana. It also features Thilakan, Nedumudi Venu, Innocent, Vinaya Prasad, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Sridhar, K.B. Ganesh Kumar, Sudheesh. The story is inspired by a tragedy that happened in the Alummoottil tharavad, located at Muttom, belonging to a central Travancore Thiyya family, in the 19th century. The inheritor of the Alummoottil property and his domestic worker girl were murdered by the son-in-law after he had been written-off from the marumakkathayam system of inheritance prevalent in Kerala at the time. The murder gave rise to many local legends which serve as the basis for the film. Muttam, the writer of the film, is a member of the Alummoottil tharavad through his maternal family.
Divyaa Unni is an Indian former actress and classical dancer of Indian origin who teaches various forms of dance such as Bharathanatyam, Kuchipudi and Mohiniyattom. As an actress, she mainly appeared in Malayalam language films, in addition to few Tamil, Telugu and Kannada language films too.
Kavitha Manoranjini, known professionally as Urvashi, is an Indian actress, dubbing artist, television host, screenwriter and film producer known for her work in the [[Indian] film industry, predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films, and also in Kannada and Telugu films. In a career spanning over four decades, she has won one National Film Award, six Kerala State Film Awards, two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and three Filmfare Award South. Known for her distinct style of acting, she is widely regarded as one of the greatest actress in indian cinema.
P. Kunjanandan Nair, better known by his pseudonym, Thikkodiyan, was an Indian playwright, novelist, lyricist and screenwriter of Malayalam. He was known for his contributions to the genre of radio plays and his autobiography, Arangu Kaanatha Nadan, which detailed the socio-cultural development of Malabar in the post-independent period, fetched him a number of awards including the Kendra Sahithya Academy Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Biography and Autobiography, Vayalar Award and the Odakkuzhal Award.
Menaka Suresh, known mononymously as Menaka, is an Indian actress and film producer. She made her debut in the 1980 Tamil film Ramayi Vayasukku Vanthutta. In an acting career spanning from 1980 to 1987, Menaka appeared in over 125 films as a heroine, mostly in Malayalam. She also appeared in few Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. She married Malayalam film producer G. Suresh Kumar. After 19 years, she made a comeback through the television serial Kaliveedu. At 8th SIIMA, she received SIIMA Lifetime Achievement Award.
Pala Narayanan Nair was an Indian poet and lyricist, best known for his work, Keralam Valarunnu, written in 1953, comprising eight volumes, which earned him the title of Mahakavi. He wrote more than 5,000 poems, which have been compiled in about 43 anthologies. Nair, who also wrote the lyrics for the 1956 Malayalam movie, Avar Unarunnu, was a recipient of the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, the highest literary honour of the Government of Kerala as well as Vallathol Award and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry, besides other honours.
Gracy is a Malayalam author. Her first collection of short stories, Padiyirangippoya Parvati, was published in 1991. Her awards include the Lalithambika Antharjanam Award (1995), the Thoppil Ravi Award (1997), the Katha Prize for the Best Malayalam Short Story (1998) and the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award (2000). Her major works are Narakavaathil, Randu Swapna Darsikal, Kaveriyude Neru, Eezbu Penkathakal, Panikkannu and a collection, Gracyude Kathakal. Her stories have been translated into English, Hindi, Tamil and Oriya. She was the head of the Malayalam department, Al-Ameen college, Edathala, Aluva.
Sona Nair is an Indian actress working mainly in Malayalam cinema who is also best known for her roles in television soaps.
Priyanka Nair is an Indian actress who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry. She made her debut in the Tamil film Veyyil in 2006. She won the 2008 Kerala State Film Award for best actress for her role in Vilapangalkappuram.
Jalaja is an Indian actress in Malayalam films and few Tamil films, who was active during the 1970s and 1980s. She had won Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress and Filmfare Award for Best Actress in 1981 for the movie Venal directed by Lenin Rajendran. Her family roots are from Kollam and Alappuzha district, Kerala.
A. Sethumadhavan, popularly known as Sethu, is a Malayalam fiction writer. He has published more than 35 books. He won the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 2007 for the work Adayalangal. He received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Awards in 1982 and 1978 for his works Pandavapuram and Pediswapnangal; and Vayalar Award for Adyalangal in 2006. He also won Odakkuzhal award for his novel Marupiravi. Sethu's other literary works include Velutha Koodarangal, Thaliyola, Kiratham, Niyogam, Sethuvinte Kathakal and Kaimudrakal. He also served as the chairman and CEO of the South Indian Bank. In 2022, he won the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, highest literary honour of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi.
Ravi Vallathol was an Indian actor, mainly noted for his acting in many famous serials, including the first serial in Malayalam.
Sajitha Madathil is an Indian film and theatre actor. Her performance in Joy Mathew's feature film Shutter (2012) won her the Kerala State film award for second best actress. She is the head of the department of Acting at the K. R. Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts (KRNNIVSA), an autonomous institute established by the Government of Kerala. She had been the Deputy Secretary of the Sangeet Natak Akademi New Delhi(Academy of Music and Dance, India), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. She appeared in the feature films Shutter in 2012, in Adimadhyantham in 2011, and in Shalini Usha Nair's feature film Akam in 2011.
Agnisakshi is a Malayalam novel written by Lalithambika Antharjanam. Originally serialised in Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly, it was published as a book by Current Books in 1976. It tells the story of a Nambudiri woman, who is drawn into the struggle for social and political emancipation but cannot easily shake off the chains of tradition that bind her. The novel was concerned with implied criticism of aspects of social structure and behaviour.
Krishna is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Malayalam films. He made his acting debut at the age of 14 as a child artist in the Malayalam film Napoleon. His debuted as a lead actor with the 1997 film Rishyasringan alongside Bhanupriya.
Subbalakshmi was an Indian Carnatic musician, composer, and actress who worked in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi cinema. She was noted for her performance in Kalyanaraman (2002), Pandippada (2005), and Nandanam (2002).
Latha Raju is an Indian film singer and actress in Malayalam cinema during the 1970s. Some of her popular Malayalam songs are "Pinchu Hridayam Devalayam" and "Manjakkilee Swarnakkilee Mayilppeelikkaattile Varnakkilee" from the film Sethubandhanam, "Ividuthe Chechikkinnale" and "Aaluvaappuzhakkakkareyoru Ponnambalam". She has also rendered songs in Tamil, Kannada and Tulu. She has dubbed for famous actresses like Suhasini, Shobhana, late Shobha and many other leading actresses in some of the landmark films in Malayalam. She has won Kerala Film Critics Award in 2003 for lifetime achievement. The Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi awarded her the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award in 2009 for contributions to Malayalam light music. In 2019 Kerala Government honoured her for her outstanding contributions to Malayalam cinema and music.
Sudhakaran Ramanthali is a Malayalam language writer and translator from Kerala, India. He has translated 27 works from Kannada to Malayalam. He received many awards including Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award for Translation and Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize.
S. Jayachandran Nair was an Indian journalist, writer and screenwriter from the south Indian state of Kerala. He was known for his journalistic activities which included the founding of Samakalika Malayalam Vaarika, a Malayalam language newsweekly and website published by The New Indian Express group as well as for his association with the award winning films, Piravi and Swaham, both directed by Shaji N. Karun. He was the author of a number of literary works in Malayalam for which he received honors such as Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Biography and Autobiography, National Film Award for Best Book on Cinema, K. Balakrishnan Award, K. C. Sebastian Award, M. V. Pylee Journalism Award, K. Vijayaraghavan Smaraka Puraskaram and C. H. Mohammed Koya Journalism Award.
