Malayalam cinema is the Indian film industry based in the southern state of Kerala, dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Malayalam language. It is also known by the sobriquet Mollywood in various print and online media. It's also known as Wonderwood due to its wonderful contributions to Indian film industry. Malayalam film industry is the fifth biggest film industry in India. The films produced here are known for their cinematography and story-driven realistic plots. Works such as Marana Simhasanam and Vanaprastham were screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. Marana Simhasanam garnered the coveted Caméra d'Or for that year.
Mohanlal Viswanathan, known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, producer, playback singer, distributor and philanthropist who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also appeared in Tamil and Telugu language films. One of the most admired Indian actors, Mohanlal has had a prolific career spanning over four decades, during which he has acted in more than 340 films. He is regarded as one of the greatest actors in the history of Indian cinema. In addition to Malayalam, he has also appeared in other Indian language films. Mohanlal has won five National Film Awards—two Best Actor, a Special Jury Mention and a Special Jury Award for acting, and an award for Best Feature Film, also nine Kerala State Film Awards and Filmfare Awards South and numerous other accolades. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri in 2001, and Padma Bhushan in 2019, India's fourth and third highest civilian honours, for his contributions to Indian cinema. In 2009, he became the first actor in India to be awarded the honorary rank of Lieutenant colonel in the Territorial Army. He received honorary doctorates from Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit in 2010 and from University of Calicut in 2018.
The music of Kerala has a long and rich history. It is not the same as Malayalam poetry,although most of it is poetry driven. Kerala has a rich tradition in Carnatic music. Songs formed a major part of early Malayalam literature, which traces its origin to the 9th century CE. The significance of music in the culture of Kerala can be established just by the fact that in Malayalam language, musical poetry was developed long before prose. With the development of music in the region, different branches were formed out of it. The most basic branches are classical music which is primarily Carnatic music oriented, and popular music which includes film songs and album songs.
Johnson 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 three times.
Jayasurya is an Indian actor, film producer, distributor, playback singer, and impressionist, who works in the Malayalam Cinema. He has appeared in more than 100 films and has won several awards, including a National Film Award, two Kerala State Film Awards, two Filmfare Awards South for acting and Best actor at the Cincinnati Film Festival held in Cincinnati, USA. Jayasurya has also appeared in a few Tamil films.
The city of Thiruvananthapuram has been the centre of cultural activities of Kerala (India) from the time it was made capital of Travancore in 1745. The capital city is a major intellectual and artistic center. The Thiruvananthapuram Museum and Thiruvananthapuram Zoo were started during the reign of Swathi Thirunal (1813–1847) and are one of the oldest of their kind in India. The city's libraries include the Trivandrum Public library, which was started in 1829. The Swathi Thirunal College of Music and 'College of fine arts' are the leading institutions related to music and arts.
Alphons Joseph is a music director and playback singer in the Malayalam film industry who got a break as a film music composer after composing for the film Vellithira. Alphons is also noted for singing the famous song "Aaromale" from the film Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, which was composed by A. R. Rahman.
Arabikkatha is a 2007 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Lal Jose and written by Ikbal Kuttipuram. The film was a critical and commercial success in India and the United Arab Emirates. It deals with differences within the Communist movement, and was produced against a background of real-life splits in the ruling Communist Party in Kerala state, India.
Rock N' Roll is a 2007 Malayalam musical comedy film written and directed by Ranjith, starring Mohanlal, Lakshmi Rai, Mukesh, Rahman, Lal, Siddique, Harisree Ashokan, and Jagathy Sreekumar in the main roles. The film tells the story of six musicians in Chennai, the major centre of film production in South India.
Kalpana Ranjani, better known mononymously as Kalpana, was an Indian film actress who has appeared in South Indian films, predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films. Kalpana has acted in over 300 films in various South Indian languages.
Naatturajavu is a 2004 Indian Malayalam-language action drama film directed by Shaji Kailas and written by T. A. Shahid. The film stars Mohanlal in the lead role and Siddique, Meena, Nayantara, Kalabhavan Mani, Kaviyoor Ponnamma and K. P. A. C. Lalitha in supporting roles. M. Jayachandran composed the soundtrack. It was produced by Antony Perumbavoor through Aashirvad Cinemas. Naatturajavu was released in India on 20 August 2004, it performed well at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year.
Rahul Raj is an Indian music composer. He has composed and produced original scores and soundtracks for Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil movies.
Aashirvad Cinemas is an Indian film production company based in Kerala. It was established in 2000 by Antony Perumbavoor, since then, it has produced 28 Malayalam films, starring Mohanlal. Since 2009, the company co-operates with the distribution company Maxlab Cinemas and Entertainments co-founded by Mohanlal and Antony Perumbavoor for distributing films. It is one among the most active and leading production houses in the Malayalam film industry.
Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha is a 2009 Malayalam language Indian mystery film written and directed by Ranjith, starring Mammootty, Shwetha Menon and Mythili. It is based on the novel of the same name by T. P. Rajeevan, which said the true story of the first recorded murder case in Kerala. Mammooty plays three characters in the film. The film was Mythili's debut in cinema. Ranjith also introduced about thirty Malayalam stage artists through this film. The film tells the story of a private detective, who returns to his birthplace, a village called Paleri, to solve a murder mystery that occurred on the same night he was born. Upon the release of the movie, it got an 'A' certificate due to its violent and adult content.
Saji Surendran is an Indian film director in Malayalam films, known for his commercially successful comedies, most notably Ivar Vivahitharayal (2009) and Happy Husbands (2010).
Gopisundar C. S. is an Indian music director, programmer, singer, songwriter, actor and performer who works prominently in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu industries. He started his career composing music for television commercials, as has nearly 5,000 jingles to his credit. As a keyboard programmer, he has collaborated with many music directors including the composer duo Vishal–Shekhar. He has won several accolades for his soundtrack albums and film scores, including a National Film Award, a Kerala State Film Award, and two Filmfare Awards South.
Sudeep Kumar is an Indian playback singer. He sings Indian classical, devotional, and popular music. He has recorded more than 1,500 songs in languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Sanskrit, during a career spanning two decades.He is the President of Malayalam playback singers' association SAMAM
Anil Johnson is an Indian film composer and record producer who works in Malayalam cinema. Besides feature films, he has composed for commercials, documentaries, corporate films, short films and music videos. Prior to becoming a mainstream score composer, he worked as an arranger for several other composers and bands in the Indian music industry. He was also directing television commercials in the mid-2000s.
John P. Varkey is an Indian guitarist, songwriter and composer. He began his career as a session guitarist. Brought out three albums with jigsawpuzzle by the label of BMG CRECENDO was innovative and well accepted by the new generation lead the formation of band Avial (band). John discontinued from Avial (band) and independently directed music for many Indian big time feature films with prominent productions and directors. His ideas and innovative sound textures made many films came into life. Varkey first came to prominence during the mid-1990s as a member of the Malayalam rock band Avial, which itself evolved out of a band called Jigsaw Puzzle. Varkey is now the guitarist and songwriter for the Thrissur-based band, Slowpedalers. Varkey studied music at the Trinity College of Music in London. He started his career as a composer in the film industry through the film Frozen .
Isaac Thomas Kottukapally was an Indian film score composer, music director and script writer working mainly in Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. He scored music for several English documentaries and commercials.
