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 and Lakshadweep islands of india. Malayalam cinema includes the commercial film industry, sometimes known as Mollywood, as well as independent cinema made in Malayalam.
Kerala music has a complex history distinct from Malayalam poetry, with which it is often associated. Though it is often driven by poetry, Kerala also has its roots in Carnatic music. Songs have always been a significant part of early Malayalam literature dating back to the 9th century CE. The significance of music in Kerala's culture can be deduced from the musical poetry that developed in the Malayalam language long before prose. As music evolved in the region, various branches emerged from it
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. He has composed music for more than 300 Malayalam films, the most by any composer except for Devarajan. He was the first music director from Malayalam cinema to be honoured with the National film Awards. He died of a heart attack in Chennai on 18 August 2011.
Kaviyoor Ponnamma was an Indian actress who appeared in Malayalam films and television. She began her career performing in theatre dramas before foraying into cinema. She also acted in TV serials and commercials and had playback singing credits in few films.
Arabikkatha is a 2007 Indian Malayalam-language satirical-drama 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. In the film, Mukundan, a hardcore communist, exposes the atrocities of Karunan, a cunning and corrupt politician.
Rock N' Roll is a 2007 Malayalam musical comedy film written and directed by Ranjith, starring Mohanlal, Lakshmi Rai, Siddique, Lal, Mukesh, Manoj K.Jayan, Rahman,Anoop Menon,Harisree Ashokan, and Jagathy Sreekumar. The film tells the story of seven musicians in Chennai, the major centre of film production in South India. It was released on 9 November coinciding with Deepavali. It received negative reviews and was considered a commercial disaster at the time of release. Over the years, the movie along with Mohanlal's performance has attained a cult status. Suraj Venjaramoodu's cameo role as a fraud musician was widely acclaimed and is often considered one of his early breakthroughs.
Venkateswaran Dakshinamoorthy was a veteran carnatic musician and composer and music director of Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi films. His work was predominantly in Malayalam cinema.
Maliyekkal Kochukunju Arjunan was an Indian film and theatre composer, known for his works in Malayalam cinema and the theatre of Kerala. He was fondly referred to as Arjunan Master.
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.
Salt N' Pepper is a 2011 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film directed by Aashiq Abu and produced for Lucsam Creations. The film stars Lal, Asif Ali, Shwetha Menon, and Mythili in the lead roles, while Baburaj and Vijayaraghavan play supporting roles.
Kaliyachan is a 2015 Malayalam drama film directed by Farook Abdul Rahiman in his directorial debut. It starred Manoj K. Jayan, Tirtha Murbadkar, Vaiga, Kalamandalam Sivan Namboodiri, Babu Namboothiri, Manju Pillai, and Mani Pattambi in lead roles. The story about a Kathakali actor and his guru is based on celebrated 1959 poem Kaliyachan by P. Kunhiraman Nair.
John P. Varkey was an Indian guitarist, songwriter and composer. He began his career as a session guitarist. He brought out three albums with Jigsaw Puzzle by the label BMG Crescendo which were innovative and well accepted by the new generation and led to the formation of band Avial. John discontinued from Avial 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 come to life. Varkey first came to prominence as a member of the Malayalam rock band Avial, which itself evolved out of a band called Jigsaw Puzzle. Varkey was the guitarist and songwriter for the Thrissur-based band, Slowpedalers.
Arun Alat is an Indian playback singer, music composer and Lyricist who made a space in Malayalam film industry as a singer with his debut song "Swapnamoru Chaakku" from the 2010 film Best Actor.
Maheshinte Prathikaaram is a 2016 Indian Malayalam-language comedy drama film directed by Dileesh Pothan, in his directorial debut and produced by Aashiq Abu. The film stars Fahadh Faasil in the title role alongside a supporting cast including Aparna Balamurali, Anusree, Alencier Ley Lopez and Soubin Shahir. Written by Syam Pushkaran, the story is based on an incident in the life of Thampan Purushan from Thuravoor, Cherthala. Shyju Khalid was the film's cinematographer, and the music was composed by Bijibal.
Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language domestic drama film directed by Jibu Jacob and written by M. Sindhuraj. It is loosely based on the Malayalam short story "Pranayopanishath" by V. J. James. Produced and distributed by Sophia Paul through Weekend Blockbusters, the film stars Mohanlal and Meena as panchayat secretary Ulahannan and his wife Annyamma. The soundtrack features songs composed by Bijibal and M. Jayachandran, and a film score by Bijibal. The film is about Ulahannan, a man having a midlife crisis, who rediscovers himself and overcomes boredom in his routine life.
Niranj Suresh is an Indian musician, playback singer, Composer and actor. Niranj is the lead vocalist of the Indian rock bands Motherjane and Nemesis. He is also the lead vocalist and songwriter of a progressive rock band called Blank planet. He also started his own solo venture "Nrj Project" in 2017.
Aakasha Ganga 2 is 2019 Indian Malayalam-language supernatural horror comedy film written and directed by Vinayan. It is a sequel to his 1999 film Aakasha Ganga. The film stars Ramya Krishna, Veena Nair, Vishnu Vinay, and Sreenath Bhasi in the lead roles. Its soundtrack and score are by Bijibal and cinematography by Prakash Kutty. The film was produced by Vinayan under the banner of Akash Films. In the film, years later, when Arathi, daughter of Maya (Daisy) and Unni, accepts the challenge of exposing an ashram, which claims to help its followers communicate with the dead, she gets haunted by an evil spirit of Ganga that once tormented her family.
Midhun Asokan is an Indian music producer, programmer and composer who predominantly works in South Indian Film Industry. He is the music composer for Asif Ali starrer Malayalam Cinema named A Ranjith Cinema, background score composer of Kannada movie Veeram and upcoming movie Ranaraksasa. He has been the music producer and programmer for more than 600 feature films in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu film Industry. He was the programmer for songs in the movie Bhayanakam composed by M. K. Arjunan, which won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Composer.
Prakash Alex is a South Indian composer and singer known for his musical contributions to South Indian movies. In 2018, he made his debut as music director for the 2018 movie, Kalyanam (film)
Village Cricket Boy is a 2022 Malayalam-language Indian children's short film directed by Rahul R.Sarma, starring Davinchi Santhosh and Divya Gopinath. The film won the 2022 Kerala State Television Awards for Best Children's Film and Best Child Actor.International Documentary Short Film Festival of Kerala was screened in the competition section of the film festival.
