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.
Devaasuram is a 1993 Indian Malayalam-language action drama film directed by I. V. Sasi and written by Ranjith. It stars Mohanlal, Revathi, and Napoleon, with Innocent, V. K. Sreeraman, Maniyanpilla Raju, and Augustine in supporting roles. The songs featured in the film were composed by M. G. Radhakrishnan, while S. P. Venkatesh composed the background score. It was Mohanlal's 200th Film.
Summer in Bethlehem is a 1998 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film directed by Sibi Malayil and written by Ranjith. It was produced by Siyad Koker under the company Kokers Films. The film stars Suresh Gopi, Jayaram, Manju Warrier and Kalabhavan Mani while Mohanlal makes a cameo appearance. The music was composed by Vidyasagar. It tells the story of Ravishankar (Jayaram), the bumbling friend of a successful landowner Dennis, and the vacation visit by Ravishankar's relatives in Dennis's estate known as Bethlehem Estates in a fictional town of Chandragiri in the Nilgiris.
Rajamanikyam is a 2005 Indian Malayalam-language action comedy film directed by Anwar Rasheed and written by T. A. Shahid. It stars Mammootty in the title role along with Rahman, Manoj K Jayan, Cochin Haneefa, Ranjith, Salim Kumar, Sai Kumar, Bheeman Raghu, Sindhu Menon, and Padmapriya in supporting roles. The music is composed by Alex Paul.
Raavanaprabhu is a 2001 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller drama film written and directed by Ranjith in his directorial debut. It is a sequel to the 1993 film Devaasuram written by Ranjith, directed by I.V. Sasi. The film stars Mohanlal in the dual role of Mangalassery Neelakandan and M. N. Karthikeyan, father and son. Napoleon reprises the role of Neelakandan's archenemy Mundackal Shekharan. It also features Vasundhara Das, Innocent, Siddique, Vijayaraghavan, and Sai Kumar. Revathi reprises the role of Bhanumathi in a cameo appearance. The plot follows M. N. Karthikeyan, Neelakandan's son and his attempts to reclaim their ancestral home Mangalassery tharavadu.
Harikrishnans is a 1998 Indian Malayalam-language mystery comedy film written and directed by Fazil. The film was produced and distributed by Suchitra Mohanlal under the production company Pranavam Arts, starring Mammootty and Mohanlal in the title roles. Juhi Chawla, Innocent, Shamili, Nedumudi Venu, Cochin Haneefa, Jagadish, Maniyanpilla Raju and Kunchacko Boban play the supporting cast. The film received a great pre-release hype due to the combined screen presence of Mohanlal and Mammootty, and was the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year. It was later dubbed into Tamil with the same name.
Kochi Rajavu is a 2005 Indian Malayalam-language action comedy thriller film directed by Johny Antony and written by the Udayakrishna-Siby K. Thomas duo. It stars Dileep in the lead role with Kavya Madhavan, Rambha, Harisree Ashokan, Murali and Jagathy Sreekumar in supporting roles.
Rock N' Roll is a 2007 Malayalam musical comedy film written and directed by Ranjith, starring Mohanlal, Lakshmi Rai, Mukesh, Lal, Siddique, Manoj K.Jayan, Rahman, Harisree Ashokan and Jagathy Sreekumar. The film tells the story of seven musicians in Chennai, the major centre of film production in South India. The film was released on November 9 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 to be one of his early breakthroughs.
No.20 Madras Mail is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language comedy thriller film directed by Joshiy and written by Dennis Joseph from a story by Harikumar. The film stars Mohanlal in lead role and Jagadish, Maniyanpilla Raju, M. G. Soman, Ashokan, and Suchitra Murali in supporting roles, while Mammootty appears in an extended cameo as himself. The background score was composed by S. P. Venkatesh while the song was composed by Ouseppachan. The plot follows three youngsters who are embroiled in the murder mystery of a young woman in a train journey from Thiruvananthapuram to Madras. No.20 Madras Mail was released on 16 February 1990 and received positive reviews. Almost half of the film was shot inside a train. Four years later, the film was remade in Hindi as Teesra Kaun by Partho Ghosh.
Azhakiya Ravanan is a 1996 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy-drama film directed by Kamal and written by Sreenivasan. The film has an ensemble cast of Mammootty, Bhanupriya, Sreenivasan, Innocent, Biju Menon, Rajan P. Dev, and Cochin Haneefa. Former child artist Kavya Madhavan portrayed Anuradha's younger self. The move was produced by V. P. Madhavan Nair under the banner of Murali Films, while the music was composed by Vidyasagar, his debut Malayalam movie. The 2015 film Chirakodinja Kinavukal is a spin-off to this film.
Sagar Alias Jacky Reloaded is a 2009 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by Amal Neerad. It is the sequel of 1987 film Irupatham Noottandu. The film was written by S. N. Swamy and produced by Antony Perumbavoor under the company Aashirvad Cinemas. the film stars Mohanlal in the title role, with an ensemble cast of Suman, Shobana, Bhavana, Sampath Raj, Manoj K. Jayan, Jagathy Sreekumar, Rahul Dev, Nedumudi Venu, K. B. Ganesh Kumar, Vinayakan, Shereveer Vakil, Sumith Naval, Sona Nair, V.K Sreeraman, Jinu Joseph and Bala in other pivotal roles.
Peruvannapurathe Visheshangal is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film directed by Kamal and written by Ranjith from a story by Kamal, it was produced by Castle Productions. The film stars Jayaram as Sivasankaran, who arrives in Peruvannapuram village to join as the new peon in a college, and Parvathy as Kunjulakshmi, a student and an arrogant girl from a wealthy aristocratic family who owns the college. Mohanlal has a cameo role as Achutha Kurup. The music was composed by Johnson.
Mambazhakkalam is a 2004 Indian Malayalam-language family drama film directed by Joshiy, written by T. A. Shahid and produced by M. Mani. It stars Mohanlal and Shobana, alongside a large supporting cast. The film features original songs composed by M. Jayachandran and background score by S. P. Venkatesh.
Vaasthuhara is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language social drama film written and directed by G. Aravindan. It is based on the short story of the same name by C. V. Sreeraman. The film looks into the lives of partition refugees from East Bengal to West Bengal. At a larger level, it's the universal story of refugees. The film stars Mohanlal, Shobana, Neelanjana Mitra, and Neena Gupta. The dialogues were written by Sreeraman, Aravindan, and N. Mohanan.
Ustaad (transl. Master) is a 1999 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by Sibi Malayil and written by Ranjith. The film was produced by Ranjith and Shaji Kailas. The plot follows Parameshwaran (Mohanlal), a soft-spoken businessman who leads a double life as an underworld don named Ustaad, he takes care of his younger sister Padmaja, his only family. The film also features Indraja, Narendra Prasad, N. F. Varghese, Rajeev, and Vineeth.
Makeup Man is a 2011 Malayalam comedy film directed by Shafi. The film stars Jayaram, Sheela, Siddique and Suraj Venjarammoodu in the lead roles, with Prithviraj and Kunchacko Boban appearing in guest roles. Vidyasagar composed the music, with lyrics penned by Kaithapram. The tumultuous life of a couple, after the wife becomes a heroine just by chance and the husband is forced to disguise himself as her makeup man, is being told here. The core plot of the movie was loosely based on the 2001 French movie My Wife Is an Actress.
Kadal Kadannu Oru Maathukutty is a 2013 Indian Malayalam comedy film written and directed by Ranjith and starring Mammootty in the lead role of an Achayan from Kozhencherry, Central Travancore and also in a cameo as himself. The cast includes Nedumudi Venu and Balachandra Menon, Siddique, Harisree Asokan, Suresh Krishna, P. Balachandran, Balachandran Chullikad, Prem Prakash, Meera Nandan, Muthumani, Krishna Prabha and Kaviyoor Ponnamma. The film was produced by Prithviraj Sukumaran, Santhosh Sivan, and Shaji Nadesan under the banner of August Cinema. The film was released on 8 August 2013 on the occasion of Eid-ul Fitr and was a critical and commercial failure. However modern reception has been positive.
Saandram is a 1990 Indian Malayalam psychological thriller film, directed by Thaha and produced by Thaha and Ashokan. The film stars Suresh Gopi, Parvathy, Innocent and Captain Raju in the lead roles. The film has musical score by Johnson.
Aattakalasam is a 1983 Indian Malayalam-language family drama film directed by J. Sasikumar, written by Salim Cherthala, and produced by Joy Thomas. The film stars Mohanlal, Prem Nazir, and Lakshmi. The film features music composed by Raveendran. Aattakalasam was a blockbuster at the box office.
Drama is a 2018 Indian Malayalam-language comedy drama film written and directed by Ranjith. The cast was led by Mohanlal, Arundathi Nag, and Asha Sharath, while Kaniha, Shyamaprasad, Subi Suresh, Suresh Krishna, Tini Tom, Niranj S., Johny Antony, Dileesh Pothan, Baiju Santhosh, Shaalin Zoya, and Renji Panicker played supporting roles. The background score of the film was composed by Bijibal, and Vinu Thomas composed a song. Alagappan N. was in charge of the cinematography.
