O. Madhavan was an Indian theatre director and actor. He was one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India in Kerala. He is considered one of the great masters of the theatre; he has made major contributions for the evolution of theatre in Kerala. He was the founder of the renowned drama company Kalidasa Kala Kendram. He won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor in 2000 for his role in the film Sayahnam
P. K. Venukuttan Nair was an Indian theatre personality and Malayalam film actor. He was the vice-president of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi and member of the Kendra Sangeet Natak Academy. He received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award in 1995 and the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship in 1998. He won many awards at state-level competitions for professional theatre, including the P. J. Antony Award in March 2002.
Neyyattinkara Vasudevan was a Carnatic music vocalist from Kerala in south India. The Padmasree-winning Carnatic vocalist and disciple of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Ramnad Krishnan, he combined tradition and innovation in his widely acclaimed career. Vasudevan is famous as being one of the first from the Dalit community to excel in the field which was previously the preserve of the upper castes.
Anoop Menon is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter and lyricist. He worked in television before acting in Malayalam films and has acted in more than 75 films.
Shanthi Krishna is an Indian actress known for her leading roles in Malayalam and Tamil films. As a star in the 1980s and 1990s, she won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress for her performance as Sharadammini in Chakoram (1994), the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Malayalam for her performance in Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela, and the Kerala state television award for best actress three times in a row.
S. Ramesan Nair was an Indian lyricist and poet who worked predominantly in the Malayalam film industry. Over his career he wrote songs for over 170 films and over 3,000 devotional songs outside of the films. He debuted with the movie Pathamudhayam in 1985. He was a recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2010 and the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 2018 for his collection of poems Gurupournami.
Shantha P. Nair was a playback singer in Malayalam cinema. She was based in Thrissur, Kerala.
Ravi Vallathol was an Indian actor, mainly noted for his acting in many famous serials, including the first serial in Malayalam.
Padmanabhan Balachandran Nair was an Indian writer, playwright, scenarist, director, and actor. He was known for his work in Malayalam literature and Malayalam cinema.
Pattanam Rasheed is an Indian make-up artist. He won the 55th National Film Award for Best Make-up Artist.
Kottayam Nazeer is an Indian actor, impressionist, and an artist from Kerala. Kottayam Nazeer started his career as a stage artist. Recently he also started his career in painting. Nazeer is a recipient of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award (2010) and is the only recipient in the Mimicry category.
Vaikom Vijayalakshmi is an Indian playback singer from Kerala, India. She is an expert in a rare musical instrument called Gayatriveena. She won special jury mention for her much appreciated work in the 2013 film Celluloid. She was born at Vaikom on 7 October 1981 and later on moved to Chennai. In 2022, she was honoured with Kerala Sree Award, third highest civilian award given by the Government of Kerala.
Sajitha Madathil is an Indian film and theatre actor. Her performance in Joy Mathew's feature film Shutter (2012) won her the 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.
Kalaikkal Kumaran was a noted Malayalam film and very popular drama actor. He was well known for his comedy roles in dramas by Kalidasa Kalakendram. He acted in 65 films and more than 150 dramas. He appeared more than 15000 stages. His first drama was Kathirukanakili by Kerala theatre of Ponkunnam Varkey. Other famous dramas are Doctor, Kathirukanakili, Althara, Muthuchippi, Kadalpalam, Swantham Lekhakan, Yudhabhoomi and Samgamam, more than 150 dramas. He received many Kerala state awards, including Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship for acting in 1989. Kumaran was a member of Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi. Kalaikkal Kumaran was supposed to create a record for appearing on more than 20,000 stages, but he lost his vision due to cataracts and left the field. Kalaikkal Kumaran was a staunch atheist throughout his life, and was a supporter of Communist Party of India
Kunjandi was an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He has acted in more than 50 films. He handled character roles as well as supporting roles.
C. M. Pappukutty Bhagavathar was an Indian singer and actor in Malayalam cinema.
C. O. Anto was an Indian film singer in Malayalam cinema during the 1960s and 1970s. His first film song was "Kummiyadikkuvin" for the movie Kadalamma in 1963. He has sung 178 Malayalam songs from 160 films. His popular songs were "Madhurikkum Ormakale", "Kummiyadikkuvin", "Chingakkulirkatte Agnipushpam", "Kannillathoru Kadalppalam" (drama) and "Vasantharavin". He died on 24 February 2001.
Kadakkavoor Pachan Brahmanandan was a South Indian playback singer from Kerala.
Vijayakumari is an Indian stage, television and film actress. She was a stage actress at Kerala People's Arts Club and Kalidasa Kalakendra. She is the winner of the Kerala State award for best stage actress. She received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award in 1976 and the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship in 2005. Currently she is the Secretary of Kalidasa Kalakendra.
C. L. Jose, in full Chakkalakal Lonappan Jose, is an Indian playwright of Malayalam literature. One of the pioneers of popular Malayalam theatre and a former chairman of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, Jose is the author of 36 plays, 75 one-act plays, one children's play and Ormakalkku Urakkamilla, his autobiography. He is a recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contributions, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship and S. L. Puram Sadanandan Puraskaram of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi.
