Balakrishnan Nair, more popularly known as Balan K. Nair was an Indian actor known for his roles in Malayalam cinema. Although he appeared as a villain in most films, he was also noted for his performances in strong character roles. He emerged as one of the top villain of Malayalam cinema in the second half of the 1970s and played some of the best villain characters in Malayalam films during that period. He won the National Film Award for Best Actor in 1981 for his performance as Govindan in the film Oppol.
Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran, commonly known as Balu Mahendra, was a Sri Lankan born Indian cinematographer, director, screenwriter and film editor who worked in various Indian film industries, primarily in Tamil and Malayalam cinema. Born in Sri Lanka, Mahendran developed a passion for photography and literature at a young age, after witnessing the shoot of David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) during a school trip in Sri Lanka, he was drawn towards filmmaking. He graduated from London University and started his career as a draughtsman with the Sri Lankan Government. In 1966, he moved to India and gained admission to the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) to pursue a course in motion picture photography. Upon completion of his diploma, he entered Malayalam cinema as a cinematographer in the early 1970s.
Shaji Neelakantan Karun is an Indian film director and cinematographer. His debut film Piravi (1988) won the Caméra d'Or – Mention d'honneur at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. He was the premiere chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, the first academy for film and TV in India and was also the executive chairman of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) from 1998 to 2001. He is best known for his award-winning films Piravi (1988), Swaham (1994), Vanaprastham (1999) and Kutty Srank (2009). He won the National Award for Best Director for his debut film Piravi. He also won two Kerala State Film Awards for Best Director for his films Swaham and Vanaprastham. Currently, he is the Chairman of Kerala State Film Development Corporation.
Padmadalakshan, better known by his stage name Kuthiravattam Pappu, was a popular Indian stage and film actor. His repertoire of acting was based on his unique style and use of the Kozhikodan dialect, impeccable timing and the capability to grasp the subtle nuances of any character and mould it into his signature "Pappu style". He acted in over a thousand Malayalam films. He made his debut in a small comic role in Bhargavi Nilayam. His character was named Kuthiravattom, a name that stuck for the rest of his career.
Tiruchirapalli Srinivasan Rangarajan, professionally credited by his pseudonym Vaali was an Indian poet who has the record for writing the most songs in Tamil cinema. He is also recognised for a five-decade long association in the Tamil film industry and has written over 15,000 songs. He acted in a number of films, including Sathya, Hey Ram, Paarthale Paravasam and Poikkal Kudhirai. He was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour in 2007.
Jayamalini is an Indian actress who has acted in more than 500 Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi movies.
Vishnu Vijayam is a 1974 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by N. Sankaran Nair and produced by A. G. Abraham. The film stars Kamal Haasan, Sheela, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair and M. O. Devasya. The film has musical score by G. Devarajan.
Prathapachandran (1941–2004) was an Indian actor, who worked predominantly in Malayalam film industry, though he acted in a few Tamil and Telugu movies as well. He known for the portrayal of villainous and character roles in over 300 movies. He was born in 1941 at Omallur in Thiruvithamkoor princely state, currently within the Pathanamthitta District, Kerala.
Roja Ramani is an Indian actress who predominantly worked in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu films. She was a child actor and her debut movie was Bhakta Prahlada (1967) for which she received National Film Award for Best Child Artist. She was popular during the 1970s and early 1980s and has acted in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Odia movies. She worked in 400 films as a dubbing artiste. She is an active member of BlueCross and is involved in several social service activities.
Marcus Bartley was an Anglo-Indian cinematographer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema along with a few Hindi, Malayalam, and Tamil films. He was the cinematographer of all time classics like Shavukaru (1950), Pathala Bhairavi (1951), Missamma (1955), Maya Bazaar (1957), Gundamma Katha (1962), Chemmeen (1965), Ram Aur Shyam (1967). He won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography in 1970 for Shanti Nilayam. He also won the Gold Medal at the Cannes Film Festival for Best Cinematography, becoming the first Indian to win the award.
Vadakkekarayil Koran Bharathan, better known as Paravoor Bharatan was an Indian actor who acted in Malayalam films. He started his career in movies during the 1950s. Bharathan is known as a versatile actor and has played a variety of roles including negative roles, character roles and comedy roles.
Jose Prakash was an Indian actor and singer who worked in Malayalam cinema. He was a singer turned actor who had appeared in more than 300 films mostly in antagonist roles. He was awarded with the J. C. Daniel Award in 2011, a day before he died aged 86. In a career spanning for around 40 years, he is known for portraying some of the iconic villain characters in the Malayalam film industry. Later, he switched to character roles in the mid 90s.
Jayanan Vincent is an Indian cinematographer. He is the son of cinematographer and director, A. Vincent, and elder brother to Ajayan Vincent. He is known for his work in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi films and he is a member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC). He won two Nandi Awards.
Panayamparambil Sreenivasan a.k.a. P. S. Nivas(27 May 1946– 1 February 2021) was an Indian cinematographer, film director and film producer who worked in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi cinema. He was a recipient of National Film Award for Best Cinematography for the 1976 Malayalam film Mohiniyaattam. He was a frequent collaborator with Bharathiraja and they worked together in 8 films.
M. Krishnan Nair was an Indian film director of Malayalam films. He directed over 100 films. He also directed 18 Tamil movie including four films starring M. G. Ramachandran and two Telugu movies, one each with superstars N. T. Rama Rao and Krishna Eminent filmmakers including Hariharan, K. Madhu, S. P. Muthuraman, Bharathiraja and Joshiy apprenticed under him as assistant directors.
Ashok Kumar Aggarwal was an Indian cinematographer who worked mainly in the South Indian film industry. In a career that spanned nearly four decades, he worked in over 125 feature films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi languages. Aggarwal was a member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC).
Panchanathan Arunachalam was an Indian writer, director, producer and lyricist who worked in the Tamil cinema. He was mentored by poet Kannadasan who was his uncle. He also worked as a lyricist in the Tamil cinema industry. He started producing films under his production banner named P. A. Arts. His son Subbu Panchu Arunachalam is an actor and dubbing artist in the Tamil film industry.
Kanakadurga is an Indian actress best known for her work in Malayalam cinema. She hails from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. She debuted in the Malayalam movie Nellu as Kurumatti. She has acted in a few Tamil, Kannada and Telugu movies as well. She married Malayalam cinematographer Hemachandran and her daughter Manasa has acted in few Malayalam movieslike Big B, Kaakki, Jubilee, Calcutta News, The Snake And Ladder etc.,Telugu movies like Nandanavanam 120 km, Shankar, Tamil serial Uthiripookkal and later married Tamil actor Vikranth. She is now acting in tele films and soap operas.
Pappanamcode Lakshmanan was an Indian film scriptwriter, screen play writer and lyricist in Malayalam movies during the 1970s and 1980s. He started his career with Indulekha in 1967. He worked for around 100 Malayalam movies with the areas of his contribution including lyrics, script, story and dialogue.
Anandakuttan was an Indian cinematographer who worked predominantly in Malayalam cinema. He worked on over 150 films including His Highness Abdullah, Bharatham, Kamaladalam, Sadayam, Chronic Bachelor, Akashadoothu, Harikrishnans, Punjabi House and Aniyathipraavu. He died in 2016, at the age of 61.
