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.
Manjil Virinja Pookkal is a 1980 Indian Malayalam-language romantic thriller film produced by Navodaya Appachan under Navodaya Studio and written and directed by Fazil. It stars Shankar, Mohanlal and Poornima Jayaram. The film features original songs composed by Jerry Amaldev and a score by Guna Singh, cinematography was done by Ashok Kumar.
Abdul Hameed Muhammed Fazil, known mononymously as Fazil, is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and actor who works in Malayalam cinema, in addition to directing a handful of Tamil films and a Telugu film. He made his directional debut with the 1980 film Manjil Virinja Pookkal.
Girish Puthenchery (1961–2010) was a noted malayalam Lyricist, Poet, Scriptwriter and Screenwriter. He was always referred to as the aristocratic lyricist of malayalam who had a distinctive writing style of his own. He also served as the director of Indian Performance Rights Society Malayalam division (I.P.R.S) and governing council member of the Kerala Kalamandalam and Kerala Lalithakala Academy. He debuted with the movie Enquiry in 1989. He won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyricist seven times. He also holds the record for writing the highest number of songs in the malayalam film industry within the briefest period of time. He died on 10 february 2010 in a private hospital in kozhikode.
Shankar is an Indian actor who has worked in Malayalam and Tamil films. He acted in nearly 200 films and was a leading actor in Malayalam cinema during the 1980s. Shankar's debut Tamil film Oru Thalai Ragam, and Malayalam debut, Manjil Virinja Pookkal, completed a theatrical run of 365 and 250 days respectively. He was the most successful romantic hero in Malayalam movies along with Prem Nazir.
Padma Shri Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, popularly known as Kaithapram, is a Malayalam lyricist, poet, music director, actor, singer, screenwriter, music therapist and performer of Carnatic music. He debuted with the movie Ennennum Kannettante in 1986. He won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyricist two times. He was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian honor Padma Shri in 2021 by the Government of India for his contribution to the field of art.
Venkateswaran Dakshinamoorthy was a veteran carnatic musician and composer and music director of Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi films, predominantly in Malayalam films. He has set scores for the songs in over 125 films. He composed as many as 1400 songs over a period of 63 years. Fondly known as Swami, he was instrumental in pioneering classical music-based film songs. Revered as one of the forefathers of the Malayalam music industry, he has mentored many of the renowned contemporary singers and composers including P Leela and K.J Yesudas. In 1998, he was honoured with the J. C. Daniel Award, Kerala government's highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema.
Kachinamthoduka Puthiyapurayil Ummer known as K. P. Ummer was an Indian actor from Thekkepuram quarter of Kozhikode, Kerala, India. He was active in the Malayalam cinema from early sixties until late nineties.
Zareena Moidu, known by her stage name Nadia Moidu or simply Nadhiya, is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. She made her debut in the 1984 Malayalam-language film Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu for which she won Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam. She subsequently starred in a series of commercially successful films. After her marriage in 1988, she lived in the United States and later in the United Kingdom with her husband Shirish Godbole and two daughters before moving back to India in 2007.
Thiranottam (transl. Retrospect) is a 1978-made Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by V. Ashok Kumar and written by Kumar and Pachalloor Sasi. The film stars Mohanlal, C. Chandramohan, Ravikumar, Maniyanpilla Raju, and Renu Chandra in their debut roles. Mohanlal played Kuttappan, a mentally disabled servant. The film was completed and censored in 1978, but was not released immediately, it was released in a single theatre in 2005. Thiranottam is known for being the acting debut of Mohanlal, then 18 years old, even though his onscreen debut was Manjil Virinja Pookkal (1980).
Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Fazil, and starring Mohanlal, Nadhiya Moidu, Padmini. The film features original songs composed by Jerry Amaldev and background score by Johnson. Nadhiya made her Malayalam and acting debut through this film. The film also marked the comeback of Padmini after a hiatus. Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu was the highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year at the box office and ran for more than 200 days in theatres. It won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value. Nadhiya won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam. The film was remade in Tamil titled Poove Poochooda Vaa (1985) by Fazil himself, and in Telugu as Muddula Manavaraalu (1986) by Jandhyala.
Ennennum Kannettante is a 1986 Indian Malayalam-language romance film, written and directed by Fazil, starring newcomers Sangeet Pillai and Sonia G. Nair. The film won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value for the year 1986. Srividya won the Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress also for this film. Despite all the critical acclaim, the film was a box office failure. It was remade in Tamil by the same director as Varusham 16 and also in Kannada as Halli Krishna Delhi Radha (1992).
Navodaya Studio is an Indian film studio headquartered at Kochi, Kerala. It is one of the earliest film studios in Kerala, established in 1976 by Navodaya Appachan. Navodaya is known for producing some of the landmark films in Indian cinema.
Poovachal Khader was a Malayalam lyricist from Kerala who worked mainly in Malayalam film industry. His first movie as a lyricist was Kaattuvithachavan (1973) but his first released movie was Chuzhi (1973).
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).
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
Anandavally C. R. was an Indian actress and dubbing artist, who predominantly worked in the Malayalam film industry.
Action Hero Biju is a 2016 Indian Malayalam-language police procedural comedy film directed by Abrid Shine. The film stars Nivin Pauly, Anu Emmanuel, Saiju Kurup, Joju George, Alexander Prasanth, Kalabhavan Prajod, Rony David and Sohan Seenulal. Nivin jointly produced the film with Abrid Shine and Shibu Thekkumpuram. Jerry Amaldev composed the original songs, while Rajesh Murugesan composed score. Principal photography began in May 2015 and ended in October 2015.
Guruji Oru Vakku is a 1985 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Rajan Sankaradi and written by Venu Nagavally. The film stars Mohanlal, Madhu, Nedumudi Venu and Ratheesh. The film has songs composed by Jerry Amaldev and background score by Johnson.
J. M. Raju is an Indian film singer and music composer in Malayalam cinema during the 1970s. He made his debut with the movie Naadan Pennu in 1967.
