Kesavan Venugopal, better known by his stage name Nedumudi Venu, was an Indian actor and screenwriter from Kerala, who predominantly worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 500 films, primarily in Malayalam and also in Tamil in a career spanning nearly five decades. He wrote screenplays and directed one film. Nedumudi Venu won three National Film Awards and six Kerala State Film Awards for his various performances.
Jayaram Subramaniam, known mononymously as Jayaram, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, in addition to Tamil and Telugu language films. He is also a chenda percussionist, mimicry artist, and occasional playback singer. Jayaram has acted in more than 200 films and has received several awards, including the Padma Shri, two Kerala State Film Awards, one Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, and four Filmfare Awards South.
Hariharan is an Indian film director who has directed over 50 Malayalam films. His movies mainly revolve around the cultural and relational aspects of a typical Keralite society. His most notable works include Sharapancharam (1979), Panchagni (1986), Idavazhiyile Poocha Mindappoocha (1979), Amrutham Gamaya (1987), Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989), Sargam (1992), Parinayam (1994) and Pazhassi Raja (2009) which has won him wide critical acclaim. In 2019, he was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award, Kerala government's highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema.
Madhavan Nair, commonly known by his stage name Madhu, is an Indian actor, director, producer, former college lecturer and former film studio owner, who works in Malayalam cinema and a certain number of Hindi and Tamil films. He was a prominent lead actor during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and has acted in more than 400 films. Madhu has also directed 12 films, produced 15 films and at one time owned the Uma Film Studio. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2013 for his contributions towards the arts. He was honored with the J. C. Daniel Award by the Government of Kerala in 2004, for his outstanding contributions to Malayalam films. He is the president of Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) Kerala Unit.
Kaviyoor Ponnamma is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films and television. She began her career performing in theatre dramas before foraying into cinema. She has also acted in TV serials and commercials and has playback singing credits in few films. Ponnamma is a four-time Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress winner. Her sister Kaviyoor Renuka was also an actress. Often called as the Mother to all actors, she has acted as mother of almost all actors in her career panning over decades. At the age of 20, she played the mother of Sathyan and Madhu in the 1965 movie Thommente Makkal. She gained critical acclaim for acting as the mother of the actor Mohanlal.
Jayasurya is an Indian actor, distributor, sponsor, model, film producer, playback singer, and impressionist who works in Malayalam films. He has appeared in more than 100 films and has won several awards, including a National Film Award, three Kerala State Film Awards, two Filmfare Awards South for acting and Best Actor at the Cincinnati Film Festival held in Cincinnati, US. Jayasurya has also appeared in a few Tamil films.
Biju Menon is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam films, and also has a few Tamil and Telugu film credits. He made his debut in the 1994 Malayalam film Puthran. In a career spanning over two decades, he has appeared in over 150 films, and has won one National film award for Best Supporting Actor, three Kerala State Film Awards including one best actor, two Filmfare Awards South and nine Asianet Film Awards. He got the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor in 2021 for the film Aarkkariyam.
Ee Nadu is a 1982 Indian Malayalam-language political film directed by I. V. Sasi, written by T. Damodaran and produced by N. G. John. The film stars Balan K. Nair with Mammootty, Ratheesh, and T. G. Ravi in supporting roles. The music score was handled by Shyam. The film talks about how politicians and the rich people in society exploit their power and ignore the pleas of the general public. This film was loosely based on a spate of liquor poisonings that occurred in Vypeen in Kerala that claimed 77 lives.
Abdul Hameed Mohammed Fahadh Fazil is an Indian actor and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil films. He has acted in more than 50 films and has received several awards, including a National Film Award, four Kerala State Film Awards, and three Filmfare Awards South.
New generation films is a Malayalam film movement developed in the early 2010s, characterized by fresh and unusual themes and new narrative techniques. Films of the new wave differ from conventional themes of the past two decades and introduced several new trends and techniques to the Malayalam film industry. While the new generation formats and styles are deeply influenced by global trends, their thematics are firmly rooted in Malayalee life and mindscapes.
Oru Second Class Yathra is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language comedy thriller drama film, written and directed by Jexson Antony and Rejis Antony in their debut film.
Lukka Chuppi is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language drama film co-produced and directed by Bash Mohammed and written by Gafoor Arackkal from a story by Mohammed. The film features an ensemble cast led by Jayasurya, Murali Gopy, Joju George, Ramya Nambeeshan, Chinnu Kuruvila, Muthumani, Dinesh Prabhakar, and Asmita Sood. The plot features the reunion of a group of friends from college after 14 years, reviving episodes from their past and how it affects their present life. The entire film was shot in an artificially created resort in Thrissur.
Nikhila Vimal is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil films in addition to Telugu films. After appearing in a minor role in Bhagyadevatha (2009), her lead role in the big screen came in Love 24x7 (2015). She went on to appear in successful films like Vetrivel (2016), Kidaari (2016), Aravindante Athidhikal (2018), Njan Prakashan (2018), Mera Naam Shaji (2019), Oru Yamandan Premakadha (2019), Thambi (2019), Anjaam Pathiraa (2020), The Priest (2021), Madhuram (2021), Jo and Jo (2022), Kotthu (2022), Ayalvaashi (2023), Por Thozhil (2023) and Journey of Love 18+ (2023).
Rajesh Sharma is an Indian actor, who appears in Malayalam movies. He acted in several dramas and debuted in Malayalam movie industry in 2005.
Nimisha Sajayan is an Indian actress who has been appearing in Malayalam and Tamil language movies in addition to a Marathi and an English language film. Nimisha made her acting debut with the film Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum directed by Dileesh Pothan. She won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress in 2018 for her performance in Oru Kuprasidha Payyan and Chola. She is also a recipient of two Filmfare Award South and three SIIMA Awards.
Udaharanam Sujatha is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by debutant director "Phantom" Praveen, adapted by Naveen Bhaskar and produced by Martin Prakkat and Joju George. It is a remake of the 2016 Hindi-language film Nil Battey Sannata , although, the theme of the film has appeared in many films like, Back to School.
Shruti Ramachandran is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in the Malayalam cinema. She also co-wrote the "Ilamai Idho Idho" segment in the 2020 Tamil anthology film Putham Pudhu Kaalai. In 2020, she won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Dubbing Artist for her work in Kamala. In 2022, she won the Critic’s mention for best actress by the Kerala Film Critic’s Assocoiation for her work in Madhuram.
Porinju Mariam Jose is a 2019 Indian Malayalam-language period action drama film directed by Joshiy from a screenplay written by Abhilash N. Chandran. It starred Joju George, Nyla Usha and Chemban Vinod Jose in the titular characters, while Vijayaraghavan and Rahul Madhav and appeared in supporting roles. The original soundtrack of the film was composed by Jakes Bejoy. The story of the film is loosely based on real events that occurred during the 1980s and 1990s in Thrissur.
Nayattu is a 2021 Indian political survival thriller film directed and co-produced by Martin Prakkat and written by Shahi Kabir. It stars Kunchako Boban, Joju George and Nimisha Sajayan in the lead roles and features Jaffar Idukki, Anil Nedumangad and Hakkim Shajahan in supporting roles. Mahesh Narayanan and Rajesh Rajenndrran edit the film while Shyju Khalid handles the cinematography. Vishnu Vijay composed the original music and background score. Director Ranjith and P. M. Sasidharan produced the film under Gold Coin Motion Picture Company in association with Martin Prakkat Films.
Madhuram (transl. Sweet) is a 2021 Indian Malayalam-language romantic drama film directed by Ahammed Khabeer and written by Ashiq Aimar and Fahim Safar from a story by Khabeer. The film was produced by Joju George and Sijo Vadakkan. The film stars Joju, Shruti Ramachandran, Nikhila Vimal, Arjun Ashokan and Indrans in important roles. The music was composed by Hesham Abdul Wahab and Govind Vasantha.
