Mohanlal Viswanathan is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam film industry besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Mohanlal has a prolific career spanning over four decades, during which he has acted in more than 400 films. Mohanlal's contributions to the Malayalam cinema have been praised by his contemporaries in the Indian film industry. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri in 2001, and Padma Bhushan in 2019, India's fourth and third highest civilian honours, for his contributions to Indian cinema. In 2009, he became the first actor in India to be awarded the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel in the Territorial Army. Mohanlal was named as one of "the men who changed the face of the Indian Cinema" by CNN-News18.
Priyadarshan is an Indian film director and screenwriter who predominantly works in Malayalam and Hindi cinema. He was one of the first directors in India to introduce rich color grading, clear sound and quality dubbing through his early Malayalam films.
Jayaram Subramaniam, known mononymously as Jayaram, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He has also appeared in 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.
Mukesh Madhavan, known mononymously as Mukesh, is an Indian actor, film producer, television presenter, and politician who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil-language films. In a film career spanning four decades, he has acted in over 275 Malayalam films. His 1996 film Kaanaakkinaavu premiered at the IFFI and won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. He co-produced Kadha Parayumbol (2007), which won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value. He also produced the 2012 film Thattathin Marayathu, which is considered one of the defining films of the Malayalam New Wave.
Rashin Rahman is an Indian actor. He has worked in around 200 films, primarily in Malayalam cinema, in addition to Tamil, Hindi and Telugu cinema, and has won several awards. In Tamil and Telugu cinema, he is also known by the screen names Raghuman and Raghu.
Salim Kumar is an Indian actor, comedian, director and writer in Malayalam cinema. Mostly known for his comic and comedy roles, Salim Kumar is considered one of the best and most prominent comedians in the history of Malayalam cinema.
Vinodaythra is a 2007 Indian Malayalam-language comedy drama film written and directed by Sathyan Anthikkad, and starring Dileep and Meera Jasmine along with Mukesh, Murali, Innocent, Ganapathi S Poduval, KPAC Lalitha, Nedumudi Venu, Seetha and Parvathy in supporting roles. Few scenes of the film were reported to be inspired by the 2001 Korean film My Sassy Girl. The film became a blockbuster at the box office and completed more than 150 days in theatres.
Adiyozhukkukal (transl. Undercurrents) is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by I. V. Sasi and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair; starring Mammootty, Mohanlal, Seema, Balan K. Nair, Vincent and Rahman. The film was produced by Raju Mathew under the banner of Casino and was distributed by Century Films.
Parayarukandi Vettath Gangadharan was an Indian film producer and businessman from Kerala. He produced 22 Malayalam films under his production company Grihalakshmi Productions. As a producer, he won two National Film Awards, five Kerala State Film Awards, and six Filmfare Awards South among other awards.
Muraleedharan Pillai, popularly known as Murali was an Indian film, stage and television actor and author. He mainly appeared in Malayalam films and a few Tamil films and also many other movies. He won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Appa Mestry, a communist freedom fighter and professional weaver in the 2002 film Neythukaran. He was known for his powerful portrayal of character roles, lead roles and negative roles, widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in Malayalam cinema.
Kerala Congress (B) is a registered-unrecognized political party in Kerala, formed by R. Balakrishna Pillai, a former minister of the government of Kerala. At present, the party has one MLA in the state Legislative Assembly, namely K. B. Ganesh Kumar, a well-known film actor and son of R. Balakrishna Pillai, who has been representing the Pathanapuram constituency in Kollam District since 2001. The KC(B) was a constituent of UDF until 2014 and is now part of LDF. Ganesh Kumar served as a minister (portfolio in Forest, Sports and Cinema) in the UDF government beginning 18 May 2011 until his resignation on 2 April 2013.
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor is an award, begun in 1969, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to an actor for best performance in a Malayalam film. Until 1997, the awards were managed directly by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Kerala. Since 1998, the awards have been constituted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, an autonomous, non-profit institution functioning under the Department of Cultural Affairs. The awardees are decided by a jury constituted every year. They are announced by the Minister for Cultural Affairs and are presented by the Chief Minister.
Keezhoote Balakrishna Ganesh Kumar is an Indian actor, television host, and politician. Ganesh Kumar is a proposed cabinet minister for the last 2.5 years in the ongoing Second Pinarayi Ministry in Kerala and he is also the current MLA of KC(B) representing the Pathanapuram constituency in Kollam, Kerala. He made his debut as an actor in the film Irakal (1985) directed by K. G. George. He has starred in over 100 Malayalam films, performing a variety of roles.
1921 is a 1988 Indian Malayalam-language war film written by T. Damodaran and directed by I. V. Sasi. The film has an ensemble cast including Mammootty, Madhu, Suresh Gopi, T. G. Ravi, Seema, Urvashi and Mukesh. Set during the 1921–22 Mappila Uprising in Madras Presidency, it tells the fictional story of Khader, a World War I veteran, who joins with the Mappila rebels during the Uprising.
Thooval Kottaram is a 1996 Indian Malayalam-language romantic drama film directed by Sathyan Anthikad and written by A. K. Lohithadas. It stars Jayaram and Sukanya in the main roles. The music was composed by Johnson. The film won three Filmfare Awards South. The film was a commercial success, which ran for about 300 days in theatres. Jayaram won his first Kerala State Film Award, a Special Jury Award, for his role as Adv. Mohanachandra Poduval.
Kadalpalam is a 1969 Malayalam language film directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan, written by K. T. Mohammed and produced by M. O. Joseph under Manjilas Films. The film stars Sathyan, Prem Nazir and Jayabharathi with Sheela, Bahadoor and Adoor Bhasi in other prominent roles. The film features original songs composed by Devarajan, cinematography by Melli Irani.
Sunitha is an Indian actress known for her roles in films made in South India from 1986 to 1996.
Girish GangadharanISC is an Indian cinematographer known for his work in Malayalam and Tamil films. He is the recipient of the National Film Award for Best Cinematography for his work in the 2019 film Jallikkattu directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery, which was India's official entry to that year's Oscars. Additionally, he has also worked on Tamil-language blockbusters like Sarkar and Vikram.
T. A. Razzaq was an Indian screenwriter, who worked on Malayalam movies. He was born to T.A.Bappu and Vazhayil Khadeeja. His younger brother, T. A. Shahid, was also a screenwriter who wrote scripts for successful films such as Balettan and Perumazhakkalam. He has received Kerala State Film Award for Best Story in 1996 and 2002 and once for Kerala State Film Award for Best Screenplay in 1996.
L. Bhoominathan is an Indian film editor who works in Malayalam cinema. He has been credited with editing 115 films to date. He has won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Editor three times. His most noteworthy works include Ninnishtam Ennishtam, His Highness Abdullah, Bharatham, Aaram Thamburan and Narashimham. He worked in most of the films of the directors Sibi Malayil, Shaji Kailas and Ranjith. He was one of the jury members of 50th Kerala State Film Awards.
