Malayalam cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Malayalam language, which is widely spoken in the state of Kerala, India. In 1982, Elippathayam won the Sutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival, and Most Original Imaginative Film of 1982 by the British Film Institute. The film Marana Simhasanam has won the prestigious Caméra d'Or at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.
Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail, known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty, is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam-language films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and English-language productions. In a career spanning five decades, he has appeared in more than 410 films, predominantly in lead roles. He is the recipient of several accolades, including three National Film Awards, nine Kerala State Film Awards, eleven Kerala Film Critics Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards South. For his contribution to film, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri in 1998. In 2022, he was honoured with Kerala Prabha Award, the second-highest honour given by the Government of Kerala.
P. A. Backer was one of the new-wave Malayalam film directors of the 1970s and 1980s.
Govindan Aravindan was an Indian film director, screenwriter, musician, cartoonist, and painter. He was one of the pioneers of parallel cinema in Malayalam. He was known for his unorthodox way of filmmaking; he changed his cinematic forms consistently and experimented in storytelling without regular narrative styles.
Lenin Rajendran was an Indian film director and screenwriter who worked in Malayalam cinema. He served as the Chairman of Kerala State Film Development Corporation from 2016 to January 2019.
The International Film Festival of Kerala is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on behalf of Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala. The festival is held in November or December every year and is acknowledged as one of the leading cultural events in India.
T. V. Chandran is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and actor, predominantly working in Malayalam cinema. Born in a Malayali family in Telicherry, Chandran worked as a Reserve Bank of India employee before entering the film industry. He started his film career as an assistant director to P. A. Backer. He also acted the lead role in Backer's highly acclaimed political drama Kabani Nadi Chuvannappol (1975). He made his directorial debut with the unreleased feature Krishnan Kutty (1981), and followed this with the Tamil film Hemavin Kadhalargal (1985). Chandran came into prominence after Alicinte Anveshanam (1989), which was nominated for the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival. This was followed with Ponthan Mada (1993), his most famous film to date. Chandran is most known for his art-house films which have references to history and undertones of politics and feminism. He is also known for his trilogy on 2002 Gujarat riots, consisting of Kathavasheshan (2004), Vilapangalkappuram (2008) and Bhoomiyude Avakashikal (2012). Other highly acclaimed films include Mangamma (1997), Dany (2001) and Paadam Onnu: Oru Vilapam (2003).
Alicinte Anveshanam is a 1989 Malayalam-language film written and directed by T. V. Chandran.The story revolves around a woman named Alice(Jalaja) who goes in search of her missing husband.
Vattamparambil Krishnan Pavithran, known mononymously as Pavithran (1950–2006) was an Indian cinema director. He primarily concentrated on Malayalam films.
Ponthan Mada is a 1994 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by T. V. Chandran. The film stars Mammootty and Naseeruddin Shah. It is based on two short stories, Ponthan Mada and Sheema Thampuran by C. V. Sreeraman. The film won four awards at the National Film Awards including the Best Actor award for Mammotty. It also won the Kerala State Film Award for the best second film. This is the only Malayalam-language film of Naseeruddin Shah. The film was a commercial success.
Maheshwari Amma, better known by her stage name K. P. A. C. Lalitha, was an Indian film and stage actress who worked primarily in the Malayalam film industry. She started her acting career with Kerala People's Arts Club, a theatre collective in Kayamkulam, Kerala. In a career spanning five decades, she starred in over 550 films.
Madhusoodanan Jayachandran Nair is an Indian composer, singer, and musician. He has won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Music Director a record number of nine times. In 2005, he also won the state award for best male singer. In 2015, he won the National Film Award for Best Music Direction for the film Ennu Ninte Moideen. He has composed music for 126 films.
Narasimham is a 2000 Indian Malayalam-language action drama film directed by Shaji Kailas and written by Ranjith. Narasimham was released on 26 January 2000, India's 50th Republic Day, where the film ran for 200 days in theatres and grossed 20 crores worldwide. The film stars Mohanlal in the title role with Thilakan, Kanaka, N. F. Varghese, Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran and Jagathy Sreekumar in pivotal roles. Mammootty appears in a cameo role. The film was the first production of Aashirvad Cinemas, owned by Antony Perumbavoor, the former chauffeur of Mohanlal.
Koodevide? is a 1983 Malayalam-language drama film, written and directed by P. Padmarajan, starring Mammootty, Suhasini, and Rahman. The film is based on the Tamil novel Moongil Pookkal by Vasanthi. It marked Rahman's movie debut. The film was a major commercial success and was Padmarajan's first commercial hit.
Vipindas was an Indian cinematographer and director. He has cinematographed more than 200 films in Malayalam alone, and has directed a couple of films.
Mangamma is a 1997 Malayalam film written and directed by T. V. Chandran, and produced by National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC). It stars Revathi, Nedumudi Venu, Vijayaraghavan and Thilakan in major roles.
Ormakalundayirikkanam is a 1995 Indian Malayalam-language political drama film directed by T. V. Chandran. Starring Mammootty, Master Nithin, Bharath Gopi, Priyambada Ray, Nedumudi Venu, Kukku Parameswaran and Sreenivasan, the film portrays the rise of the Communists to power in 1957 and the infamous Vimochana Samaram of 1959.
Krishnankutty is a 1981 Malayalam film that marks the directorial debut of T. V. Chandran. The film started production during the emergency period. A critical and commercial failure, this experimental film did not even have a wide public release. The film represents a continuation of P. A. Backer's style of independent film. The music for the film is composed by director Pavithran.
K. Ravindran (1945–2011), better known by his pen-name Chintha Ravi, was an Indian writer, journalist, film critic and film director.
Sarah Thomas was an Indian Malayalam language writer from Kerala. Her novel Narmadi Pudava won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in the year 1979. Thomas was also a recipient of Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contribution to Malayalam Literature.
