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.
Wayanad is a district in the north-east of the Indian state of Kerala, with administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, the southern portion of Deccan Plateau which links the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. It is set high in the Western Ghats with altitudes ranging from 700 to 2,100 meters. Vellari Mala, a 2,240 m (7,349 ft) high peak situated on the trijunction of Wayanad, Malappuram, and Kozhikode districts, is the highest point in Wayanad district. The district was formed on 1 November 1980 as the 12th district in Kerala, by carving out areas from Kozhikode and Kannur districts. An area of 885.92 km2 in the district is forested. Wayanad has three municipal towns—Kalpetta, Mananthavady and Sulthan Bathery. There are many indigenous tribes in this area. The Kabini River, a tributary of Kaveri River, originates at Wayanad. Wayanad district, along with the Chaliyar valley in the neighbouring Nilambur in Malappuram district, is known for natural gold fields, which are also seen in other parts of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Chaliyar river, which is the fourth longest river of Kerala, originates on the Wayanad plateau. The historically important Edakkal Caves are located in Wayanad district.
Idukki is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala in the southwest of the country. It is the largest district in Kerala and lies amid the Cardamom Hills of Western Ghats in Kerala. Idukki district contains two municipal towns - Kattappana and Thodupuzha, and five taluks.
The Adivasi are heterogeneous tribal groups across the Indian subcontinent. The term is a Sanskrit word coined in the 1930s by political activists to give the tribal people an indigenous identity by claiming an indigenous origin. The term is also used for ethnic minorities, such as Chakmas of Bangladesh, Bhumiputara Khasas of Nepal, and Vedda of Sri Lanka. The Constitution of India does not use the word Adivasi, instead referring to Scheduled Tribes and Janjati. The government of India does not officially recognise tribes as indigenous people. The country ratified the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 107 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the United Nations (1957) and refused to sign the ILO Convention 169. Most of these groups are included in the Scheduled Tribe category under constitutional provisions in India.
John Abraham was an Indian filmmaker, short story writer and screenwriter who worked mainly in Malayalam cinema. His film Amma Ariyan (1986) was the only South Indian feature film to make the list of "Top 10 Indian Films" of all time by British Film Institute. Agraharathil Kazhuthai was listed among the "100 Greatest Indian Films" of all time by IBN Live's 2013 poll.
The University of Calicut, also known as Calicut University, is a state-run public university headquartered at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district of the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1968, it is the first university to be set up in northern Kerala. The university is coordinated by the University Grants Commission.
The National Film Award for Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Kamal.
Shyamaprasad is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor from Kerala.
Paniya is one of the Malayalam languages spoken in India. It is spoken by the Paniya people, a scheduled tribe with a majority of its speakers in the state of Kerala. The language is also known as Pania, Paniyan and Panyah. It belongs to the Dravidian family of languages. According to the 1981 Census, there were 63,827 speakers of Paniya which includes 56,952 in Kerala, 6,393 in Tamil Nadu, 482 in Karnataka. Most of its speakers are found in the Wayanad, Kozhikode, Kannur and Malappuram districts of Kerala, and to the west of the Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu.
K. Ramachandra Babu was an Indian cinematographer of over 125 films, out of which most are Malayalam films. He also worked for films in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Arabic and English languages. He served as the cinematographer for several documentaries and advertisement films as well. He was the founder of the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC).
Raamanam is a 2009 Malayalam film directed and produced by M. P. Sukumaran Nair. Jagathy Sreekumar plays the lead character in this film. The film is a re-depiction of Smarakasilakal, a celebrated Malayalam novel by Punathil Kunhabdulla.
Renganaath Ravee is an Indian sound designer, sound editor and documentary filmmaker.
Photographer is a 2006 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Ranjan Pramod. Starring Mohanlal, Neethu, Master Mani and Biju Menon in lead roles. The film is loosely based on the Muthanga incident of 2003, in which a policeman and a tribal were killed. Mohanlal plays dual roles as a wildlife photographer and a farmer. The soundtrack was composed by Johnson.
Nellu (transl. Paddy) is a 1974 Malayalam-language drama film directed by Ramu Kariat from a screenplay by K. G. George based on the 1972 award-winning novel of the same name by P. Valsala. It features an ensemble cast of Prem Nazir, Jayabharathi, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, Sankaradi and Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair. The film portrays the life of the Adiyar community, a tribe of the forests in the Wayanad hills of Kerala, through the eyes of an outsider.
The Kerala Film Critics Association Awards are presented annually by the Kerala Film Critics Association to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Malayalam language film industry of India. The awards were instituted in 1977.
Languages spoken in the Indian Subcontinent belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-Aryan languages spoken by 75% of Indians and the Dravidian languages spoken by 20% of Indians. Other languages belong to the Austroasiatic, Sino-Tibetan, Tai-Kadai, and a few other minor language families and isolates. India has the world's second-highest number of languages (780), after Papua New Guinea (839). The first known translation of any Christian Scripture in an Indian language was done to Konknni in 1667 AD by Ignazio Arcamone, an Italian Jesuit.
Joy Mathew is an Indian film and theatre actor. He is also a film director, playwright and screenwriter. He predominantly works in Malayalam cinema.
Narayan was an Indian author best known for his debut novel Kocharethi (1998). Most of Narayan's novels deal with the lives of the tribal communities of Kerala. He belonged to the Malayarayar tribe and is considered Kerala's first tribal novelist.
The Paniya, also known as Paniyar and Paniyan, are an ethnic group of India. They constitute the single largest Scheduled Tribe in Kerala and are mainly found in the Wayanad District and the neighbouring areas of Karnataka. They primarily inhabit villages around edge of forestland in Kerala's Wayanad, Kozhikode, Kannur and Malappuram districts. The Paniya speak the Paniya language, which belongs to the Dravidian family, closely related to Malayalam. The center of the bonding contracts was the famous temple of the regional mother goddess of the Valliyoorkkavu shrine near Mananthavady.
Udalaazham is a 2018 Indian Paniya / Malayalam drama film written and directed by Unnikrishnan Avala. It features actors Mani, Remya Valsala, Anumol, Indrans, Sajitha Madathil, Joy Mathew and Nilambur Ayisha in the lead roles. Produced by Dr. Manoj K. T., Dr. Rajesh Kumar M. P. and Dr. Sajish M. under the banner of Doctors' Dilemma, it is Avala's debut feature.
