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 420 films, predominantly in lead roles. He is the recipient of several accolades, including three National Film Awards, eleven Kerala State Film Awards, eleven Kerala Film Critics Awards and fifteen Filmfare Awards South. He was honored with the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award by the Government of India in 1998, for his contributions to cinema. He was also honored with the Kerala Prabha Award by the Government of Kerala in 2022.
Palappurathu Keshavan Surendranatha Thilakan was an Indian film and stage actor who appeared in over 200 Malayalam films. Thilakan was known for his elaborate method acting, realistic and spontaneous appearances and is considered to be one of the greatest actors in Indian Cinema.
Shaji Neelakantan Karun is an Indian film director and cinematographer. His debut film Piravi (1988) won the Caméra d'Or – Mention d'honneur at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. He was the premiere chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, the first academy for film and TV in India and was also the executive chairman of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) from 1998 to 2001. He is best known for his award-winning films Piravi (1988), Swaham (1994), Vanaprastham (1999) and Kutty Srank (2009). He won the National Award for Best Director for his debut film Piravi. He also won two Kerala State Film Awards for Best Director for his films Swaham and Vanaprastham. Currently, he is the Chairman of Kerala State Film Development Corporation.
Vanaprastham: The Last Dance is a 1999 Indo-French psychological drama period film in Malayalam-language that was directed by Shaji N. Karun. It was produced by Pierre Assouline and co-produced by Mohanlal. The screenplay was written by Karun and Raghunath Paleri based on a story by Assouline. It features Mohanlal in the lead role, with Suhasini Maniratnam, Mattannur Sankarankutty Marar, Kalamandalam Gopi, Venmani Haridas, and Kukku Parameshwaram in supporting roles. The film's music was composed by Zakir Hussain.
Ranjith Balakrishnan is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor who works in Malayalam cinema. Ranjith made his directorial debut in 2001 with Ravanaprabhu, the sequel to Devaasuram. He has won three National Film Awards, including one for his film Spirit, which received the National Award for Best Film on Social Issues. His films Thirakkatha and Indian Rupee won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam in 2008 and 2011, respectively. He has also received six Kerala State Film Awards.
Piravi is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Shaji N. Karun. It stars Premji, Archana and Lakshmi Krishnamurthy. The film is based on the life of professor T. V. Eachara Warrier, whose son, a student in Regional Engineering College, Calicut, was killed in police custody during the National Emergency Period of 1976. The film's music was composed by G. Aravindan and Mohan Sithara. Piravi received widespread critical acclaim upon release. The film was screened and very well received at many film festivals and won at least 31 awards, including the Caméra d'Or — Mention Spéciale at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. It also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film at the Indian National Film Awards in 1989.
Kamalinee Mukherjee is an Indian actress. She has predominantly appeared in Telugu films as well as Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Bengali and Kannada language films.
Vidheyan is a 1994 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed and written by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It is based on the novella Bhaskara Pattelarum Ente Jeevithavum by Paul Zacharia. The film, starring Mammootty and M. R. Gopakumar, explores the master-slave relationship in a South Karnataka setting.
Mullamangalath Parameshwaran Bhattathiripad, commonly known as M. P. Bhatathirippad or Premji, was a social reformer, cultural leader and actor from Kerala state, India. Premji joined Yogakshema Sabha and worked with V. T. Bhattathiripad, E. M. S. Namboodiripad and his brother M. R. Bhattathiripad in the fight against the casteism and conservatism that existed in the Nambudiri community. Premji was also a noted stage and film actor who won the National Film Award for Best Actor for the film Piravi.
Renji Panicker is an Indian actor, scriptwriter, director, film producer, and journalist best known for his Malayalam films. He made his debut as a director with Bharatchandran IPS in 2005.
Arappatta Kettiya Gramathil is a 1986 Malayalam film directed by P. Padmarajan, based on his own short story of the same name. The film revolves around three people, Zechariah (Mammootty), Hilal (Ashokan), Gopi, who go to a brothel in a remote village and the problems they had to face there in the next 24 hours. It also stars Gomathi (Gothami), Sukumari Sukumari, Unnimary Unnimary, and Jagathy Sreekumar in other pivotal roles. The movie revolves with the character Gowrikutty acted by (Gothami).
Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha is a 2009 Indian Malayalam-language mystery film written and directed by Ranjith, starring Mammootty, Shwetha Menon and Mythili. It is based on the novel of the same name by T. P. Rajeevan,. Mammooty plays three characters in the film. The film was Mythili's debut in cinema. Ranjith also introduced about thirty Malayalam stage artists through this film. The film tells the story of a private detective, who returns to his birthplace, a village called Paleri, to solve a murder mystery that occurred on the same night he was born.
Anjuli Shukla is an Indian cinematographer and film director. She is the first and till date the only Indian woman who has won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography. Kutty Srank, her debut film, won her the National Film Award for Best Cinematography in 2010. Her recent direction, ‘Happy Mothers Day’ a feature film by Children's Film Society, India (CFSI) was the opening film for the 19th Edition of the International Children's Film Festival India (ICFFI). An alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India, Shukla started her career as an assistant to cinematographer and director Santosh Sivan before making her feature film debut.
Suresh Krishna is an Indian actor who predominantly works in the Malayalam flim industry, known for his various roles as supporting actor in earlier negative performances and character roles. He is noted for his performances in Manju Poloru Penkutti, Pazhassi Raja and Kutty Srank.
Pranchiyettan & the Saint is a 2010 Indian Malayalam-language satirical comedy film written, directed, and produced by Ranjith. The film centres on the fictitious conversation between the Thrissur based businessman C. E. Francis a.k.a. Pranchiyettan (Mammootty) and St. Francis of Assisi. Priyamani, Innocent, Siddique, Khushbu Sundar, Jagathy Sreekumar, Ganapathy, Sasi Kalinga, Tini Tom and Biju Menon play the other important roles. The film is considered one of the best comedy films in Malayalam cinema and has attained cult status in the years following its release. Some critics consider the film as one of the defining movies of the Malayalam New Wave.
Indrans Jayan is an Indian film costume designer working predominantly in Malayalam films. He won the National Film Award for Best Costume Design in 2009 and 2010. Born in Kumarapuram, Trivandrum, he is the cousin of the Malayalam film actor Indrans. He has worked as costume designer for close to 300 films.
Shruti Sawant, known by her stage name Ineya, is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Malayalam and Tamil films.
Poovankery Francis Mathews is an Indian author of Malayalam literature and a screenplay writer in Malayalam film and Television industries. A Winner of a National Film Award for Best Screenplay and multiple State television and other literary awards including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story, he is known for his original style of writing. Literary works such as Muzhakkam, Kadalinte Manam, Adiyalapretham, Iruttil Oru Punyalan, and Chaavunilam and screenplays such as Sararaanthal, Mikhayelinte Santhathikal, Megham, Kutty Srank and Ee.Ma.Yau are his major works.
M. J. Radhakrishnan was an Indian cinematographer working mainly in Malayalam films. He got National film award 2018 as best cinematographer for his work on Malayalam movie Oolu. He won Kerala State Award for Best Cinematography 7 times, equal with Mankada Ravi Varma. Earlier he worked as a still photographer and then as an associate to cinematographer turned director Shaji N. Karun. His important works included Deshadanam (1996), Karunam (1999) Naalu Pennungal (2007), Veettilekkulla Vazhi (2010) and Akasathinte Niram. His films were screened at several prominent film festivals around the world including Cannes, Shanghai, Cairo, Montreal, Telluride, Jeonju, Toronto, Chicago, Rhode Island and Rotterdam. One of his works, Marana Simhasanam, won Caméra d'Or in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. Another film Veyilmarangal won Golden Goblet award for Outstanding Artistic achievement at Shanghai International Film Festival 2019. He worked on over 117 feature films and several documentaries and worked with some of the prominent Indian filmmakers including Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Murali Nair, Shaji N. Karun, TV Chandran, Dr. Biju, Jayaraj and Renjith. He mostly worked on arthouse films and was known for his natural lighting styles. In a career spanning more than two decades, he worked with a number of young film makers, mostly in their maiden ventures. Film Kalamandalam Hyderali 2019, directed by Kiran G. Nath was his last completed work as director of photography.
Thoppil Joppan is a 2016 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film directed by Johny Antony, starring Mammootty in the title role as a Kabaddi player. The film also features Mamta Mohandas, Andrea Jeremiah, Renji Panicker, Sudheer Sukumaran, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Harisree Ashokan, Alancier Ley Lopez, Saju Navodaya and Sreejith Ravi among others.
