Vayalar Ramavarma, also known as Vayalar, was an Indian poet and lyricist of Malayalam language. He was known for his poems which include Sargasangeetham, Mulankaadu, Padamudrakal, Aayisha and Oru Judas janikkunnu and for around 1300 songs he penned for 256 Malayalam films. He received the National Film Award for Best Lyrics in 1972 and was the winner of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyrics in its year of inception which he received three more times. He was also a recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry in 1962. His collaborations with G. Devarajan produced the golden era of Malayalam film music and many songs written and composed by these duo remain the ever green classics in Malayalam. Ramavarma is regarded as one of the most successful and critically acclaimed lyricist in the history of 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.
Koduri Marakathamani Keeravaani, professionally known as M. M. Keeravani,Maragathamani as well as M. M. Kreem is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and lyricist, who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. His accolades include, eleven Nandi Awards, eight Filmfare Awards, two National Film Awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a LAFCA Award and a Critics' Choice Movie Award. In 2023, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri for his contributions towards Indian cinema.
Indian cinematographers work in a number of regional film centres: Mumbai for films in Marathi and Hindi, Hyderabad for Telugu films, Chennai for Tamil films, Kochi for films in Malayalam, Kolkata for Bengali films, Bangalore for Kannada films, etc. Most Indian cinematographers are known for their work with one regional industry. Some cinematographers belong to various professional organisations and trade unions.
Nadan is a 2013 Malayalam drama film directed by Kamal and written by S. Suresh Babu. Jayaram and Remya Nambeeshan play the lead roles, while the rest of the cast are former theatre artists that include K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Joy Mathew, P. Balachandran, Hareesh Peradi and Sasi Kalinga. It was produced by Anilkumar Ambalakkara under the banner of Ambalakkara Global Films. Nadan features some famous scenes from the famous Kerala People's Arts Club dramas Ningalenne Communistakki and Mudiyanaya Puthran.
Vijay Yesudas is an Indian playback singer and actor. He has sung over 1000 film songs. Vijay works predominantly in the South Indian film industry, mostly in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi. He is the son of acclaimed singer K. J. Yesudas.
Padma Shri Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, popularly known as Kaithapram, is a Malayalam lyricist, poet, music director, actor, singer, screenwriter, music therapist and performer of Carnatic music. He debuted with the movie Ennennum Kannettante in 1986. He won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyricist two times. He was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian honor Padma Shri in 2021 by the Government of India for his contribution to the field of art.
P. Kunjanandan Nair, better known by his pseudonym, Thikkodiyan, was an Indian playwright, novelist, lyricist and screenwriter of Malayalam. He was known for his contributions to the genre of radio plays and his autobiography, Arangu Kaanatha Nadan, which detailed the socio-cultural development of Malabar in the post-independent period, fetched him a number of awards including the Kendra Sahithya Academy Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Biography and Autobiography, Vayalar Award and the Odakkuzhal Award.
The Filmfare Best Female Playback Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Malayalam films. The first Malayalam award was given in 2007. Before that, since 1997 till 2005, a common award for playback was available for both Male and Female singers of all the four South Indian languages.
Gopi Sundar C.S. is an Indian music director, programmer, playback singer, songwriter, actor and performer who works in the Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil film industries.
Nivin Pauly is an Indian actor and producer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. He is the recipient of several awards including two Kerala State Film Awards and three Filmfare South awards.
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.
Pawan Kumar is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor who primarily works in Kannada cinema.
Vaikom Vijayalakshmi is an Indian playback singer from Kerala, India. She is an expert in a rare musical instrument called Gayatriveena. She won special jury mention for her much appreciated work in the 2013 film Celluloid. She was born at Vaikom on 7 October 1981 and later on moved to Chennai. In 2022, she was honoured with Kerala Sree Award, third highest civilian award given by the Government of Kerala.
Tovino Thomas is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Malayalam films. He made his debut in 2012 with the film Prabhuvinte Makkal. His breakthrough roles were in the films ABCD (2013), 7th Day (2014) and Ennu Ninte Moideen (2015). He starred as the titular character in the Netflix superhero film Minnal Murali (2021).
Asha Sharath is an Indian actress and classical dancer, who predominantly works in Malayalam films and television shows and also has a few Tamil, Kannada and Telugu film credits.
Dileesh Philip, also known as Dileesh Pothan is an Indian film director, actor and producer, who works in Malayalam cinema. He made his directorial debut with the 2016 comedy drama film Maheshinte Prathikaaram, starring Fahadh Faasil. The film received the Best Feature Film in Malayalam Award at the 64th National Film Awards. Pothan also won the Best Director Award at the 64th Filmfare Awards South.
The 37th Kerala Film Critics Association Awards, honouring the best Malayalam films released in 2013, were announced in January 2014.
