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.
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.
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, nine Kerala State Film Awards, eleven Kerala Film Critics Awards and thirteen 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.
Sreenivasan is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, dubbing artist and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Sreenivasan has starred in over 225 films. Sreenivasan wrote the screenplays of films such as Odaruthammava Aalariyam (1984), Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam (1986), Gandhinagar 2nd Street (1986), Nadodikkattu (1987), Pattanapravesham (1988), Varavelpu (1989), Thalayana Manthram (1990), Sandesam (1991), Midhunam (1993), Mazhayethum Munpe (1995), Azhakiya Ravanan (1996), Oru Maravathoor Kanavu (1998), Udayananu Tharam (2005), Katha Parayumpol (2007), and Njan Prakashan (2018) among which the latter is one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time. He has won two Kerala State Film Awards for Best Screenplay, for Sandesam and Mazhayethum Munpe. He has received numerous accolades including a National Film Award, two Filmfare Award South and seven Kerala State Film Awards.
Adoor Gopalakrishnan is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film Swayamvaram (1972), Gopalakrishnan pioneered the new wave in Malayalam cinema during the 1970s. In a career spanning over five decades, Gopalakrishnan has made only 12 feature films to date. His films are made in the Malayalam language and often depict the society and culture of his native state Kerala. Nearly all of his films premiered at Venice, Cannes and Toronto International Film Festival. Along with Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen, Gopalakrishnan is one of the most recognized Indian film directors in world 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.
Kaazhcha (transl. Vision) is a 2004 Indian Malayalam-language family-drama film written and directed by Blessy, in his directorial debut. The story revolves around the boy Pavan who reaches Kerala after he loses everything in the 2001 Gujarat earthquake. Film projectionist Madhavan (Mammootty) happens to meet the boy and takes him with him. The film was reported to be inspired by the 1986 Iranian film Bashu, the Little Stranger. The film won three Filmfare Awards South, including the debut of actress Padmapriya.
Gopynathan Velayudhan Nair, popularly known by the stage name Bharat Gopy, was an Indian actor, producer, and director. Considered one of the greatest actors in the history of Indian cinema, Gopy was one of the first actors to be associated with the New Wave cinema movement in Kerala during the 1970s.
Jayasurya is an Indian actor, distributor, sponsor, model, film producer, playback singer, and impressionist who works in Malayalam films. He has appeared in more than 100 films and has won several awards, including a National Film Award, three Kerala State Film Awards, two Filmfare Awards South for acting and Best Actor at the Cincinnati Film Festival held in Cincinnati, US. Jayasurya has also appeared in a few Tamil films.
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.
Madhupal Kannambathu is an Indian actor, director, and screenwriter who works in Malayalam cinema. Madhupal made his acting debut with Kashmeeram in 1994 and his directorial debut with Thalappavu (2008), which was about Naxal Varghese and won several awards in 2008.
Gayatri Das known professionally as Geetu Mohandas is an Indian former actress and director known for her works in Malayalam cinema. In 2013, she directed the socio political film Liar's Dice which has received two National Film Awards, was premiered at Sundance Film Festival, and was chosen by the Government of India as India's entry for the U.S. 87th Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, but was not shortlisted or nominated.
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).
Shyamaprasad is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor from Kerala.
Shamlee, is an Indian former actress who has worked in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam films. Her roles include the mentally challenged child Anjali in the 1990 film Anjali, for which she won the National Film Award for Best Child Artist, and a child trapped inside a bore-well in the film Malootty, which won her a Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist. She has also won the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Female Child Actor for her performance in her Kannada debut Mathe Haditu Kogile.
Venkiteswaran Chittur Subramanian is an Indian film critic, professor, documentary filmmaker, writer and occasional subtitler from Chalakudi, Kerala, India, who writes predominantly in English and Malayalam. He won the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 2009 and shared the National Film Award for Best Arts/Cultural Film with M.R. Rajan for directing the documentary film, Pakarnattam in 1995.
101 Chodyangal is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by Sidhartha Siva. At the 60th National Film Awards, the film won the awards for Best Debut Film of a Director and Best Child Artist for Minon. It also won the Silver Crow Pheasant Award for Best Feature Film at the 18th International Film Festival of Kerala.
Sidhartha Siva is an Indian film director, producer, actor, screenwriter and lyricist, who works in Malayalam cinema.
Alencier Ley Lopez is an Indian film and theatre actor, who appears in Malayalam films. Lopez made his debut in the 1998 film Daya; and he worked in films like Annayum Rasoolum (2013), Njan Steve Lopez (2013), and Maheshinte Prathikaaram (2016).
