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-News18.
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.
Meena Durairaj, known professionally as Meena, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in the South Indian films as well as Hindi cinema. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. Meena has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi films She is one of the most sought after actresses in the South Indian film industry. In addition to acting, Meena is also a playback singer, TV judge, and occasional dubbing artist. She has received numerous accolades, including two Filmfare Awards South, three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, two Nandi Award for Best Actress and Cinema Express Awards. In 1998, she was honoured with the Kalaimamani Award by Government of Tamil Nadu.
Gautami Tadimalla is an Indian actress and politician from All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. She has worked mainly in Tamil and Telugu, in addition to Malayalam, Hindi, and Kannada films. She was one of the leading South Indian actresses from 1987 to 1998. She is also a television actress, television host, the founder of Life Again Foundation, and a costume designer in Films.
Joshiy is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema and also directed Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada-language films. Joshiy is a pioneer of action thriller films in Malayalam cinema and his films are known for its stylized imagery, color grading and film noir.
Ramya Krishnan, also credited as Ramya Krishna, is an Indian actress. In a career spanning over four decades she has appeared in five languages: Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi. Ramya has won four Filmfare Awards, three Nandi Awards, and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize.
Karthika Menon, better known by her stage name Bhavana, is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Malayalam and Kannada language films in addition to Tamil and Telugu films. She is the recipient of two Kerala State Film Awards and a Filmfare Award.
Manju Warrier is an Indian actress, who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema.
Udaya Chandrika, better known by her screen name Radha is a former Indian actress, who predominantly appeared in Tamil and Telugu films in addition to a few Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. She was one of the top heroines in the film industry for about a decade, from 1981 to 1991, dominating the 1980s era.
Ambika is an Indian actress known for her work predominantly across the entire southern film industry and in several teleserials. She has also acted in an English film (Indian-American), to date. She was one of the top South Indian heroines for more than a decade from 1976 to 1989. Her younger sister Radha was also an actress. They acted together in a number of South Indian films during the peak of their careers. The sisters run a movie studio called 'ARS Studios', which they converted into a hotel complex in 2013.
Geetha is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi films. She debuted in the Tamil film Bairavi. Since then she has acted in over 200 films in all major South Indian languages, and in a few Hindi films. She also appears in South Indian television serials. Geetha has won two Filmfare Awards South and Kerala State Film Awards, Karnataka State Film Awards each.
Lakshmi Rai, professionally credited as Raai Laxmi, is an Indian actress and model who predominantly works in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi languages.
Kanaka is an Indian former actress who mainly appeared in Tamil and Malayalam language films and few Telugu language films. She is known of her role in her debut film Karakaatakkaaran (1989).
Mammootty, is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. He has acted in more than 400 films in Malayalam and other languages including Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, English and Kannada films. He has starred in both art house and blockbuster films.
Saranya Mohan is an Indian former actress, who predominantly appeared in Malayalam and Tamil films. She has also acted in a few Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. She is best known for her performances in Yaaradi Nee Mohini (2008), Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu (2009), Eeram (2009), Velayudham (2011) and Osthe (2011).
Neha Rajpal is a producer, singer and anchor in the Indian music industry, Hindi films, and especially the Marathi regional music industry. Winner of the prestigious Hindi Zee TV reality Music show – Saregamapa in 2004 Neha has also performed in various other Indian languages including Bengali, Kannada, Telugu, Sindhi, Gujarati and Chhattisgarhi. Neha spells her name as 'Nehha'. Neha has produced her maiden Marathi film PhotoCopy under the banner "Neha Rajpal Productions" in association with Viacom18. The film written by national award winner Vijay Maurya and Yogesh Vinayak Joshi released in 2016. It's music was highly appreciated & it went on to win the best music album of the year against blockbuster like Sairat. She sang the 'Sridevi' Hindi dubbed song of Telegu movie Waltair_Veerayya composed by Pushpa movie director Devi_Sri_Prasad and picturised on Superstar Cheeranjivi and Shruti Hassan
South Indian International Movie Awards, also known as the SIIMA Awards, rewards the artistic and technical achievements of the South Indian film industry. It was launched in 2012 by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Brinda Prasad Adusimilli to appreciate and honour film makers from across the South Indian film industries: Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, Kannada cinema, and Malayalam cinema, and provide a platform to promote South Indian films in international markets.
Kasaba is a 2016 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film written and directed by Nithin Renji Panicker, starring Mammootty, along with Neha Saxena as his pair, while Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Sampath Raj and Jagadish played the important supporting roles. The first day gross was the highest for a Malayalam film. The film ended up grossing ₹14.37 crore (US$1.8 million)
Leona Lishoy is an Indian actress and model who is known for her works primarily in Malayalam cinema. She is the daughter of Malayalam actor Lishoy.
Street Lights is a 2018 Indian Malayalam-language thriller film directed by cinematographer Shamdat in his directorial debut. The film is produced by Mammootty under his banner Playhouse Motion Pictures and starring himself alongside a different supporting cast in each language. The film features Soubin Shahir, Dharmajan Bolgatty, Hareesh Perumanna, and Lijomol Jose, who play pivotal roles in Malayalam. The film was simultaneously shot in Tamil with Prithvi Rajan, Pandi, Pandiarajan, and Sreeram playing pivotal roles.
