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 and Tamil language films. He has also appeared in Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and English-language productions. In a career spanning five decades, he has acted in more than 400 films. He is the recipient of several accolades, including three National Film Awards, eight 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.
Navya Nair is an Indian actress who has appeared predominantly in Malayalam cinema along with Kannada and Tamil language films. She is the recipient of two Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress, the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam and the Kalaimamani Award for her contribution to Tamil cinema. After making her debut in the film Ishtam (2001), she went on to star in several successful films including, Mazhathullikkilukkam (2002), Nandanam (2002), Kalyanaraman (2002), Kunjikoonan (2002), Pattanathil Sundaran (2002), Chathikkatha Chanthu (2004) and Pandippada (2005) establishing herself as one of the leading actresses of Malayalam Cinema in the 2000s.
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. Debuting with the film Nammal (2002) and appearing in several successful Malayalam films like Chronic Bachelor (2003), C.I.D. Moosa (2003), Swapnakoodu (2003), Chathikkatha Chanthu (2004), Naran (2005), Chotta Mumbai (2007) and Marykkundoru Kunjaadu (2010), Tamil films including Chithiram Pesuthadi (2006), Jayamkondaan (2008) and Aasal (2010), and successful Kannada films like Jackie (2010), Vishnuvardhana (2011) and Romeo (2013), she established herself as one of the most sought-after actresses in South Indian cinema.
Mukesh Madhavan, known mononymously as Mukesh, is an Indian actor, film producer, television presenter, and politician who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil-language films. In a film career spanning four decades, he has acted in over 275 Malayalam films. His 1996 film Kaanaakkinaavu premiered at the IFFI and won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. He co-produced Kadha Parayumbol (2007), which won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value. He also produced the 2012 film Thattathin Marayathu, which is considered one of the defining films of the Malayalam New Wave.
Harisree Ashokan is an Indian actor and director who is known for his comedy roles in Malayalam films. Ashokan has acted in more than 200 Malayalam films. He started his career as a mimicry artist in the troupe Harisree and then worked in Kalabhavan.
K. Surendran, better known by his stage name Indrans, is an Indian actor and former costume designer, who appears in Malayalam films. He started his film career as a costume designer and actor in 1981 and got a breakthrough in 1994 with the comedy movie CID Unnikrishnan B.A., B.Ed. Indrans was popular for his comedy roles in the 1990s and 2000s.
The J. C. Daniel Award is the highest award in Malayalam cinema, established by the Government of Kerala, India. It is presented annually by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, a non-profit institution operating under the Department of Cultural Affairs, Kerala. Instituted in 1992, the award recognizes individuals for their "outstanding contributions to Malayalam cinema". Recipients are selected by a jury appointed by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy and the Department of Cultural Affairs. As of 2021, the honourees receive a statuette, a citation, and a cash prize of ₹500,000 (US$6,300). They are honoured at the Kerala State Film Awards ceremony.
Aashirvad Cinemas is an Indian film production company based in Kochi, Kerala. It was established in 2000 by Antony Perumbavoor, since then, it has produced over 30 Malayalam films, starring Mohanlal. Since 2009, the company co-operates with the distribution company Maxlab Cinemas and Entertainments co-founded by Mohanlal and Antony Perumbavoor for distributing films. It is one among the most active and leading production houses in the Malayalam film industry.
Rima Kallingal is an Indian actress and film producer who mainly works in Malayalam cinema. She made her film debut with Ritu (2009). She has been married to the Malayalam film director Aashiq Abu since 2013.
Sanusha Santhosh is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. She started her career as a child artist to leading actress and supporting character roles. She also appears in some Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films too.
Kanyaka Talkies is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language film co-written and directed by K R Manoj in his feature directorial debut. It is based on a story by P. V. Shajikumar.
Shaji John, professionally credited by his stage name Kalabhavan Shajohn is an Indian actor, director and comedian who works primarily in Malayalam cinema. He started his career as a mimicry artist in Kalabhavan, Kochi. Making his debut in 1999 with My Dear Karadi and having made more than 90 appearances, he received a major breakthrough in his career with Drishyam (2013), in which he played a negative role. He made his directorial debut with Brother's Day starring Prithviraj. As of June 2021, he has starred in more than 130 Malayalam films.
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).
M. A. Nishad is an Indian film director and screenwriter who has worked predominantly on Malayalam films.
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Character Actor is an award, begun in 2015, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to an actor for his performance in a Malayalam film. It replaced the Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actor, which was discontinued in 2014. The winner receives a certificate, statuette and a cash prize of ₹50,000.
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Character Actress is an award, begun in 2015, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to an actress for her performance in a Malayalam film. It replaced the Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress, which was discontinued in 2014. The winner receives a certificate, statuette and a cash prize of ₹50,000.
Eranholi Moosa was an Indian Mappilappatu singer and playback singer. He is considered one of the greatest and most influential Mappilappattu singers of all time. During his musical career, Moosa has performed solo in more than 1000 stages, which includes nearly 300 stages across several gulf countries and has recorded more than 100 Mappila songs. He has also played a lead role in the 2003 Malayalam movie Gramophone directed by Kamal.
RK DreamWest is an Indian-American film director, screenwriter, and cinematographer. RK started his creative career in Theater, and directed several theater productions including the most acclaimed "The Journey" [2009] and "Uthirkaalam" [2013]. RK made his feature film debut with Orange Valley under the banner of Dreamwest Global, followed by Fourth River (2020), that had official selection in several international film festivals and won many accolades.
The Kerala Administrative Service (KAS) is the administrative cadre of the Government of Kerala started in the year 2018. The Kerala Public Service Commission conducts exams to recruit candidates for the service. Selection is through a three-stage examination followed by a training of 18 months. It aims to build a cadre of public servants as a second line of managerial talent for effective implementation of govt services in Kerala.
