Malayalam cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Malayalam language 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.
The music of Kerala has a complex history. It is not the same as Malayalam poetry, although most of it is poetry driven. Kerala has a rich tradition in Carnatic music. Songs formed a major part of early Malayalam literature, which traces its origin to the 9th century CE. The significance of music in the culture of Kerala can be established just by the fact that in Malayalam language, musical poetry was developed long before prose. With the development of music in the region, different branches were formed out of it.
G. Sankara Kurup, also referred to as Mahakavi G, was an Indian poet, essayist and literary critic of Malayalam literature. Known as one of the greats of Malayalam poetry, he was the first recipient of the Jnanpith Award―the highest Indian literary honor. He served as a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha from 1968 to 1972 and received the Padma Bhushan, the third highest Indian civilian award, in 1967. He was also a recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and Soviet Land Nehru Award.
Thattil Antony Johnson, popularly known as Johnson Master, was an Indian film score composer and music director who has given music to some of the most important motion pictures of Malayalam cinema, including those for Koodevide, Namukku Paarkkan Munthiri Thoppukal, Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam, Vadakkunokkiyantram, Perumthachan, Njan Gandharvan, Ponthan Mada, and Bhoothakkannadi. Regarded as one of the finest composers in the industry, he was noted for his lyrical and expressive melodies together with simple but rich tonal compositions of thematic music. Johnson is a recipient of National Film Awards twice and Kerala State Film Awards five times.
Unni Menon is an Indian film playback singer. He has recorded over 4000 songs in many Indian languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. In the early part of his career, he spent many years as a low-profile playback singer. The turning point in his career came with the song "Pudhu Vellai Mazhai" from Mani Ratnam's award-winning 1992 Tamil film Roja, composed by A. R. Rahman. He has frequently associated with A. R. Rahman, lending his voice to nearly 27 popular songs from films like Karuththamma (1994) and Minsaara Kanavu (1997).
Ottaplakkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup was a Malayalam poet and lyricist from Kerala, India, who won the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary award in India for the year 2007. He received the awards Padma Shri in 1998 and Padma Vibhushan in 2011, the fourth and second highest civilian honours from the Government of India. In 2007 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by University of Kerala, Trivandrum. O. N. V. was known for his leftist leaning. He was a leader of All India Students Federation (AISF). He died on 13 February 2016 at KIMS hospital in Thiruvananthapuram due to age-related illnesses, aged 84.
Rekhitha R. Kurup, better known by her stage name Bhamaa, is an Indian former actress who predominantly appeared in Malayalam and Kannada-language films. She made her cinematic debut in 2007 with the Malayalam film Nivedyam, directed by A. K. Lohithadas and had acted in over 42 films.
Ranjith K. Govind, also known as K.G. Ranjith, is an Indian playback singer, working in the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada film industries and has sung more than 2500 songs.
Porayath Leela was an Indian playback singer, Carnatic vocalist, and a music director. She has recorded more than 5,000 songs in various Indian languages including Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Bengali, Sanskrit, Odia, Gujarati, Marati. and also Sinhale. She is also known for her extensive history of collaboration in the songs with Music Composers v.Dakshinamoorthy, MS Baburaj, G Devarajan, ghantasala, MS Viswanathan, K. Raghavan, Br Lakshmanan, LPR Varma, BA chithambara athletes, AT ummer, MK Arjun,Johnson, ouseppachan, ilaiyaraja, and with the playback singers KJ Yesudas and Ghantalasa over the years. Leela is known for her sweet and melodious voice that she named Ganamani. She was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2006. She made her debut as a playback singer in the 1948 Tamil film Kangkanam.
Balan is a lost 1938 Indian Malayalam-language drama film produced by T. R. Sundaram under the banner of Modern Theatres, directed by S. Nottani and written by Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai. It is notable for being the first sound film in the Malayalam language, and the third feature film in Malayalam cinema after Vigathakumaran and Marthanda Varma. Based on the short story Vidhiyum Mrs. Nayarum by A. Sundaram. The film is a melodrama about the struggle of two orphaned children. The film stars K. K. Aroor in the title role and M. K. Kamalam as the female lead, with Master Madanagopal, M. V. Shanku, K. Gopinath, Alleppey Vincent and C. O. N. Nambiar in supporting roles.
Newspaper Boy is a 1955 Indian Malayalam-language drama film. It is the first neo-realistic film in the language. The film narrates the life of the common man on the street. It is noteworthy in that the entire production programme from script-writing to direction was controlled and executed by students. The group of students were from the school Adarsh Kalamandir and the film was written and directed by P. Ramdas. The screenplay was based on a short story written by Ramadas himself.
Jeevitha Nouka is a 1951 Malayalam-language film directed by K. Vembu and jointly produced by K. V. Koshi and Kunchako. It was the first "blockbuster cinema" in Malayalam cinema, with a theatrical run of 284 days. Made at a budget of ₹ 20000, this cinema did extremely well at the box office, such that very few cinemas could surpass it later. It was simultaneously shot in Tamil and Telugu, and was dubbed and released in Hindi. This cinema portrayed the life of simple folk in a small village in Kerala. It stars Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair and B. S. Saroja, with the latter making her debut and the former in his first major role. Its music is composed by V. Dakshinamoorthy and popular playback singer Mehboob debuted through this cinema. It is a remake of the Hindi cinema Jeevan Naiya with revised screenplay.
Shantha P. Nair was a playback singer in Malayalam cinema. She was based in Thrissur, Kerala.
Adimakal (transl. Slaves) is a 1969 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan and produced by M. O. Joseph. The film stars Sathyan, Prem Nazir, Sheela and Sharada. The film had musical score and songs composed by G. Devarajan. It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Pamman. The film was remade in Hindi as Intezar (1973) in Telugu as Chilakamma Cheppindi (1977) and in Tamil as Nizhal Nijamagiradhu (1978).
Nalla Thangal is a 1955 Indian Tamil-language film directed by P. V. Krishna Iyer. The film stars R. S. Manohar and G. Varalakshmi. The movie is a remake of director's own Malayalam movie Nalla Thanka. (1950).
Vimala B. Varma is a former Indian playback singer and actress from Kerala. She and Sarojini Menon has been credited as the first playback singers of Malayalam cinema. Vimala is also the first person to play dual roles in Malayalam ciema.
