Balakrishnan Nair, more popularly known as Balan K. Nair was an Indian actor known for his roles in Malayalam cinema. Although he appeared as a villain in most films, he was also noted for his performances in strong character roles. He emerged as one of the top villain of Malayalam cinema in the second half of the 1970s and played some of the best villain characters in Malayalam films during that period. He won the National Film Award for Best Actor in 1981 for his performance as Govindan in the film Oppol.
Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair, popularly known as M.T., is an Indian author, screenplay writer and film director. He is a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and is one of the masters of post-Independence Indian literature. At the age of 20, as a chemistry undergraduate, he won the prize for the best short story in Malayalam at World Short Story Competition conducted by The New York Herald Tribune. His first major novel Naalukettu, written at the age of 23, won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1958. His other novels include Manju (Mist), Kaalam (Time), Asuravithu and Randamoozham. The deep emotional experiences of his early days have gone into the making of MT's novels. Most of his works are oriented towards the basic Malayalam family structure and culture and many of them were path-breaking in the history of Malayalam literature. His three seminal novels on life in the matriarchal family in Kerala are Naalukettu, Asuravithu, and Kaalam. Randamoozham, which retells the story of the Mahabharatha from the point of view of Bhimasena, is widely credited as his masterpiece.
Hariharan is an Indian film director who has directed over 50 Malayalam films. His movies mainly revolve around the cultural and relational aspects of a typical Keralite society. His most notable works include Sharapancharam (1979), Panchagni (1986), Idavazhiyile Poocha Mindappoocha (1979), Amrutham Gamaya (1987), Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989), Sargam (1992), Parinayam (1994) and Pazhassi Raja (2009) which has won him wide critical acclaim. In 2019, he was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award, Kerala government's highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema.
Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language epic historical drama film directed by Hariharan, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, and starring Mammootty, Suresh Gopi, Balan K. Nair, Captain Raju and Madhavi. The film won four National Film Awards (1989) including Best Actor (Mammootty), Best Screenplay, Best Production Design and Best Costume Design and eight Kerala State Film Awards.
Oduvil Unnikrishnan was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam cinema. He has portrayed supporting roles in both dramatic and comedic roles. He is a four-time winner of Kerala State Film Awards.
Raghava Kurup Narendra Prasad was an Indian actor, playwright, director, teacher and literary critic. He was born at Mavelikkara in the erstwhile Kingdom of Travancore. Appreciated for his body language and performance by the audience and critics, he is known for portraying character roles and villain characters in Malayalam films.
P. K. Venukuttan Nair was an Indian theatre personality and Malayalam film actor. He was the vice-president of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi and member of the Kendra Sangeet Natak Academy. He received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award in 1995 and the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship in 1998. He won many awards at state-level competitions for professional theatre, including the P. J. Antony Award in March 2002.
Parinayam is a Malayalam language period drama film, directed by Hariharan and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair. The key characters are played by Mohini, Manoj K. Jayan and Vineeth. The film also has a cast of character artists including Thilakan, Nedumudi Venu, Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Jagathy Sreekumar, Sukumari, Jagannatha Varma, Valsala Menon, Bindu Panicker, Bahadoor and Shanthi Krishna.
Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair was an Indian poet, playwright, script writer, lyricist, orator, film director and actor, though he is best known as an actor in Malayalam cinema. He is the recipient of Padma Shri from the Government of India, which is one of the highest civilian honours in India. In a career that spanned about 47 years, he acted in over 700 films. He is considered to be the "first superstar of Malayalam cinema". In 1993, he was honoured with the J. C. Daniel Award, Kerala government's highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema.
Jayabharathi is an Indian actress. She is a two-time recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress and National Film Award by Special Jury Award - Special Mention.
Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu is a 1988 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy-drama film, written by Raghunath Paleri and directed by Sathyan Anthikad. It stars Sreenivasan, Jayaram, Urvashi and Innocent in the lead roles. It was Sreenivasan's first role as a hero after Sanghaganam (1979). The film was remade in Hindi in 2010 as Dus Tola.
Oppol is a 1981 Malayalam-language drama film, produced by Rosamma George under the banner of JMJ Arts, directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair. The film stars Balan K. Nair, Menaka and Master Aravind in the lead roles. The film features original songs composed by M. B. Sreenivasan. The film was based on a short story of the same name written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair in 1975. The film revolves around Malu and her brother Appu. Malu gets married to Govindan and shifts to his house along with her brother. Appu however, gets jealous of Govindan when he starts thinking that he will isolate him from his sister. The rest of the film deals with how they mend their relationship.
Bina Paul, also known by her married name Bina Paul Venugopal, is an Indian film editor who works mainly in Malayalam-language films. A graduate of the University of Delhi, she completed a course on film editing from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, in 1983.
Angene Oru Avadhikkalathu is a 1999 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Mohan and written by Sreenivasan from a story by Nedumudi Venu. It stars Sreenivasan, Samyuktha Varma, and Mukesh. The music was composed by Johnson. Angene Oru Avadhikkalathu won two Kerala State Film Awards: Best Music Director and Best Female Singer.
Indrans Jayan is an Indian film costume designer working predominantly in Malayalam films. He won the National Film Award for Best Costume Design in 2009 and 2010. Born in Kumarapuram, Trivandrum, he is the cousin of the Malayalam film actor Indrans. He has worked as costume designer for close to 300 films.
Valarthumrugangal (transl. Pets) is a 1981 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by Hariharan. The film stars Ratheesh, Sukumaran, Madhavi and Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair. The film has musical score by MB Sreenivasan.
Bhagyavan is a 1993 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Suresh Unnithan and written by C. Radhakrishnan, starring Sreenivasan and Sithara in lead roles.
K. Ravindranathan Nair , also known as Achani Ravi or General Pictures Ravi, was an Indian film producer of Malayalam films, industrialist and philanthropist. He was known for a number of critically acclaimed films he produced, such as Kanchana Sita, Thampu, Kummatty, Esthappan, Pokkuveyil, Elippathayam, Manju, Mukhamukham, Anantaram and Vidheyan. Nair was credited with fostering the art film movement in Malayalam cinema during the period from the 1970s to the 1990s. A multiple recipient of National and State film awards, Nair was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award by the Government of Kerala, in 2008, for his contributions to Malayalam cinema.
Roslin in an Indian actress in Malayalam film and TV industry who won Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress for her role in 2003 movie ; Paadam Onnu: Oru Vilapam.
Oduvil Kunhikrishna Menon was a Malayalam–language poet, short-story writer, journalist and literary critic from Kerala, India. Menon was associated with the Venmani School of Malayalam poetry and was also a major figure in early prose literature. Along with Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar, Moorkoth Kumaran, Chenkulath Cheriya Kunhirama Menon, C. S. Gopala Panicker and Ambadi Narayana Poduval, Kunhikrishna Menon is regarded as a pioneer of the short story in Malayalam literature.
