The music of Kerala has a long and rich 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.
New generation films is a Malayalam film movement developed in the early 2010s, characterized by fresh and unusual themes and new narrative techniques. Films of the new wave differ from conventional themes of the past two decades and introduced several new trends and techniques to the Malayalam film industry. While the new generation formats and styles are deeply influenced by global trends, their thematics are firmly rooted in Malayalee life and mindscapes.
Aadu (transl. Goat) is a 2015 Indian slapstick comedy film, written and directed by Midhun Manuel Thomas. It was an adaptation from the Guy Richie film "Snatch" where the dog and diamond were replaced by the Goat and "Neela Koduveli". It was produced and distributed by Vijay Babu and Sandra Thomas through Friday Film House. The film stars an ensemble cast includes Jayasurya, Vijay Babu, Sunny Wayne, Vinayakan, Saiju Kurup, Dharmajan Bolgatty, Vineeth Mohan, Bhagath Manuel, Renji Panicker, Sandra Thomas, Chemban Vinod Jose, Indrans, Bijukuttan and Harikrishnan.
Oru Vadakkan Selfie is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language road-comedy film directed by G. Prajith and scripted by Vineeth Sreenivasan. The film features Nivin Pauly, Manjima Mohan, Aju Varghese, Neeraj Madhav and Vineeth Sreenivasan. The music was composed by Shaan Rahman. It was released on 27 March to positive reviews, and became one of the biggest grossing Malayalam films of the year. Some news media and the Kerala Film Producers Association called it the first successful Malayalam film of 2015. This movie marks the debut of Manjima Mohan as an actress in Malayalam movie; earlier, she played a child in films including Priyam and Sundara Purushan. The film was remade in telugu as Meda meedha abbayi and it received good response from critics and audience.
Ennum Eppozhum is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language comedy-drama film directed by Sathyan Anthikad and written by Ranjan Pramod based on a story by Raveendran. It was produced by Antony Perumbavoor under the production company Aashirvad Cinemas. It stars Mohanlal and Manju Warrier, alongside a supporting cast including Innocent, Reenu Mathews, Jacob Gregory, Lena and Renji Panicker. It also marked the reunion of Mohanlal and Manju Warrier after 17 years. Ennum Eppozhum was released across India on 27 March 2015 and met with mixed reviews from critics. The film was a commercial success though at the box office. The song "Malarvaka Kombathu" won Kerala State Film Award for Best Singer for P. Jayachandran.
Njan Samvidhanam Cheyyum is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language family drama film written, directed, and produced by Balachandra Menon. It stars Menon in the lead role, along with Gayathri, Dakshina, Shankar, Menaka, Ravindran, and Madhu in supporting roles. The film was released on 19 September 2015 in India to negative critical response.
Anuraga Karikkin Vellam is a 2016 Indian Malayalam romantic comedy film directed by debutant Khalid Rahman. It stars Biju Menon, Asif Ali, Asha Sharath and Rajisha Vijayan in lead roles. Written by Naveen Bhaskar, it revolves around the life of an ordinary police man, Raghu, and his son, Abhilash. The soundtrack and background score for the film are composed by Prashant Pillai.
Jacobinte Swargarajyam is a 2016 Indian Malayalam-language family-drama film written and directed by Vineeth Sreenivasan and starring Nivin Pauly and Renji Panicker. The film revolves around Jacob Zacharia (Panicker) and the struggles faced by his son (Pauly) to clear his father's debts as his business associate cheats him. The film released on 8 April 2016 in India and later in foreign countries.
Badai Bungalow is an Indian Malayalam sketch comedy and celebrity talk show hosted by Ramesh Pisharody / Mithun Ramesh / Kalabhavan Navas, launched on Asianet from 2013 on every Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 PM. The second season of the show aired on every Friday at 9:30 PM.
Hesham Abdul Wahab is an Indian music director, Music Producer, singer and audio engineer. Best known for his compositions for the soundtrack of the 2022 Malayalam film Hridayam and the music album Qadham Badha produced by British singer-songwriter Sami Yusuf. Wahab is the recipient of 2021 Kerala State Film Award for Best Music Director for the soundtrack of the film Hridayam.
Ore Mukham is a 2016 Indian Malayalam-language mystery film directed by Sajith Jagadnandan and written by Deepu and Sandeep Sadanandan. It stars Dhyan Sreenivasan in lead role. The film told in a non-linear style, is set in two periods. One period, set in the 1980s, tells the college life of the main protagonists. The other, set in the present day, describes the investigation into a series of murders involving the protagonists. Ore Mukham was released on 2 December 2016.
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, 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)
Orayiram Kinakkalal is a 2018 Indian Malayalam-language comedy thriller film directed by Pramod Mohan. The screenplay was written by Kiran Varma and Mohan, with dialogues co-written by Hrishikesh Mundani. The film stars Biju Menon, Roshan Mathew, Sharu Varghese, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Nirmal Palazhi, and Sakshi Agarwal. Orayiram Kinakkalal was released on 6 April 2018.
Oru Muthassi Gadha is an Indian Malayalam comedy road film written and directed by Jude Anthany Joseph from a story by Nivin Pauly. It stars Rajini Chandy and Bhagyalakshmi in the lead roles of two grandmothers, with supporting characters played by Suraj Venjaramoodu, Lena, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Rajeev Pillai, and Renji Panicker. Oru Muthassi Gadha released on 14 September 2016 during the occasion of Kerala's state festival, Onam.
Aby is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by prolific advertisement filmmaker Srikant Murali in his feature directorial debut. It is written by Santhosh Echikkanam and produced by Suvin K Varkey under the banner of Little Big Films. Vineeth Sreenivasan plays the lead and titular character of Aby. Aju Varghese, Suraj Venjaramoodu play supporting characters.
Rajisha Vijayan is an Indian actress who primarily appears in Malayalam films, in addition to a few Tamil films. She is a recipient of Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress.
Asianet Comedy Awards is an award ceremony for Malayalam television and films presented by Asianet, a Malayalam-language television network from the south-Indian state of Kerala. The awards are given for the actors who made excellence in the comical roles. The awards are normally presented annually and held in Adlux International Convention Center Angamaly. Meera and Jewel Mary hosted the show in 2015 & 2016.Pearle Maaney and Meera hosted the show in 2017.
Captain is a 2018 Indian Malayalam-language biographical sports drama film written and directed by Prajesh Sen in his directorial debut. The film is about V. P. Sathyan, former captain of the India national football team, with Jayasurya portraying him. It also stars Anu Sithara, Renji Panicker, Siddique, Deepak Parambol, Saiju Kurup, Kamal Varadoor and Lakshmi Sharma. Jayasurya won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film.
Helen is a 2019 Indian Malayalam-language survival thriller film directed by Mathukutty Xavier and produced by Vineeth Sreenivasan under the companies Habit of Life and Big Bang Entertainments. The film stars Anna Ben in the title role, while Lal, Noble Babu Thomas, Aju Varghese, Rony David and Binu Pappu appears in supporting roles. It was written by Alfred Kurian Joseph, Noble Babu Thomas and Mathukutty Xavier. Its soundtrack was composed by Shaan Rahman.
The 40th Kerala Film Critics Association Awards, honouring the best Malayalam films released in 2016, were announced in March 2017.
