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 420 films, predominantly in lead roles. He is the recipient of several accolades, including three National Film Awards, eleven Kerala State Film Awards, eleven Kerala Film Critics Awards and fifteen Filmfare Awards South. He was honored with the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award by the Government of India in 1998, for his contributions to cinema. He was also honored with the Kerala Prabha Award by the Government of Kerala in 2022. Mammootty was named as one of "the men who changed the face of the Indian Cinema" by CNN.
Palappurathu Keshavan Surendranatha Thilakan was an Indian film and stage actor who appeared in over 200 Malayalam films. Thilakan was known for his elaborate method acting, realistic and spontaneous appearances and is considered to be one of the greatest actors in Indian Cinema.
Naseeruddin Shah is an Indian actor. He was notable in Indian parallel cinema and has starred in various international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare Awards and the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan awards for his contributions to Indian cinema.
Ranjith Balakrishnan is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor who works in Malayalam cinema. Ranjith made his directorial debut in 2001 with Ravanaprabhu, the sequel to Devaasuram. He has won three National Film Awards, including one for his film Spirit, which received the National Award for Best Film on Social Issues. His films Thirakkatha and Indian Rupee won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam in 2008 and 2011, respectively. He has also received six Kerala State Film Awards.
Piravi is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Shaji N. Karun. It stars Premji, Archana and Lakshmi Krishnamurthy. The film is based on the life of professor T. V. Eachara Warrier, whose son, a student in Regional Engineering College, Calicut, was killed in police custody during the National Emergency Period of 1976. The film's music was composed by G. Aravindan and Mohan Sithara. Piravi received widespread critical acclaim upon release. The film was screened and very well received at many film festivals and won at least 31 awards, including the Caméra d'Or — Mention Spéciale at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. It also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film at the Indian National Film Awards in 1989.
Madhupal Kannambathu is an Indian actor, director, and screenwriter who works in Malayalam cinema. Madhupal made his acting debut with Kashmeeram in 1994 and his directorial debut with Thalappavu (2008), which was about Naxal Varghese and won several awards in 2008.
Cheruthuruthy Velappan Sreeraman was an Indian writer who wrote short stories in Malayalam. He was the Vice Chairman of Kerala Sahitya Akademi. C. V. Sreeraman's stories stand foremost core to the theme, as exemplified by his Anayasena Maranam and Railway Palangal. He won the prestigious Kendra Sahitya Academy Award in 1999 for his collection of short stories Sreeramante Kathakal and Kerala Sahitya Academy Award for the collection Vasthuhara.
T. V. Chandran is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and actor, predominantly working in Malayalam cinema. Born in a Malayali family in Thalassery, Chandran worked as a Reserve Bank of India employee before entering the film industry. He started his film career as an assistant director to P. A. Backer. He also acted the lead role in Backer's highly acclaimed political drama Kabani Nadi Chuvannappol (1975). He made his directorial debut with the unreleased feature Krishnan Kutty (1981), and followed this with the Tamil film Hemavin Kadhalargal (1985). Chandran came into prominence after Alicinte Anveshanam (1989), which was nominated for the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival. This was followed with Ponthan Mada (1993), his most famous film to date. Chandran is most known for his art-house films which have references to history and undertones of politics and feminism. He is also known for his trilogy on 2002 Gujarat riots, consisting of Kathavasheshan (2004), Vilapangalkappuram (2008) and Bhoomiyude Avakashikal (2012). Other highly acclaimed films include Mangamma (1997), Dany (2001) and Paadam Onnu: Oru Vilapam (2003).
Dany is a 2001 Indian Malayalam-language tragicomedy film written, directed, and produced by T.V. Chandran with Mammootty in the title role. It also stars the noted dancer Mallika Sarabhai, Vani Viswanath, Siddique, Vijayaraghavan, Ratheesh, popular television actress Maya Moushmi, Raji Menon, and Narendra Prasad. It was released coinciding with the Christmas in December 2001. The film met with critical acclaim with most of the critics hailing the performance of Mammootty. It won numerous awards, including a National Film Award and three Kerala State Film Awards. This movie is a unofficial remake of Hollywood movie Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks
Adiyozhukkukal (transl. Undercurrents) is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by I. V. Sasi and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, starring Mammootty, Mohanlal, Seema, Balan K. Nair, Vincent, and Rahman. The film was produced by Raju Mathew under the banner of Casino and was distributed by Century Films.
Karutha Pakshikal is a 2006 Indian Malayalam-language family-drama film written and directed by Kamal. It stars Mammootty, Meena, and Padmapriya.
Mahayanam is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Joshiy and produced by C T Rajan, starring Mammootty, Seema, Jalaja and Mukesh.
Koodevide? is a 1983 Malayalam-language drama film, written and directed by P. Padmarajan, starring Mammootty, Suhasini, and Rahman. The film is based on the Tamil novel Moongil Pookkal by Vasanthi. It marked Rahman's movie debut. The film was a major commercial success and was Padmarajan's first commercial hit.
Venugopal Pillai, popularly known as Venu, is an Indian cinematographer and film director who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. An alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune and CMS college Kottayam. He has been the recipient of four National Film Awards, including three for Best Cinematography and one Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director, and four Kerala State Film Awards. He is a founding member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC).
Muttathu Varkey was an Indian novelist, short story writer, and poet of Malayalam. He was best known for a genre of sentiment-filled romantic fiction known as painkili (janapriya) novel in Malayalam literature, named after his famous novel Paadatha Painkili.
Ormakalundayirikkanam is a 1995 Indian Malayalam-language political drama film directed by T. V. Chandran. Starring Mammootty, Master Nithin, Bharath Gopi, Priyambada Ray, Nedumudi Venu, Kukku Parameswaran and Sreenivasan, the film portrays the rise of the Communists to power in 1957 and the infamous Vimochana Samaram of 1959.
Irakal (transl. Victims) is a 1985 Indian Malayalam-language psychological thriller film written and directed by K. G. George and produced by Sukumaran. The film stars K. B. Ganesh Kumar, Thilakan, Sukumaran, Ashokan, and Radha. It won two Kerala State Film Awards—Second Best Film, and Best Story. Irakal is considered the first dark movie in Malayalam and is regarded as a classic film.
Bipin Chandran is an Indian writer and screenwriter from Kerala. He predominantly works in Malayalam cinema and his debut film was Daddy Cool.
Muttathu Varkey Award for contributions to the field of Malayalam literature is instituted by the Muttattu Varkey Foundation in memory of novelist Muttathu Varkey. The award was instituted in 1992 and as of 2012, it carries a purse of ₹50000, a citation, and a statuette. The awards are usually announced on 28 April and presented on 28 May every year.
