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.
Sreekumar P. K., better known by his stage name Jagathy Sreekumar or simply Jagathy, is an Indian actor, director and playback singer, who has appeared in over 1500 Malayalam films in a career spanning almost four decades. Widely regarded as one of the most influential actor and finest comedian in the history of Malayalam cinema, he is also known for his highly nuanced character roles. He is the son of acclaimed dramaturge and writer, the late Jagathy N. K. Achary.
Edappal Ponnamkuzhi Veettil Parameswaran Sukumaran Nair, popularly known as Sukumaran, was an Indian actor and producer of Malayalam films. Sukumaran became a popular film star in Malayalam cinema during the 1970s. He was considered one of the superstar trios of Malayalam cinema during the late 1970s and early 1980s along with Soman and Jayan.
M. G. Soman was an Indian actor and former Indian Air Force officer who appeared in Malayalam films. He was one among the leading star actors doing hero roles in Malayalam Cinema during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He has also done roles in Tamil films Aval Oru Thodar Kathai, Naalai Namadhe, Kumaara Vijayam and Airport. However, in the late 1980s and 1990s, he switched to character and villainous roles.
Mala Aravindan was an Indian actor. He was best known for his work as a comedian and character artist in Malayalam films. He has acted in over 500 films.
K. Bhaskaran Nair, known by his stage name Adoor Bhasi, was an Indian actor and film director from Kerala. Adoor Bhasi was almost always cast as the man who stands next to the hero. His hilarious actions and roles became the cynosure of comic scenes in the Malayalam films of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, especially with Ever Green Hero of Malayalam Cinema, Shri Prem Nazir. He is also famous for his eloquent speeches in fluent English. He directed three Malayalam films during the late 1970s.
Kachinamthoduka Puthiyapurayil Ummer known as K. P. Ummer was an Indian actor from Thekkepuram quarter of Kozhikode, Kerala, India. He was active in the Malayalam cinema from early sixties until late nineties.
T. G. Ravindranathan, popularly known as T. G. Ravi, is an Indian actor, mainly noted for his roles as a villain in Malayalam cinema. He along with Balan K. Nair played most of the negative roles in Malayalam cinema during the 1970s and 1980s. Known for his body language and style of dialogue delivery, he played some of the biggest villain roles in Malayalam cinema during that period.
K. N. Jagannatha Varma was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam film and television industry. He was also a Kathakali artist. His son Manu Varma is also an artist and his son-in-law Viji Thampi is a film director. He acted in a number of Malayalam movies performing stereotypical roles of a senior police officer, judge or a priest. Some of his noted roles were in movies New Delhi (1987), Thanthram (1988), Lelam (1997) and Pathram (1999), all directed by Joshiy. Varma joined the Kerala Police Force in 1963, before getting active in movies. He retired from the Kerala Police as the Superintendent of Police. Varma was an accomplished Kathakali artist, having mastered the art from Pallippuram Gopalan Nair Asan. He was also a percussionist, having learned the art from Kalamandalam Raman Namboothiri after retiring from Government service. His younger brother K. N. Surendranatha Varma, a retired college professor, is also a Kathakali artist.
Janardhanan Nair is an Indian actor, producer and a former Indian Airforce personnel who predominantly acts in Malayalam films. He acted in his first feature film Adyathe Kadha, directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan in 1971, he acted in more than 700 films. He started his career when Malayalam films were made in black and white. He is known for his style of handling humour and his iconic voice. He started his career playing brusque villains and sub hero roles in the 1970s and early 1980s, acting along with Prem Nazir and Jayan, but later established himself as a highly sought-after comedian. The turning point of his career was his role in the 1988 film Oru CBI Diary Kurippu, which brought out his comic skills. However, he was typecast as a comedian only after the 1993 film Meleparambil Aanveedu. Mimicry artists perform with his noted role of Garvasis Aashan in Mannar Mathai Speaking (1995). But along with comic roles, he had done serious roles like D.I.G Marar in Dhruvam and Jayashankar in Mafia. Apart from stereotyped Hindu/Muslim/Christian characters, he has the distinction of portraying a Sikh and a Jewish character.
Sreenath was a Malayalam film and television actor. He has acted in many Malayalam films, including Shalini Ente Koottukari, Ithu Njangalude Katha, Oru CBI Diary Kurippu, and Kireedam.
Vadakkekarayil Koran Bharathan, better known as Paravoor Bharatan was an Indian actor who acted in Malayalam films. He started his career in movies during the 1950s. Bharathan is known as a versatile actor and has played a variety of roles including negative roles, character roles and comedy roles.
Jose Prakash was an Indian actor and singer who worked in Malayalam cinema. He was a singer turned actor who had appeared in more than 300 films mostly in antagonist roles. He was awarded with the J. C. Daniel Award in 2011, a day before he died aged 86. In a career spanning for around 40 years, he is known for portraying some of the iconic villain characters in the Malayalam film industry. Later, he switched to character roles in the mid 90s.
Sumithra is an Indian actress. She has appeared in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu language films. She acted as the lead heroine in films between 1974 and 1986. She later started being known for her roles as a mother since the 1990s.
Kunchan is an Indian actor, primarily concentrating on Malayalam films. He has done over 650 films in Malayalam. He usually does minor roles. He has also done important character roles. He started his career when Malayalam films were made in black and white. He made his debut with Tamil film Manaivi (1969), which went unreleased, and his first release was Rest House released in 1970. His most remembered roles were in films like Ivar (1980), Nayakan (1985), Avanazhi (1986), Carnivel (1989) Aye Auto (1990), Kottayam Kunjachan (1990), and Lelam (1997). Recently he has also done Kamal Haasan' s Manmadhan Ambu.
Raveendran Nair, known by his stage name Poojappura Ravi is an Indian actor, primarily concentrating in Malayalam films doing comedy roles. He was a stage actor and was a part of Kalanilyam Drama Vision, the famous drama institution. He started doing Malayalam films in mid-1970s. He has done many " black and white " movies produced in Kerala. Ravi is actually a very flexible character actor who can do almost any roles which is evident from his movies. Even though the exact count of his movies list are not updated, he has surpassed 600 films. In the 1990s he also did TV serials.
Chalappurathu Raveendranatha Menon, popularly known as Ravi Menon was a veteran Indian film actor who worked in Malayalam cinema. He was born in Sreekrishnapuram, Palakkad in 1950. He completed diploma from the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune and made his debut in Malayalam movie, Nirmalyam. Ravi Menon also got the state government special jury award for his role in 'Nirmalayam'. His first movie was Mani Kaul's Duvidha for which he was nominated for the national best actor award. His notable movies includes Shalini Ente Koottukari, Shyama, Kilukkam, Minnaram. He acted in more than 50 Malayalam movies.
K. P. A. C. Sunny (1934–2006) was an Indian actor in Malayalam movies. He acted in more than 400 Malayalam films. He occupied the movie industry for four decades.
Lalithasree is an Indian actress best known for her work in Malayalam cinema. She has acted in more than 450 films. She acts mainly in supporting roles. She is known for her comedy roles with Jagathy Sreekumar.
Thodupuzha Vasanthi was an Indian actress who acted mainly in Malayalam films. She appeared in over 450 movies and also in 16 tele-serials and 100 plays. She was a theater artist, before starting with small roles in movies. Her first full length role was in Kakka in 1982. Some of her most popular films include Yavanika (1982), Poochakkoru Mookkuthi (1984), Nirakkoottu (1985) and Godfather (1991). She was also a dance teacher at Varamani Natyalaya. She underwent treatment for throat cancer before her death on 28 November 2017 at the age of 65.
