The music of Kerala has a complex history distinct from Malayalam poetry, though much of it is poetry-driven. Kerala has a rich tradition in Carnatic music. Songs have been a significant part of early Malayalam literature, which dates back to the 9th century CE. The significance of music in Kerala's culture is evident from the fact that musical poetry in the Malayalam language developed long before prose. As music evolved in the region, various branches emerged from it.
Arkadu Parthasarathy Komala, commonly known as A. P. Komala, was an Indian playback singer. She has sung songs in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada languages.
Pillavalu Gajapathy Krishnaveni, more famously known as Jikki, was an Indian playback singer from Andhra Pradesh. She sang around 10,000 songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Sinhalese, and Hindi languages.
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 ₹20,000, it was a commercial success 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.
Arappavan is a 1961 Indian Malayalam film, directed by K. Shankar and produced by K. Kumar. The film stars Sathyan, KPAC Sulochana, Kedamangalam Sadanandan and Pattom Sadan. The film had musical score by G. K. Venkitesh and P. S. Divakar.
Nalla Thanka is a 1950 Indian Malayalam-language mythological film directed by P. V. Krishna Iyer and produced by K. V. Koshy and Kunchacko under the banner of Udaya Studios and K & K Combines. It was the second film produced at the Udaya Studios, the first being Vellinakshatram (1949). The film stars Miss Kumari in the title role along with Augustine Joseph, Vaikom Mani and Miss Omana in other supporting roles. The film is based on the legend of Nalla Thanka, which is based on a popular Tamil folk tale.
Nirmala is a 1948 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by P. V. Krishna Iyer and produced by P. J. Cherian. The fourth talkie in Malayalam, Nirmala introduced playback singing to Malayalam cinema.
Amma is a 1952 Malayalam film directed by Jairus Paul Victor, written by Nagavally R. S. Kurup and produced by T. E. Vasudevan. The film is based on L. V. Prasad's Telugu movie Shavukar.
T. R. Omana is an Indian actress in Malayalam films. She mainly acts in supporting roles and mother roles. She has acted in more than 500 films.
Nalla Veedu is a 1956 Indian Tamil language film, directed by Jyotish Sinha. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, M. N. Rajam, Pandaribai and Mynavathi.
Chandrika is a 1950 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by V. S. Raghavan and produced by K. M. K. Menon. The film stars Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair and Nagavally R. S. Kurup. The film had musical score by V. Dakshinamoorthy and G. Govindarajulu Naidu. The film was simultaneously produced in Tamil with the same title and was released on 29 September 1950.
Achan (transl. Father) is a 1952 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by M. R. S. Mani and produced by M. Kunchacko. The film stars Prem Nazir and B. S. Saroja in lead roles. The film had musical score by P. S. Divakar. This was the only film in which veteran actor Sesbastian Kunjukunju Bhagavatahar did a comic role. It is one of the major box office hits of early Malayalam cinema. It will be remembered as the debut of Boban Kunchacko, the maiden venture of XL Productions, and first film of Thiruvananthapuram V. Lakshmi. The film was remade in Tamil as Thanthai, again with Prem Nazir. Kambadasan wrote the dialogues and lyrics. The film was released in April 1953.
Ponkathir is a 1953 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by E. R. Cooper and produced by P. Subramaniam. The film stars Prem Nazir and Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair. The film was dubbed into Tamil with the title Irulukku Pin and released in 1954.
Aana Valarthiya Vanampadi is a 1959 Indian Malayalam-language film directed and produced by P. Subramaniam. The film stars Thikkurissi, S. P. Pillai, Bahadoor, M. N. Nambiar, and Miss Kumari. The film had music by Br. Lakshmanan.
K. Rani was an Indian playback singer who has sung songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Sinhalese, Hindi, Bengali and Uzbek. Rani was the first female singer from India to sing in Sinhalese and Uzbek, and sang the national anthem of Sri Lanka.
Nalla Thangai is a 1955 Indian Tamil-language film produced and directed by S. A. Natarajan. The film stars M. N. Nambiar, Madhuri Devi, Rajasulochana, S. A. Natarajan and T. S. Balaiah.
Nalla Thangal is a 1955 Indian Tamil-language film directed by P. V. Krishna Iyer. The film stars R. S. Manohar and G. Varalakshmi. It is a remake of the director's own Malayalam film Nalla Thanka (1950).
N. L. Ganasaraswathi was an Indian playback singer who sang mainly in Tamil films and some Telugu and Malayalam films. She was active in the field during the 1950s and early 60s. She sang many songs based on Carnatic music ragas. Most of her songs were used for dance sequences in the films.
M. P. Sivam is an Indian stage and film artist. He has worked as a teacher who trained stage artistes. He was also a poet and a musician.
Navajeevanam is a 1949 Indian Tamil-language film directed by K. B. Nagabhushanam. The film featured V. Nagayya, P. Kannamba, Sriram and T. A. Jayalakshmi.
