Padmarajan Padmanabhan Pillai, better known as P. Padmarajan was an Indian film maker, screenwriter and author who was known for his works in Malayalam literature and Malayalam cinema. He was the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam cinema, along with Bharathan and K. G. George, in the 1980s.
Shaji Neelakantan Karun is an Indian film director and cinematographer. His debut film Piravi (1988) won the Caméra d'Or – Mention d'honneur at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. He was the premiere chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, the first academy for film and TV in India and was also the executive chairman of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) from 1998 to 2001. He is best known for his award-winning films Piravi (1988), Swaham (1994), Vanaprastham (1999) and Kutty Srank (2009). He won the National Award for Best Director for his debut film Piravi. He also won two Kerala State Film Awards for Best Director for his films Swaham and Vanaprastham. Currently, he is the Chairman of Kerala State Film Development Corporation.
Gayatri Das known professionally as Geetu Mohandas is an Indian former actress and director known for her works in Malayalam cinema. In 2013, she directed the socio political film Liar's Dice which has received two National Film Awards, was premiered at Sundance Film Festival, and was chosen by the Government of India as India's entry for the U.S. 87th Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, but was not shortlisted or nominated.
Mohan Sithara is an Indian music composer. He received the Kerala State Film Award for the Best Music Director (2009) for the songs in Priyanandan's Soofi Paranja Kadha. Since 1986 he has been an active musician in the Malayalam film industry. His work mixes Western, Classical and folk styles. He has worked with lyricists and poets like O. N. V Kurup, Yusufali Kechery, Sreekumaran Thampi, Rajeev Alunkal, Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, S. Ramesan Nair, Vinayan, Bharanikkavu Sivakumar, Anil Panachooran, Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma, Gireesh Puthenchery, and Bichu Thirumala. Many prominent singers have sung his songs, including K. J. Yesudas, P. Jayachandran, M. G. Sreekumar, K. S. Chithra, Sujatha Mohan, Madhu Balakrishnan, G. Venugopal, Shreya Ghoshal, Vidhu Prathap, Afsal, Manjari, Jyotsna Radhakrishnan and Biju Narayanan.
Perumbadavam Sreedharan is a Malayalam author from Kerala, India. He is former Chairman of Kerala Sahitya Akademi. He has written several novels and short stories. One of his best known novels is Oru Sankeerthanam Pole (1993) for which he won the Vayalar Award in 1996. He got Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel Ashtapadi. In 2006, he was awarded the Malayattoor Award for his novel, Narayanam.
S. Ramesan Nair was an Indian lyricist and poet who worked predominantly in the Malayalam film industry. Over his career he wrote songs for over 170 films and over 3,000 devotional songs outside of the films. He debuted with the movie Pathamudhayam in 1985. He was a recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2010 and the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 2018 for his collection of poems Gurupournami.
Onnu Muthal Poojyam Vare is a 1986 Indian Malayalam-language drama film produced by Navodaya Appachan under Navodaya Studio, written and directed by Reghunath Paleri in his directorial debut. The film features Asha Jayaram and Geethu Mohandas in lead roles. Mohanlal's voice-over appears throughout the film, but he turns up only at the end of the story. Suresh Gopi and Mukesh make cameo appearances.
Bhagyalakshmi is an Indian actress, activist, and dubbing artist. She works predominantly in the Malayalam film industry, working with over 800 actresses and in 4,700 films. She has collaborated with actresses such as Shobana, Revathi, and Urvashi. Bhagyalakshmi's autobiography, Swarabhedangal, was awarded the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Biography and Autobiography.
Poovankery Francis Mathews is an Indian author of Malayalam literature and a screenplay writer in Malayalam film and Television industries. A Winner of a National Film Award for Best Screenplay and multiple State television and other literary awards including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story, he is known for his original style of writing. Literary works such as Muzhakkam, Kadalinte Manam, Adiyalapretham, Iruttil Oru Punyalan, and Chaavunilam and screenplays such as Sararaanthal, Mikhayelinte Santhathikal, Megham, Kutty Srank and Ee.Ma.Yau are his major works.
Ezhacherry Ramachandran is a Malayalam poet, lyricist and journalist. He has penned lyrics for several Malayalam movies and albums. In 2020, he won the Vayalar Award.
The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi to Malayalam writers for writing a novel of literary merit. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.
A. Santha Kumar was an Indian Malayalam language playwright and screenplay writer from Kerala state, South India. He won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama in 2010 for the work Maram Peyyunnu.
Nikhila Vimal is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil films in addition to Telugu films. After appearing in a minor role in Bhagyadevatha (2009), her lead role in the big screen came in Love 24x7 (2015).
Shanavas K Bavakutty is an Indian film director from Ponnani in Malappuram district. His debut film was Kismath in 2016 and his second film Thottappan released in 2019.
Kalabhavan Rahman is a Malayalam film actor in Kerala.
K. P. Sudheera is a Malayalam language writer from Kerala, India. She has published 86works in various genres, including novels, poetry, travelogues, biographies, memoirs, translations, letters, and children's literature. Many of her works have been translated to Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada languages. Kerala Sahitya Akademi has honoured Sudheera in 2022 awarding her Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contributions.
Noonhil Vadakkemadathil Padmanabhan Unithiri is a multilingual scholar, author, researcher, poet, progressive thinker, translator and teacher from Kerala, India. He has authored around 200 books in Sanskrit, Malayalam and English languages including translated works.
S. Sivadas is an Indian children's writer in Malayalam. He is the author of around 200 books which include popular science, contemporary ecology, short stories, novels and other fictional stories with an emphasis on scientific outlook. He was a chemistry professor at CMS College Kottayam. He is a three-time recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award.
B 32 Muthal 44 Vare is 2023 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Shruthi Sharanyam in her directorial debut and produced by the Kerala State Film Development Corporation. The film stars Remya Nambeesan, Anarkali Marikar and Krisha Kurup, alongside Harish Uthaman, Sajin Cherukayil and Sajitha Madathil. The plot revolves around five women and a trans man from different social classes who face significant stress due to their body image issues.
Zarin Shihab is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam, Hindi films and television shows. She was known for her breakout role in the 2019 spy thriller series The Family Man, where she played Sahaya Mary, a nurse crucial to the show's plot.
